Mental Health Research News

June 1, 2024

Top Headlines

Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution Associated With Increased Mental Health Risks

May 28, 2024 — A baby's exposure to air pollution while in the womb is associated with the development of certain mental health problems once the infant reaches adolescence, new research has found. The study ...

Weight Gain Is Kicked to the Curb in Antipsychotic Drug Breakthrough

May 28, 2024 — Thousands of Australians struggle with serious mental health conditions. But when the recommended treatment involves antipsychotic medications, the side effects are excess kilos, which only adds weight to an already complex diagnosis. Now, new ...

Researchers Unveil Shared and Unique Brain Molecular Dysregulations in PTSD and Depression

May 23, 2024 — Researchers analyzed multi-omic data from 231 people with PTSD or depression to uncover distinct molecular differences that might affect systems such as the nervous and immune systems, to contribute ...

Dispelling Severe 'Morning Sickness' Myths: It's Not Normal or Harmless, but Prevention and Treatment Might Be on the Way

May 22, 2024 — Late last year, geneticists made the discovery that morning sickness's most serious presentation, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), is caused by the hormone GDF15, not human chorionic gonadotropin as ...

Latest Headlines

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Intervention Reduces Stress and Feelings of Burden of Family Caregivers of Older Adults With Dementia

May 29, 2024 — Interprofessional research study found that family caregivers of older adults living with dementia experienced a 15% drop in stress after a 9-week ...

Transitioning Gender Identities Is Not Linked With Depression

May 22, 2024 — A landmark longitudinal study of LGBTQ+ youths has found that transitioning gender identities is not associated with depression and that about 1 in 3 gender-minority youths change their gender ...

Ancient Viral DNA in the Human Genome Linked to Major Psychiatric Disorders

May 22, 2024 — New research has found that thousands of DNA sequences originating from ancient viral infections are expressed in the brain, with some contributing to susceptibility for psychiatric disorders such as ...

Study Shows Heightened Sensitivity to PTSD in Autism

May 9, 2024 — A new study shows that a mild stress is enough to trigger post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Researchers demonstrated that the two disorders ...

Children Sleep Problems Associated With Psychosis in Young Adults

May 8, 2024 — Children who experience chronic lack of sleep from infancy may be at increased risk of developing psychosis in early adulthood, new research ...

Childhood Maltreatment Responsible for Up to 40 Percent of Mental Health Conditions

May 8, 2024 — A study has found the widespread impact of child abuse and neglect, with analysis suggesting they cause nearly half of common mental conditions. ...

How Psychedelic Drugs Interact With Serotonin Receptors to Potentially Produce Therapeutic Benefits

May 8, 2024 — Researchers have shed valuable light on the complex mechanisms by which a class of psychedelic drugs binds to and activates serotonin receptors to ...

New Guidelines for Depression Care Emphasize Patient-Centred Approach

May 8, 2024 — Psychiatrists and mental health professionals have a new standard for managing major depression, thanks to refreshed clinical ...

Teens Who View Their Homes as More Chaotic Than Their Siblings Have Poorer Mental Health in Adulthood

May 8, 2024 — Adolescents who view their households as more unstructured, disorganized, or hectic than their siblings develop more mental health and behavioral ...

New Device That Emits Magnetic Field May Offer Hope for Treating Depression

May 7, 2024 — In an exploratory clinical trial, four male patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder underwent eight weeks of treatment with a device that generates a low-frequency ultralow magnetic field ...

Approximately One in Nine U.S. Children Diagnosed With ADHD, as New National Study Highlights an 'Ever-Expanding' Public Health Concern

May 23, 2024 — An exploration into the national U.S. dataset on children ever diagnosed with ADHD has revealed an 'ongoing and ever-expanding' public health ...

Low Intensity Light to Fight the Effects of Chronic Stress

May 2, 2024 — Some neurological disorders can be improved through photobiomodulation, a non-invasive technique based on the application of low-intensity light to stimulate altered functions in specific regions of ...

