Psychiatry News and Research

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

Can metabolic biomarkers help distinguish between depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder?

Researchers identify metabolomic biomarkers from dried blood spots that can distinguish between depressive episodes in major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. The study enhances diagnostic accuracy, particularly when traditional psychiatric assessments are inconclusive.

26 Oct 2023

Researchers receive $1.5 million grant to develop VR assessment system for TBI

One of the most common injuries sustained by military personnel in recent conflicts has been traumatic brain injury, or TBI.

26 Oct 2023

Discovery of protein interaction could lead to new schizophrenia treatments

The discovery of a physical interaction between two proteins in brain cells that can be traced in mice to control of movement, anxiety and memory could one day open the door to development of new schizophrenia treatment strategies, researchers say.

26 Oct 2023

Zoom conversations suppress brain activity, Yale study finds

When Yale neuroscientist Joy Hirsch used sophisticated imaging tools to track in real time the brain activity of two people engaged in conversation, she discovered an intricate choreography of neural activity in areas of the brain that govern social interactions.

25 Oct 2023

Children with genetic predisposition to ASD and ADHD more likely to have longer screen time

A team led by Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan has investigated screen time in autistic (ASD) and ADHD children. Screen time refers to the amount of time a person spends on a device with a screen, such as a smartphone, computer, television, or video game system.

25 Oct 2023

Study challenges link between low birth weight and childhood neurodevelopmental issues

A recent study in JAMA Psychiatry used Mendelian Randomization to examine the link between low birth weight and neurodevelopmental issues in children. The research found no causal relationship between maternal genetic factors affecting birth weight and offspring neurodevelopment, although some evidence suggested that fetal genetic variants may play a limited role.

25 Oct 2023

Study sheds light on how cocaine addiction alters brain's reward system

Rutgers researchers have used neuroimaging to demonstrate that cocaine addiction alters the brain's system for evaluating how rewarding various outcomes associated with our decisions will feel.

25 Oct 2023

Study shows high prevalence of thyroid cancer among transgender female veterans

A new study by UC Davis Health endocrinology researchers has shown a high prevalence of thyroid cancer among transgender female veterans.

25 Oct 2023

Marijuana's psychoactive compound may alter brain wiring in adolescents

In a mouse study designed to explore the impact of marijuana's major psychoactive compound, THC, on teenage brains, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they found changes to the structure of microglia, which are specialized brain immune cells, that may worsen a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia.

25 Oct 2023

COVID-19 mortality risk higher for people with severe mental illness, study shows

New research from King's College London has found that in the UK people with severe mental illness were at increased risk of death from all causes following COVID-19 infection compared to those without severe mental illness.

25 Oct 2023

Tai Chi shows long-term benefits for people with Parkinson's

Tai Chi, the Chinese martial art that involves sequences of very slow controlled movements, may curb the symptoms and complications of Parkinson's disease for several years, reveals research, published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

25 Oct 2023

AI tool effectively detects distress in hospital workers' conversations

An artificial intelligence tool effectively detected distress in hospital workers' conversations with their therapists early in the pandemic, a new study shows, suggesting a potential new technology that screens for depression and anxiety.

24 Oct 2023

New insights into the molecular basis of schizophrenia during early brain development

Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disease that remains poorly understood and treated.

24 Oct 2023

New method provides valuable insights into the brain's noradrenaline system

An international team of researchers has provided valuable insights into the brain's noradrenaline (NA) system, which has been a longtime target for medications to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety.

24 Oct 2023

Heated yoga sessions linked to greater reductions in depressive symptoms

In a randomized controlled clinical trial of adults with moderate-to-severe depression, those who participated in heated yoga sessions experienced significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms compared with a control group.

24 Oct 2023

Can your sleep predict depression? Insights from a genetic study

Researchers conducted a prospective study using a population-based cohort to calculate polygenic scores and understand whether suboptimal sleep durations indicated a predisposition to depression and vice versa.

24 Oct 2023

Decoding schizophrenia: insights and impacts from genetic discoveries

A recent study in Molecular Psychiatry delves into the genetic architecture of schizophrenia, uncovering insights into common and rare genetic variants, treatment resistance, and the evolutionary paradox of the disorder. This research highlights the complex nature of schizophrenia and the need for a transdiagnostic approach to psychiatric research.

22 Oct 2023

School discipline events linked to drop in GPA for Black and Latinx children

Being suspended from school or sent to the office is tied to a big drop in grade point average (GPA), especially for Black and Latinx children, according to UC San Francisco researchers.

20 Oct 2023

Pupil size may predict response to TMS treatment for depression

New findings from researchers at UCLA Health suggest that measuring changes in how pupils react to light could help predict recovery from depression and personalize transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment of major depressive disorder.

20 Oct 2023

Clinical study evaluates safety and efficacy of methylone in patients with severe PTSD

Clerkenwell Health, the modern mental health company specializing in matching patients with cutting-edge psychiatry treatments, today announced that it is taking part in Transcend Therapeutics’ Phase 2 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of methylone in patients with severe PTSD.

20 Oct 2023