The New York Times (4/2, A12, Markoff, Gorman, Subscription Publication) reports, “President Obama on Tuesday will announce a broad new research initiative, starting with $100 million in 2014, to invent and refine new technologies to understand the human brain, senior administration officials said Monday. … The effort will require the development of new tools not yet available to neuroscientists and, eventually, perhaps lead to progress in treating diseases like Alzheimer’s and epilepsy and traumatic brain injury.” The Times notes that “three government agencies will be involved: the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation.”

Related Links:

— “Obama to Unveil Initiative to Map the Human Brain, “John Markoff, The New York Times, April 2, 2013.

On its website and on its “All Things Considered” program, NPR (3/31) reported, “During the State of the Union, President Obama said the nation is about to embark on an ambitious project: to examine the human brain and create a road map to the trillions of connections that make it work.” So far, “details of the project have slowly been leaking out: $3 billion, 10 years of research and hundreds of scientists” in what the National Institutes of Health is calling the Brain Activity Map. “Much like the Human Genome Project a decade ago, scientists are hoping brain mapping will lead to new scientific advances and breakthroughs, and that perhaps it will even unlock the secrets of conditions such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.”

Related Links:

— “Somewhere Over The Brainbow: The Journey To Map the Human Brain, “NPR Staff , NPR, March 31, 2013.

The Asbury Park (NJ) Press (3/31, Racioppi) reported that reparative therapy, also known as conversion therapy, “is on the brink of banishment in New Jersey. A bill outlawing such therapy for those under 18 is headed to the state Senate for a vote after its Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee passed the bill by a 7 to 1 vote March 18.” The piece also noted that the “American Psychiatric Association…and the American Medical Association are among the national organizations that either oppose or warn against reparative therapy.”

Related Links:

— “Conversion therapy exposes gay ‘culture war’, “Dustin Racioppi, The Asbury Park Press, March 31, 2013.

American Medical News (4/1, Lubell) reports, “Mental health professionals and other participants at a recent congressional forum said a dearth of trained physicians and the presence of too many regulatory barriers are some of the main factors preventing severely mentally ill children from getting the medical help they need.” On March 5, a “bipartisan forum was convened by Rep. Tim Murphy (R, Pa.), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee, to discuss what federal resources might be needed to prevent another incident such as the mass killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.” In particular, “the forum focused on severely mentally ill individuals who could be prone to violence but who often don’t receive the timely treatments available to those with other medical emergencies.”

Related Links:

— “More trained clinicians, research urged for mentally ill, “Jennifer Lubell, Amednews, April 1, 2013.

MedPage Today (4/2, Bankhead) reports, “Children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) are at significantly increased risk of behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, attention problems, aggressiveness, and reduced social competency,” according to a 263-child study published in the April issue of the journal Sleep. “As compared with children who had no history of sleep disordered breathing, those with the condition were seven times more likely to meet cutoff scores on a validated index of behavioral symptoms and for the hyperactivity subscale,” the study found. In fact, “sleep disordered breathing doubled and tripled the odds of threshold scores on most assessments, including social interaction, communication, self-care, and adaptive behavior, Michelle M. Perfect, PhD, of the University of Arizona in Tucson, and co-authors reported.”

Related Links:

— “Sleep Disordered Breathing Takes Toll on Kids, “Charles Bankhead, MedPage Today, April 1, 2013.

A front-page New York Times analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a sharp increase in the numbers of US children being diagnosed for the first time with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). The figures indicate a 16% increase in AD/HD cases diagnosed since 2007 alone. In addition to the New York Times, one network news segment, numerous print publications and medical journals focus on the story, many of them questioning if overdiagnosis is behind the increased number of cases, and others concentrating on the fact that some medications for AD/HD may be misused or abused.

NBC Nightly News (4/1, story 2, 2:25, Williams) reported, “A stunning new assessment of national numbers came out today. … It’s about “the extraordinary number of cases” of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) now being diagnosed.” New figures “show a 16% rise in cases just since 2007,” begging the question whether the condition is being overdiagnosed.