Mental Health Research News

September 19, 2025

Top Headlines

Why so Many Young Kids with ADHD Are Getting the Wrong Treatment

Sep. 16, 2025 — Preschoolers with ADHD are often given medication right after diagnosis, against medical guidelines that recommend starting with behavioral therapy. Limited access to therapy and physician pressures drive early prescribing, despite risks and reduced ...

Stress Measured in Hair Could Predict Depression and Anxiety in Children

Sep. 16, 2025 — Researchers from the University of Waterloo discovered that measuring long-term stress through children’s hair samples can reveal early signs of mental health risks in those living with chronic physical illnesses. Children with persistently high ...

The Sleep Switch That Builds Muscle, Burns Fat, and Boosts Brainpower

Sep. 8, 2025 — UC Berkeley researchers mapped the brain circuits that control growth hormone during sleep, uncovering a feedback system where sleep fuels hormone release, and the hormone regulates wakefulness. The discovery helps explain links between poor sleep, ...

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 emotional abuse, which strongly predicts ...

This New Drug Could Help PTSD Patients Finally Let Go of Trauma

Aug. 3, 2025 — Researchers discovered that PTSD may be driven by excess GABA from astrocytes, not neurons. This chemical imbalance disrupts the brain’s ability to forget fear. A new drug, KDS2010, reverses this effect in mice and is already in human trials. It ...

The Silent Threat: How Hearing Loss and Loneliness Are Fueling Memory Decline

July 18, 2025 — A massive European study has uncovered a powerful connection between hearing loss, loneliness, and memory decline. Researchers at the University of Geneva found that older adults with hearing ...

How a Hidden Brain Circuit Fuels Fibromyalgia, Migraines, and PTSD

July 10, 2025 — What if your brain is the reason some pain feels unbearable? Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered a hidden brain circuit that gives pain its emotional punch—essentially transforming ordinary discomfort into lasting misery. This ...

Is That Really ADHD? Why Flawed Trials May Be Misleading Millions

July 1, 2025 — Researchers reviewing nearly 300 top-tier ADHD drug trials found that half skipped the rigorous, expert-led evaluations needed to rule out other conditions like depression or schizophrenia. With diagnoses often made by unqualified staff—or even by ...

Sustained in the Brain: How Lasting Emotions Arise from Brief Stimuli, in Humans and Mice

May 29, 2025 — Humans and mice share persistent brain-activity patterns in response to adverse sensory experience, scientists find, opening a window to our emotions and, perhaps, neuropsychiatric ...

How Brain Stimulation Alleviates Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

May 27, 2025 — Persons with Parkinson's disease increasingly lose their mobility over time and are eventually unable to walk. Hope for these patients rests on deep brain stimulation, also known as a brain pacemaker. In a current study, researchers investigated ...

A Dental Floss That Can Measure Stress

May 26, 2025 — Scientists create a floss pick that samples cortisol within saliva as a marker of stress and quantifies it with a built-in electrode. The system uses a polymer casting technology that can be adapted to capture a wide a range of markers, such as ...

Common Antidepressants Could Help the Immune System Fight Cancer

May 22, 2025 — SSRIs boosted the ability of T cells to kill cancer cells and suppressed tumor growth in both mouse and human tumor ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:26am EDT

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

May 22, 2025 — A new study confirms that children of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a higher risk of developing psychopathology compared to ...

Could Personality Tests Help Make Bipolar Disorder Treatment More Precise?

May 19, 2025 — A new study suggests that it might be possible to personalize care for people with bipolar disorder, using the results of detailed personality tests. It finds that such tests might help identify ...

People With Critical Cardiovascular Disease May Benefit from Palliative Care

May 16, 2025 — Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on easing symptoms, addressing psychological and spiritual needs, and helping patients and ...

New Study Raises Concerns About the Safety of Long-Term ADHD Medication Treatment in Children

May 15, 2025 — A recent study reveals that the average duration of ADHD medication for children and adolescents is more than three years. However, reliable, ...

Cyberbullying in Any Form Can Be Traumatizing for Kids

May 15, 2025 — New research shows that cyberbullying should be classified as an adverse childhood experience due to its strong link to trauma. Even subtle forms -- like exclusion from group chats -- can trigger ...

Lab-on-a-Chip Devices Take Public Health Into Home

May 9, 2025 — Engineers created a new point-of-care test that measures cortisol in saliva to help doctors diagnose depression and ...

Teens Driving Older Vehicles Have Increased Risk for Fatal Crashes

May 7, 2025 — Researchers reviewed US national fatal crash data (2016-2021) and examined the vehicle age and driver assistance technologies of vehicles driven by teen and middle-aged drivers, and their ...

PTSD Patients Show Long-Term Benefits With Vagus Nerve Stimulation

May 5, 2025 — In a recent clinical study, patients with treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder were symptom-free up to six months after completing traditional therapy paired with vagus nerve ...

