All articles tagged: Psychology & Psychiatry

Older adults who are more vulnerable to financial scams may have brain changes linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, one of the most common treatments for depression, can teach skills for coping with everyday troubles, reinforce healthy behaviors and counter negative thoughts. But can altering thoughts and behaviors lead to lasting changes in the brain?

University of Dundee research has revealed that each additional traumatic or stressful event experienced during childhood increases the odds of an individual suffering from multiple chronic conditions later in life by nearly 13%.

Adolescent females subjected to appearance-related cyberbullying are more likely to feel ashamed of their bodies, a desire to change their appearance and suffer eating disorder symptoms, according to UniSC research published in the Journal of Eating Disorders.

Neurodivergent women at work are often managing—and hiding—severe psychological distress related to their menstrual health, new research from Heriot-Watt University suggests.

Esther Perel's trajectory from private practice psychotherapist to internationally renowned relationship expert is deeply entwined with technology. It was her publisher's printing presses that distributed her 2006 breakout bestselling book, "Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence" (HarperCollins), in more than 30 languages.

Pain is a complex, multifaceted experience shaped by various factors beyond physical sensation, such as a person's mindset and their expectations of pain. The placebo effect, the tendency for a person's symptoms to improve in response to inactive treatment, is a well-known example of how expectations can significantly alter a person's experience. Mindfulness meditation, which has been used for pai

Latinx immigrant adults traveling to the United States are extorted—on average—$804 per research participant throughout the journey, according to a study appearing in Injury Epidemiology.

For children and adolescents who have anxiety, going to school can feel like a nightmare. Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the United States for adults. And since the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety that interferes with daily life has risen in young people, making everyday activities like going to school and socializing difficult and more stressful.

Scientists at Cognigenics have made a significant advance in the field of neuroscience and mental health treatment. Their research, published in Genomic Psychiatry, demonstrates that a new RNA-based therapy called COG-201 can enhance memory and reduce anxiety in animal models.

A research team from the School of Public Health and the School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), Duke-NUS Medical School (Singapore), and the University of British Columbia (Canada) found that extending Hong Kong's statutory paid maternity leave from 10 to 14 weeks in 2020 led to a significant improvement in maternal mental health.

Esoteric attitudes—especially with regard to complementary and alternative medicine—have an influence on the willingness to be vaccinated. Dr. Sebastian Jäckle and Dr. James K. Timmis, both from the Department of Political Science at the University of Freiburg, have demonstrated this in a study published in August in the journal npj Vaccines.

The simple act of observing others cope with a traumatic experience can increase our capacity for resilience and prevent the pathological states that can result from it, notably depression. Neuroscientists at UNIL have demonstrated the presence of this "emotional contagion" in mice, and successfully deciphered its mechanism.

Social distancing orders in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the evidence-based SafeCare parenting program to transition from in-person delivery in the home to virtual delivery. It also created an opportunity for researchers to assess how virtual delivery affects program outcomes.

Delinquent activities almost always occur outside of the home and away from adult supervision, so it is only natural for parents to blame peers for their child's bad behavior. Not surprisingly, many parents also assume that they can prevent future problems by limiting contact with suspicious peers.

Social prescribing involves the referral of patients to non-clinical care to address or prevent adverse effects of the social, environmental and economic factors that are inextricably linked with health and well-being. These are commonly referred to as the social determinants of health.

A cross-governmental project has shown that expanding access to Green Social Prescribing can promote well-being and improve mental health.

Australian researchers have polled more than 50,000 primary and secondary school students aged 7–19 years about the link between their sleep and nighttime phone habits, experience of cyberbullying and stress levels.

A recent study published in Psychophysiology by a team of researchers at the Ivcher Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Technology (BCT institute) at Reichman University (Herzliya, Israel) showcases how a novel real-time haptic feedback technology can enhance interoceptive awareness and improve mental and physical health.

By repeatedly scanning the brains of a small group of patients for a year and a half, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have identified a distinct pattern of neuronal interactions that appears to predispose some people to developing depression.

A study led by researchers at Tampere University has mapped genes linked to schizophrenia and uncovered a mechanism that disrupts synaptic plasticity in affected individuals. The researchers showed the role of three proteins in mediating the impairments of plasticity in schizophrenia. The findings may hold promise for the development of new treatments.

