Study to examine if imaging the morally injured brain could bring about better treatments
For more than 18 months our healthcare workers have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic with many experiencing mental health issues as a result.
One such concern for health care workers is moral injury, which is an injury to an individuals’ moral conscious, producing intense emotional guilt and shame.
Now a team of researchers from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University are looking at how imaging the brain could help lead to better treatments.
“We are trying to look closely at what happens in the brain when a person recalls a moral injury event,” says Dr. Ruth Lanius with Lawson and Western.
“By understanding the changes happening in the brain, we may be better able to treat individuals suffering from moral injury.”
Lanius and her team will be working with about 60 health care workers in the new study.
Each participant undergoes a MRI scan at the start of the study.
Following eight weeks of treatment the participant will undergo another MRI scan to see how the moral injury changes and possibly resolves with treatment.
“I think once we help resolve the visceral distress, we will also see the negative thinking patterns settle down,” said Lanius.
She adds that seeing the injury in a scan can be validating for health care workers to physically see their injury.
The goal of the research team is to better understand what happens in the brain as it pertains to the moral injury.
“We have to help our health care workers heal from the tremendous hardships they often endure.”
Health care workers are still being recruited for this study. For information on the study follow this link.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.