Study Links Childhood Trauma to Increased Substance Use and Unexpected Effects on Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in Adolescents

May 4, 2025 — Childhood trauma significantly increases the likelihood of engaging in harmful alcohol consumption, smoking and illicit drug use, by the age of ...

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

May 2, 2025 — Depression, schizophrenia and other mental health conditions affect 1 in 4 people in their lifetime, but mechanisms underlying these conditions are ...

Mechanism by Which the Brain Weighs Positive Vs. Negative Social Experience Is Revealed

Apr. 30, 2025 — Researchers have identified the neural mechanisms in the brain that regulate both positive and negative impressions of a social encounter, as well as how an imbalance between the two could lead to ...

Can Hormone Therapy Improve Heart Health in Menopausal Women?

Apr. 22, 2025 — Oral hormone therapy may benefit heart health in menopausal women. A new analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative found that estrogen-based oral hormone therapy had a long-term ...

Novel Treatment Approach for Language Disorder Shows Promise

Apr. 21, 2025 — Neuroscientists have developed a new treatment approach for a language disorder that combines traditional speech therapy with noninvasive electrical stimulation of the brain. Brain stimulation helped ...

Building 'Cellular Bridges' for Spinal Cord Repair After Injury

Apr. 21, 2025 — Capitalizing on the flexibility of tiny cells inside the body's smallest blood vessels may be a powerful spinal cord repair strategy, new research ...

Insomnia and Sleep Medication Use Connected to Disability in Older Adults

Apr. 18, 2025 — For adults over the age of 65, higher levels of both insomnia symptoms and sleep medication use were associated with higher risk of disability a year later, according to a new ...

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 ...

Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Improve Chronic Low Back Pain

Apr. 7, 2025 — Eight weeks of mindfulness or cognitive behavioral therapy were associated with improved pain, physical function and quality of life and reduced daily opioid dose in adults with chronic low back pain ...

New Study Investigates Effects of ADHD Medications on the Heart

Apr. 7, 2025 — A new study has found that medications for ADHD have overall small effects on blood pressure and heart rate after weeks or a few months of use. There have been concerns about the side effects of ADHD ...

PTSD Can Undermine Healthy Couple Communication When People Fear Their Emotions

Mar. 31, 2025 — Fear of emotions among couples with PTSD is associated with unproductive communication, according to a new ...

ADHD May Be Associated With an Increased Risk of Dementia

Mar. 25, 2025 — An adult brain affected by attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) presents modifications similar to those observed in individuals suffering from dementia. These are the ...

Study Finds Unique Brain Changes Linked to Witnessing Trauma

Mar. 18, 2025 — Researchers discovered distinct molecular differences in how the brain processes directly experienced versus witnessed trauma -- a finding that could lead to more targeted treatments for ...

Maternal Depression Can Lead to Children's Emotional Overeating, Study Shows

Mar. 17, 2025 — Up to 25% of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression, which can significantly impact their parenting behavior and the wellbeing of their children. A new study looks at long-term effects of ...

Robotics and Spinal Stimulation Restore Movement in Paralysis

Mar. 12, 2025 — Scientists have developed an approach that combines rehabilitation robotics with spinal cord stimulation to restore movement in people with spinal cord injuries. The technology enhances ...

Does Getting ADHD Drugs Via Telehealth Increase Addiction Risk?

Mar. 5, 2025 — A study of people who started ADHD stimulant treatment via telehealth vs in-person visits shows no difference in risk of new substance use disorders except for young adults age ...

For Some, Childhood Adversity Can Promote Resilience to Anxiety Disorders

Mar. 5, 2025 — Research has shown that young people who face adversity such as traumatic or stressful events during brain development are 40% more likely to develop anxiety disorders by adulthood. But most people ...

Evidence Expanding That 40Hz Gamma Stimulation Promotes Brain Health

Mar. 3, 2025 — A decade of studies from labs around the world provide a growing evidence base that increasing the power of the brain's gamma rhythms could help fight Alzheimer's, and perhaps other, ...

Strong Link Between Western Diet During Pregnancy and ADHD

Mar. 3, 2025 — New research reveals that a mother's diet during pregnancy -- characterized by a Western dietary pattern high in fat and sugar and low in fresh ingredients -- may increase the risk of ...

Nasal Spray Shows Preclinical Promise for Treating Traumatic Brain Injury

Feb. 27, 2025 — A new study suggests a nasal spray developed to target neuroinflammation could one day be an effective treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI). By studying the effects of the nasal anti-CD3 in a ...

Screening and Treating Maternal Psychological Health Key to Improving Cardiovascular Health

Feb. 25, 2025 — Identifying and treating risk factors for depression, anxiety and other psychological health conditions during pregnancy and postpartum may improve short- and long-term health outcomes for both ...

More Than Meets the Eye: An Adrenal Gland Tumor Is More Complex Than Previously Thought

Feb. 24, 2025 — Researchers have uncovered a surprising layer of complexity in aldosterone-producing adenomas -- adrenal gland tumors that drive high blood pressure. Using cutting-edge analysis techniques, they ...