Consumer Reports finds unclear, questionable privacy practices and policies among popular mental health apps
Conclusion: Mental health apps show many of the same patterns we see elsewhere in data-collecting apps. However, the sensitivity of the data they collect means the privacy practices and policies are even more important—especially during a pandemic where people are relying on these services in greater numbers for the first time. Our evaluation shows how there are multiple ways to evaluate how thoughtfully mental health apps handle user data collection, management, and sharing to third parties.
We call for all apps to improve on the recommendations highlighted in Section 5—adhere to platform guidelines, institute clear e...
Source: SharpBrains - March 4, 2021 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation 7 Cups BetterHelp consumer-reports ethics mental health apps MindDoc (formerly known as Moodpath) Neurotechnology privacy Sanity & Self Talkspace Wysa Youper Source Type: blogs
Neuromodulation developer Halo Neuroscience closes its doors; Flow Neuroscience acquires assets
Flow acquires brain stimulation technology developer Halo (Medical Device Network):
Flow Neuroscience has acquired the assets of brain stimulation technology developer Halo Neuroscience to advance its research into depression and other mental health disorder treatments.
The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
Using Halo’s research in neuromodulation field, Flow Neuroscience plans to enhance its current medically certified tDCS headset for depression … A form of neuromodulation, tDCS uses constant, low direct current delivered via electrodes on the head.
In July 2019, Flow announced that it raised $1....
Source: SharpBrains - February 19, 2021 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Peak Performance Technology & Innovation brain stimulation depression Flow Neuroscience Halo Neuroscience headset neuromodulation tDCS Transcranial-direct-current-stimulation Source Type: blogs
Can biofeedback-based videogames help children better manage stress? Magellan Health and Mightier secure $2 million NIMH grant to investigate
This study’s goal is to validate that digital tools like Mightier can improve health outcomes, lower the cost of care and increase access to mental healthcare” said Matthew Miller, senior vice president, behavioral health, Magellan Healthcare.
About the grant:
The research is supported by the National Institute Of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R44MH124574. The NIMH supports scientists, clinicians, and research personnel at universities, medical schools, hospitals, small businesses, and other institutions via grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Researchers at NIMH-suppo...
Source: SharpBrains - February 10, 2021 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation Behavioral Health biofeedback biofeedback video game heart rate-monitor Magellan Health mental health disorders Mightier NIMH regulate stress video-games videogame wearable Source Type: blogs
Midlife ADHD? Coping strategies that can help
Trouble staying focused and paying attention are two familiar symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a common health issue among children and teens. When ADHD persists through early adulthood and on into middle age, it presents many of the same challenges it does in childhood: it’s hard to stay organized, start projects, stay on task, and meet deadlines. But now life is busier, and expectations from work and family often are even higher. Fortunately, there are lots of strategies that can help you navigate this time in your life.
Staying organized
Organizational tools are a must for people with adult...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 5, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Heidi Godman Tags: Behavioral Health Brain and cognitive health Memory Source Type: blogs
The Art of Explaining: Starting With the Big Idea
By HANS DUVEFELT
We live in a time of thirty second sound bytes, 280 character tweets and general information overload. Our society seems to have ADHD. There is fierce competition for people’s attention.
As doctors, we have so many messages we want to get across to our patients. How many seconds do we have before we lose their attention in our severely time curtailed and content regulated office visits?
I have found that it generally works better to make a stark, radical statement as an attention grabber and then qualifying it than to carefully describe a context from beginning to end.
Once a person shows...
Source: The Health Care Blog - January 29, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Medical Practice Physicians Primary Care Hans Duvefelt health communication Source Type: blogs
FDA releases first Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulatory plan to promote responsible digital health innovation
FDA Releases Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Action Plan (FDA press release):
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released the agency’s first Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)-Based Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) Action Plan. This action plan describes a multi-pronged approach to advance the Agency’s oversight of AI/ML-based medical software … The AI/ML-Based Software as a Medical Device Action Plan outlines five actions that the FDA intends to take, including:
Further developing the proposed regulatory framework, including through issuance of draft guidance on a predetermined c...
