Schizophrenia News

December 3, 2025

Top Headlines

Scientists Discover First Gene Proven to Directly Cause Mental Illness

Dec. 2, 2025 Scientists have discovered that a single gene, GRIN2A, can directly cause mental illness—something previously thought to stem only from many genes acting together. People with certain variants of this gene often develop psychiatric symptoms much ...

Hidden Mitochondrial DNA Damage May Be a Missing Link in Disease

Nov. 28, 2025 Researchers identified a new, sticky form of mitochondrial DNA damage that builds up at dramatically higher levels than in nuclear DNA. These lesions disrupt energy production and activate stress-response pathways. Simulations show the damage makes ...

Your Brain Shows Damage Before Your Blood Pressure Even Rises

Nov. 24, 2025 Hypertension begins harming the brain surprisingly early, even before measurable blood pressure increases. Key cells related to blood vessels, signaling, and myelin maintenance begin aging prematurely and malfunctioning. These disruptions resemble ...

A Tiny Enzyme May Hold the Key to Safer Pain Relief

Nov. 23, 2025 Researchers have uncovered a surprising way the brain switches pain on, revealing that neurons can release an enzyme outside the cell that activates pain signals without disrupting normal movement or sensation. This enzyme, called VLK, modifies ...

Scientists Reveal a Hidden Hormone Switch for Learning

Nov. 21, 2025 Researchers uncovered how estrogen subtly reshapes learning by strengthening dopamine reward signals in the brain. Rats learned faster when estrogen levels were high and struggled when the hormone’s activity was blocked. The findings help explain ...

Scientists Find Hidden Brain Source That Fuels Dementia

Nov. 6, 2025 Weill Cornell researchers uncovered how free radicals from astrocyte mitochondria can fuel dementia. Using new compounds that target these radicals at their source, they slowed brain inflammation and neuronal damage in mice. The findings reveal a ...

Resetting the Body’s Rhythm Could Protect the Brain from Alzheimer’s

Nov. 1, 2025 Researchers discovered that altering the body’s natural rhythm can help protect the brain from Alzheimer’s damage. By turning off a circadian protein in mice, they raised NAD+ levels and reduced harmful tau buildup. The findings suggest that ...

Supercharged Vitamin K Could Help the Brain Heal Itself

Oct. 14, 2025 Researchers have synthesized enhanced vitamin K analogues that outperform natural vitamin K in promoting neuron growth. The new compounds, which combine vitamin K with retinoic acid, activate the mGluR1 receptor to drive neurogenesis. They also ...

Your Skin Could Warn of Hidden Mental Health Trouble

Oct. 13, 2025 People experiencing their first psychotic episode who also have skin conditions such as rashes or itching are at greater risk of depression and suicidal thoughts, according to new research presented at the ECNP meeting. Scientists found that 25% of ...

Breakthrough Compounds May Reverse Nerve Damage Caused by Multiple Sclerosis

Oct. 11, 2025 Researchers have identified two compounds, K102 and K110, that could repair the nerve damage from multiple sclerosis. These drugs help regenerate the protective myelin sheath and balance immune ...

Hidden Cellular “Power Switch” Could Transform Parkinson’s Treatment

Oct. 4, 2025 Researchers uncovered a key cellular regulator, PP2A-B55alpha, that controls both the cleanup of damaged mitochondria and the creation of new ones. In Parkinson’s disease models, reducing this regulator improved symptoms and mitochondrial health. ...

Brain Fat, Not Just Plaques, May Be the Hidden Driver of Alzheimer’s

Sep. 24, 2025 For decades, scientists believed Alzheimer’s was driven mainly by sticky protein plaques and tangles in the brain. Now Purdue researchers have revealed a hidden culprit: fat. They found that brain immune cells can become clogged with fat, leaving ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:07am EST

Scientists Detect Hidden Brain Damage Years Before MS Symptoms

Oct. 21, 2025 Scientists at UCSF have uncovered evidence that multiple sclerosis silently damages the brain years before diagnosis. By studying proteins in blood samples, they identified early immune signals and ...

Overworked Neurons Burn out and Fuel Parkinson’s Disease

Sep. 3, 2025 Overactivation of dopamine neurons may directly drive their death, explaining why movement-controlling brain cells degenerate in Parkinson’s. Mice with chronically stimulated neurons showed the ...

Why Alzheimer’s Attacks the Brain’s Memory Hub First

Sep. 2, 2025 Virginia Tech researchers are investigating how overloaded mitochondria in the brain’s memory circuits may spark early Alzheimer’s damage. Their work focuses on calcium signaling and how it might ...

Stronger Weed, Higher Risk? Potent THC Linked to Psychosis and Addiction

Sep. 2, 2025 A sweeping review of nearly 100 studies has raised concerns about the mental health impacts of high-potency cannabis products. Researchers found strong links to psychosis, schizophrenia, and cannabis ...

Lithium Deficiency May Be the Hidden Spark Behind Alzheimer’s

Aug. 29, 2025 Harvard scientists have uncovered that lithium, a naturally occurring element in the brain, may be the missing piece in understanding Alzheimer’s. Their decade-long research shows that lithium ...

Cannabis for Coping? Why It May Trigger Paranoia

Aug. 28, 2025 Using cannabis to self-medicate comes with hidden dangers—new research shows these users face higher paranoia and consume more THC. Childhood trauma further amplifies the risks, especially ...

Is Ketamine the Answer for Chronic Pain? New Findings Cast Doubt

Aug. 18, 2025 A sweeping review of 67 trials has cast doubt on the use of ketamine and similar NMDA receptor antagonists for chronic pain relief. While ketamine is frequently prescribed off-label for conditions ...

