sensory deprivation. It sounds peaceful, relaxing at first, but it can get pretty depressing when

there's no input heading into the brain. And today, we'll find out what that means for the new

FDA-approved ProLiv RX.

Welcome to the Carlet Psychiatry podcast, keeping psychiatry honest since 2003.

I'm Chris Agen, the editor-in-chief of the Carlat Psychiatry Report.

And I'm Kelly Newsom, a psychiatric MP and a dedicated reader of every issue.

That's the sound of a pottery wheel, and it's just a taste of what you'd be feeling if your hands were coaxing the cool, soft clay as it spins in front of you.

But this study from 2017 will give us a better sense.

It took place in Hong Kong. Researchers randomized 106 patients with depression to a course in clay art,

pottery making, or a similar course in visual art. After three weeks, those who worked the clay with their hands saw improvements in depression.

The visual art group, not so much.

So what made the difference?

One possibility is the senses.

Think about touch.

Maybe you recall a story from your training about the harrowing way that doctor and nurses

discovered the power of touch. It was during World War II. Infants who had lost their parents

in the war were placed in orphanages. This was the antibiotic era, so the first thing on people's

minds was cleanliness, how to keep these babies free of infections. The goal was

achieved, but it came at a cost. Deprived of touch, the children failed to thrive. They regressed

in their development, withdrew, as if depressed. In what psychoanalyst Renee Spitz called

an anachlytic depression. We learned a lesson, and that's why we got out of our way to keep

babies stimulated a day, with touch and even massage. We decorate their rooms with spinning objects

...