 Mental Health
8 March 2010
Brain plasticity increased with Ritalin use
Millions of children are treated with Ritalin to improve their ability to focus on tasks, but scientists now report that Ritalin also directly enhances the speed of learning...
12 February 2010
Researchers tracing autism's roots
New research has found that in fragile X syndrome - a genetic defect that is the best-known cause of autism - there is delayed development of the sensory cortex, the part of the brain that responds to touch, which researchers speculate may trigger a domino effect and cause further problems with the wiring of the brain...
3 February 2010
Facebook use associated with depression
An alarming new study provides compelling evidence that chat rooms, online gaming and social networking sites can have a serious impact on mental health, leading to moderate to severe depression in users...
16 December 2009
Do antidepressants work through personality change?
New evidence suggests that popular SSRI antidepressant medications can substantially change patients’ personalities; and researchers speculate that it is these changes in personality – rather than the supposed alleviation of depressive symptoms – that are responsible for improvements in mood...
21 January 2009
Therapy and drugs prove to be effective against body dysmorphia
A new meta-study has found that drug therapy and psychotherapy can effectively treat the condition known as body dysmorphic disorder, where sufferers obsess over exaggerated or imaginary physical defects...
9 July 2008
The Dark Side Of Dopamine
While there is a large amount of evidence to support the idea that the brain chemical dopamine mediates positive effects, such as reward, happiness and pleasure; a new study suggests that dopamine is also intimately involved in emotions like dread and fear...
14 May 2008
New Physiological Evidence For Social Anxiety Disorder
Dutch researchers report direct evidence for the involvement of the brain's dopamine regulation system in social anxiety disorder, demonstrating that social anxiety has a physical, brain dependent component...
7 May 2008
Epigenetic Changes Discovered In Abuse Victims' Brains
Scientists have discovered important differences between the brains of suicide victims who suffered abuse as children and so-called normal brains. The differences are in their epigenetic marking – a chemical coating on the DNA that is influenced by environmental factors...
2 May 2008
Lack Of A McShrinky Makes Therapy Unappealing
Television's portrayal of psychological counselors as either buffoons or unethical clods in shows like Frasier, Tell Me You Love Me and In Treatment, makes people less willing to seek professional mental health services, suggests a new study...
2 April 2008
Paranoia As Common As Depression, Anxiety
A virtual reality subway ride has been used by researchers to reveal the extent that paranoia occurs in the general public...
26 February 2008
HIV Stigmatization Still Widespread
Stereotypes and misinformation about HIV that are commonplace among the general public are also evident in a surprising number of clinical staff...
4 December 2007
Biological Cause For Body Dysmorphic Disorder?
A new imaging project reveals that the brains of people with BDD look normal, but function abnormally when processing visual details...
12 October 2007
Inventing Illness
A new book chronicles how psychiatry has created new mental disorders and “pathologized” normal behavior...
5 September 2007
Boffins Investigate Schizophrenia Genes
Scientists are trying to understand why several genes with strong associations to schizophrenia have evolved rapidly thanks to positive selection during human evolution...
23 August 2007
Uncovering Autism's Disconnects
Scientists have discovered that in autistic individuals, connections between brain cells may be deficient within single regions, and not just between regions, as was previously believed...
17 August 2007
Our Love Affair With Depression
A psychiatrist has lashed out at what he claims is the medicalization of normal human distress...
20 July 2007
ADHD Drug Affects Developing Brain
The use of Ritalin in treating attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder could cause long-term changes in children's brains...
9 May 2007
More Evidence For Brain Regeneration From Electro-Shock Treatment
Recent experiments with monkeys appear to have confirmed earlier findings that electroconvulsive shock treatment can stimulate new nerve cell growth in the brain...
3 April 2007
Dung Critter Lifts Mood
A bacterium that appears to trigger serotonin production in the brain could point the way to new antidepressants and shed light on the role that the immune system plays in depression...
9 February 2007
Strep Implicated In Psychiatric Problems
Researchers have found an intriguing association between streptococcal infection in children and behaviors that are more usually associated with neurological disorders...
26 January 2007
Quitting The Hard Way
Smokers who suffer damage to a certain region of their brain have their addiction to nicotine negated; a finding that could lead to new smoking cessation treatments...
5 December 2006
Oxytocin Could Be Used As Autism Treatment
Oxytocin, often referred to as the trust drug, appears to have significant positive effects on adult autism patients...
