Psychosis News and Research

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Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality". People suffering from psychosis are said to be ''psychotic.''

Using cannabis to self medicate linked to higher risk of paranoia

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, in partnership with the University of Bath, has found that the reasons why a person chooses to use cannabis can increase their risk of developing paranoia.

27 Aug 2025

Mitochondrial dysfunction in the blood-brain barrier may contribute to neuropsychiatric disease in 22qDS

In a new study led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), researchers found that mitochondrial dysfunction in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) may lead to neuropsychiatric disease in some patients with 22qDS.

20 Aug 2025

Patients recall inadequate disclosure of electroconvulsive therapy risks

The medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are being exaggerated while the risks are being downplayed, suggest the findings of a survey on the type of information patients and their relatives/friends recall having been given before the procedure, and published online in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

17 Aug 2025

Flu virus triggers neuropsychiatric symptoms not the medication

For decades, medical professionals debated whether a common antiviral medication used to treat flu in children caused neuropsychiatric events or if the infection itself was the culprit.

4 Aug 2025

Mapping the brain’s serotonin switch could lead to better antidepressants

In a discovery that could guide the development of next-generation antidepressants and antipsychotic medications, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed new insights into how a critical brain receptor works at the molecular level and why that matters for mental health treatments.

1 Aug 2025

Mexican neuroscientist's journey from exile to schizophrenia research breakthroughs

In a revealing Genomic Press Interview published today in Brain Medicine, Dr. Camilo de la Fuente-Sandoval shares how personal history and scientific passion converged to create groundbreaking advances in schizophrenia treatment prediction.

29 Jul 2025

New insights into social factors shaping mental health outcomes

Mental illnesses are thought to be caused by both biological and environmental factors in complex interaction.

22 Jul 2025

Study reveals a connection between grip strength, well-being and the brain's default mode network

A study published June 25 in the American Journal of Psychiatry provides new insights into a long-standing question in psychiatric research: What is the underlying neurobiological mechanism of psychomotor disturbance in psychiatric disorders?

8 Jul 2025

Virtual Reality therapy works very well for people with psychosis

Treatment with Virtual Reality appears to work very well for people with psychosis. It works faster than the current treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy and is at least as effective.

7 Jul 2025

Synthetic opioids and designer benzodiazepines linked to driving impairment

No-one could claim to be unaware of the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID): drugs can increase the time needed to react, impair coordination, alertness, and cognition, and lower inhibitions, thus encouraging reckless and aggressive driving.

25 Jun 2025

Grip strength offers new clues to early psychosis

Psychosis often begins not with characteristic disturbances of the mind – delusions like paranoia or hallucinations – but with disturbances in the way we move our body.

25 Jun 2025

Weight loss drug semaglutide proven safe and effective for people with schizophrenia

Diabetic weight loss medications are effective for people with schizophrenia without affecting psychotic symptoms, University of Queensland researchers have found.

10 Jun 2025

Structural racism and social defeat may drive psychosis in marginalized youth

Prevailing theories about why young people experience psychotic breaks at a young age rely on individual factors like exposure to child abuse, school bullying, or drugs.

30 May 2025

Genetic variations in Prader-Willi syndrome offer key insights into autism and psychosis

In a comprehensive Genomic Press Invited Expert Review, researchers from the University of Haifa have synthesized cutting-edge findings on Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), revealing how this complex neurodevelopmental disorder serves as a critical model for understanding the interplay between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and psychotic spectrum disorders (PSD).

20 May 2025

Medicaid payments barely keep hospital mental health units afloat. Federal cuts could sink them.

This town's hospital is a holdout on behalf of people going through mental health crises. The facility's leaders have pledged not to shutter their inpatient psychiatric unit, as dozens of other U.S. hospitals have.

12 May 2025

Adolescents with mental health conditions show different social media habits

Young people with a diagnosable mental health condition report differences in their experiences of social media compared to those without a condition, including greater dissatisfaction with online friend counts and more time spent on social media sites.

6 May 2025

Discovery sheds light on protein's role in myelin formation and schizophrenia

Research published in the Journal of Neurochemistry has detailed the role of a protein, hnRNP A1, in the formation and stability of myelin, suggesting an important impact on neurodegenerative diseases and mental disorders such as multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia.

17 Apr 2025

UQ's new research center aims to improve lives of people living with pain

One of the world's foremost pain experts has highlighted the risks of bypassing established processes for assessing the safety and effectiveness of medicines at the launch of a research center at the University of Queensland.

10 Apr 2025

Cannabis users have elevated dopamine levels associated with psychosis

A McGill University-led study found that people with cannabis use disorder (CUD) had elevated dopamine levels in a brain region associated with psychosis.

9 Apr 2025

Genetic breakthrough in psychiatry using long-read genomic sequencing

In a manuscript published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry titled Long-Read Genome Sequencing in Clinical Psychiatry: RFX3 Haploinsufficiency in a Hospitalized Adolescent With Autism, Intellectual Disability, and Behavioral Decompensation, authors describe how they leveraged long-read genomic sequencing (LRS) to make a genetic diagnosis in a17-year-old male with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and acute behavioral decompensation that would not have been possible by standard methods.

9 Apr 2025