Around one third of people with depression have high levels of inflammation markers in their blood. Now, new research appearing in in Molecular Psychiatry shows that persistent inflammation affects the brain in ways that are connected with stubborn symptoms of depression, such as anhedonia (the inability to experience pleasure). The findings bolster the case that […]
A new study finds that rising placebo responses may play a part in the increasingly high failure rate for clinical trials of drugs, but the authors of the study say that the increase in placebo responses occurred only in trials conducted in the United States. Accepted for publication in the journal Pain, the study analyzed […]
Designed to help individuals suffering from memory loss, a new prosthesis which includes a small array of electrodes implanted into the brain has performed well in laboratory testing in animals and is now being evaluated in human patients. A report on the device was presented at the 37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering […]
Experiments with monkeys showed that the antidepressant sertraline (marketed as Zoloft) significantly increased the volume of one brain region in depressed subjects but decreased the volume of two brain areas in non-depressed subjects. Conducted by researchers from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the experimental results have been published in the journalNeuropharmacology. “These observations are important […]
The belief that depression is due to low levels of serotonin in the brain – and that effective pharmaceutical treatments raise these levels – is nothing but a myth, according to David Healy, a Professor of Psychiatry at the Hergest psychiatric unit in the UK. Arguing his case in the British Medical Journal, Healy points […]
In an intriguing new study, University of Warwick researchers say that while low educational attainment is associated with mental illness, happiness – or mental wellbeing – was equally likely across all levels of educational attainment. The study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, set out to examine socioeconomic factors related to high mental wellbeing, […]
High-fat diets have long been known to increase the risk for heart disease and stroke, but there is new evidence to link diets high in fat with a range of psychiatric disorders. Central to this newly recognized mind-gut relationship are the microorganisms that inhabit our intestines – the gut microbiome. Increasingly, scientists are finding the […]
While the dangers of narcissism are well documented, its origins are not. Now, a new study from Ohio State University sheds light on how parents play a big role in the early development of narcissism in children. The study, appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, followed the participating parents and their […]
Previous studies have found that psychedelic use may occasion lasting improvements in mental health, but the effects of psychedelic use on suicidality have been unknown. Now, a new study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology has examined the use of classic psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, and mescaline), to determine whether they might be protective with regard […]
Recent studies into Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have found a lack of synchronization (“connectivity”) between different parts of the brain that normally work in tandem. But other studies have found the exact opposite – over-synchronization in the brains of those with ASD. Now, new research published in Nature Neuroscience suggests that the various reports – […]