Source: SharpBrains - January 25, 2021 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation artificial intelligence digital health digital health innovation FDA Food and Drug Administration machine-learning regulatory framework software Source Type: blogs
Will We All Have To Become Biologically Enhanced Superhumans?
Okay, hands up who can tell who’s the most famous biologically enhanced superhuman in the world? True, it’s a quite close call between Captain America and The Incredible Hulk (sorry Spidey, you’re not even close). But is a human-invented superhuman just a thing of a Stan Lee comic, or is it an actual scientific idea from a real laboratory?
As a matter of fact, enhancing human capabilities has been on the mind of people for ages, but it came a long way from ancient training methods to exoskeletons. Enhancing our abilities, be it permanently or temporarily is a tempting but risky matter. For will it be a possib...
Source: The Medical Futurist - January 21, 2021 Category: Information Technology Authors: Judit Kuszkó Tags: Forecast Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Augmented Reality Bioethics Biotechnology Cyborgization Digital Health Research E-Patients Genomics Health Sensors & Trackers Healthcare Policy Medical Education Robotics Science Ficti Source Type: blogs
The Highest Compliment I Can Think Of Is What Happened When I Paused Coaching In Order To Save For Another Goal. My Boyfriend Immediately Frowned And Said
Another satisfied Adult ADHD coaching client.
“The highest compliment I can think of is what happened when I paused coaching in order to save for another goal.
My boyfriend immediately frowned and said that he was a little sad to hear it; coaching had been such a good thing.
Not only did I learn tools like the Experiment Log that I still use, but I slowly started to accept behaviours that I never liked but couldn’t shake.
They weren’t as harmful as I had always thought, and accepting them as part of having ADHD made me calmer than I expected it to.
Thank you, Coach! I look forward to working with you again. :)”
Jes...
Source: Adult ADD Strengths - January 17, 2021 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Pete Quily Tags: ADD / ADHD Coaching Source Type: blogs
Neuroimaging, big data and mental health: A survey of the land
This figure shows how different brain networks function together; the lines measuring the strength of communication among various networks. By using such displays, we can evaluate what is called the human functional connectome—and also how mental illness is disrupted. [Figure courtesy of Vince Calhoun]
Mental and degenerative disorders are among the most costly and common causes of disability in society today. Because the brain is the most complex organ in the human body, diagnosing and treating problems when things go wrong poses enormous challenges. Even before the 1990s was designated the Decade of the Brain, the pote...
Source: SharpBrains - January 15, 2021 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation artificial intelligence brain-machine interface degenerative disorders neuroimaging psychiatry virtual-reality Source Type: blogs
You ’ re Not ADHD If You Are Having A Rough Day. Live In My Head For At Least 30 Seconds. Explain Adult ADHD
Part of #ExplainAdultADHD. A campaign to reduce the ignorance, misinformation, and stigma against adults with ADHD.
You’re Not ADHD If You Are Having A Rough Day. Live In My Head For At Least 30 Seconds.
When I try to explain that I’m living with ADHD, some people tell me, “We’re all ADHD”. It makes my stomach turn. I want to tell them, “Live in my head for at least 30 seconds, you’ll be begging for mercy”.
People that I have dated in the past, couldn’t handle me. Others have shot down my self-esteem. I lost my career in the Navy, after receiving a diagnosis.
Coworke...