A new brain imaging study has concluded that autism likely isn't caused by faulty connections to the amygdala.

The ability to cope well with, and adapt to, challenging life circumstances and events in older age is linked to a lower risk of death, suggests a large nationally representative study, published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health.

Picture two people sitting in a movie theater, both watching the screen: Are they seeing the same thing? Or is the movie playing out differently in each of their minds? Researchers from the Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) have found that it's the latter, and they've published their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It turns out that viewers experience

The majority of mental health disorders manifest during adolescence and relate to a multiple interplay of neurobiological and environmental factors. Instead of considering these factors in isolation, a newly developed manifold learning technique can model brain–environmental interactions, which vastly improves detection of existing mental health symptoms and prediction of future ones compared to c

There has been concern that common diabetes drugs could increase the risk of suicide and self-harm. In a new study, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in JAMA Internal Medicine, no such risk increase was observed.

Taking the weight loss medication semaglutide did not increase the risk of depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, or suicidal behavior in persons without known major mental health disorders, according to a new study led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In a newly published critique of the Connectome Projects, Dr. Gerard Marx from MX Biotech and Prof. Chaim Gilon from Hebrew University offer fresh perspectives on the intricate structures of the brain that have long been overlooked.

Australia is home to almost half a million military veterans, most of whom are in the workforce.

People have pondered whether dreams have a purpose throughout human history. Modern scientists are fascinated with this question too.

Life coach, wellness coach, business coach, weight loss coach, breakup coach—the list goes on and on. All are different titles for similar jobs, with the same limitation: Anyone can claim to be an expert.

Imagine you've had a hard day. You've only managed to get a fraction of your urgent tasks done. Your partner, boss, friend or mother (delete as appropriate) has been giving you a hard time. Just thinking about this is raising your blood pressure (my apologies).

More than one in five people who died of drug overdose in 2022 (21.9%) had a reported non-substance-related mental health disorder (MHD), according to research published in the Aug. 29 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The definition of worker well-being in the modern workplace has expanded beyond wages and material wealth to include elements of psychological wealth, such as job motivation and interpersonal relationships.

A recent study finds that hope appears to be more beneficial than mindfulness at helping people manage stress and stay professionally engaged during periods of prolonged stress at work. The study underscores the importance of looking ahead, rather than living "in the moment," during hard times.

The soundtrack of this story begins with a vaguely recognizable and pleasant groove. But if I stop writing and just listen for a second, the music reveals itself completely. In Freddie Hubbard's comfortable, lilting trumpet solo over Herbie Hancock's melodic, repetitive piano vamping, I recognize "Cantaloupe Island." Then, with my fingers again poised at the keyboard, Freddie and Herbie fade into

Anhedonia-related emotional blunting is linked with abnormally sustained activity in brain areas responsible for attention. Researchers at the Department of Neuroimaging at the IoPPN used music to study the relationship between anhedonia and emotion-related brain activity. Anhedonia is a core symptom of depressive disorders, characterized by an inability to experience pleasure typically associated

Teaching schoolkids to practice mindfulness can boost their mental health—and, maybe, even their grades.

In some people, new-onset depression may stem from the same buildup of toxic plaques in the brain that have long been linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.

Children can work together to reach a target that benefits a whole group even if it is at a personal cost to themselves, a new study has shown. The study is published in the journal Psychological Science and involved researchers from the University of Plymouth (UK), Freie Universität Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Germany), and the IESE Business School (Spain).

Doctors and nurses seldom learn in school how to tell a family that their loved one is not going to survive. Yet health care professionals face the immense burden of tragedy, illness and dying in an intensely stressful setting as a routine, ongoing part of their jobs.

The age a child can be arrested, charged and jailed in Australia is back in the spotlight.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure that entails the implantation of electrodes in specific brain regions, to subsequently stimulate these regions via high frequency electric impulses. This procedure is a highly effective therapeutic intervention for various severe neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Classroom cellphone bans should help improve learning environments in schools, a child development expert says.

University of California, Irvine public health researchers have published a study in the journal Environmental Research Health highlighting the compounded effects of frequent wildfires and smoke exposure on physical and mental health, local economies and community resilience in Southern California.

Primary care providers are well positioned to address emotional eating because of their long-term relationships with patients, note Jana DeSimone Wozniak, Ph.D. and Hsiang Huang, MD, MPH, of Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Diagnostic labels for people experiencing what some consider to be relatively milder forms of mental-ill health may affect how others perceive them for better and worse, according to a study published August 28, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS Mental Health by Nick Haslam from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues.