Women Are 40% More Likely to Experience Depression During the Perimenopause

May 1, 2024 — Women are 40% more likely to experience depression in the perimenopause than those who aren't experiencing any menopausal symptoms, finds a new ...

Air Pollution and Depression Linked With Heart Disease Deaths in Middle-Aged Adults

Apr. 26, 2024 — A study in more than 3,000 US counties, with 315 million residents, has suggested that air pollution is linked with stress and depression, putting under-65-year-olds at increased risk of dying from ...

Low Intensity Exercise Linked to Reduced Depression

Apr. 24, 2024 — New research has found a significant association between participating in low to moderate intensity exercise and reduced rates of ...

In Psychedelic Therapy, Clinician-Patient Bond May Matter Most

Apr. 22, 2024 — Drug effects have dominated the national conversation about psychedelics for medical treatment, but a new study suggests that when it comes to reducing depression with psychedelic-assisted therapy, ...

Teen Stress May Raise Risk of Postpartum Depression in Adults

Apr. 16, 2024 — A research team reports that social stress during adolescence in female mice later results in prolonged elevation of the hormone cortisol after they give ...

Physical Activity Reduces Stress-Related Brain Activity to Lower Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Apr. 15, 2024 — Over a ten-year period, biobank participants who met recommended levels of physical activity had a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and the protective effects were even more pronounced in ...

Study Finds Increased Anxiety and PTSD Among People Who Remained in Ukraine

Apr. 11, 2024 — Researchers conducted a survey to understand how the mental health of displaced Ukrainians has been affected by the ongoing war. Their findings describe high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder ...

Scientists Use Wearable Technology to Detect Stress Levels During Sleep

Apr. 11, 2024 — What if changes in a person's stress levels could be detected while they sleep using wearable devices? A new study find changes in perceived stress levels reflected in sleep data -- an important ...

AI Model Can Accurately Assess PTSD in Postpartum Women

Apr. 11, 2024 — By analyzing the narratives of women who experienced traumatic childbirth and women with non-complicated childbirth, researchers created an AI model that can accurately identify those at risk of ...

Brain Stimulation Treatment May Improve Depression, Anxiety in Older Adults

Apr. 10, 2024 — A noninvasive brain stimulation treatment improved depression and anxiety symptoms among older adults in a new ...

Heart Disease, Depression Linked by Inflammation

Apr. 8, 2024 — Coronary artery disease and major depression may be genetically linked via inflammatory pathways to an increased risk for cardiomyopathy, a degenerative heart muscle disease, researchers have ...

New Study Highlights the Benefit of Touch on Mental and Physical Health

Apr. 8, 2024 — Through a large-scale analysis, researchers have uncovered the ways in which consensual touch can benefit a person's physical and mental ...

Prairie Voles Display Signs of Human-Like Depression

Apr. 4, 2024 — Researchers make the case that prairie voles, small rodents that are found throughout the central United States and Canada, can be effectively used as animal models to further the study of clinical ...

Feeding the Lonely Brain

Apr. 4, 2024 — A new study has found that women who perceive themselves to be lonely exhibited activity in regions of the brain associated with cravings and motivation towards eating especially when shown pictures ...

Researchers Map How the Brain Regulates Emotions

Apr. 3, 2024 — A new study is among the first of its kind to separate activity relating to emotion generation from emotion regulation in the human brain. The findings provide new insights that could help inform ...

New Initiative Improves Detection, Evaluation of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Apr. 1, 2024 — Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common pediatric neurobehavioral disorder with a prevalence of approximately 7%-10% in school-age children. ADHD significantly affects ...

Pilot Study Shows Ketogenic Diet Improves Severe Mental Illness

Apr. 1, 2024 — A small clinical trial found that the metabolic effects of a ketogenic diet may help stabilize the ...

Positive Associations Between Premenstrual Disorders and Perinatal Depression

Mar. 28, 2024 — Women affected by premenstrual disorders have a higher risk of perinatal depression compared with those who do not, according to new research. The relationship works both ways: those with perinatal ...