Source: Adult ADD Strengths - December 31, 2020 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Pete Quily Tags: Explain Adult ADHD To Non-ADHD Adults Source Type: blogs
Update: Understanding Brain Health via Cosmological Health, and vice versa
LEFT: SECTION OF CEREBELLUM, WITH MAGNIFICATION FACTOR 40X, OBTAINED WITH ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (DR. E. ZUNARELLI, UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF MODENA); RIGHT: SECTION OF A COSMOLOGICAL SIMULATION, WITH AN EXTENSION OF 300 MILLION LIGHT-YEARS ON EACH SIDE (VAZZA ET AL. 2019 A&A). CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA
Welcome to a new edition of SharpBrains’ e‑newsletter, featuring fascinating findings, books and resources for lifelong brain health.
#1. “The human brain (section; left image above) functions thanks to its wide neuronal network that is deemed to contain approximately 69 billion neurons. On the other hand, the obser...
Source: SharpBrains - December 29, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health SharpBrains Monthly eNewsletter Technology & Innovation adhd ADHD-Treatment Books brain health brain-reserve Calm Click Therapeutics cognitive cognitive problems digital therapeutics Neurons neuroplasticity Source Type: blogs
The health effects of too much gaming
It is estimated that 164 million Americans — half of our population — play video games, also known as gaming. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t just teens who play games. According to a recent survey, only 21% of gamers were under 18 years old. While gaming can be a fun distraction or hobby (and is even becoming a competitive sport on many college campuses), there are health risks that come from too much gaming. What are these harms, and what can be done about them?
Is there anything good about gaming?
Before discussing the harms of gaming, it is only fair to mention the benefits. Aside from being entertaining and...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 22, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Peter Grinspoon, MD Tags: Addiction Adolescent health Back Pain Behavioral Health Eye Health Mental Health Safety Source Type: blogs
Survey of 2500 families finds what ADHD treatments seem to work/ not work as applied in the real world
Credit: CDC Vital Signs
While carefully controlled clinical trials are essential for establishing scientific support for different ADHD treatments, it is also important to examine how parents feel about the treatments they actually select for their child.
How parents feel about ADHD treatments they have tried for their child provides an important complement to published clinical trials data, and can also help guide parents’ treatment choices.
Results from a survey conducted by ADDitude Magazine of nearly 2500 parents provides helpful data on this question. In this survey, parents were asked about how helpful they ha...
Source: SharpBrains - December 17, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. David Rabiner Tags: Attention & ADD/ADHD AD/HD-treatments ADHD coaching alternative ADHD treatments behavior-therapy brain training cognitive-abilities diet exercise medication mindfulness-meditation minerals Neurofeedback parents prescription p Source Type: blogs
Executive function in children: Why it matters and how to help
Executive function refers to skills that help us focus, plan, prioritize, work toward goals, self-regulate behaviors and emotions, adapt to new and unexpected situations, and ultimately engage in abstract thinking and planning. Just as a principal conductor would do for an orchestra, executive functions supervise and coordinate a multitude of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional tasks.
Executive functions in childhood are, by default, challenging. That’s because, although our executive function skills begin to develop in the first year of life, they are not fully developed until early adulthood.
Executive function in chi...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 16, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Johanna Calderon, PhD Tags: Brain and cognitive health Children's Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Inside Schizophrenia: Evolution of Schizophrenia Treatments
Schizophrenia has been around since the dawn of time but actually treating it has only been around the past 100 years. In this episode host and schizophrenic Rachel Star Withers takes you through the dark and disturbing evolution of schizophrenia treatments. From systematic euthanasia to hydrotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy to the infamous lobotomy.
Were these doctors “mad scientists” torturing the mentally ill or were they the only ones trying to help a population of people seen as a burden?
About our Guest
Miriam Posner is an assistant professor at the UCLA School of Information. She holds a Ph.D. in Film ...
Source: World of Psychology - December 9, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Rachel Star Withers Tags: Brain and Behavior General History of Psychology Inside Schizophrenia Mental Health and Wellness Psychiatry Psychotherapy Brain Disorders ECT Electric shock Electroconvulsive Therapy Frontal Lobotomies History Of Mental Illness H Source Type: blogs