"Unhealthy commodities" such as tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed foods, social media, and fossil fuels, as well as impacts of fossil fuel consumption such as climate change and air pollution are associated with depression, suicide, and self-harm, according to a study published August 28 in PLOS Global Public Health by Kate Dun-Campbell from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and co

New research from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (TILDA), at Trinity College Dublin highlights the growing problem of death ideation and the increasing rates of both loneliness and suicidal thoughts among older individuals. The study published today in the journal Frontiers in Public Health explores the critical issue of social disconnection and its link to a "wish to die" among older adult

A team of brain and mental health specialists in China and the U.S. has uncovered some of the mechanics behind ketamine's rapid antidepressant effects. In their study, published in the journal Science, the group administered ketamine to depressed mouse models.

Construction workers can find it difficult to talk about mental health problems, and suicide among colleagues often comes as a shock. These are the findings of a study from the University of Gothenburg that also links work-related pain to mental illness. The research is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

In-person contact helps lead to lower levels of loneliness in older people, but other ways of staying in touch, such as phoning, emailing or texting, are not as effective in lowering loneliness, a team of researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan have found.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many disruptions in the daily lives of children and families around the world, which has been associated with various mental health challenges among youth. However, a new study from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program at the National Institutes of Health presents a more nuanced picture, suggesting that mental health improved for certain

In a small pilot study, UNC School of Medicine researchers led by Flavio Frohlich, Ph.D., used a new closed-loop system to measure the electrical brain patterns of individual patients and then stimulate those patterns with a weak electrical current, resulting in significantly improved symptoms of major depressive disorder.

In a recent study, researchers found that beliefs and assumptions people have about COVID-19 vaccines seemed to influence their vaccination experience—including side effects and, in some cases, immune response.

Dungeons and Dragons is a hugely popular role-playing game enjoyed by millions of people all over the world, both in person and online, every day.

Women with opioid use disorder and who are also involved with the criminal legal system face unique challenges and stigmas that may keep them from seeking substance use treatment and harm reduction tools that could prevent overdose deaths, according to new research led by a team from Penn State. They published their findings in Psychology of Addictive Behavior.

University of Queensland research is supporting elite athletes in adjusting to life after retiring from sport. Dr. Tarli Young from UQ's School of Psychology evaluated a digital intervention program developed by UQ researchers and collaborators in Scotland and Belgium, to help athletes transition from a professional sports career.

What comes to mind when you think of cricket? Perhaps it's an idyllic scene of an English village green—people sitting on deckchairs and checkered blankets tucking into a traditional cricket tea while watching mild-mannered players in sparkling whites shouting "howzat?!" every now and then?

A finding by a McGill-led team of neuroscientists could open doors to new treatments for a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders attributed to dysfunctions in specific dopamine pathways.

Crime films, action films, comedies, or documentaries? A person's favorite film genre reveals a lot about how their brain works. This is the finding of a new study led by the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) that compared data on film preferences with recordings of the brain activity of around 260 people.

Parents who recently experienced intimate partner violence reported more parenting stress and higher potential for child maltreatment, and were less likely to use positive parenting strategies, according to UTHealth Houston research published Aug. 26, 2024, in JAMA Pediatrics.

Among people who had aneurysms (weakened areas in brain blood vessels), the risk of developing a mental health condition was higher than among peers without an aneurysm. The highest risk was seen in patients younger than age 40, according to research published in Stroke.

Scientists have learned that children find it hard to focus on a task, and often take in information that won't help them complete their assignment. But the question is, why?

When you have a young child, you can wind up spending most of your time changing diapers and feeding them, but one expert suggests that socialization is also important for your child's future well-being.

We use the word "love" in a bewildering range of contexts—from sexual adoration to parental love or the love of nature. Now, more comprehensive imaging of the brain may shed light on why we use the same word for such a diverse collection of human experiences.

After years of being seen as dangerous "party drugs," psychedelic substances are receiving renewed attention as therapies for addiction—but far more research is needed, according to a new special series of articles in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (JSAD), published at Rutgers University.

