Mental Health Research News

February 9, 2025

Top Headlines

Study Finds New Link Between Food Choices, Depression and Alzheimer's Disease

Feb. 5, 2025 — New research has shown that diet could influence the risk of both depression and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Evidence suggests that depressive symptoms are both a risk factor for AD and a reaction to ...

Carbohydrate Cravings in Depression

Feb. 5, 2025 — Depression affects 280 million people worldwide. The mental illness has been proven to lead to changes in eating behavior. Researchers have discovered that although patients with depression generally have less appetite, they prefer carbohydrate-rich ...

Beyond the Gut: A New Frontier in IBS Treatment by Targeting the Brain

Feb. 5, 2025 — Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common digestive disorder with unclear causes, affecting about 10% of the global population. Researchers have now discovered that opioid delta-receptor agonists may alleviate IBS symptoms by acting directly on the ...

New Drug Shows Promise in Reversing Memory Loss for Early Alzheimer's Patients

Feb. 4, 2025 — A paradigm-shifting study shows an experimental drug, GL-II-73, has the potential to restore memory and cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. The study demonstrates that the ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:47pm EST

Maternal Stress During Pregnancy Could Leave Traces in the Placenta That Could Affect the Baby's Development

Feb. 4, 2025 — Maternal stress could leave epigenetic imprints on genes in the placenta associated with cortisol -- a necessary hormone for fetal development -- and ...

Innovative Program Helps Seniors Manage Stress

Feb. 3, 2025 — A new study shows significant long-term reductions in the stress hormone cortisol in seniors taking part in the O'stress ...

Findings May Lead to Blood Test to Predict Risk of Postpartum Depression

Jan. 30, 2025 — Women who go on to develop postpartum depression (PPD) may have characteristic levels of neuroactive steroids, molecules derived from the hormone progesterone, in their blood during the third ...

People With Schizophrenia Have an Altered Ability to Visually Perceive Contrast

Jan. 28, 2025 — Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects around 1% of the world's population. Researchers have identified a deficit in contrast ...

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 ...

A Way for Smartwatches to Detect Depression Risks

Jan. 22, 2025 — A international research team developed a digital biomarker for predicting symptoms of depression based on data collected by ...

How Your Brain Learns from Rewards Might Hold the Key to Treating Depression

Jan. 22, 2025 — Using computational models, the researchers studied how the brain's reward-learning system functions in those with depression, especially among ...

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 ...

Treatment for Children With Obesity Has Lasting Effect

Jan. 21, 2025 — When children with obesity undergo weight-loss treatment, the effects have repercussions later in life and the risk of serious health problems and premature death is lower as they reach young ...

HKU Study Shows Ruminating About Being Lonely Is More Closely Linked to Depression Than Actual Loneliness

Jan. 15, 2025 — Past studies have identified a loneliness-rumination-depression nexus. Rumination is defined as repetitive and intrusive negative thoughts and feelings, and loneliness as a gap between desired and ...

Researchers Identify Three Psychological Profiles That Could Determine the Evolution of Mental, Cognitive and Brain Health in Aging

Jan. 15, 2025 — An international study has identified three psychological profiles associated with different patterns of cognitive and brain decline in aging. The study, which analyzed more than 1,000 middle-aged ...

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 ...

Global Study Pinpoints Genes for Depression Across Ethnicities

Jan. 14, 2025 — New genetic risk factors for depression have been identified across all major global populations for the first time, allowing scientists to predict risk of depression regardless of ethnicity. The ...

New Research Highlights Trends in ADHD Diagnoses

Jan. 13, 2025 — New research identifies differing trends in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses among adolescents and adults, including an increase among adults from 2020 to 2023. The study ...

High Levels of Disordered Eating Among Young People Linked to Brain Differences

Jan. 10, 2025 — More than half of 23-year-olds in a European study show restrictive, emotional or uncontrolled eating behaviors, according to new research. Structural brain differences appear to play a role in the ...

Preventing Clinical Depression: Early Therapeutic Interventions Offer Protection

Jan. 8, 2025 — Even individuals whose symptoms do not yet meet the criteria for clinical depression benefit from therapeutic interventions. This conclusion comes from a new meta-study by researchers who analyzed ...

Study Sheds Light on Depression in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Jan. 8, 2025 — Marked variation in the prevalence of depression was found in a multisite sample of community-dwelling older adults in the United ...

Ketamine Use on the Rise in U.S. Adults; New Trends Emerge

Jan. 7, 2025 — According to a new study, ketamine use has risen significantly since 2015. The results highlight the need for closer monitoring of recreational ketamine ...

Study Reveals That Sleep Prevents Unwanted Memories from Intruding

Jan. 2, 2025 — The link between poor sleep and mental health problems could be related to deficits in brain regions that keep unwanted thoughts out of ...

'Dancing the Blues Away' Seen in Brain Imaging in People With Parkinson's Disease, New Study Finds

Dec. 24, 2024 — Dancing lowers the depression associated with Parkinson's disease, and the benefits can be seen in multiple ways, a new study ...

Propranolol Reduces Tremors in Parkinson's Disease

Dec. 23, 2024 — The standard medication levodopa does not always work against tremors in Parkinson's disease, especially in stressful situations. Propranolol, however, does work during stress, providing insight ...

New Study Reveals How Brain Stimulation Improves Cognition, Decision-Making in Mental Health Disorders

Dec. 19, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered important insights that could improve how mental health conditions are treated with brain stimulation therapy -- a treatment where electrical signals are used to stimulate ...

App Helps Alleviate Mental Health Symptoms in Bereaved Parents

Dec. 18, 2024 — A new study shows that an app can help parents who are mourning the loss of a child. Parents who used the app for three months reported reduced symptoms of prolonged grief and post-traumatic stress, ...

Almost Three Quarters of Adolescents Experience Depression or Anxiety

Dec. 17, 2024 — Almost three quarters of adolescents in Australia experience clinically significant depression or anxiety symptoms, with most being chronic, according to a new study. And preventive strategies ...

Teens With a Reduced Response to Rewards Are More Susceptible to Depression

Dec. 17, 2024 — Novel research shows that a reduced neural response to receiving rewards in teens predicts the first onset of depression, but not anxiety or suicidality. This is independent of pre-existing ...

Common Brain Network Links Brain Atrophy Patterns Seen in Schizophrenia

Dec. 12, 2024 — A new study has identified a unique brain network that links varied patterns of brain atrophy, or shrinkage, associated with ...

'Missing Link' Between Brain and Body Inflammatory Signals Identified in the Skull

Dec. 9, 2024 — New research provides valuable insights into the brain-body immune connection identifying key communication hubs in the dural sinuses and skull bone marrow at the back of the ...

Cardiovascular Disease Symptoms Surprisingly High in Young Refugees

Dec. 5, 2024 — Many individuals seeking asylum in the United States show increased stress and pain symptoms that are associated with indications of cardiovascular ...

College Students' Insomnia Linked More Strongly With Loneliness Than Screen Time

Dec. 4, 2024 — Being lonely is a bigger hurdle to a good night's sleep for college students than too much time at a computer or other electronic screen, a new study ...