Mental Health Research News

June 26, 2025

Top Headlines

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 ...

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 who have certain combinations of personality ...

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 caregivers make critical decisions aligned with their ...

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, controlled data on the safety of marketed ADHD medicines ...

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 PTSD-level distress. Nearly 90% of teens experienced ...

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 associations with driver deaths during fatal ...

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 ...

Latest Headlines

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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 ...

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

May 2, 2025 — Researchers have identified the neural mechanisms in the brain that regulate both positive and negative impressions of a social encounter, as well as ...

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 beneficial ...

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. 19, 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 ...

Researchers Achieve Total Synthesis of Ibogaine

Feb. 6, 2025 — Researchers have achieved total chemical synthesis of the psychoactive compound ibogaine and its analogs from pyridine. The discovery will make it easier to explore the therapeutic possibilities of ...

How Do You Treat Rotator-Cuff Tears?

Feb. 3, 2025 — For those over 40, it's a common injury with different treatment options to ...

Nerve Stimulation: The Brain Is Not Always Listening

Jan. 27, 2025 — Various diseases can be treated by stimulating the vagus nerve in the ear with electrical signals. However, this technique does not always work. A study has now shown: The electrical signals must be ...

Adults Diagnosed With ADHD May Have Reduced Life Expectancies

Jan. 23, 2025 — Adults who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be living shorter lives than they should, finds a new ...

Fighting Experience Plays Key Role in Brain Chemical's Control of Male Aggression

Jan. 22, 2025 — Like humans, mice will compete over territory and mates, and show increased confidence in their fighting skills the more they win. At first, a brain chemical called dopamine is essential for young ...

Research Shows PTSD, Anxiety May Affect Reproductive Health of Women Firefighters

Jan. 22, 2025 — Investigators found negative mental health conditions among women firefighters may reduce levels of key hormone associated with ovarian ...

New Paper Creates Roadmap for the Next Generation of Bioelectronic Medicine

Jan. 21, 2025 — A new paper led by Professor Imanuel Lerman of UC San Diego provides a review of the field of bioelectronic medicine and the most promising opportunities for life-changing new therapies and ...

Waking Up Is Not Stressful, Study Finds

Jan. 14, 2025 — Waking up does not activate an increase in the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol does, however, increase in the hours prior to wakening as part of the body's preparation for the ...