Low-grade systemic inflammation across childhood and adolescence is associated with the subsequent onset of mental health disorders, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Up to 94% of U.S. adultsadults experience at least some dulling of their senses with age, finding themselves squinting at screens, craving stronger flavors, and missing snatches of conversations more and more frequently. Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine are looking into how these changes can go beyond mere inconvenience and actually worsen overall mental health in older adults.

There's a strong association between a state's policies and laws around the rights of transgender people and the mental health of transgender residents, a new study shows.

Air pollution is bad for mental health. That much is clear. Now, new research shows the impact may be even worse in neighborhoods that were historically redlined.

In a new study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, researchers from the Universities of Bath and Southampton have unveiled how just 10 minutes of daily mindfulness practice can improve well-being, ease depression and anxiety, and help people to be more motivated to improve their lifestyle—including healthier exercise, eating and sleeping habits.

Parental bed-sharing is unlikely to impact children's psychological development, new research has found.

Heart attack, stroke, nerve damage. These are just some of the complications for which millions of Americans with diabetes are at greater risk.

People who shop for groceries at their local supermarket may have noticed that some of the fruit they purchase may not look the same at home as it did in the store—or more specifically, after it is removed from its packaging. This is due to what has come to be known as the "confetti illusion"—in which pieces of colored material partially obstructing the view of an image can change the way our brai

The rates of emergency department (ED) use are high before and after self-inflicted injury among youths, according to a study published online Aug. 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Suicide rates among doctors have declined over time, but are still significantly higher for female doctors compared with the general population, finds an analysis of evidence from 20 countries published by The BMJ today.

High doses of psilocybin—the active ingredient in magic mushrooms—appears to have a similar effect on depressive symptoms as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug escitalopram, suggests a systematic review and meta-analysis published in The BMJ today.

Not all pain is the same. Depending on the cause, it requires different therapies. A team led by ETH Zurich has now developed a method that enables physicians to better distinguish between physical and psychosocial pain.

Watching your children frolic in a playground is one of the many joys of being a parent or grandparent, but new research has found that engaging in play with kids could help improve mental health.

Semaglutide-associated suicidal ideation has been identified in a disproportionality analysis, according to a study published online Aug. 20 in JAMA Network Open.

Neuroticism may moderate the relationship between certain personality traits and self-control, and the interaction effects appear to differ by the type of self-control, according to a study published August 21, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Fredrik Nilsen from the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Defense University, Norway, and colleagues.

The proverbial "sugar high" that follows the ingestion of a sweet treat is a familiar example of the potentially positive effects of food on mood.

As you read this, draw your attention to your jaw. Are you aware of any sensations? Are there areas of tension? Does your jaw feel tight or relaxed?

A new study that examined health data on 18 million people reveals higher incidence of mental illnesses for up to a year following severe COVID-19 in unvaccinated people. Vaccination appeared to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 on mental illnesses.

Children who have persistently raised inflammation are at a higher risk of experiencing serious mental health disorders including psychosis and depression in early adulthood, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

It's not a replacement for actual psychotherapy, but a newly designed app could help young adults with mental health issues lower their anxiety, researchers report.

An estimated one life was saved for every 17 times an extreme risk protection order removed guns from people who presented a risk of harming themselves or others, according to a Duke Health-led analysis of the laws in four states.

Cumulative adverse childhood experience (ACE) exposure is associated with higher odds of household firearm ownership in adulthood, according to a study published online Aug. 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Increases in depressive symptoms in adolescence can persist into young adulthood for people born from 1997 to 2001, with higher rates of depressive symptoms than previous birth cohorts, according to a study published online Aug. 14 in JAMA Network Open.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) significantly affect lifelong health and well-being. Despite extensive research on the topic, a wide-reaching understanding of ACEs' multifaceted impacts remains unrealized. In a new study, researchers have synthesized evidence from nearly 100 meta-analyses to provide a comprehensive view of ACEs' effects. They found significant differences in effect sizes depe

According to new research, cognitive impairments in psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are linked to brain network organization. This link between cognition and brain networks is present in individuals considered at-risk for psychotic disorders even prior to their first psychotic break. The study, published in Biological Psychiatry, suggests an opportunity for early d

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian found that a self-guided cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) app, called Maya, significantly reduced anxiety in young adults struggling with mental health challenges. The decrease in anxiety symptoms was clinically and statistically significant at six weeks and continued at the 12-week follow-up period with improvement levels similar t

Health professionals are caring people. So they must make great colleagues, right? Not so, according to Brenda Happell, Professor of Mental Health at Southern Cross University reflecting on her own experiences of bullying in a new book.

