A robot created by Washington State University scientists could help elderly people with dementia and other limitations live independently in their own homes.

The Robot Activity Support System uses sensors embedded in a WSU smart home to determine where its residents are, what they are doing, and when they need assistance with daily activities.

It navigates through rooms and around obstacles to find people on its own, provides video instructions on how to do simple tasks, and can even lead its owner to objects like their medication or a snack in the kitchen.

For the last decade, Diane Cook, Regents professor of electrical engineering and computer science and director of the WSU Center for Advanced Studies in Adaptive Systems, and Maureen Schmitter‑Edgecombe, a WSU professor of psychology, have led CASAS researchers in the development of smart home technologies that could enable elderly adults with memory problems and other impairments to live independently.

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The report excludes studies showing that women experience pain and develop addictions differently than men—differences that mean women might not receive adequate treatment.

Two psychologists are criticizing the United States’ latest report on how to respond to the opioid crisis, stating that the report overlooks key sex and gender differences related to opioid addiction—differences they say mean that women might not receive adequate treatment.

Rodent studies suggest that opioid drugs aren’t as effective at lessening pain in women and, as a result, women may be prescribed a higher dose, or take opioids for a longer time, say the psychologists, who are not affiliated with Washington State University.

While WSU psychology professor Rebecca Craft agrees that rodent studies are useful for understanding the brain chemistry underlying addiction, she disagrees that opioids are less effective for women than men. There just aren’t enough studies to reach that conclusion and the jury is still out, says Craft, whose research focuses on sex differences in the effects of opioids, but who was not involved in either the commentary or the government report.

Still, Craft agrees that the situation is particularly dire for women. Treatment strategies for opioid addiction have largely been developed for men based on the numerous studies in male rodents.

“Any comprehensive plan to address the opioid crisis should take these sex differences into account if we want to provide the most effective interventions for everyone,” Craft says.

More than 15,000 women died of an opioid overdose in 2017.

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Driving high is both illegal and dangerous but more than half of marijuana users think it is safe, according to research by Carrie Cuttler, assistant professor of psychology at Washington State University.

Cuttler and colleagues at the University of California and Bastyr University Research Institute conducted an anonymous survey of marijuana users from all 50 states to determine their beliefs about the safety of driving shortly after consuming some form of cannabis.

Slightly more than half of the survey’s nearly 2,000 respondents (52.4 percent) reported believing that driving under the influence of cannabis is safe.

Over half of those surveyed (52.1 percent) also admitted to driving within one hour of cannabis use.

“Driving while under the influence of cannabis does increase the risk of being in a car accident, especially when it is combined with alcohol,” Cuttler said. “As the trend towards the legalization of recreational cannabis continues across the country, we need to do a better job of communicating these risks without blowing them out of proportion. The scientific community also really needs to renew its efforts on developing reliable and accurate ways to detect acute cannabis intoxication because these currently don’t exist.”

In addition to surveying marijuana users from across the country about their feelings on driving under the influence of cannabis, the researchers surveyed marijuana users before and after the legalization of recreational cannabis in Washington State.

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Eyes were opened and hearts touched as students in a Washington State University Tri‑Cities psychology statistics course recently worked with homeless people at Tri‑City Union Gospel Mission.

Each semester, Janet Peters, clinical assistant professor of psychology, has her students work with a local service-based organization to provide them with real-world experience.

“These types of opportunities provide students with a practical look into how they can use statistics in psychology,” Peters said. “They’re also providing a service to a local organization who may not have the time to dig deep into their data and do this type of analysis.”

The students spent the semester analyzing data from the facility. determining factors that influence or relate to homelessness. Tri‑City Union Gospel Mission, in turn, can use the data to demonstrate to donors the need for its services, and educate the community.

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