The Hidden Mental Health Danger in Today’s High-THC Cannabis

Aug. 12, 2025 THC levels in cannabis have soared in recent years, raising the risk of psychosis—especially in young, frequent users. Studies reveal a strong connection between cannabis-induced psychosis and ...

Scientists Discover Brain Layers That Get Stronger With Age

Aug. 12, 2025 Researchers have discovered that parts of the human brain age more slowly than previously thought—particularly in the region that processes touch. By using ultra-high-resolution brain scans, they ...

Scientists Reversed Memory Loss by Powering the Brain’s Tiny Engines

Aug. 12, 2025 Scientists have discovered a direct cause-and-effect link between faulty mitochondria and the memory loss seen in neurodegenerative diseases. By creating a novel tool to boost mitochondrial activity ...

Parkinson’s Reversal? One Drug Brings Dying Brain Cells Back to Life

July 3, 2025 Stanford researchers discovered that dialing down an overactive enzyme, LRRK2, can regrow lost cellular “antennae” in key brain cells, restoring vital dopamine communication and neuroprotective ...

Scientists Just Found a Sugar Switch That Protects Your Brain from Alzheimer's

June 30, 2025 Scientists have uncovered a surprising sugar-related mechanism inside brain cells that could transform how we fight Alzheimer’s and other dementias. It turns out neurons don’t just store sugar ...

Potential New Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease, Other Neurodegenerative Conditions

May 22, 2025 Worldwide, more than 55 million people suffer from dementia caused by Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other conditions that destroy cells in the brain and nervous system. While there is no ...

Increased Risk of Psychopathology Found in Offspring of People With Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder

May 21, 2025 A new study confirms that children of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a higher risk of developing psychopathology compared to children whose parents do not have these conditions. ...

New Research on ALS Opens Up for Early Treatment

May 20, 2025 Using the gene scissors CRISPR and stem cells, researchers have managed to identify a common denominator for different gene mutations that all cause the neurological disease ALS. The research shows ...

Scientists Discover New Way the Brain Learns

May 14, 2025 Neuroscientists have discovered that the brain uses a dual system for learning through trial and error. This is the first time a second learning system has been identified, which could help explain ...

CAR-T Cell Therapy for Cancer Causes 'Brain Fog,' Study Shows

May 12, 2025 Cancer treatment with a cell-based immunotherapy causes mild cognitive impairment, a Stanford Medicine team found. They also identified compounds that could treat ...

Promising Parkinson's Drug Decoded

May 8, 2025 How well our brain functions depends heavily on the performance of our nerve cells. That is why they are regularly checked for their proper function -- defective cell components are marked, disposed ...

Discovery of Dopamine Receptors in a Previously Overlooked Part of the Brain Sheds Light on the Complex Circuitry for Anxiety and Depression

May 7, 2025 Researchers have discovered distinct roles for two dopamine receptors located on nerve cells within the portion of the brain that controls approach vs. avoidance ...

Depression and Other Mental Health Conditions Linked With Immune Response, Study Finds

Apr. 30, 2025 Depression, schizophrenia and other mental health conditions affect 1 in 4 people in their lifetime, but mechanisms underlying these conditions are poorly understood. New research has linked the ...

Dopamine Signals When a Fear Can Be Forgotten

Apr. 28, 2025 A new study shows how a dopamine circuit between two brain regions enables mice to extinguish fear after a peril has ...

Retinal Clues to Mental Health

Apr. 22, 2025 A new study has shown that evidence of genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia can be found in the retina. This finding could help improve the early detection of the ...

How Dopamine Helps Us Learn to Avoid Bad Outcomes

Apr. 22, 2025 Dopamine is the brain's motivational spark, driving us to chase what feels good, say scrolling another reel on social media, and steer clear of what doesn't, like touching a hot stove. But ...

How Disturbed Signaling Pathways Could Promote Epileptic Seizures

Apr. 16, 2025 Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) type 2 is a congenital malformation of the cerebral cortex that is often associated with difficult-to-treat epilepsy. In the affected areas, nerve cells and their layer ...

LSD Analogue With Potential for Treating Schizophrenia Developed

Apr. 14, 2025 Researchers have developed a new, neuroplasticity-promoting drug closely related to LSD that harnesses the psychedelic's therapeutic power with reduced hallucinogenic ...

Scientists Identify Key Enzyme in Alzheimer's Disease That Links Brain Inflammation to Memory Loss

Apr. 14, 2025 A research team has identified a previously unknown enzyme, SIRT2, that plays a key role in memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study provides critical insights into how ...

Brain Pathway Links Inflammation to Loss of Motivation, Energy in Advanced Cancer

Apr. 10, 2025 Researchers identified a direct connection between cancer-related inflammation and the loss of motivation characteristic of advanced cancer. In a mouse study, they describe a brain pathway that ...

The Brain Resorts to Myelin When Other Brain Nutrients Are Depleted

Apr. 10, 2025 Marathon runners experience reversible changes in their brain myelin. These findings indicate that myelin (a substance that surrounds the neurons) exhibits behavior that was previously unknown, and ...

What Links Cannabis Use and Psychosis? Researchers Point to Brain's Dopamine System

Apr. 9, 2025 A new study found that people with cannabis use disorder (CUD) had elevated dopamine levels in a brain region associated with ...

Discovery of Mitochondrial Protein Opens Path to Therapeutic Advances for Heart and Alzheimer's Disease

Apr. 8, 2025 Calcium transport into and out of mitochondria -- the powerhouses of cells -- is central to cellular energy production and cell death. To maintain the balance of calcium within these powerhouses, ...