Psychiatry News and Research

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

Experts highlight need for change in neuroscience training

Call them the Brain Generation -- the tens of thousands of college and graduate students working toward degrees in neuroscience, and the high school students who want to join them someday.

6 Jun 2016

Children with ADHD experience difficulties in adapting behaviour to given situations

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often display behaviours that are inappropriate for the situation in which they are in. They might move around in the classroom during a lesson, or talk non-stop and interrupt others' conversations.

4 Jun 2016

Luteal phase of menstrual cycle may help thwart smoking behavior in women

Women who want to quit smoking may have better success by carefully timing their quit date with optimal days within their menstrual cycle, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

1 Jun 2016

Altered circadian somatostatin expression linked to bipolar disorder

Results of the first study of its kind to link abnormalities in circadian rhythms to changes in specific neurotransmitters in people with bipolar disorder will be published this week in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

1 Jun 2016

Majority youths with autism or intellectual disability receive antipsychotics, study finds

About one in ten youths treated with an antipsychotic are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability. Conversely, one in six youths diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has been prescribed antipsychotics.

31 May 2016

Study finds decreased habenula activity in people with depression

A region of the brain that responds to bad experiences has the opposite reaction to expectations of aversive events in people with depression compared to healthy adults, finds a new UCL study funded by the Medical Research Council.

31 May 2016

New experimental drug may prevent stress damage in the brain

Chronic stress can make us worn-out, anxious, depressed--in fact, it can change the architecture of the brain.

31 May 2016

Early exposure to nicotine can affect formation of connections between brain cells long after birth

Early exposure to nicotine can trigger widespread genetic changes that affect formation of connections between brain cells long after birth, a new Yale-led study has found. The finding helps explains why maternal smoking has been linked to behavioral changes such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, addiction and conduct disorder.

30 May 2016

Overcoming barriers in autism research: an interview with Gahan Pandina

There are currently no medications which address the core symptoms of ASD, and a significant barrier to their development is that researchers have historically lacked effective methods for measuring clinical outcomes.

30 May 2016

Imaging data shows brains may have capacity to reverse schizophrenia effects

A team of scientists from across the globe have shown that the brains of patients with schizophrenia have the capacity to reorganize and fight the illness. This is the first time that imaging data has been used to show that our brains may have the ability to reverse the effects of schizophrenia.

28 May 2016

Researcher explores whether DBS can help improve life of bipolar disorder patients

Jennifer Sweet, MD, a neurosurgeon at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, recently opened a clinical research study to learn if there is a structural target in the brain for patients suffering from bipolar disorder and whether deep brain stimulation (DBS) can bring them relief.

27 May 2016

Care-related infection measurements not followed up in hospitals, study finds

Suffering from an infection during a hospital stay is a common care-related injury. To prevent spreading and to work preventively, all hospitals measure the occurrence of care-related infections.

25 May 2016

PET imaging with PiB may help in early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

The effort to find ways to detect and diagnose preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) has taken a big step forward with the use of positron emission tomography (PET), a "nuclear medicine" for imaging processes in the body, when PET is used with a special 'tracer' that binds to the amyloid plaques in the brain that are a characteristic cause of AD.

25 May 2016

Study finds gap in screening for lipid abnormalities among adults taking antipsychotic medications

Too few adults taking antipsychotic medications are being screened for abnormalities in lipids, which include cholesterol and triglycerides, new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus finds.

25 May 2016

Study highlights need of better diagnostic criteria for people suffering from debilitating grief

To better identify and diagnose those suffering from debilitating grief after the death of a loved one, proposed diagnostic criteria need significant modifications, according to research published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry - the first study of its kind to study the performance of newly proposed criteria.

25 May 2016

Depressive symptoms may affect fertility of women

Women with severe depressive symptoms have a decreased chance of becoming pregnant, while the use of psychotropic medications does not appear to harm fertility, a study by researchers from the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine shows.

25 May 2016

Marijuana use among teens declines despite widespread legalization

A survey of more than 216,000 adolescents from all 50 states indicates the number of teens with marijuana-related problems is declining. Similarly, the rates of marijuana use by young people are falling despite the fact more U.S. states are legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana use and the number of adults using the drug has increased.

25 May 2016

ANK3 and other genes may play key role in affecting mood, stress and longevity

The visible impacts of depression and stress that can be seen in a person's face -- and contribute to shorter lives -- can also be found in alterations in genetic activity, according to newly published research.

24 May 2016

Existing MCI screening tools result in more than 7% false-negative error rate, study finds

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a slight but noticeable and measurable decline in cognitive abilities, such as remembering names or a list of items. While changes may not be severe enough to disrupt daily life, a clinical diagnosis of MCI indicates an increased risk of eventually developing Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia.

24 May 2016

Researchers find genetic mutations linked to increased risk factor for PTSD

In the largest study of DNA samples from service members with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), researchers have identified genetic mutations that may be associated with an increased risk factor for PTSD.

24 May 2016