A study finds that Anxiety Disorders could be one reason for chronic dizziness, others could include neurological and psychiatric conditions.

"In some cases, it is definitely neurologic or psychiatric,"  says Jeffrey Staab, MD, a researcher for the study and the attending psychiatrist at The Balance Center at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

 "But more often than not, when someone has chronic dizziness, you have both a neurologic and psychiatric contribution that worsen each other in a vicious cycle" says Stabb.

"The idea that dizziness is either medical or psychiatric is potentially problematic because so often it is both," Staab says. "And typically when it is both, the illness began as a medical condition."

If you are over fifty, folic acid supplements could improve your memory while slowing the insidious effects of age on the brain. New Scientist reveals a study done by Jane Durga and colleagues at Wageningen University, Netherlands in which over 800 men and women, between the ages of 50 and 70 took part.

It was found that folate, also known as B9 precipitated good results on memory tests in the participants, who had moderately low folate levels.

As a result of the findings, it is suggested people could use more supplementation than was previously recommended.

Experts warn increasing folic acid can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency especially in older people causing serious health problems, including nerve damage.

It's better to give than receive.  Altruism, giving without expecting anything  may be the best way to have your cake and eat it too when it comes to happiness in your life and marital bliss.

These are the findings of a  survey which was part of the General Social Survey, directed by Tom W. Smith, PhD, of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

Altruistic love was at the 'heart' of the results, which included more than 1,300 people of which 60%  were married.

Findings presented in an article  on WebMD  were inline with what we already know: giving  more love makes you happier in general.  Altruistic love for their spouse resulted in  happier marriages.

If you are one of those people who is mistaken for having the flu because you have a chronic cough, you may be suffering from depression.

Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in New York say chronic cough suffers may be at an increased risk of depression, in an article on Medical New Today.  

Researchers followed 100 chronic cough patients for 3 months. Patients also completed a scale from the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) which measured  subjective cough scores  reflecting the severity of their cough.

When we go shopping there is a virtual tug of war going on in our brains.   By the time we make it to the checkout counter our brain has successfully outweighted the pleasure of purchasing the item over the pain of spending money or potential debt that can be a result of overspending.

These are the findings published in the latest edition of Neuron. The study, conducted by an eclectic think tank includes  both psychologists and economists.

Economist George Loewenstein, PhD, of Carnegie Mellon University tells

Simulating dawn may curb seasonal affective disorder. Science News reports on a study, conducted by Dr. Michael Terman and Dr. Jiuan Su Terman at Columbia University in New York.
Full dawn simulation, high negative air ionization, and bright light therapy proved roughly equal in terms of improvement in symptoms of SAD, the investigators report in the American Journal of Psychiatry.


Several treatments were randomly distributed to 99 patients with SAD, including dawn simulation, a brief dawn "pulse", bright light after waking, and both high & low flow rates of air ionization. Activating dawn simulation and negative air ionization towards the end of a sleep cycle has proven to be as effective as bright light therapy. Instead of sitting in front of a light box, an apparatus delivering negative air ionization and simulated dawn is probably more convenient.

Medical News Today reports a new study is beginning to identify key genetic underpinnings of bipolar disorder(BPD).

Expected to last two to three years, the collaborative research project will focus on early onset of the mental disorder which is known to run in families.

Heading the psychiatric researcher team is James Watson, PhD, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix. The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research working with team of researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory will focus on bipolar children and their parents. Blood samples, cognitive and behavioral tests and brain MRIs will involve children diagnosed between 7-18 and their living parents.