डॉ प्रमोद शंकर सोनी ; एक बहुमुखी व्यक्तित्व

अँग्रेजी दैनिक नेशनल मेल से  सन 1993 में अपना कॅरियर प्रारम्भ करने वाले डॉ. प्रमोद शंकर सोनी स्वतंत्र रुप  यूं तो काफी पहले से ही लेखन कर रहे थे. पर पत्रकारिता में कॅरियर उन्होने अँग्रेजी दैनिक नेशनल मेल से प्रारम्भ किया. स्कूली जीवन से ही उन्होने अपने लेखन से राज्य और जिला स्तरीय लेखन प्रतियोगिताओं में अनेक पुरुस्कार व प्रशंसा बटोर लो थी. कालेज के दिनों में  पढ़ाई के साथ इन्होने "नेशनल मेल" ज्वाइन कर लिया ताकि प्रोफेशनल स्तर पर अपने आपको मांझ सकें.  इस दौरान डॉ. सुरेश मेहरोत्रा व स्व. नासिर कमाल साहब जैसे वरिष्ठ पत्रकारों के मार्गदर्शन  मैं इन्होने अपने लिखने कि कला को मांझा. उन दिनों में जब मात्र 850/- रुपये मासिक सेलेरी मिलती थी  लगन के साथ डॉ प्रमोद ने पत्रकारिता कि बारीकियों को समझा  जाना. 3 वर्ष पश्चात उच्च अध्ययन के लिये फ़िर ये  बाहर चले गये पर वहाँ से भी अपना लेखन जारी रखा. लौटने के बाद इन्होने "फ्री प्रेस जनरल" ज्यॉइन कर लिया और विधान सभा समेत विभिन्न प्रभागों में सफल रिपोर्टिंग की. सन 2001  में इनका चयन "टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया" व "इंडियन एक्सप्रेस" जैसे ख्याति प्राप्त अख़बारों मॆं हो गय़ा पर अपनी माता जी के ह्रदय रोग के कारण उन्होंने भोपाल मैं ही रहना  पसंद किया और कालान्तर मॆं स्वतंत्र लेखन के साथ ही अपनी होम्योपैथी की प्रेक्टिस भी प्रारम्भ कर दी साथ ही  "दैनिक भास्कर, जागरण, नवभारत, सत्यकथा  क्रानिकल, हिन्दुस्तान टाइम्स, वुमन्स इरा  व अन्य  देश विदेश की विभिन्न  हिन्दी अंग्रेजी पत्र पत्रिकाएँ के लिये निर्बाध रूप से लेखन करने लगे. इनके निरन्तर लेखन के फलस्वरूप सन 2004 में  मध्य प्रदेश शासन द्वारा इन्हे राज्य स्तरीय अधिमन्यता मिल गई.  निरन्तर "हेल्थ ऐट होम" व "वर्ल्ड हेल्थ टाइम्स" का  सफल सम्पादन सम्भालने के बाद डॉ सोनी  ने "टाइम्स व्यूज़ डॉट कॉम" का प्रभार सम्भाला और वर्तमान मॆं भोपाल में इसके  सम्पादक हैं. सन  2011 में  इन्होने मानसिक रोगियों की समस्या को देखते हुये डिप्रेशन पर एक पुस्तक "डिप्रेशन से छुटकारा" लिखी  जो न केवल भारत वरन विदेशो मॆं भी भारी प्रशंसित हुयी. IIT कानपुर, IIT मुम्बई जैसे ख्यातिलब्ध संसाधानो ने इस पुस्तक की न केवल भूरि भूरि प्रशंशा की बल्कि अपनी लायब्रेरी मे भी छात्रों के लिये उपलब्ध करवाया.  "बेस्ट सेलर बुक का तगमा हासिल कर हाल ही इस पुस्तक को गुजराती भाषा में अनुवादित कर उतार गया है. लेखक व पत्रकार होने के अलावा डॉ  प्रमोद शंकर सोनी होम्योपैथी के भी अच्छे जानकार हैं और विभिन्न असाध्य बीमारियों को ठीक करने का माद्धा रखते हैं सांथ ही समय समय पर निःशुल्क चिकित्सा शिविर का आयोजन भी करते हैं. प्रतीत होता है कि डॉ प्रमोद शंकर सोनी को लेखन की नेसर्गप्रिक प्रतिभा अपने पिता श्री हरिशंकर सोनी से मिली है  जो सेवानिवृत्त आई. पी.एस अधिकारी होने के साथ साथ उच्च कोटि के कवि व लेखक हैं. डॉ सोनी की मानसिक  रोगों पर 2 पुस्तकें अँग्रेजी व हिन्दी भाषा में  मार्केट में  शीघ्र पदार्पण करने वाली है. उनकी सफलता के लिये हम  अभी से  उन्ही अग्रिम शुभकामनाएं देते हैं
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Teens, Schizophrenia n Cannabis

Teens who use cannabis at risk of schizophrenia
By Yvette Brazier
Exposure to marijuana in adolescence leads to schizophrenia-like changes in the brain, according to research published in the journal Cerebral Cortex.
Cannabis, widely used among teens, can have serious consequences.
Statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) show that 15% of 8th graders have tried marijuana and over 1% use it daily.

