Prenatal depression and infant development

There is strong evidence that a mother’s depression during pregnancy tends to be associated with later psychological difficulties for her child, including the child’s own depression. Are these later difficulties linked to infant development in utero and so directly related to the prenatal depression? Or are the child’s difficulties more associated with its experiences after birth, perhaps to a continuation of the mother’s depression, postpartum? Recent research suggests some answers to these questions. Read more Prenatal depression and infant development

Skunk and psychosis

Does the regular use of skunk cause psychosis? A study in South London set out to test that link and found a high correlation between daily skunk use and first episode psychosis. However, no correlation was found in this study between psychosis and the daily use of the less powerful form of cannabis, hash.

Previous studies have suggested a link between cannabis use and psychosis. The UK’s 2012 Schizophrenia Commission claimed that cannabis use is the most preventable risk factor for psychosis. This present study is important because it attempts to clarify which type or frequency of cannabis use contributes to this risk factor. Read more Skunk and psychosis