News and Announcements

Do you obsess over your appearance? Your brain might be wired abnormally

Body dysmorphic disorder is a disabling but often misunderstood psychiatric condition in which people perceive themselves to be disfigured and ugly, even though they look normal to others. New research at UCLA shows that these individuals have abnormalities in the underlying connections in their brains.

Dr. Jamie Feusner, the study's senior author and a UCLA associate professor of psychiatry, and his colleagues report that individuals with BDD have, in essence, global "bad wiring" in their brains — that is, there are abnormal network-wiring patterns across the brain as a whole.

And in line with earlier UCLA research showing that people with BDD process visual information abnormally, the study discovered abnormal connections between regions of the brain involved in visual and emotional processing.

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Previous news and announcements

UCLA receives major federal contract to study potential new autism drugs

Mark Wheeler, mwheeler@mednet.ucla.edu 310-794-2265 UCLA has been awarded a $9 million contract by the National Institute of Mental Health for an ambitious effort to rapidly study promising new drugs that may help restore normal development and brain function in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Mind Well Week begins Monday, April 22!

Mind Well Week begins Monday, April 22!Monday April 22 – Sunday, April 28; at variable locations and times See below for additional information and the flyer attached for all Mind Well Week events. AdmissionAll events are FREE and open to the public (with the exception of Sunday’s “Music and the Mind” and Thursday’s “Science and Food” event).

Autism in black and white: NIH grant helps scientist study disorder in African Americans

Mark Wheeler, mwheeler@mednet.ucla.edu 310-794-2265 The National Institutes of Health has awarded Dr. Daniel Geschwind, director of the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment, a five-year, $10 million grant to continue his research on the genetic causes of autism spectrum disorders and to expand his investigations to include the genetics of autism in African Americans.

UCLA brain-imaging tool and stroke risk test help identify cognitive decline early

Rachel Champeau, rchampeau@mednet.ucla.edu 310-794-2270 UCLA researchers have used a brain-imaging tool and stroke risk assessment to identify signs of cognitive decline early on in individuals who don't yet show symptoms of dementia.