McGill University
Visible minorities, health-care workers and young people in Quebec have been at higher risk of experiencing COVID-19-related discrimination and more likely to suffer from poor mental health in the past year, according to a collective of researchers from McGill University, Concordia University and the University of Ottawa.
The researchers set out to study how factors such as people’s socioeconomic and minority status, discrimination, stigmatization and mental health impact their understanding and adoption of public health measures to combat the coronavirus.
The team received a $70,000 grant from the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity in June 2020 to pursue this work. In March they published two separate peer-reviewed studies, in the International Journal of Intercultural Relations (IJIR) and BJPsych Open.
As the Winter 2021 semester comes to a close, many McGill students have reported a range of challenges in finishing the academic year. One challenge in particular affects some students more than others, and often does so without their awareness: An undiagnosed mental disorder. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often goes under-diagnosed among women, largely due to differences in the way symptoms present themselves across genders and the gender-bias present in the medical field. With McGill’s mental health services coming under strain over the pandemic, some students allege that diagnostic services have become harder to access.
ADHD is listed among the Diagnostic Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and is characterized by pervasive issues with executive functioning which include activities like attention, organization, time management, and self-control.
Mouse study reveals a mechanism of LSD on prosocial behavior
Written by Timothy Huzar on January 30, 2021 Fact checked by Alexandra Sanfins, Ph.D.
Scientists have identified a biological mechanism that accounts for the prosocial behavior associated with repeated microdoses of LSD in mice.
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In a new mouse study, scientists have identified a mechanism that may help explain the prosocial behavior effects of microdoses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
The study, which appears in the
LSD
In recent years, microdosing, which refers to consuming tiny amounts of psychedelic substances, has been increasingly debated. According to an article in the journal
Date Time
LSD may offer viable treatment for certain mental disorders
McGill study a step in understanding the mechanism of psychedelics’ impact on brain and potential for therapeutic use
Researchers from McGill University have discovered, for the first time, one of the possible mechanisms that contributes to the ability of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to increase social interaction. The findings, which could help unlock potential therapeutic applications in treating certain psychiatric diseases, including anxiety and alcohol use disorders, are published in the journal PNAS.
Psychedelic drugs, including LSD, were popular in the 1970s and have been gaining popularity over the past decade, with reports of young professionals claiming to regularly take small non-hallucinogenic micro-doses of LSD to boost their productivity and creativity and to increase their empathy. The mechanism of action of LSD on the brain, however, has remained a mystery.