Mindfulness-based interventions delivered via telehealth in a scalable format can improve pain and overall well-being among veterans with chronic pain, according to new research published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Nurses play a key role in helping patients manage emotional and social health challenges, or psychosocial health, after a stroke, and improved screening and assessment for psychosocial needs are essential to provide optimal patient care.

If you've been to a therapist's office in the past few years, there's a good chance you've heard of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, therapy.

U.S. pediatric inpatient psychiatric bed capacity did not change from 2017–2020, despite increases in pediatric mental health emergency visits, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Swiping through online videos to relieve boredom may actually make people more bored and less satisfied or engaged with the content, according to research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

On 19 August 1874, the Irish physicist John Tyndall—now better known as the co-founder of climate science—spoke to 2,000 people for nearly two hours in Belfast's Ulster Hall. What he said generated one of the most intense controversies about science and religion in the modern period. The aftermath is still felt today.

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London and Birkbeck, University of London, has worked with members of the neurodivergent community to establish what they would like to see prioritized in future research on disordered eating.

A child at the dinner table talks about trouble at school or an argument with a friend, but parents aren't listening: They're checking their smartphones instead.

A study by Michigan State University found that non-deceptive placebos, or placebos given to people fully knowing they are placebos, effectively manage stress—even when the placebos are administered remotely.

When Wendy Beaudoin accepted a job as the nurse practitioner for pediatric neurosurgery and neuro oncology at the Stollery Children's Hospital, she had no idea how thoroughly her personal and professional lives would intertwine.

Remember when Elmo went viral in January by asking folks on the Internet how they were doing and briefly became the unofficial therapist of X?

Could arts and crafts help protect the public's mental health? A new study in Frontiers in Public Health provides evidence that indulging our creative side could provide everyone with a significant well-being boost. Because arts and crafts are relatively affordable and accessible, promoting the public's access to artistic activities could provide a major boost to public mental health.

No longer meeting diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with a lower risk for poor diabetes outcomes, particularly among younger veterans, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in JAMA Network Open.

A study exploring the mechanisms behind why cognitive performance improves in response to exercise, has revealed forced muscle movement doesn't have the same effect as voluntary.

The year was 1920. It was George "Babe" Ruth's first season playing for the New York Yankees.

A study of over 15,000 youth with self-inflicted injury treated in Emergency Departments (EDs) found that around 25% were seen in the ED within 90 days before or 90 days after injury, pointing to an opportunity for ED-based interventions, such as suicide risk screening, safety planning, and linkage to services. Nearly half of ED visits after a self-inflicted injury encounter were for mental health

Perimenopausal women are more likely to experience bipolar and major depressive disorders, according to new research by Cardiff University.

Social media's effects on the mental health of young people are not well understood. That hasn't stopped Congress, state legislatures, and the U.S. surgeon general from moving ahead with age bans and warning labels for YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

Babies recognize pretense and around half of children can pretend themselves by 12 months, new research has found. The study, led by the University of Bristol, shows for the first time how children's awareness and grasp of pretense in its various forms develops from birth to three years.

Psychotherapy sessions with caregivers may help prevent serious disease later in life for young children who have experienced significant trauma, a new UC San Francisco study found.

Twelve years after Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, it's safe to say that weed is here to stay. Nearly 30% of Washington adults report using cannabis in the last month, and a majority of Americans believe marijuana products are safe.

A walk-in clinic designed to support people with mental health needs will open September 2024 on North Broad Street. Clinicians at the clinic will provide assistance with medications, anxiety and depression, and substance use, among other issues, for patients who aren't at risk of harming themselves or others.

U.S. military veterans face unique stressors, such as combat, and experience various health conditions, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that can negatively affect multiple aspects of functioning.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures to prevent contagion resulted in extensive disruptions in children's and adolescents' everyday lives. A new study in Child Development from the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark; University of California, Riverside; and University of California, Davis in the United States has investigated personal memories (i.e., memories of episodes experienced

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London and City University of New York suggests that the cognitive difficulties associated with childhood maltreatment, and particularly neglect, have been grossly underestimated in previous studies.

