Psychiatry News and Research

RSS

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

Neurobiology of functional neurological disorder revealed using brain scans

An investigation led by a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Radiology has found altered connectivity among brain regions that handle sensorimotor, emotional and cognitive signaling in patients with functional neurological disorder, a common condition involving neurologic symptoms that have no readily apparent physical cause.

13 Mar 2019

Fear center in the brain provides protection against body perception disorders

If functionality of the brain's amygdala is impaired, illusory perceptions arise much faster and more pronounced.

13 Mar 2019

Experts issue new guidelines for use of genetic testing in psychiatric care

An expert committee of psychiatrists and geneticists has issued revised guidelines for the use of genetic testing in psychiatric care.

12 Mar 2019

Adolescent binge drinking may raise risk for anxiety later in life

A growing body of evidence supports the idea that alcohol exposure early in life has lasting effects on the brain and increases the risk of psychological problems in adulthood.

12 Mar 2019

Brain stimulation reduces depression symptoms, shows study

With a weak alternating electrical current sent through electrodes attached to the scalp, UNC School of Medicine researchers successfully targeted a naturally occurring electrical pattern in a specific part of the brain and markedly improved depression symptoms in about 70 percent of participants in a clinical study.

12 Mar 2019

Loyola expert recommends powering down smart phones to get a good night's sleep

To get a good night's sleep, turn off your smartphone at least 30 minutes before going to bed, says Loyola Medicine sleep specialist Sunita Kumar, MD, in recognition of Sleep Awareness Week, March 11 – 17.

11 Mar 2019

Review of research evidence suggests increased suicide rates in high-altitude areas

High-altitude areas - particularly the US intermountain states - have increased rates of suicide and depression, suggests a review of research evidence in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

11 Mar 2019

Study suggests two deep brain stimulation sites that are effective for treating OCD

Deep brain stimulation reduces symptoms of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder during stimulation of either the ventral capsule or anteromedial subthalamic nucleus, according to a study in Biological Psychiatry.

8 Mar 2019

Mother's treatment for infection during pregnancy increases child's risk for autism and depression

Risks for autism and depression are higher if one's mother was in hospital with an infection during pregnancy. This is shown by a major Swedish observational study of nearly 1.8 million children.

8 Mar 2019

Esketamine nasal spray approved for management of treatment-resistant depression

The United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) have approved for sale a new nasal spray containing Esketamine for the management of treatment-resistant depression.

6 Mar 2019

Cocoa can benefit patients with multiple sclerosis

A new study has shown that drinking hot chocolate daily could help to reduce fatigue and tiredness among people suffering from MS (multiple sclerosis). The results of this new study were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

6 Mar 2019

Daily cup of cocoa may reduce tiredness in multiple sclerosis

A new study has shown that drinking a cup of flavonoid-enriched cocoa each day could help to reduce fatigue in people suffering from multiple sclerosis.

5 Mar 2019

Menstrual cycle may influence addiction risk in women, suggests study

Menstrual cycle may influence addiction risk in women, according to a new study in Biological Psychiatry by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and University of Maryland School of Medicine.

5 Mar 2019

Tactile and proprioceptive stimulation improves effects of perinatal brain injuries in mice

A research conducted by the INc-UAB shows that the same perinatal brain injury caused by hypoxia and ischemia have differentiated effects on each gender, but can be improved through tactile and proprioceptive stimuli.

5 Mar 2019

Young adults at risk of addiction show differences in important brain region

Young adults at risk of developing problems with addiction show key differences in an important region of the brain, according to an international team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge.

5 Mar 2019

Virtual support for managing stress works just as well as social support from a real person

If people facing an acute stress situation receive social support from a "human" avatar, behind which there is (or is at least perceived to be) a real person, this works just as well as social support from a real person.

4 Mar 2019

Groundbreaking study examines changes in emotion sensitivity across the lifespan

Why do we become more positive as we grow older? Why are adolescents so sensitive to negative social cues?

4 Mar 2019

Many genes contribute to risk for Tourette's syndrome, genetic study shows

A meta-analysis of multiple studies into the genetic background of Tourette's syndrome (TS) - a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by chronic involuntary motor and vocal tics - finds that variants in hundreds of genes, working in combination, contribute to the development of the syndrome and suggests that Tourette's is part of a continuous spectrum of tic disorders, ranging from mild, sometimes transient tics to severe cases that can include psychiatric symptoms.

1 Mar 2019

Pesticides, other environmental pollutants advance progression of ALS

While exact causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remain unknown, new research shows pesticides and other environmental pollutants advance the progression of the neurodegenerative disease.

28 Feb 2019

Prenatal vitamins may reduce the risk of autism in high-risk families

Researchers have found that mothers of children with autism may be able to reduce the risk of autism in further offspring by taking prenatal vitamins.

28 Feb 2019