Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research

Pride Month is celebrated each year in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots, and to promote justice and equal opportunity for all LGBTQ+ Americans. In June of 1969, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City staged an uprising to resist the police harassment and persecution towards the q***r community. This uprising marks the beginning of a movement to ban discriminatory practices against LGBTQ+ Americans and to treat everyone with respect. Helpful resources are included below!

The Creation of Pride Month: https://www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/

Mental Health & LGBTQ+ Support: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

Find Local Resources: https://www.lgbtnearme.org/

LGBTQ+ Healthcare Support: https://rainbowhealth.org/

Transgender Focused Resources: https://translifeline.org/

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Small progress is still progress! Celebrate all the little achievements along the way. Before you know it, you'll be looking back at how far you've come. 🏆😄

Just a friendly reminder that May is Mental Health Month. Don't forget to care for yourself! Mental Health America has tons of helpful resources to get your mental wellness journey started! 💜
https://mhanational.org/

May is Mental Health Month, and we're highlighting the importance by sharing 12 self-care ideas that can improve your well-being. Let's shine a light on mental health and spread support across the community! 💕

It is Teacher Appreciation Week! Make sure to say thank you to the teachers in your life.😊

Frontiers for Young Minds believes that the best way to make cutting-edge science discoveries available to younger audiences is to enable young people and scientists to work together to create articles that are both top quality and exciting.

Distinguished scientists are invited to write about their discoveries in a language that is accessible for young readers, and it is then up to the kids themselves – with the help of a science mentor – to provide feedback and explain to the authors how to best improve the articles before publication.

This unique process produces a collection of freely available scientific articles by leading scientists, shaped for younger audiences by the input of their own young peers.
Even before the publication of our first 50 articles, the quality of Frontiers for Young Minds was recognized as one of the American Library Association’s 2014 Great Websites for Kids.
Follow the link here: https://kids.frontiersin.org/

As April comes to an end, we would like to remind everybody the importance of Autism Awareness Month. People with autism often have difficulties with social communication, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests. Autistic people may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention. These characteristics can make life very challenging. Please note that some people without a diagnosis might also have some of these symptoms. It is important to talk to your doctor to figure out what is best for you. We have provided helpful links below to get started!

CDC
Signs & Symptoms of ASD: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/signs.html
Symptom Treatment & Intervention: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/treatment.html
Data & Statistics: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html

Minnesota Autism Resource Portal
Website: https://mn.gov/autism/
Contact Form: https://mn.gov/autism/contact-us.jsp
Support: https://mn.gov/autism/supports/
Advocacy: https://mn.gov/autism/supports/advocacy/
Videos and podcasts: https://mn.gov/autism/videos-podcasts/

Autism Society of Minnesota
Phone: 651-647-1083
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://ausm.org/
Therapy: https://ausm.org/therapy/
Resources: https://ausm.org/resources/
Education: https://ausm.org/education/
Address: 2380 Wycliff St. #102, St. Paul, MN 55114

Read along with the MCTFR Journal Club!📑😊
Here is the link for today's article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01744-z

Happy Earth Day! Remember to nurture both your mind and the planet! 🌱🧠

📣Resource Spotlight:
NAMI Minnesota provides mental health support by helping people navigate the system, identify resources, and provides a safe community for all. To access their main website, follow this link:
https://namimn.org/

Other NAMI Info:
NAMI MN Helpline: 651-645-2948, ext. 117 (local) or 1-888-NAMI-HELPS (6264-43577)
*NOT A CRISIS LINE*
Email: [email protected]

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, an opportunity to update your knowledge about alcohol use disorder (AUD) and the adverse impact of alcohol misuse on health and society. Alcohol-related problems continue to take a heavy toll on individuals, families, and communities. Researchers estimate that each year there are more than 178,000 alcohol-related deaths, making alcohol a leading preventable cause of death in the United States. In addition, more than 200 disease and injury-related conditions are associated with alcohol misuse.

NIAAA offers a wealth of research-based resources related to alcohol misuse. These resources are free, cover many topics, and are available in multiple languages. Examples include the following:
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Facts About Teen Drinking: Designed for teens, this website contains in-depth information about how alcohol affects health, how to identify signs of an alcohol problem, and how to get help.

https://niaaaforteens.niaaa.nih.gov/
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NIAAA for Middle School: This web resource contains interactive activities to help parents, caregivers, and teachers introduce and reinforce key messages about peer pressure, resistance skills, and other important topics related to underage drinking.

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/niaaa-middle-school
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Alcohol and Your Brain: A Virtual Reality Experience: This educational experience shares age-appropriate messages through engaging visuals, informative billboards, and narration.

