Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

New $26.9 million project aims to create better psychiatric drugs without side effects

Rapidly acting drugs to treat depression, anxiety, or substance abuse without side effects do not exist. Researchers led by Bryan L. Roth, MD, PhD, the Michael Hooker Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology at the UNC School of Medicine, are trying to change that.

16 Jun 2020

Depression linked with increased risk of heart disease, study finds

A new study co-led by Simon Fraser University health sciences professor Scott Lear provides further evidence of the link between depressive symptoms and an increased risk of heart disease and early death.

16 Jun 2020

Yale researchers discover the cause for sudden onset of OCD in children

Yale scientists may have found a cause for the sudden onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in some children, they report.

16 Jun 2020

Study: Gender dysphoria can persist for years before patients undergo treatment

Gender dysphoria manifests early in childhood and can persist for years before patients undergo counseling and treatment, a Cedars-Sinai study has found.

16 Jun 2020

Health experts link rise in Arizona COVID cases to end of stay-at-home order

With new daily coronavirus cases rising in at least two dozen states, an explosion of new infections in Arizona is stretching some hospitals and alarming public health experts who link the surge in cases to the state’s lifting of a stay-at-home order a month ago.

16 Jun 2020

Oxytocin study may help treat a variety of psychiatric conditions

During the pandemic lockdown, as couples have been forced to spend days and weeks in one another's company, some have found their love renewed while others are on their way to divorce court.

16 Jun 2020

Survey: Low income Vermonters have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19

High percentages of Vermonters agree with the social distancing measures put in place by the state in response to the coronavirus pandemic and have complied with them, according to a new survey.

16 Jun 2020

Study delves into causes of post-trauma nightmare occurrences

It's been estimated that up to 88% of survivors of rape or molestation suffer from persistent nightmares that can occur multiple times per week, seemingly at random.

15 Jun 2020

Irregular circadian rhythm in older adults associated with increased risk of Parkinson's disease

Older men who have a weak or irregular circadian rhythm guiding their daily cycles of rest and activity are more likely to later develop Parkinson's disease, according to a new study by scientists at the UC San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences who analyzed 11 years of data for nearly 3,000 independently living older men.

15 Jun 2020

Researchers examine how neurons represent the direction of a moving object during self-motion

Our brains use various reference frames--also known as coordinate systems--to represent the motion of objects in a scene.

15 Jun 2020

Vegetarians have lower BMI and are less extroverted than meat-eating people

According to a survey by the Allensbach Institute, more than 6.1 million Germans stated last year that they were vegetarians, 400,000 more than two years earlier.

15 Jun 2020

Common cholesterol-lowering drug linked to improvement in gut microbiota

There is a clear link between improved gut microbiota and one of our most common cholesterol-lowering drug groups: statins.

15 Jun 2020

Novel intervention for stress shows positive results in pilot study

A new treatment for stress which combines mindfulness with hypnotherapy has shown positive results in a Baylor University pilot study.

15 Jun 2020

New study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on sleep

An international group of researchers led by Professor Colin Espie from the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford is investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep and daily rhythms in adults.

15 Jun 2020

Earlier treatment of maternal depression can improve outcomes for the child

The children of mothers with long-term depression have been found to be at higher risk of behavioural problems and poor development.

15 Jun 2020

University students have high levels of food insecurity due to COVID-19 pandemic

Four out of ten university students have reported they are worried that they will run out of food as they deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report.

12 Jun 2020

School initiatives can help children in social care perform better

Children in social care have poorer mental health and perform worse in school than other children. But they have trust in the school staff and perform better after individual assessment at school.

12 Jun 2020

COVID-19 batters a beloved Bay Area community health care center

A small band of volunteers started the Marin City Health and Wellness Center nearly two decades ago with a doctor and a retired social worker making house calls in public housing high-rises.

12 Jun 2020

Online intervention benefits children with severe behavioral problems

A real-world trial has tested the effectiveness – and revealed the challenges – of adapting behavioral therapy to the online world.

12 Jun 2020

Researchers examine parental history of suicidal behavior in young children

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for persons ages 10-24. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), youth suicide rates have nearly tripled from 2007 to 2017.

12 Jun 2020