Schizophrenia News

September 12, 2025

Top Headlines

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 same selective damage seen in patients, along with ...

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 trigger breakdowns in the entorhinal ...

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 use disorder, while results for anxiety and ...

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 depletion—caused by amyloid plaques binding to ...

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 ...

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 like fibromyalgia and nerve pain, researchers found ...

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 schizophrenia, making early cessation and treatment ...

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 found that while some layers of the cerebral cortex ...

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 in mouse models, researchers restored memory ...

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 signals in a mouse model of genetic Parkinson’s. ...

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 26, 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 treatment to ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:23am 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 ...

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 ...

Dopamine Signals When a Fear Can Be Forgotten

May 4, 2025 — A new study shows how a dopamine circuit between two brain regions enables mice to extinguish fear after a peril has ...

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 ...

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 scientists ...

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, ...

PET Imaging Confirms Direct Involvement of Dopamine in Cognitive Flexibility

Mar. 28, 2025 — Scientists have confirmed a neurobiochemical link between dopamine and cognitive flexibility. PET imaging shows that the brain increases dopamine production when completing cognitively demanding ...

Scientists Discover Why Obesity Takes Away the Pleasure of Eating

Mar. 26, 2025 — Many obese people report losing pleasure in eating rich foods -- something also seen in obese mice. Scientists have now discovered the reason. Long-term high-fat diets lower levels of neurotensin in ...

Potential Risk Biomarkers Found for Schizophrenia Resulting from Cannabis Use

Mar. 21, 2025 — A new study has analyzed and compared the fatty acids in the blood of individuals with schizophrenia, of those with cannabis use disorder and of those with both diagnoses, with the aim of shedding ...

Part of the Genetic Risk for Schizophrenia Acts Through the Placenta

Mar. 20, 2025 — An international team has identified associations between modifications in the placenta and the risk of developing schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression ...

Inflammatory Messenger Fuels Alzheimer's

Mar. 17, 2025 — Researchers have detailed the precise mechanism through which the inflammatory signaling molecule IL-12 contributes to Alzheimer's ...

New Clue on What Is Leading to Neurodegenerative Diseases Like Alzheimer's and ALS

Mar. 14, 2025 — Researchers have revealed a new scientific clue that could unlock the key cellular pathway leading to devastating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral ...

Scientists Solve Decades-Long Parkinson's Mystery

Mar. 13, 2025 — Researchers have made a huge leap forward in the fight against Parkinson's disease, solving a decades-long mystery. In a major breakthrough, they have been able to see the human PINK1 protein ...

Dopamine's Unexpected Role in Memory Devaluation

Mar. 12, 2025 — New research expands on current understanding of the brain chemical dopamine, finding that it plays a role in reducing the value of memories associated with rewards. The study opens new avenues for ...

Dopamine Signals in Primate Brains

Mar. 12, 2025 — We're all familiar with Pavlovian conditioning, in which a reward-anticipatory behavior follows a reward-predicting stimulus. Perhaps you experience it yourself when passing a cafe or restaurant ...

Clinical Trial Tests Novel Stem-Cell Treatment for Parkinson's Disease

Mar. 9, 2025 — A recently launched Phase 1 clinical trial is examining the safety and feasibility of a groundbreaking treatment approach for Parkinson's disease in which a patient's stem cells are ...

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, ...

New 4D Brain Map Reveals Potential Early Warning Signs of Multiple Sclerosis

Feb. 27, 2025 — Using an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers have created a four-dimensional brain map that reveals how lesions similar to those seen in human MS form. These findings provide a ...

Nuns Contribute 30 Years of Critical Insight Into Dementia Disorders

Feb. 26, 2025 — Researchers published a study analyzing more than 30 years of aging and dementia patterns of 678 ...