TIME (4/16, Park) reports that a study published in PLoS One “suggests that cognitive decline begins earlier” than previously believed. Researchers “came to that conclusion after studying 3,305 volunteers aged 16 years to 44 years” who “played a real-time game that approximated everyday real-world situations that test…cognitive abilities.” The study found that cognitive speed decreased approximately 15 percent for every 15 years after the age of 24.

Related Links:

— “Our Brains Begin to Slow Down at Age 24,” Alice Park, Time, April 15, 2014.

USA Today (4/16, Weintraub) reports that according to a study published April 16 in the Journal of Neuroscience, “using marijuana a few times a week is enough to physically alter critical brain structures.”

The AP (4/16, Ritter) reports that the study involved 20 young adult marijuana users who “said they smoked marijuana an average of about four days a week, for an average total of about 11 joints.” Using magnetic resonance imaging, investigators “scanned their brains and compared the results to those of 20 non-users who were matched for age, sex and other traits.”

According to the Boston Globe (4/15, Lazar), these young adults displayed “abnormalities in two key areas of their brain related to emotion, motivation and decision making, and the degree of changes appear to be directly related to the number of joints smoked per week.” Those two areas are the nucleus accumbens and the amygdala. Researchers “did not study whether the changes were linked to corresponding declines in brain function, but say the signs suggest young people might be especially vulnerable because their brains are still developing.”

Related Links:

— “Casual marijuana use linked to brain changes,” Karen Weintraub, USA Today, April 15, 2014.

On the front of its Personal Journal section, the Wall Street Journal (4/15, D1, Reddy, Subscription Publication) reports in a 1,100-word article that researchers believe memory lapses may not necessarily represent the onset of Alzheimer’s or other memory conditions. According to the article, memory failure is most common when people do not activate it in the act of performing an action, or when they attempt to retrieve the memory in a different condition than they were in when they activated it. The Journal recommends paying attention when performing an action and committing it to memory to avoid this type of memory lapse.

Related Links:

— “Why We Keep Losing Our Keys,”Sumathi Reddi, The Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2014.

MedPage Today (4/15, Phend) reports that research published online in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that “mental health assessment and care coordination by a social worker eased anxiety and depression after hospitalization for heart disease.” Investigators found that “mental health-related quality of life improvements were twice those achieved with usual care in patients with depression, anxiety, or panic after a hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, or arrhythmia (11.21 versus 5.68 points on the SF-12 Mental Component Score at 24 weeks, P=0.002).” The study indicated that “overall health-related quality of life improved as well with the low-intensity collaborative care intervention (P=0.03 versus usual care).” The study included 183 patients.

Related Links:

— “Cardiac Patients’ Mental Distress Eased With Care Coordination,”Crystal Phend, MedPage Today, April 14, 2014.

The New York Times (4/14, Carey, Subscription Publication) reports that last week, the American Association of Suicidology decided “to recognize a vast but historically invisible portion of its membership: people” who attempt suicide but survive. The piece notes that “plans for speakers bureaus of survivors willing to tell their stories are well underway, as is research to measure the effect of such testimony on audiences.” The Times explains that “for decades, mental health organizations have featured speakers with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression,” although “until now, suicide has been virtually taboo, because of not only shame and stigma, but also fears that talking about the act could give others ideas about how to do it.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide Prevention Sheds a Longstanding Taboo: Talking About Attempts,”Benedict Carey, The New York Times, April 13, 2014.