Australia is falling short in supporting military veterans once they leave service—with researchers expressing concern about blinkered approaches to their care and well-being.

As the nation's youth mental health crisis continues, providers continue to find ways to help address gaps in care. Patients who receive care for suicidal thoughts and behaviors need extra support as they transition after they are discharged from inpatient care or the emergency department.

About 13 million babies each year are born prematurely, with preterm birth linked to increases in risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), problems with social development, and lower grades.

Exposure to extreme climate events is associated with adverse impacts on mental health, according to a study published online Aug. 7 in PLOS Climate.

Depression symptoms during adolescence are associated with higher levels of depression symptoms and perceived stress in early adulthood, according to a study published online Aug. 8 in JAMA Network Open.

Delusions—fixed false beliefs—can be tricky to study. And it's not yet clear how the brain gives rise to these departures from reality. Further, there are many types of delusions. Those with persecutory delusions or paranoia, for example, believe others have harmful intentions toward them, while individuals with delusions of control believe others have command over their thoughts.

In 2004, forensic experts misidentified the perpetrator of a series of train bombings in Madrid, Spain, erroneously concluding that fingerprints collected from evidence matched those of a suspect who was later cleared. An investigation into the mistake found that fingerprint experts' stress, among other human factors, played a role.

A lifetime of training and dedication. Four years of planning. One moment for athletes to prove themselves to the world.

A University of Sydney study has found that Australian government emergency cash payments, like JobKeeper, significantly helped young adults with pre-existing mental health disorders during the pandemic. Its findings can be built on to inform future crisis support plans about the importance of financial aid.

New Curtin University-led research has revealed that about 0.5%, or approximately 260, suicide deaths in Australia over a two-decade period were correlated with unusually higher temperatures caused by climate change.

It's no secret that the news has been full of doom and gloom. Algorithms have made doomscrolling, the act of consuming large amounts of dire content, all the easier because the more you look at a type of content, the more it is fed to your channels.

During the peak of COVID-19, the Black community experienced more deaths than the white community, 441.9 out of 100,000 Black persons compared to 268.5 out of 100,000 white persons in the U.S. The deleterious effects of COVID-19 then were compounded for many Black people by the highly publicized killings by police of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd that went viral on social media du

Young children often display similar eating behavior as their parents, with a parent's own eating style influencing how they feed their children, research at Aston University has shown. The research is published in the journal Appetite.

New research published in The Lancet Regional Health-Americas from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Education and Human Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, and Heersink School of Medicine found that the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States was associated with decreased anxiety and depression rates among adults.

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) have tested the first psychotherapeutic treatment of any kind for bullying—specifically weight-related bullying. It is important work, because no evidence-based treatments aimed at youth who experience bullying are currently in use, according to the researchers.

They say that laughter is the best medicine, but it could be a good parenting tool too, according to a new study led by researchers from Penn State.

As Americans sweat through another scorching summer, one expert warns that while extreme heat can cause physical harm, it can also wreak havoc with your mental health.

Over the past couple of weeks, millions around the world have witnessed the phenomenal achievements of elite athletes performing under huge pressure at the Olympics. High points have included Cindy Ngamba securing a medal for the Refugee Olympic team in boxing, and Noah Lyles becoming the world's fastest man in the 100 meter sprint, snatching gold in a thrilling finish.

Corewell Health and Michigan State University researchers are the first in the state to use de-identified electronic health records of more than 1.5 million patients to analyze incidence rates and risk factors of mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, in rural and urban areas in West Michigan.

People go to therapy for many reasons. A challenging life event, trauma, volatile emotions, relationship problems, poor mental health: all can prompt someone to seek it out.

Whether Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart, it's widely recognized that classical music can affect a person's mood. In a study published in Cell Reports, scientists in China have used brainwave measurements and neural imaging techniques to show how Western classical music elicits its positive effects on the brain. Their goal is to find more effective ways to use music to activate the brain in those who ot

A new study using data from COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia suggests that physical isolation does not lead to an increase in feelings of loneliness.

The interconnectedness of the brain, body and lifestyle factors and how they collectively influence mental health has been demonstrated by new research.

When Sarah Sperry, Ph.D., meets with her patients who have bipolar disorder, she asks them what aspect of their condition interferes with their lives the most.

Popping supplements, drinking herbal teas and signing up for lifestyle classes, China's youth are turning to the wellness industry as work stress and pandemic memories spur a growing interest in health.

