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A small study suggests that a brain scan may give clues to people’s likely response to depression treatment. The study included 62 people with major depression. All were given positron emission tomography (PET) scans to show activity in different areas of the brain. Then people were randomly assigned to treatments. Half received cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of talk therapy. The others were given the medicine escitalopram. Treatment lasted 12 weeks. Only 38 people had a clear response to treatment and clear PET scan results. In the psychotherapy group, 12 people got better and 9 did not. On their PET scans, those who did well had shown less activity in an area of the brain called the insula than those who did not improve. The insula is involved with emotion and self-awareness. Among those taking medicine, 11 got better and 6 did not.

Bullying by a brother or sister can cause as much psychological damage as bullying by peers, a new study suggests. The study was based on the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence. About 3,600 children took part in the study. Children ages 10 and older were interviewed themselves. Parents answered questions for younger children. Questions addressed 4 types of aggression. Physical attacks were divided into 2 types: those that used a weapon or caused injury and those that did neither. Researchers also asked about property theft and psychological attacks such as saying mean things. People were asked if any of these things had occurred in the last year and if the attack came from a peer or a sibling. Children also were asked standard questions to measure their levels of anxiety, depression and other types of psychological distress.