Mental Health Research News

December 24, 2024

Top Headlines

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, and also had fewer negative thoughts. Some parents ...

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 outside our clinics are urgently required to address ...

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 ...

Latest Headlines

updated 7:48pm EST

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 ...

'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 ...

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 ...

Study Exposes Link Between Genetic Risk of Depression and Heart Disease in Women

Dec. 4, 2024 — Women who have a high genetic risk of depression are more likely to develop heart disease, researchers have ...

Study Shows Significant Rise in Psychotherapy Use Among Adults, but Gains Are Uneven Across Socioeconomic Groups

Dec. 4, 2024 — Access to psychotherapy has risen substantially among U.S. adults with mild to moderate distress since 2018, according to a new study. The increase ...

The Surprising Effect of Stress on Your Brain’s Reward System

Dec. 4, 2024 — Some people bounce back from trauma, but others get caught in depressive loops that sap the joy from their ...

20th Century Lead Exposure Damaged American Mental Health

Dec. 4, 2024 — Exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood altered the balance of mental health in the U.S. population, making generations of Americans more depressed, anxious and inattentive or ...

New Hope for Schizophrenia: iTBS Over the Left DLPFC Improves Negative and Cognitive Symptoms

Dec. 3, 2024 — Theta burst stimulation (TBS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique known for modifying human behavior and treating neurological diseases. A ...

Worried About a Pregnant Woman's Stress and Mental Health? Her Saliva May Hold the Key

Nov. 26, 2024 — New research has found that the number and type of microbes present in the saliva of pregnant women differ according to whether they are experiencing ...

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 ...

For Those With CTE, Family History of Mental Illness Tied to Aggression in Middle Age

Nov. 27, 2024 — People who have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) who have a family history of mental illness may have a higher risk of aggression in middle age, according to a new ...

Caregivers Experience Decline in Well-Being

Nov. 27, 2024 — New research, based on data from more than 28,000 caregivers in three countries, shows that the longer individuals spend caring for loved ones, the more their well-being suffers, regardless of the ...

Researchers Use Fitness Tracker Data and Machine Learning to Detect Bipolar Disorder Mood Swings

Nov. 25, 2024 — Investigators evaluated whether data collected from a fitness tracker could be used to accurately detect mood episodes in people with bipolar ...

New Imaging Study Finds Evidence That Emotion Regulation Is Not Always the Most Effective Strategy to Mitigate Suicidal Ideation

Nov. 25, 2024 — Depressed individuals who reflexively attempt to dampen their initial emotional responses to reminders of their negative memories have a low tolerance for distressing emotional stimuli in general and ...

Tantrums in Young Children Could Be Linked to ADHD, Study Finds

Nov. 21, 2024 — Preschool children who struggle to control their emotions and behaviour have more symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- known as ADHD -- at age seven, a study suggests. Children ...

Researchers Use Artificial Intelligence to Diagnose Depression

Nov. 20, 2024 — Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses. As many as 280 million people worldwide are affected by this disease, which is why researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) ...

Creativity Camp Improves Adolescent Mental Health, Well-Being

Nov. 19, 2024 — A research team found that Creativity Camp, a two-week arts intervention delivered as a day camp, had a positive impact on mental health and well-being in adolescents with ...

Multiple Sclerosis Drug May Help With Poor Working Memory

Nov. 18, 2024 — Fampridine is currently used to improve walking ability in multiple sclerosis. A new study shows that it could also help individuals with reduced working memory, as seen in mental health conditions ...

Stress Makes Mice's Memories Less Specific

Nov. 15, 2024 — Stress is a double-edged sword when it comes to memory: stressful or otherwise emotional events are usually more memorable, but stress can also make it harder for us to retrieve memories. Now, ...

How Stress Is Fundamentally Changing Our Memories

Nov. 15, 2024 — In a new study, researchers identify the biological processes behind stress-induced aversive memory generalization and highlight an intervention which could help restore appropriate memory ...

PTSD Patients Can Benefit Just as Much from Intensive Outpatient Programs as from Inpatient Clinics, New Study Shows

Nov. 14, 2024 — Post-traumatic stress disorder comes in many forms and affects each person differently. Some patients benefit more from residential, in-treatment programs, while others are more suited for outpatient ...

Depression Rates in LGBTQIA+ Students Are Three Times Higher Than Their Peers, New Research Suggests

Nov. 13, 2024 — New findings uncover an alarming rise in depression rates among all higher education students in the United States, but especially among sexual and gender ...

Fear of Another Heart Attack May Be a Major Source of Ongoing Stress for Survivors

Nov. 11, 2024 — Fear of another heart attack was a significant ongoing contributor to how heart attack survivors perceive their health, according to a study. While anxiety and depression are recognized as common ...

Patients May Become Unnecessarily Depressed by Common Heart Medicine

Nov. 11, 2024 — All patients who have had a heart attack are typically treated using beta blockers. According to a recent study, this drug is unlikely to be needed for those heart patients who have a normal pumping ...

'Emotional Contagion' a Factor in Seniors' Mental Health

Nov. 11, 2024 — A new study finds that seniors who tend to mirror other people's feelings are more likely to show signs of being anxious or depressed ...

Gut Microbes Play a Key Role in Regulating Stress Responsiveness Throughout the Day, Research Finds

Nov. 5, 2024 — New research from reveals that the gut microbiome regulates the body's diurnal (day-night) rhythms in stress hormones. Depletion of gut microbiota results in disruptions in the brain's core ...

Sleeping for 2: Insomnia Therapy Reduces Postpartum Depression, Study Shows

Oct. 31, 2024 — CBT for insomnia significantly reduces postpartum depression symptoms, directly and indirectly, by improving mood and alleviating insomnia throughout ...

The Couples Who Cope Together, Stay Together

Oct. 29, 2024 — A new study has lifted the lid on how couples living with rheumatoid arthritis cope with the debilitating disease finding that those who cope with problems together had less psychological distress ...

Magnetic Field Applied to Both Sides of Brain Shows Rapid Improvement for Depression

Oct. 28, 2024 — A type of therapy that involves applying a magnetic field to both sides of the brain has been shown to be effective at rapidly treating depression in patients for whom standard treatments have been ...