Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

USC-led study finds link between anxiety and dementia

People who experienced high anxiety any time in their lives had a 48 percent higher risk of developing dementia compared to those who had not, according to a new study led by USC researchers.

20 Dec 2015

Teens with moderate mental health problems vape e-cigarettes

Teenagers with moderate mental health problems who may not have considered smoking conventional cigarettes are turning to electronic cigarettes, a new USC study has found.

20 Dec 2015

FDA approves Fenix Continence Restoration System to treat fecal incontinence

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the Fenix Continence Restoration System to treat fecal incontinence in patients who are not candidates for, or have previously failed, medical or other surgical options.

20 Dec 2015

UCLA study may help resolve a neurological mystery

UCLA researchers have found that space-mapping neurons - the GPS system in the brain - have a strong dependence on what is being looked at when triangulating location, a finding that resolves a neurological mystery that has vexed scientists for more than four decades.

18 Dec 2015

Patient's mental health prior to radical cystectomy can influence postoperative outcomes

A patient's mental health prior to surgery can influence postoperative outcomes. Removal of the bladder, or radical cystectomy (RC), is an effective treatment for locally advanced bladder cancer, but complications occur in as many as 66% of patients.

18 Dec 2015

Central thalamus tunes the brain to different states of activity and arousal

Scientists showed that they could alter brain activity of rats and either wake them up or put them in an unconscious state by changing the firing rates of neurons in the central thalamus, a region known to regulate arousal.

18 Dec 2015

Ketogenic diet may be effective in treating schizophrenia

Research by James Cook University scientists has found a diet favoured by body-builders may be effective in treating schizophrenia.

17 Dec 2015

UA developing brain-scanning technology that could improve diagnosis of many disorders

Researchers at the University of Arizona are developing a noninvasive brain-scanning technology that could produce images far superior to those obtained with the most commonly used systems -- electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

17 Dec 2015

Feeling sad can alter levels of inflammatory proteins linked to increased risk of comorbid diseases

Feeling sad can alter levels of stress-related opioids in the brain and increase levels of inflammatory proteins in the blood that are linked to increased risk of comorbid diseases including heart disease, stroke and metabolic syndrome, according to a study by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

17 Dec 2015

Study: Weight loss due to dietary changes can improve sleep at any body weight

Weight loss due to dietary changes can improve sleepiness at any weight, says a study published by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania this month in the journal Sleep. The findings offer new insights into how weight fluctuations impact numerous aspects of sleep independent of body weight.

17 Dec 2015

Study examines whether pregnant woman can take antidepressants during pregnancy

Should a pregnant woman stop taking antidepressants during her pregnancy? The Journal of the American Medical Association has published a study showing the risk of autism doubles (from 1% to 2%) for children of women who use antidepressants, like Zoloft and Prozac. Max Wiznitzer, MD, pediatric neurologist at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, stresses, even if the study proves correct, the vast majority of babies exposed to antidepressants in the second and third trimesters will not develop autism.

17 Dec 2015

Salk researchers move one step closer to unlocking how the brain functions

How the brain functions is still a black box: scientists aren't even sure how many kinds of nerve cells exist in the brain. To know how the brain works, they need to know not only what types of nerve cells exist, but also how they work together. Researchers at the Salk Institute have gotten one step closer to unlocking this black box.

17 Dec 2015

Understanding how thought arises from brain structure

Using 20 years of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from tens of thousands of brain imaging experiments, computational neuroscientists Hava Siegelmann and a postdoctoral colleague at the University of Massachusetts have created a geometry-based method for massive data analysis to reach a new understanding of how thought arises from brain structure.

17 Dec 2015

Rutgers study explores early abuse experiences of LGBT migrants

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) migrants who obtained refuge or asylum in the U.S. or Canada on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity report extensive recollections of abuse by parents and caregivers, peers and school personnel, according to a new Rutgers study.

17 Dec 2015

Clinical depression during early childhood can change the brain's anatomy

The brains of children who suffer clinical depression as preschoolers develop abnormally, compared with the brains of preschoolers unaffected by the disorder, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

17 Dec 2015

Drug use remains stable among teens, MTF survey shows

The 2015 Monitoring the Future survey (MTF) shows decreasing use of a number of substances, including cigarettes, alcohol, prescription opioid pain relievers, and synthetic cannabinoids ("synthetic marijuana"). Other drug use remains stable, including marijuana, with continued high rates of daily use reported among 12th graders, and ongoing declines in perception of its harms.

17 Dec 2015

Researcher presents quantitative model of electrical cascades activated in the brain during perceptual tasks

The word 'avalanche' is generally associated with violent and unexpected events -- such as rockslides, or the sudden collapse of unstable drifts of snow. But in brain research, avalanches -- intermittent cascades of electrical activity -- are everyday occurrences that are not only peaceful, but actually reflect stability.

17 Dec 2015

Acupuncture may be safe, effective treatment for chronic pain in pediatric patients

It is upsetting to see anyone in pain, but it's especially heartbreaking to watch a child endure chronic pain. In addition to the suffering itself, chronic pain can cause traumatic effects on a child's quality of life, and it can have significant physical, psychological and social consequences. Making matters worse, chronic pain greatly can affect the child's parents or caregivers by causing feelings of helplessness and inadequacy.

16 Dec 2015

Children from low income environments experience higher risk of neurological impairment

Children from low income environments appear to have a higher risk of neurological impairment than those from more economically secure circumstances, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. This neurological impairment appears to be distinct from the risk of cognitive and emotional delays known to accompany early-life poverty.

16 Dec 2015

Teens separated from fathers more likely to experience depressive symptoms

Family breakdown and the insecure financial situation that may result is more likely to cause worry, anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescents who are separated from their father, says Professor Jennifer O'Loughlin of the University of Montreal. However, these symptoms can disappear in the nine-month period following the separation. O'Loughlin came to these conclusions after conducting a study that was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

16 Dec 2015