Behavioral Health | Penn Today

Trauma linked to earlier puberty, premature brain development, and mental illness

A Penn study details the effects of poverty and trauma on brain and behavior in youths.

Child in a white shirt sleep on a paper-covered desk in a classroom, with three students in the background.

Children who nap midday are happier, excel academically, and have fewer behavioral problems

A Penn study of nearly 3,000 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in China revealed strong connections between 30 to 60 minutes of shuteye at least three days a week and positive outcomes in a handful of areas.

A child wearing an electroencephalogram cap looking at a bright screen, with someone standing nearby.

Names prompt distinct brain activity in preschoolers

A study from Penn and CHOP found that when preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder hear their name, their neural patterns match those of their typically developing peers. The finding held regardless of whether the child’s mom or a stranger called the name.

Two people walking on a brick path, talking, in a courtyard surrounding by green bushes and a tree.

Training physician-scholars to see patients as people, not categories

The anthropology M.D.-Ph.D. program, recently graduating its first two students, combines clinical and ethnographic skills aimed at working with and caring for society’s marginalized.

A hospital worker with arm around a patient seen from behind as they look out the window.

Survey examines emergency department management of deliberate self-harm

SP2’s Steven Marcus’ new study examines how routinely emergency room staff members properly provide help to individuals who present for self-harm, and how to improve emergency care for high-risk patients.

Two men sitting cross-legged on a wooden bench.

For Kennett Square’s mushroom farmworkers, healthy interventions come directly to the workplace

With the President’s Engagement Prize, seniors José Maciel and Antonio Renteria plan to bring subjects like nutrition and sleep to the workers, reinforcing preventive screenings already provided by a local, federally qualified health center.

therapist writing on clipboard while client sits on couch with hand to their forehead

Childhood trauma has lasting effect on brain connectivity in patients with depression

A study led by Penn Medicine researchers found that childhood trauma is linked to abnormal connectivity in the brain in adults with major depressive disorder.

Five round pills lined up with smiley faces drawn on the front

The placebo cure

Drug researchers use control groups to measure the efficacy of their drug tests. What happens when the control group responds? Science proves the placebo effect is indeed medicine itself.

Two adolescents walking on the top structure of a bridge, a third sits, while people are on the walkway beneath the top of the bridge.

Do adolescents have a natural tendency to engage in more risk-taking than children?

An article published in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences coming out of the Annenberg Public Policy Center reviews research into whether adolescents are actually more likely to take risks than children, as some neuroscience theories have suggested.

An aerial view of buildings and a stadium in Philadelphia.

Behind the scenes, complex disease surveillance is protects the campus community

Beyond promoting vaccines and overall health education, Campus Health, the public health arm of Student Health Service, is watching for clusters of common illnesses, unusual diagnoses, and anything out of the ordinary.

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