Schizophrenia News and Research

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

Researchers find link between brain structure and hallucination proneness, musical aptitude

New research published in Schizophrenia Research conducted at the University of Liverpool links brain structure to an individual's likelihood of experiencing hallucinations and to their musical aptitude.

11 Dec 2017

Optogenetics research sheds new light on social-spatial learning

Ilana Witten didn't set out to study spatial learning. She thought she was investigating how mice socialize--but she discovered that in mouse brains, the social and the spatial are inextricably linked.

8 Dec 2017

Hand preference well defined at 18th week of gestation, study says

Are you born or do you become right-handed or left-handed? A study led by Valentina Parma, researcher at the International School for Advanced Studies - SISSA of Trieste, and Professor Umberto Castiello of the University of Padua, just published on Scientific Reports, shows that hand preference is already well defined at the 18th week of gestation.

4 Dec 2017

Drug that stimulates neuron pruning promotes goal-directed behavior in mice

A drug that stimulates neuron pruning can nudge mice away from habit-driven behaviors when combined with retraining, neuroscientists have found.

30 Nov 2017

Combining EEG and MRI could expand ways of understanding ALS

Our brains function by electrical and chemical signaling. Recording brain wave patterns can be very helpful in conditions like epilepsy, but the potential of this inexpensive and easily applied technology has not been fully recognized.

28 Nov 2017

Problems at birth linked to long-lasting chemical changes in the brain

New King's College London research, published today (28 November) in eLife, shows that adults born prematurely - who also suffered small brain injuries around the time of birth - have lower levels of dopamine in the brain.

28 Nov 2017

Study reveals patients at high risk for opioid overdose deaths

Just over 60 percent of individuals who died from an opioid overdose had been diagnosed with a chronic pain condition, and many had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, a study of more than 13,000 overdose deaths has found.

28 Nov 2017

Birth complications associated with decreased dopamine levels in the brain, study reveals

A new study, published in eLife, shows that most people born prematurely, who also suffered small brain injuries during the time of birth, have lower levels of dopamine in the brain.

28 Nov 2017

Research findings will help identify genetic causes of brain disorders

New findings will help to identify the genetic causes of brain disorders: researchers at the Universities of Basel, Bonn and Cologne have presented a systematic catalog of specific variable locations in the genome that influence gene activity in the human hippocampus, as they report in the journal Nature Communications.

27 Nov 2017

Promising treatment for schizophrenia found in the form of avatars

Computer simulations of the faces behind the voices heard by sufferers of schizophrenia may give patients the power to cope better with these distressing hallucinations.

24 Nov 2017

Digital pills can help track opioid use patterns

Digital pills - gelatin capsules that contain an ingestible sensor along with medication - can help track patterns of drug use, and Brigham and Women's Hospital clinicians are among the first to explore the application of this new technology among patients being prescribed opioids.

20 Nov 2017

Researchers find that tiny brain region plays key role in social memory formation

Research by a group of scientists at the Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore have discovered that a tiny brain region plays a critical role in the formation of social memory and interaction.

15 Nov 2017

FDA approves first digital pill with sensor - Abilify MyCite

The United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), for the first time has approved a digital pill system. The novel pill comes with an in-built sensor that transmits information to a remote location after a person has taken it. Experts believe this is a huge step towards digital medicine and opens new avenues for therapy and diagnostics.

14 Nov 2017

FDA approves first drug with digital ingestion tracking system

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first drug in the U.S. with a digital ingestion tracking system. Abilify MyCite (aripiprazole tablets with sensor) has an ingestible sensor embedded in the pill that records that the medication was taken.

14 Nov 2017

Exercise significantly increases size of hippocampus in humans, study finds

Aerobic exercise can improve memory function and maintain brain health as we age, a new Australian-led study has found.

13 Nov 2017

Advances in genetic and stem cell techniques help identify therapeutic targets for neurological disorders

Research released today highlights advances in the use of CRISPR-Cas9 and human induced pluripotent stem cell technologies to identify novel therapeutic targets for neurological disorders such as schizophrenia and addiction.

13 Nov 2017

Human brain organoids in the making amidst ethical concerns

Scientists from Vienna have worked for four years and finally come up with a small blob of human brain tissue that has been created from stem cells. These human brain organoids as they are called, are capable of pulsing with electrical activity and also create new nerve cells or neurons.

8 Nov 2017

Scientists identify new brain process that allows us to suppress unwanted thoughts

Scientists have identified a key chemical within the 'memory' region of the brain that allows us to suppress unwanted thoughts, helping explain why people who suffer from disorders such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and schizophrenia often experience persistent intrusive thoughts when these circuits go awry.

3 Nov 2017

Healthy people with psychotic-like experiences have altered brain dynamics, study finds

Healthy people experiencing subtle symptoms observed in psychotic disorders, such as hallucinations and delusions, have altered brain dynamics, according to a new study published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.

1 Nov 2017

Cleveland Clinic researchers win grants to study ethical issues involving brain surgery

The NIH BRAIN Initiative has awarded two Cleveland Clinic researchers grants to study ethical issues involving brain surgery, as part of the first neuroethics grants awarded by the initiative.

31 Oct 2017