Following the Mediterranean diet versus the traditional Western diet might make you feel like you're under less stress, according to new research conducted by a team from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Olympian Tom Daley is the most decorated diver in Britain's history. He is also an avid knitter. At the Paris 2024 Olympics Daley added a fifth medal to his collection—and caught the world's attention by knitting a bright blue "Paris 24" jumper while traveling to the games and in the stands.

In elite gymnastics, few names shine as brightly as Simone Biles, known for her high-difficult routines and seemingly unshakable confidence. Biles stunned the world during the Tokyo Olympics when she experienced a bout of what she called "the twisties."

Mental disorders like depression and anxiety are characterized by a variety of different symptoms, and individuals receiving the same diagnosis may experience different combinations of those symptoms. This way of defining mental disorders has been a subject of contentious debate, with some in the field concerned the symptom definitions are too broad.

Researchers from James Cook University say a new study shows dog owners are likely to be more resilient than cat owners and less neurotic—and the contrast may be down to personality differences inherent between the two groups of people.

Adolescence is a crucial developmental period in which the risk of mental health problems can first emerge. But for millions of youths, that sensitive time period coincided with the social isolation of COVID-19 and remote schooling.

School reopening following COVID-19 disruptions was associated with an increase in acute psychiatric emergencies, according to a study published online Aug. 5 in JAMA Network Open.

One in four Australians report feeling lonely, according to our new report released this week from our research collaboration.

Currently, the first-choice treatment for PTSD is exposure-based psychotherapy, where therapists help rewire the emotions associated with the traumatic memory in the patient's brain, shifting from fear and arousal to a more neutral response. However, up to 50% of patients fail to respond well to this treatment.

Humans can relate to the passage of time differently, experiencing a multitude of thoughts and emotions about their past, present and future. In psychology, these time-related mental representations are collectively referred to as "time perspective."

Patients with alopecia areata (AA) have a higher prevalence of autoimmune and psychiatric comorbidities at time of diagnosis as well as a higher risk for new-onset autoimmune and psychiatric comorbidities after diagnosis, according to a study published online July 31 in JAMA Dermatology.

People who are lonely are more apt to have bad dreams, according to a collaboration that included an Oregon State University scientist.

There's a hint of good news for parents concerned about teen mental health: After 57% of U.S. teen girls surveyed in 2021 said they felt "persistent sadness," that number declined somewhat by 2023, to 53%, new government data shows.

As the United States government considers major policy decisions regarding social media, including a potential forced sale of TikTok and new legislation to protect young users, the comprehensiveness of research informing these decisions faces scrutiny.

Social media's rise to popularity between 2010 and 2020 has been strongly correlated with the nationwide freefall in youth mental health that characterized the 2010s. Lawmakers have put increasing pressure on the U.S. government to take social media regulation more seriously, with cases about platforms like Facebook, Instagram and X rising to the Supreme Court level.

Body paint, mismatched socks, hidden knick-knacks—what do they have in common when chasing glory on the biggest stage?

Findings from ADVANCE study, looked at suicidal ideation within UK military personnel who sustained a serious physical combat injury on deployment in Afghanistan, and compared them to demographically similar individuals who sustained no such injuries. The results are published in the International Journal of Social Psychiatry.

As children begin to return to school this month, a new poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) shows that 84% of Americans believe school staff play a crucial role in identifying signs of mental health issues in students, but less than half (45%) of Americans believe most school staff have been trained in identifying these concerns.

The coach-athlete relationship is key to achieving greatness in elite sports. And at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the margins between success and failure will be tiny.

Screen time is one of the top worries for Australian parents. In a national February 2021 poll by the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, parents rated it as the number-one health issue facing their children.

Black Americans experience racial discrimination on a regular basis, and it is a cause of chronic and pervasive stress. It is known to contribute to elevated risk for poor mental health outcomes, but most research has focused on individuals. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at the interpersonal effects of discrimination on parents and their adolescent children.

New research has shown that fear around vaccination can increase vaccine hesitancy, where conspiracy beliefs may then be used to justify not vaccinating, with these findings likely helping to inform more effective public health messaging.

Stress—it is something we all encounter in our daily lives, shaping our health and well-being in ways that are both subtle and profound. Whether it's a looming work deadline, personal relationship problems, or missing a bus on the way to work, it is clear that stressors pervade all aspects of our lives.

