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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For some people, throwing away garbage causes intense unease and anxiety. They're called compulsive hoarders, and a new study finds that their brains work differently from non-hoarders. 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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Last September, Morning Edition aired a story about a 9-year-old boy, Benjamin, with bipolar disorder. His moods and behaviors were unpredictable and changed rapidly throughout the day, and sometimes he was violent. Now 10, Ben is living full-time in a psychiatric facility for boys, where his treatment is designed to moderate his mood swings and teach him how to manage his own behavior. 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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Bipolar disorder can occur in children as young as five or six years old. The disorder is also known as manic depression, for the mood swings that shift -- sometimes quickly and often -- from manic highs to deep depressions. In the third story this week on children and mental illness, NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports that bipolar disorder in children may have particularly severe symptoms.
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A growing number of psychiatric researchers agrees that bipolar disorder occurs in children and not just in adults. Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depression. Children as young as five or six years old suffer from the manic highs and deep depressions that characterize the disorder. In a second report on mental illness in children, NPR's Michelle Trudeau introduces one family whose young son has bipolar disorder.
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Babies' babbling is the stuff of scientific study. Writing in the current issue of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have discovered that babies change and improve their babbling sounds in rapid response to affectionate behaviors from their mothers. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.
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A study on the sex lives of adolescents ages 12 to 14 finds that one in five have had sexual intercourse. A survey of more than 30,000 young teens also raises fears about lack of contraception and increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy. In the first installment of a three-part series, hear NPR's Michelle Trudeau.
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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.