All in the Mind Folgen

"Bob", the Armed Forces, the Police and PTSDA former member of the armed forces and a policeman, "Bob", suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD following the shocking death of a young woman that he was spending the evening with. He tells Claudia Hammond that he's only recently received the help he needed to get his life back on track and admits that he believes many people in the emergency services have, like him, untreated PTSD. The statistics confirm "Bob's" suspicions, which is why research at Kings College, London, and Oxford University is of such interest. Dr Jennifer Wild and her doctoral student, Rachel White, have discovered that by training people to concentrate on HOW the event is unfolding rather than WHY, significantly fewer PTSD-type symptoms are reported. Researchers exposed volunteers to traumatic films with visuals of accidents and deaths, but whereas those in the WHY group were encouraged to focus on the abstract, on why such terrible things happen and what it would mean for the people involved and their families, the HOW group was prompted to focus on the specific and objective details of the event without straying into its greater meaning.The results showed that the WHY group suffered from more intrusive memories, flashbacks and hyper-arousal than the HOW group, suggesting that if emergency workers could be trained to change their thinking, then psychological trauma could be reduced. Past In MindA chance meeting on a train between archaeologist Ian Bapty and Herefordshire MIND worker, Jenny McMillan, led to an unusual collaboration: an archaeological dig to excavate a lost village. The Past In Mind project brought together archaeologists, historians and people recovering from mental health problems on the Lower Brockhampton Estate in Herefordshire to search for the lost medieval settlement of Studmarsh. Volunteers made an audio diary for All in the Mind from the dig.OrganophosphatesGovernment advisers on the Committee on Toxicity have been sent a new review on organophosphates which suggests that low level exposure causes damage to the brain and nervous system. Dr Sarah Mackenzie Ross, a neuropsychologist from University College London is one of the authors of the meta-analysis - a systematic review of the best available evidence - and she tells Claudia Hammond that the evidence suggests that people who have been exposed to low levels of organophosphates have impaired cognitive function. Organophospate pesticides are the most widely used insecticides in the world in agriculture and horticulture. They're also used in industry as lubricants, plasticizers and flame-retardants and pest-control teams use them too. But it's been known for some time, despite their importance in food production and disease prevention, that in high doses, they damage the brain and the nervous system. What's more controversial is whether there is a risk from low-level exposure to organophosphates, so this latest publication will be of interest to the Committee on Toxicity which is currently reviewing this subject. Producer: Fiona Hill.

Mild cognitive impairment is a condition which is often a precursor to Alzheimer's Disease, but not everyone will go on to develop the condition. If researchers could discover who does develop the disease and who doesn't it would have implications for therapy. Claudia talks to researchers about some of the latest research in this area and discovers how the loss of brain cells in a region of the brain known as the hippocampus leads to the characteristic symptoms of the disease.At the scene of a disaster it is now common for counselling to be provided for the victims, but will everyone develop post traumatic stress disorder PTSD? John Marzillier, a researcher in this area with 40 years experience, says everyone responds differently and only 10% of people are likely to develop PTSD.Why do we continue to believe information even when we are told it's wrong? Claudia Hammond discovers how the brain stores facts and why we don't erase erroneous explanations.

Polygraph Testing for Sex OffendersMandatory polygraph tests for sex offenders could be introduced by the end of 2013, following a pilot trial in the Midlands was judged to be a success.The controversial test is often called a "lie detector". It measures physiological arousal such as increased heart rate, respiration and sweating and the assumption is that these responses can be used to assess whether somebody's telling the truth or not. In the pilot study, convicted sex offenders who'd served their sentence and were out on licence in the ecommunity, were judged to be more than twice as likely to admit to risky behaviour if they'd been given a polygraph test. The Ministry of Justice, subject to parliamentary time and approval, wants to roll out compulsory testing within 12 months in England and Wales.Dr Jane Wood, a forensic psychologist from the University of Kent and one of the authors of the Midlands polygraph pilot evaluation, describes the results which so impressed the Ministry of Justice and then Claudia Hammond hears from both sides of the polygraph debate: Dr Sharon LeaI, from the International Centre for Forensic Research in Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, who criticises the lack of evidence around polygraph use and Don Grubin, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Newcastle University who says the polygraph can play an important role in the management of dangerous sex offenders.BirdsongWill the song of a blackbird make us happier than the caw of a crow ? These and other questions will be answered by Eleanor Ratcliffe from the University of Surrey who's studying the benefits of birdsong on our wellbeing and our behaviour. The Psychology of DisfigurementOur looks are our "social currency" so what happens when our appearance is radically altered by disfigurement ?How people cope, psychologically, with dramatic changes to the way they look is the subject of a major new research project, and the results challenge many myths about who copes best. "Time is a great healer", "women care about their looks more than men", "the more serious the disfigurement, the harder it is to cope", are all beliefs challenged in this new study. Claudia Hammond hears one woman's story, academic researcher, Amanda Bates, about how she coped with her visible difference and she talks to Nichola Rumsey and Diana Harcourt from the Centre for Appearance Research in Bristol. Producer: Fiona Hill.