Michelle Trudeau
Michelle Trudeau began her radio career in 1981, filing stories for NPR from Beijing and Shanghai, China, where she and her husband lived for two years. She began working as a science reporter and producer for NPR's Science Desk since 1982. Trudeau's news reports and feature stories, which cover the areas of human behavior, child development, the brain sciences, and mental health, air on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
Trudeau has been the recipient of more than twenty media broadcasting awards for her radio reporting, from such professional organizations as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Casey Journalism Center, the American Psychiatric Association, World Hunger, the Los Angeles Press Club, the American Psychological Association, and the National Mental Health Association.
Trudeau is a graduate of Stanford University. While at Stanford, she studied primate behavior and conducted field research with Dr. Jane Goodall at the Gombe Stream Research Centre in Tanzania. Prior to coming to NPR, Trudeau worked as a Research Associate at the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, in Washington, D.C.
Trudeau now lives in Southern California, the mother of twins.
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A high-tech machine that monitors infants' brain cells as they listen to speech reveals a key element in how babies go from hearing sounds to speaking them.
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Children whose mothers are depressed are themselves at increased risk for depression, anxiety disorder, or other mental-health problems during childhood. New research shows that treating the depression of mothers can significantly alleviate children's depression.
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For about 10 percent of people with severe depression, no available treatments work -- not anti-depressant medicines, not psychotherapy, not even electro-shock therapy. Now a revolutionary treatment that entails brain surgery shows preliminary promise in treating intractable depression.
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He's won the American Teacher Award, been awarded the National Medal of Arts, and made an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire. For 24 years, Rafe Esquith has taught at an inner city school in Los Angeles, inspiring his fifth graders to excel far beyond the low expectations often placed on poor, immigrant children. -
Magnetic resonance imaging reveals that the parts of the brain used to perceive an object overlap with those used to imagine that object. The test is the first to reveal the biological basis for the persistence of memories that never really happened. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports. -
A new study finds an intriguing reason why boys born prematurely are at a greater risk for developmental and cognitive problems than girls. Premature boys, by age 8, have less white matter -- the material that allows different parts of the brain to communicate with each other. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.
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It's estimated that one of every 20 adolescents suffers from clinical depression. Few of the newer antidepressants have proven effective for teens. But researchers are reporting positive, measurable results with cognitive behavior therapy. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.
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The brain's center of reasoning and problem-solving is among the last to mature, according to a new study. Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging and time-lapse technology to study brain development, compressing 15 years of human brain maturation into seconds. Scientists say the sequence of maturation also roughly parallels the evolution of the mammalian brain. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.
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A new study finds that the tendency for some children in their early adolescence to sleep less presents a danger to their mental health. The study, in the recent issue of the journal Child Development, says children who get less sleep may develop symptoms of depression and low self-esteem. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.
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Every day, juvenile dependency courts across the country are filled with parents who have neglected, abused, abandoned or mistreated their children. To protect these children, judges will often separate the child from the parent -- sometimes temporarily in foster care and sometimes permanently. In Florida, Judge Cindy Lederman has turned to science to help make these difficult custody decisions. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.
