Reference Terms
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Psychopharmacology
Psychopharmacology is the study of drug-induced changes in mood, thinking, and behavior. These drugs may originate from natural sources such as plants and animals, or from artificial sources such as chemical syntheses in the laboratory. These drugs interact with particular target sites or receptors found in the nervous system to induce widespread changes in physiological or psychological functions. The specific interaction between drugs and their target sites or receptors is referred to as drug action. The widespread changes in physiological or psychological function is referred to as drug effect. In psychopharmacology, researchers are interested in a wide range of drug classes such as antidepressants and stimulants. Drugs are researched for their pharmaceutical properties, physical side effects, and psychological side effects.
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Mind & Brain News
June 30, 2026
June 30, 2026 A common brain protein may be giving Alzheimer’s disease an unexpected way to spread, carrying toxic Tau proteins from damaged neurons into healthy ones. By blocking these harmful protein packages before they reach new cells, researchers believe ...
June 30, 2026 Creatine is best known as a muscle-building supplement, but scientists are now investigating whether it could also help treat depression by boosting the brain's energy supply. A new review examined five randomized clinical trials involving 238 ...
June 29, 2026 Fish oil supplements successfully delivered omega-3s to the brain, but a two-year study found no meaningful benefits for memory, cognition, or Alzheimer’s-related brain changes. The results ...
June 29, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a surprising clue that may help explain why multiple sclerosis (MS) progresses rapidly in some people but not others. In brain tissue from patients with severe MS, researchers found large numbers of “foamy” immune cells ...
June 28, 2026 Scientists at UCLA have linked long-term exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos with a sharply increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. People exposed to the chemical near their homes were more than ...
June 27, 2026 Teens who use cannabis may face a substantially greater risk of developing serious mental health conditions, including psychotic and bipolar disorders, according to a study of more than 463,000 ...
June 27, 2026 Researchers have identified a vitamin B12–based compound that can cross the blood-brain barrier and home in on glioblastoma tumors. In animal studies, the compound accumulated preferentially in tumor tissue and delivered sustained nitric oxide ...
June 26, 2026 A new study found that fructose and glucose may look the same on a nutrition label, but the brain treats them very differently. In mice, glucose strongly reduced activity in hunger-promoting brain cells, while fructose had a much weaker effect. ...
June 25, 2026 Vitamin B12 is needed in microscopic amounts, but a shortage can have major effects on health and energy. The vitamin was first linked to a lifesaving liver treatment for pernicious anemia nearly 100 years ago. Today, researchers are finding that ...
June 25, 2026 Healthy older adults experienced measurable improvements in memory, physical performance, and stress after taking placebo pills for just three weeks. The most surprising finding was that the placebo often worked even when participants knew the pills ...
June 24, 2026 Scientists have discovered a tiny group of neurons in an ancient brain region that acts like a built-in focus filter, helping the brain ignore distractions and zero in on what matters most. When researchers temporarily switched off these neurons in ...
June 23, 2026 A new study suggests that learning and remembering speech relies more on how the brain processes sounds and sensations than on the areas that control mouth and face movements. The discovery could reshape speech therapy and help improve future ...
Latest Headlines
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June 28, 2026 The unconscious brain appears to be far more capable than scientists once believed. Researchers found that patients under general anesthesia could still process language at a sophisticated level, ...
June 25, 2026 How does a single cell build a brain with billions of precisely organized neurons? Researchers suggest that brain cells use their lineage—their cellular family tree—as a kind of positional map. ...
June 24, 2026 What if consciousness isn’t limited to brains like ours? Philosophers Eric Schwitzgebel and Jeremy Pober argue that consciousness could arise in many different forms of life, even in beings built ...
June 22, 2026 A clinical trial is exploring whether high doses of vitamin B3 could give patients with glioblastoma a better chance against the aggressive brain cancer. Scientists found that niacin may help revive ...
June 21, 2026 Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine may have uncovered a promising new way to combat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Instead of trying ...
June 21, 2026 A long-term Yale study is challenging one of the biggest myths about aging. Nearly half of adults over 65 improved physically, mentally, or both over time, despite the common belief that aging means ...
June 21, 2026 As newborn neurons make their way through the developing brain, they must squeeze through incredibly tight spaces to reach their final destinations. Researchers discovered that this physical journey ...
June 19, 2026 A newly identified molecule called OLE helped restore the brain’s immune cells to a more protective state in Alzheimer’s models. The treatment reduced toxic plaque buildup and improved memory, ...
June 18, 2026 Scientists may have uncovered a hidden trigger behind Alzheimer’s disease. Instead of plaques being the root cause, amyloid beta appears to interfere with tau, a protein that helps keep neurons ...
June 17, 2026 A Rutgers study suggests GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy may weaken the link between impulsive tendencies and violent behavior. The surprising finding hints that these medications could affect ...