18 September 2006
Extreme Diet Nixes Alzheimer's
New treatments may result from the finding that caloric restriction appears to prevent Alzheimer's by triggering activity in the brain associated with longevity...
21 August 2006
Shell Toxin Could Be Effective Brain Treatment
A nerve toxin used by venomous sea snails could lead to new treatments for certain mental illnesses and brain diseases...
11 July 2006
Quantifying A Mystical Experience: Hallucinogenic Research Gets To Grips With Spirituality
An active agent contained in "sacred mushrooms" can induce strikingly similar mystical experiences in different subjects; and the experiences seem to be identical to the spontaneous epiphanies that people have reported for centuries...
14 June 2006
Trauma The Major Cause Of Schizophrenia?
Traumatic childhood maltreatment could be behind the majority of schizophrenia cases, say two psychiatrists who describe their theory as "an earthquake" that will radically change the psychiatric profession...
10 February 2006
Mice With Self Esteem Problems Help Identify Depression Gene
In mice that were conditioned to be depressed, the absence of a particular gene mimics the effects of taking antidepressants...
2 February 2006
Ritual A Critical Element Of Placebo Effect
Harvard doctors uncovered some interesting findings when they compared the “effects” of a placebo pill to those of placebo acupuncture...
4 January 2006
Adolescent Mental Health Studies Cause Alarm
Health researchers are concerned about a huge increase in psychotropic drug prescriptions for adolescents, while another study finds that one-in-five teens undergoing psychiatric treatment may be bipolar...
8 December 2005
“Trust” Hormone Negates Fear
Researchers have mapped the effects of the brain chemical oxytocin – the trust hormone – and discovered how it short circuits fear in humans...
9 November 2005
More Evidence For Link Between Mood Disorders And Creativity
Children who had bipolar disorder, were at risk of it, or had bipolar parents, scored higher on a creativity index than normal children...
4 November 2005
When Thinking Can Be Toxic
If you suffer from a neurodegenerative disease, thinking can be bad for your brain. It seems that the nerve impulses passed between brain cells can become toxic, inflicting injury on neurons...
25 October 2005
Brain Knows More Than It Lets On
Your brain may know the answer to a problem even if you don't, say scientists who have been analyzing monkey behavior...
21 October 2005
Delusions And Mental Illness
What does the concept of belief really mean? Does a delusion have to be false? Psychologists and neuroscientists are teaming up with philosophers to answer these questions and better understand human delusions and the belief systems we build around them...
25 April 2005
Microorganisms Behind Schizophrenia And Alzheimer's?
Rather than lifestyle factors, a report from the American Academy of Microbiology suggests that many chronic illnesses may be caused by infectious agents...
6 April 2005
Light Therapy As Effective As Drugs
The beneficial effects of light therapy, also known as phototherapy, are comparable to those found in many clinical studies of antidepressant drugs...
9 February 2005
Curiosity Cured The Rat
Laboratory rats who are curious about the environment around them seem to survive cancerous tumors for longer than their less curious cousins...
5 April 2004
Bark From Yohimbe Tree Has Potential To Treat Anxiety Disorders
Most commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, bark from the African Yohimbe tree is shaping up to revolutionize the treatment of fear and anxiety disorders...
15 March 2004
New Theory On How Nicotine Protects The Brain
There's new evidence of an anti-inflammatory mechanism in the brain by which nicotine may protect against nerve cell death...
13 November 2003
Nicotine Improves Memory And Helps Brain Repair Itself
Nicotine may improve memory and protect brain cells from diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as improve some of the learning and memory problems associated with hypothyroidism...
20 February 2003
The Curse Of Intelligence
Diplomats and politicians would do well to remember that humans may have nuclear technology but still only possess stone-age brains...
23 May 2002
Link Between Creative Genius And Mental Illness Established
Using personality tests, researchers found healthy artists to be more similar in personality to individuals with manic depression than to healthy people...
2 May 2002
Placebo As Effective As Prozac
Depressed patients who got better after taking a placebo for six weeks showed brain changes that were similar to patients who responded to an anti-depressant drug...
8 April 2002
Alcohol And Nicotine A Pleasurable Combination
It’s no secret that smokers often drink, and drinkers often smoke. Now, a rodent study has found that low doses of alcohol and nicotine can have an additive effect on the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine...
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