The Los Angeles Times (12/24, Mohan) “Science Now” blog reports that smartphone use appears to “leave a strong mark” on the somatosensory cortex, the portion of the brain that “processes touch,” according to a study published in the journal Current Biology. For the study, investigators “downloaded 10 days of activity from 26 touch screen users and 11 others who still fumble around with old cellphones (all were right-handed).” Next, “they stimulated the users’ thumbs, index and middle fingers 1,250 times while the subjects were hooked up to an electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures voltage changes from brain activity.”

The New York Daily News (12/24, Engel) reports that researchers “found that activity in the brain regions connected to the thumb and index finger was higher in people who regularly text-message via a touchscreen smartphone compared to those who don’t.” In fact, “the more the person used a smartphone over the last 10 days, the higher activity in the brain.”

Related Links:

— “Does smartphone use smarten up the brain?,” Geoffrey Mohan, Los Angeles Times, December 23, 2014.

MedPage Today (12/24, Wallan) reports that according to research presented Dec. 6 at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry’s annual meeting, “a tobacco treatment program in a psychiatric ward for inpatients with comorbid mental health and substance abuse disorders [SUDs] led to lower rates of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use.” The 216-patient study revealed that “compared with patients in a usual care group, patients in a tobacco cessation group were twice as likely to stay off tobacco 1 year later (22% versus 11%), and have lower rates of drinking (22% versus 58%) and cannabis use (18% versus 42%).”

Related Links:

— “Psych Patients Benefit from Smoking Cessation,” Sarah Wickline Wallan, MedPage Today, December 23, 2014.

MLive (12/23, Hicks) reports that according to a study published online Dec. 22 in JAMA Pediatrics, “laws regulating concussion treatment have increased treatment among school-age athletes.” Since passage of the first concussion law in the US “in 2009, states without legislation have seen a 20 percent increase in treatment rates annually.” In the meantime, “states with such laws have seen roughly a 33 percent yearly surge.”

HealthDay (12/23, Preidt) reports that investigators came to this conclusion after examining “data collected from privately insured 12- to 18-year-olds across the United States between 2006 and 2012.”

Related Links:

— “Michigan study: Increased concussion laws, public awareness result in treatment surge,” Justin P. Hicks, MLive, December 22, 2014.

In its continuing “The Cost of Not Caring” series, USA Today (12/23, Szabo) reports in a 2,700-word article that “according to the National Institute of Mental Health, neglect of Americans with serious mental illness costs the nation $444 billion a year – mostly from lost earnings – and consigns millions to lives of suffering, addiction, homelessness or incarceration.”

However, research suggests that “supported housing, which provides a variety of services beyond low-cost apartments, not only reduces homelessness, but also helps participants spend less time in shelters, hospitals and jail.” In addition, “supported employment programs, which provide one-on-one help to people with serious mental illness, have been proved effective in 20 high-quality studies,” in some cases even tripling the rate of employment of people challenged by severe psychiatric illnesses.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency has found, however, that just two percent of people in US public mental health systems are getting either of these services.

Related Links:

— “Solutions to woes of mentally ill exist but aren’t used,” Liz Szabo, USA Today, December 22, 2014.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune (12/21, O’Donoghue) reported that according to a report issued by the Pew Charitable Trusts, “Louisiana has decreased government spending on mental health” over the past two fiscal year budget cycles, even though 29 states and the District of Columbia “increased mental health spending during the current fiscal year.” In addition, the advocacy organization Mental Health America “ranked Louisiana as one of the worst states for mental health services and access, according to a recent report.”

Related Links:

— “Most states increase mental health budgets, but not Louisiana, Pew reports,” Julia O’Donoghue, New Orelans Times-Picayune, December 19, 2014.