Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Conversion from psychotic depression to bipolar disorder explored

Danish researchers have identified a range of characteristics in people with psychotic depression that predict an increased risk for conversion to bipolar disorder.

21 Nov 2013

Study reveals benefits of bright light in treating anxiety

The bright light headset maker Valkee today announced the results of a new groundbreaking bright light study, showing statistically significant positive results in acutely alleviating anxiety symptoms. The world's first randomized, fully sham-controlled double blind trial of bright light treatment administered via ear canals brings sought-after new data to support the bright light studies carried out internationally since the 1980s.

21 Nov 2013

Vagus nerve stimulation-tone therapy safe for treating tinnitus, say UT Dallas researchers

UT Dallas researchers have demonstrated that treating tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, using vagus nerve stimulation-tone therapy is safe and brought significant improvement to some of the participants in a small clinical trial.

21 Nov 2013

Cedars-Sinai study presents new insights into mechanisms underlying the symptoms of autism

In what are believed to be the first studies of their kind, Cedars-Sinai researchers recording the real-time firing of individual nerve cells in the brain found that a specific type of neuron in a structure called the amygdala performed differently in people who suffer from autism spectrum disorder than in those who do not.

21 Nov 2013

Study: Connections in the brain become stronger during sleep as children age

While young children sleep, connections between the left and the right hemispheres of their brain strengthen, which may help brain functions mature, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder.

21 Nov 2013

Released prisoners with schizophrenia three times more likely to be violent than other prisoners

New research from Queen Mary University of London shows released prisoners with schizophrenia are three times more likely to be violent than other prisoners, but only if they receive no treatment or follow-up support from mental health services.

21 Nov 2013

Women under 50 more likely to experience mental stress-induced ischemia

Researchers have found that women younger than 50 with a recent heart attack are more likely to experience restricted blood flow to the heart (myocardial ischemia) in response to psychological stress.

21 Nov 2013

Childhood social functioning predicts schizophrenia risk

Poor social functioning in childhood predicts an increased risk for schizophrenia later in life, suggest researchers.

20 Nov 2013

Cognition and illness course predict bipolar employment

Patients with bipolar disorder are more likely to be successfully employed if they have good cognitive function and a more benign course of illness, suggest findings from a meta-analysis.

20 Nov 2013

Study compares prevalence, impact of chronic pain amongst different ethnic groups in Tower Hamlets

A new study in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, funded by medical research charity Arthritis Research UK, may help improve GPs’ understanding of chronic musculoskeletal pain amongst different ethnic groups and develop better strategies for self-management as a result

20 Nov 2013

Enhancing the NMDA glutamate receptor causes antidepressant-like effects

Thirteen years ago, an article in this journal first reported that the anesthetic medication, ketamine, showed evidence of producing rapid antidepressant effects in depressed patients who had not responded to prior treatments. Ketamine works by blocking one of the targets for the neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain, the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor.

20 Nov 2013

State highlights: Calif. fines three insurers for denying therapy; Colo.'s Denver Health to shed jobs; Ambulance Co. agrees to pay feds $3M over fraud allegations

California officials said three of the state's largest health insurers illegally denied speech and occupational therapy to patients, and regulators fined one of the companies, Health Net Inc., $300,000 for repeated violations. The state Department of Managed Health Care said Monday that it ordered Health Net, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California to stop denying medically necessary therapy in cases of developmental disabilities, autism and other medical conditions.

20 Nov 2013

Connectivity, size of brain can predict degree of anxiety in young children

Prolonged stress and anxiety during childhood is a risk factor for developing anxiety disorders and depression later in life. Now, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown that by measuring the size and connectivity of a part of the brain associated with processing emotion - the amygdala - they can predict the degree of anxiety a young child is experiencing in daily life.

20 Nov 2013

Teens who experience deployment of parent in military are more likely to be depressed

It is widely known that deployment is stressful for military families, including their children. A new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health finds that teens from military families are more likely to feel sad or hopeless, have thoughts about suicide and symptoms of depression than teens of civilian families.

20 Nov 2013

Non-specialist health workers provide treatment for people with MNS problems in developing countries

Non-specialist health workers are beneficial in providing treatment for people with mental, neurological and substance-abuse (MNS) problems in developing countries - where there is often a lack of mental health professionals - according to a new Cochrane review.

20 Nov 2013

Study suggests role for brain imaging in potential treatment of chronic pain

A study in the December issue of Anesthesiology suggests a role for brain imaging in the assessment and potential treatment of chronic pain.

20 Nov 2013

New evidence shows probiotics offer enormous potential for treatment of depression

Probiotics are not new, but their status as a nutritional buzzword is. Most folks have now heard and seen the term countless times in commercials and advertisements, as yogurt, dietary supplement, natural food product, and even cosmetic companies promote their probiotic-containing products.

20 Nov 2013

Specific area of the brain linked to anxiety disorders in children and adolescents

Anxiety disorders are common in children and adolescents, affecting up to 25 percent of the youth population. Anxiety causes distress and functional impairment and, if left untreated, can result in bad grades, problems at home and increased rates of psychiatric disorders in adulthood.

20 Nov 2013

mTOR protein: A key mediator of antidepressant effects of ketamine

Two years ago, mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR, a signaling protein, was identified as a key mediator of the antidepressant effects of ketamine, the first rapidly acting antidepressant medication to be identified.

20 Nov 2013

Researchers examine link between poor mental health and casual sex

A new study suggests that poor mental health and casual sex feed off each other in teens and young adults, with each one contributing to the other over time.

20 Nov 2013

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Conversion from psychotic depression to bipolar disorder explored

Study reveals benefits of bright light in treating anxiety

Vagus nerve stimulation-tone therapy safe for treating tinnitus, say UT Dallas researchers

Cedars-Sinai study presents new insights into mechanisms underlying the symptoms of autism

Study: Connections in the brain become stronger during sleep as children age

Released prisoners with schizophrenia three times more likely to be violent than other prisoners

Women under 50 more likely to experience mental stress-induced ischemia

Childhood social functioning predicts schizophrenia risk

Cognition and illness course predict bipolar employment

Study compares prevalence, impact of chronic pain amongst different ethnic groups in Tower Hamlets

Enhancing the NMDA glutamate receptor causes antidepressant-like effects

State highlights: Calif. fines three insurers for denying therapy; Colo.'s Denver Health to shed jobs; Ambulance Co. agrees to pay feds $3M over fraud allegations

Connectivity, size of brain can predict degree of anxiety in young children

Teens who experience deployment of parent in military are more likely to be depressed

Non-specialist health workers provide treatment for people with MNS problems in developing countries

Study suggests role for brain imaging in potential treatment of chronic pain

New evidence shows probiotics offer enormous potential for treatment of depression

Specific area of the brain linked to anxiety disorders in children and adolescents

mTOR protein: A key mediator of antidepressant effects of ketamine

Researchers examine link between poor mental health and casual sex

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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