Marijuana, also known as cannabis, can induce sensations of relaxation and euphoria, but anxiety, fear, distrust and panic are also common, especially with high doses or if the marijuana is unexpectedly potent.

Short-term effects include loss of memory and judgment and distortion of perception, leading to impaired performance in school or at work. It can also be addictive.

In teens, marijuana affects brain systems that are still maturing, potentially leading to a negative and long-lasting effect on cognitive development.

PUBLIC RELEASE: 15-JAN-2016
Poverty linked to childhood depression, changes in brain connectivity
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Many negative consequences are linked to growing up poor, and researchers at Washington University St. Louis have identified one more: altered brain connectivity.

Analyzing brain scans of 105 children ages 7 to 12, the researchers found that key structures in the brain are connected differently in poor children than in kids raised in more affluent settings. In particular, the brain's hippocampus -- a structure key to learning, memory and regulation of stress -- and the amygdala -- which is linked to stress and emotion -- connect to other areas of the brain differently in poor children than in kids whose families had higher incomes.

Those connections, viewed using functional MRI scans, were weaker, depending on the degree of poverty to which a child was exposed. The poorer the family, the more likely the hippocampus and amygdala would connect to other brain structures in ways the researchers characterized as weaker. In addition, poorer preschoolers were much more likely to have symptoms of clinical depression when they reached school age.

The study is available online Friday, Jan. 15, in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

"Our past research has shown that the brain's anatomy can look different in poor children, with the size of the hippocampus and amygdala frequently altered in kids raised in poverty," said first author Deanna M. Barch, PhD, chair of Washington University's Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences in Arts & Sciences, and the Gregory B. Couch Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine. "In this study, we found that the way those structures connect with the rest of the brain changes in ways we would consider to be less helpful in regulating emotion and stress."

Those changes in connectivity also are related to a risk of clinical depression. Those in the study who were poor as preschoolers were more likely to be depressed at age 9 or 10.

Previous research from the same group of investigators had identified differences in the volume of gray matter and white matter, and the size and volume of the hippocampus and amygdala. But they also found that many of those changes could be overcome through nurturing from parents. That wasn't true, however, regarding changes in connectivity identified in the new study.

"Poverty is one of the most powerful predictors of poor developmental outcomes for children," said co-investigator Joan L. Luby, MD, the Samuel and Mae S. Ludwig Professor of Child Psychiatry and director of Washington University's Early Emotional Development Program. "Previously, we've seen that there may be ways to overcome some brain changes linked to poverty, but we didn't see anything that reversed the negative changes in connectivity present in poor kids."

The researchers measured poverty using what's called an income-to-needs ratio that takes into account a family's size and annual income. The current federal poverty level is $24,250 for a family of four.

Children raised in poverty tend to have poorer cognitive and educational outcomes and are at higher risk for psychiatric illnesses, including depression and antisocial behaviors. Researchers hypothesize that factors such as stress, adverse environmental exposures -- including lead, cigarette smoke and poor nutrition -- along with limited educational opportunities, can contribute to problems later in life.

But Barch emphasized that the link between poverty and poor outcomes doesn't necessarily lock a child into a difficult life.

"Many things can be done to foster brain development and positive emotional development," she said. "Poverty doesn't put a child on a predetermined trajectory, but it behooves us to remember that adverse experiences early in life are influencing the development and function of the brain. And if we hope to intervene, we need to do it early so that we can help shift children onto the best possible developmental trajectories."

The power of meditation

Ever tried to know the power of meditation scientifically..? Here is the answer and live demonstration. ...
"To study the physiological states Ricard enters into and to understand how quantitatively happy he is, neuroscientists at the University of Wisconsin placed 256 sensors onto Ricard’s skull and asked him to meditate. Ricard performed compassion meditation and the neuroscientists could hardly believe what they were seeing. The monk’s brain was producing a level of gamma waves that went entirely off the charts. They found also that his brain demonstrated extreme activity in the left prefontal cortex in comparison to the right. What this means is he exhibits an unusually great capacity for experiencing happiness with a much lower than normal tendency towards negativity.

As part of the same study, the researches delved into the minds of other practicing monks to see if the results may be comparable. It was revealed that monks who were long-term meditators - meaning who had sat in 50,000+ rounds of meditation, exhibited altered brain function in important ways, though they also found that individuals who practiced meditation for only 20 minutes a day for 3 weeks demonstrated some degree of change as well."