Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Wearable tracking device achieves higher accuracy in position tracking using thermal sensors

In a new study published in npj Digital Medicine, a team led by Child Mind Institute researchers report that a wearable tracking device they developed achieves higher accuracy in position tracking using thermal sensors in addition to inertial measurement and proximity sensors.

15 Mar 2019

Students with disabilities call college admissions cheating ‘big slap in the face’

For Savannah Treviño-Casias, this week's news about the college admissions cheating scandal was galling, considering how much red tape the Arizona State University senior went through to get disability accommodations when she took the SAT.

14 Mar 2019

Columbia researchers explore molecular mechanisms of treatment-resistant depression

Major depressive disorder is a debilitating illness that affects more than 350 million people around the world.

14 Mar 2019

Blunting emotional component associated with pain

Chronic pain involves more than just hurting. People suffering from pain often experience sadness, depression and lethargy. That's one reason opioids can be so addictive -- they not only dampen the pain but also make people feel euphoric.

13 Mar 2019

Study sheds light on brain function associated with anhedonia

Researchers have identified changes in brain connectivity and brain activity during rest and reward anticipation in children with anhedonia, a condition where people lose interest and pleasure in activities they used to enjoy.

13 Mar 2019

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

Vast majority of children with autism have difficulties that require therapeutic, educational support

Research in the past several years has shown that children can outgrow a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, once considered a lifelong condition.

12 Mar 2019

Single working mothers are being blamed for childhood obesity

Single working mothers are to blame for the childhood obesity epidemic in the UK, according to a new scientific study.

12 Mar 2019

NHS England’s four-hour A&E targets likely to be scrapped

NHS England's four-hour A&E targets are likely to be scrapped in favor of new “rapid care measures” which will ensure patients with the most urgent needs are seen quickly.

12 Mar 2019

Resources must be provided for government’s new rapid care measures to be a success, BMA says

The BMA has consistently believed that arbitrary targets can result in unintended impacts on patient care, especially when they are linked to funding.

12 Mar 2019

The app that warns you about snacks you can’t add to your shopping cart

Researchers have developed an app that scans the barcodes of food items in the supermarket and warns you if it is not suitable for your body, based on your DNA.

12 Mar 2019

New practical guide for health professionals to support emotional needs of adults with diabetes

Diabetes UK has launched a new resource to help healthcare professionals to support the emotional needs of adults with diabetes.

12 Mar 2019

Mushroom consumption may reduce odds of having mild cognitive impairment

A team from the Department of Psychological Medicine and Department of Biochemistry at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore has found that seniors who consume more than two standard portions of mushrooms weekly may have 50 per cent reduced odds of having mild cognitive impairment.

12 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

UNH study finds how gender-biased protein may play role in autism

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire are one step closer to helping answer the question of why autism is four times more common in boys than in girls after identifying and characterizing the connection of certain proteins in the brain to autism spectrum disorders.

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

Fear of psychiatric hospitalization prevents men from talking about suicide

Fear of psychiatric hospitalization is one of the primary reasons that older men -- an age and gender group at high risk for suicide -- don't talk about suicide with their physicians.

12 Mar 2019

Managing nontraditional risk factors to improve outcomes after cancer surgery

In a study of 142 patients preparing for cancer surgery, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have evidence that psychological or social risk factors such as depression, limited resilience and lack of emergency resources along with standard medical risk factors such as high blood pressure or diabetes are linked with higher risks of surgical complications.

12 Mar 2019

Mental health of students could be improved by introducing mindfulness training

Mental health amongst university students could be improved by introducing mindfulness training. These are the findings from the first UK study, published in Education Research International, to measure the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on students.

11 Mar 2019