Lab Report: Health, Science and Medicine

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The brains of women who suffer from postpartum depression may work differently than those of women without the disorder. When two groups of new mothers were shown images of fearful or threatening faces, the depressed women showed a dulled response in the regions responsible for empathy and emotion. The imaging could be used soon after delivery to help identify women at risk of developing postpartum depression.

THE POWER OF PLAY?

Free play is almost a child-development mantra in prekindergarten programs, in which toddlers are allowed to choose among rich educational toys and play in their own way. But new research suggests that children in such programs show fewer gains in reading and math skills than those provided with some sort of teacher instruction.