MIT researchers have uncovered evidence that humans crave social contact in the same way they crave food, reports Ali Pattillo for Inverse. The study, “provides empirical support for the idea that loneliness acts as a signal – just like hunger – that signals to an individual that something is lacking and that it needs to take action to repair that," explains former MIT postdoc Livia Tomova.
A new center established at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research is aimed at accelerating the development of novel therapies and technologies, writes Katie Jennings for Forbes. The hope is that “we can identify common pathways, either a common molecular pathway that's a chokepoint for a therapy or a common group of neurons or neural systems,” says Prof. Robert DeSimone, director of the McGovern Institute.
Boston Globe reporter Felice Freyer writes about the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Center for Molecular Therapeutics in Neuroscience, which was established at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research thanks to a $28 million gift from philanthropist Lisa Yang and MIT alumnus Hock Tan ’75. “The center will develop tools to precisely target the malfunctioning genes and neurons underpinning brain disorders,” writes Freyer.
Prof. Rosalind Picard speaks with NBC Mach reporter Jessica Wapner about how wearable devices could be used to help detect and predict episodes of depression. “We’d love to get to you before you get depressed,” explains Picard, “and help you put things back in your life before you get in trouble.”
HealthDay reporter Steven Reinberg writes that a new study by Prof. Siqi Zheng finds that air pollution can make people unhappy. Zheng found that, “On days with high levels of pollution, people are more likely to engage in impulsive and risky behavior that they may later regret, possibly because of short-term depression and anxiety,” writes Reinberg.
Inverse reporter Emma Betuel reports on a new study by MIT researchers showing that air quality impacts the happiness of people living in cities in China. “When the air is polluted people stay home, they don’t go out, and they order food delivery while staying home playing computer games and shopping online,” explains Prof. Siqi Zheng.
By analyzing posts on social media in China, Prof. Siqi Zheng has found that air pollution can cause increased levels of depression and unhappiness, reports Adele Peters for Fast Company. “We want to show that there’s a wider range of the social cost of air pollution,” explains Zheng.
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Benjamin Powers highlights Affectiva and Koko, two MIT startups developing AI systems that respond to human emotions.
Smithsonian reporter Randy Rieland writes that MIT researchers have developed a machine learning model that can detect speech and language patterns associated with depression. The researchers note that the system is intended to assist, not replace clinicians. “We’re hopeful we can provide a complementary form of analysis,” explains Senior Research Scientist James Glass.
Popular Science reporter Rob Verger highlights how an MIT spinout and MIT researchers are developing tools to detect depression. “The big vision is that you have a system that can digest organic, natural conversations, and interactions, and be able to make some conclusion about a person’s well-being,” says grad student Tuka Alhanai.
Quartz reporter Zoë Schlanger writes that a new study by MIT researchers demonstrates how climate change can negatively impact a person’s mental health. The researchers found that “on average, the mental health of low-income people was most harmed by hotter temperatures. Women, on average, were also harmed more than men.”
A new report from MIT researchers finds a correlation between climate change and an increase in mental health issues, writes Nicole Karlis for Salon. Research scientist Nick Obradovich explains that the study shows, “policymakers should be very actively considering how to increase societal resilience to our changing climate.”
CNN reporter Susan Scutti writes that MIT researchers have found that climate change could cause an increase in mental health issues. During a 30-day period, exposure to hotter temperatures and higher rates of precipitation “produced increases in the probability that people were going to report some mental health problem in that period,” explains research scientist Nick Obradovich.
MIT researchers find that hotter and more extreme weather can negatively impact a person’s mental health, reports Karen Kaplan for The Los Angeles Times. The researchers explain that, “given the vital role that sound mental health plays in personal, social, and economic well-being, our findings provide added evidence that climatic changes pose substantial risks to human systems.”
MIT researchers have developed neural networks that can recognize speech patterns that are indicative of depression, writes Anna Powers for Forbes. “Because the model is generalized and does not rely on specific questions to be asked,” explains Powers, “the hope is that this model can be implemented into mobile apps that will allow people to detect depression through natural conversation.”