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-and-your-brain-virtual-reality-experience-0
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Kahoot! quiz about underage drinking: This quiz can be taken at home or in the classroom to help teens gain a better understanding of underage drinking. Topics covered in the quiz are negative health consequences associated with drinking, signs of an alcohol problem, and how to find support.

https://create.kahoot.it/course/20bbe0fb-7914-4c63-89b9-2adcd1dd2e0e

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Did you learn anything new? 😊
Check out more information here: https://abcdstudy.org/infographics/

Mark your calendars! You won't want to miss this informative webinar presented by The National Institute of Mental Health. Click the link to register now!

https://forms.office.com/g/BMGHDY855N

The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on people around the world. The ABCD Study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States, collected information about adolescent experiences before and during the pandemic. Using these data, researchers have studied the many ways the pandemic affected adolescents in the U.S. These studies look at how youth activities and mental health changed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Presented in English with Spanish interpreters.
Register and learn more here:
https://abcdstudy.org/webinar-april2-2024/

This week's MCTFR Journal Club article is "Association between nucleus accumbens volume and future to***co and Ma*****na use in early adolescence" Read along with the MCTFR!

Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glmedi.2024.100071

This webinar will summarize data from the ABCD Study on the relationships among COVID-19 experiences and youth health and behavior. The presentation will be held in English with Spanish interpreters provided as well. Come join us!

Join online: https://abcdstudy.org/webinar-april2-2024/

Presented by:
Ran Barzilay, M.D., Ph.D.
Marybel R. Gonzalez, Ph.D.
Jason Nagata, M.D.

Meet Neely! Neely Miller received her Masters in Public Health degree in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Minnesota, and has been a researcher at the University of Minnesota since 2003. Prior to joining the MCTFR, her work focused on using event-related potentials to assess brain function in children and overseeing research operations in a collaborative, interdisciplinary research center.

This week's MCTFR Journal Club article is "Physical and mental health in adolescence: novel insights from a transdiagnostic examination of FitBit data in the ABCD study" Read along with the MCTFR!

Link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-024-02794-2

This online event is for anyone who is interested in Childhood Mental Health. Join Dr. Daniel Pine, a childhood psychiatrist, as he covers the topic of mental illness in children.

Use the link below to register to attend the live event, or request a recording if the time doesn't work for you!

https://forms.office.com/g/TkgFwfyh9a

Are you interested in learning what researchers found about mental health, physical health, substance use, and staying positive for adolescents during the pandemic? Then save the date! April 2nd the ABCD Study will put on a webinar covering findings of youth experiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic. More information about the webinar will be released soon!

Are you interested in findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study? Check out this news article about the effect of air pollution on adolescent brain development!

https://studyfinds.org/air-pollution-tee-brains/

This online event is for anyone who is interested in Childhood Mental Health. Join Dr. Daniel Pine, a childhood psychiatrist, as he covers the topic of mental illness in children.

Use the link below to register to attend the live event, or request a recording if the time doesn't work for you!

https://forms.office.com/g/TkgFwfyh9a

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) created a website dedicated to the middle school age group. The site contains interactive activities to help parents, caregivers, and teachers of middle school students introduce and reinforce key messages about peer pressure, resistance skills, and other important topics related to
underage drinking.

Learn more here: https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/niaaa-middle-school

This week's MCTFR Journal Club article is "Associations Between Prenatal Cannabis Exposure and Childhood Outcomes: Results From the ABCD Study" Read along with the MCTFR!

Link: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.2902

The ABCD Study has gathered resources to help with job and school applications as well as information about drug usage and what to do in an emergency. Check out these resources at https://abcdstudy.org/youth-resources/ or scan the QR code in the post!

This week's MCTFR Journal Club article is "Traumatic Brain Injury, Working Memory-Related Neural Processing and Alcohol Experimentation Behaviors in Youth from the ABCD Cohort" Read along with the MCTFR!

Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101344

Researchers using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study data have found negative causal outcomes from screen time and beneficial causal outcomes from reading. For more information, check out the article "Causal Relationships Between Screen Use, Reading, and
Brain Development in Early Adolescents"!

https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202307540

In case you missed the 2023 ABCD Webinar, "ZZZs and Teens: The science of adolescent sleep in the ABCD Study" a link to the recording of the webinar held on November 8th is now available!

Click below:
https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/meetings-events/2023/11/zzzs-teens-science-adolescent-sleep-in-abcd-study

This week's MCTFR Journal Club article is "Longitudinal Impact of Childhood Adversity on Early Adolescent Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the ABCD Study Cohort: Does Race or Ethnicity Moderate Findings?" Read along with the MCTFR!

Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.08.007