Psychiatry News and Research

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Psychiatry is the treatment, study and prevention of mental disorders.

Psilocybin offers fast-acting alternative to traditional antidepressants

A single dose of the psychedelic substance psilocybin can provide rapid relief from depressive symptoms – within just a few days. This is shown by the first randomised, double-blind study in Sweden of psilocybin for depression. The effect persisted for over three months, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

15 May 2026

Data-driven breakthrough reveals the effective doses for ADHD meds

Researchers have identified the best dosage for each ADHD medication using data from thousands of people with the condition.

15 May 2026

Brain immune cells found to regulate anxiety and grooming behaviors

A study led by a University of Louisville School of Medicine pediatrics and child neurology researcher reveals how a specific signaling mechanism in microglia, the brain's immune cell, can regulate anxiety and grooming behaviors. These behaviors are core symptoms of autism and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

14 May 2026

Study reveals hidden struggles faced by unaccompanied child refugees

From relentless cycles of intrusive memories to loneliness and physical pain - a new study form the University of East Anglia reveals the struggles of refugees who entered the UK as unaccompanied minors.

13 May 2026

Genetic schizophrenia risk linked to neurodevelopmental changes during early adolescence

Research has found that children with higher genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia show decreases in frontal cortical surface area during early adolescence, in contrast to the regional expansion observed in children with low genetic susceptibility.

13 May 2026

Study identifies genetic pathways linking cannabis use and psychosis

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London has highlighted the distinct and shared molecular pathways linking cannabis use disorder (CUD) and psychosis, offering the potential for identifying those at risk, as well as targeted interventions for cannabis related psychosis.

13 May 2026

New fMRI neurofeedback study trains the brain to reduce depressive rumination

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is far from a cookie-cutter diagnosis. Different patients report suffering from different subsets of symptoms, yet most are ultimately prescribed the same first-line treatments - typically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)- regardless of their individual experience.

13 May 2026

Penn researchers develop ApexGO to enhance promising antibiotic candidates

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed ApexGO, a novel, AI-powered method for turning promising but imperfect antibiotic candidates into more potent ones.

13 May 2026

Faster biological aging linked to higher dementia risk

Having a biological age older than chronological age is associated with a greater likelihood of developing dementia, a new study has shown.

13 May 2026

Missing dementia patients face serious harm risks, study finds

One in 10 times that a person with dementia goes missing results in serious harm, finds a new UCL-led analysis of police data on missing people incidents involving older adults in the UK.

13 May 2026

Cannabis and tobacco co-use may increase psychosis risk

A new multisite study published in Nature Mental Health found that using cannabis and tobacco together increases the risk of developing psychotic disorders like schizophrenia among those considered high risk.

12 May 2026

Researchers map the brain histamine system to understand mental health

New research, from King's College London and the University of Porto, has mapped the histamine system in the brain. Histamine, a molecule more commonly associated with allergies, plays a separate but poorly understood role in brain function.

12 May 2026

Physician mothers return to work sooner than many Canadian parents, study finds

Ontario physicians increased their workload in the first two trimesters of pregnancy, suggesting many may frontload clinical work before parental leave. Parental leave varied widely by specialty, with surgeons returning earliest and psychiatrists returning latest, highlighting persistent inequities in how medical practice supports childbearing physicians.

11 May 2026

Study links metabolic dysfunction to cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder

While they share similar depressive and cognitive symptoms, the biological underpinnings of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder are distinct.

11 May 2026

Ibasho concept offers a community-led approach to disaster psychiatry

As disasters increasingly disrupt lives through displacement, conflict, and climate-related emergencies, addressing long-term mental health recovery remains a major challenge.

11 May 2026

What drives adult ADHD symptoms? Study points to executive function over environment

Adults diagnosed with ADHD later in life had fewer childhood symptoms than those diagnosed in childhood, but both groups showed similar symptom severity in adulthood. Executive function, rather than childhood trauma, resilience, or parental bonding, was the strongest correlate of current ADHD symptoms across both diagnostic-history groups.

10 May 2026

A brain-based approach may improve smoking cessation treatment success

For many people who smoke, quitting is not just a matter of willpower. It is a tug-of-war in the brain – between the pull of reward and the ability to resist.

8 May 2026

Clinicians find evolutionary explanations for anxiety more helpful than genetics

Mental health clinicians are over five times more likely to see evolutionary explanations of anxiety as helpful for their patients, rather than the genetic approaches currently taught to trainee doctors and psychiatrists in the UK and US, a new study shows.

8 May 2026

Study warns of rising severe malaria risk due to testing delays

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), in collaboration with colleagues across the country, found that more than one in four pediatric patients treated for malaria in the United States had a delay in their initial diagnosis, increasing the risk of more severe infection.

8 May 2026

Child abuse linked to disrupted biological development and body regulation

Children who experienced abuse or neglect displayed disrupted development and decreased ability to maintain stable function of internal bodily systems, according to a new study led by researchers in the Penn State Department of Biobehavioral Health.

8 May 2026