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FREED PEARL’s is Available for Anyone Living in Nevada County to Address Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety

The FREED Center for Independent Living is offering the Program to Encourage Active and Rewarding Lives (PEARL’s) over the phone or on Zoom for anyone living in Nevada County. PEARL’s is a coached process that significantly reduces depression symptoms and improves health. It is an evidence-based, best practice for working with adults. The 8-session program takes place over 6 months. Contact Maureen Gerecke at Maureen@FREED.org or call (530) 477-3333 x210 for more information and to register.

First-Ever Study Provides High-Tech Window on Mother-Child Brain Synchrony

We’ve all had the experience of feeling “in synch” with another person, and mothers frequently describe feeling a “psychic connection” with their children. Groundbreaking new research from the University of Washington’s Institute for Brain and Learning Sciences (I-LABS) indicates that these descriptions are more than handy metaphors.

In an experiment that’s the first of its kind in the world, I-LABS, in collaboration with Japanese and Taiwanese brain scientists, conducted a study of the neural connection between mothers and their 5-year-old children using dual MEG brain-imaging devices. MEG, or magnetoencephalography, is a safe, silent, precise technique for investigating human brain activity. The ultra-high-tech device allows brain activity to be measured millisecond-by-millisecond and maps down to the millimeter where in the brain that activity is produced.

Previous research by I-LABS scientists has shown that verbal turn-taking and imitation are essential in young children’s language learning and social development, and that their language learning happens only via social interaction with other people. But how parents and children coordinate their brain activity during these social interactions has been an intriguing mystery. With the development of a dual-MEG setup, it has become possible to observe those interactions in real time right where they’re happening in the brains of mother-child pairs.

Click here to read the full article.

Child poverty rates have crept back up since the expanded child tax credit expired, as The 19th reports, leaving many families struggling with food insecurity amid rising inflation.

More than 36 million families received the credit last year and the child poverty rate fell nearly in half, as the Los Angeles Times noted. Families often used the money to cover essentials such as groceries, rent, utility bills and child care.

After the payments expired last December, however, nearly 4 million children fell below the poverty line, research shows.

“We basically saw an erosion of the gains that were made under the monthly child tax credit payments in 2021,” said Allison Bovell-Ammon, the director of policy and communications at Children’s Health Watch.

Conservative politicians have opposed the child benefit, however, arguing that it discourages parents from working.

Grass Valley Police Departments (GVPD) annual Caring and Sharing tree is up in the lobby of the Grass Valley Police Department! Please come pick a tag and provide a gift for a child in need! If you wish to make a donation to Caring and Sharing, checks can be dropped off at the lobby window payable to GVPOA, with the memo Caring and Sharing.

ONLY 2 WEEKS LEFT! Our tree is still full of tags for local children who could use some Christmas joy! Come to the GVPD lobby and choose a tag!

Christmas Tree Permits Available for Tahoe and Plumas National Forest

How do you reduce wildfire risk and increase holiday cheer? By obtaining a Christmas Tree Permit, of course! Removal of small-diameter trees from selected areas reduces wildfire risk by reducing over-growth, particularly among firs. Tahoe National Forest and Plumas National Forest have both opened their tree-cutting programs for the season. Species available to cut are pine, fir, or cedar.

Tahoe National Forest Christmas Tree Permits are valid from November 7th through December 31st and can be obtained on Recreation.gov’s website.

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More Nevada County News:

• Keep Your Medi-Cal
• Are You A Bookaholic? Bookstores In Grass Valley, Nevada City, & Beyond

Click here to read the full newsletter.

Click here to learn how you can support local families this holiday season and/or become a sponsor or vendor!

Please save the date and mark your calendars for the festive and fun CSN December CSN meeting.

Click here to register for the meeting.