The expansion of the Mexico-US border wall crossing has been accompanied by a rising toll of serious injuries, with poor discharge care and a lack of appropriate interpreting facilities adding up to a "humanitarian and health crisis," suggest researchers in the open access journal Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open.

Dr. Kaaren Mathias has coordinated an international team studying the value of community mental health assets in Ghana, India, Occupied Palestine and South Africa.

An operations manager finds relief from her depression with the help of psilocybin, the primary psychoactive component of "magic mushrooms." A veteran conquers his post-traumatic stress disorder through therapy using MDMA, a synthetic compound known on the street as "ecstasy" or "molly." A stay-at-home mom tries LSD, otherwise known as acid, for her anxiety.

Some artificial intelligence tools for health care may get confused by the ways people of different genders and races talk, according to a new study led by CU Boulder computer scientist Theodora Chaspari.

A new study is the first to shed light on the high prevalence of head injuries, and related mental health symptoms, in a previously overlooked population when it comes to concussion surveillance: law enforcement officers.

Pine trees blow in the wind and sunlight glitters on the sea in a virtual reality meditation program designed by Northeastern University researchers, called Stairway to Heaven.

Wearable trackers and monitors (such as smartwatches) are increasingly popular and sophisticated. For people living with heart conditions, they can provide important information, including updates about abnormalities in heart rate and rhythm.

The third-grade students at Roberta T. Smith Elementary School had only a few days until summer vacation, and an hour until lunch, but there was no struggle to focus as they filed into the classroom. They were ready for one of their favorite parts of the day.

Around 3.2 million Australians live with depression.

Mass shootings and other traumatic events hit community members hard, with those closest to the incident often experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) even years later, new research shows. The study was published July 26 in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The brain is constantly storing new experiences that it has to integrate into the jumble of existing memories. Surprisingly, it does not overwrite previous memory traces in the process.

Australia's soccer team entered Paris with high hopes of notching their first Olympic medal but those aspirations came crashing down with defeat to the United States.

Research led by Dr. Hester Hockin-Boyers (Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences), suggests that combining seemingly opposing approaches to health management could support eating disorder recovery. The research is published in the journal Sociology of Health & Illness.

New research models the rapid and expansive spread of suicidal behaviors following the suicides of Robin Williams in 2014, and of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, which occurred three days apart in 2018.

Military-connected youth that show elevated risk for suicidal ideation and suicide plans exhibit lower rates of gun-carrying, according to new research from emergency medicine faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

While suicide rates have decreased for white populations over the past two decades, they have increased in the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Yet, there are very few studies that examine trends of suicidal death across sexes in AAPI young adults aged 18–25.

Many people enrolled in Medicaid who require psychiatric care have difficulty accessing clinicians in a timely manner despite the higher need in this population, according to a study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Participating in the Olympic Games is a rare achievement and the pressures and stressors that come with it are unique. Whether an athlete is battling to win the breaststroke or powering their way to gold in the modern pentathlon, psychology will play a vital role in their success or failure in Paris this summer.

Four internet-based therapies developed by experts at the University of Oxford's Department of Experimental Psychology and Department of Psychiatry are proving helpful for patients with social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorders and for children with anxiety disorders.

In the first year after hospitalization for heart disease, stroke or other cardiovascular diseases, people were 83% more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety, depression, suicide behaviors or other psychiatric conditions than people free of cardiovascular disease, according to an analysis published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

McLean researchers sought to examine whether neighborhood and individual resources prospectively predicted PTSD trajectories following a recent trauma. They found significant interaction between individual and neighborhood resources: Individuals with high self-reported individual resources who were exposed to more greenspace had a greater likelihood of experiencing little to no symptoms of PTSD fo

A lesser-known cannabinoid that is gaining in popularity, Cannabigerol (CBG), effectively reduced anxiety in a clinical trial without the intoxication typically associated with whole plant cannabis. It may even have some memory enhancing effects, according to a new study in Scientific Reports.

In findings that suggest more young Americans struggling with mental health issues are getting the help they need, a new poll shows that nearly a third of American adolescents and teens received some sort of mental health treatment in 2023.

Prison guards aren't mental health professionals and that needs to change at Bridgewater State Hospital. A new report recommends shifting away from the Department of Correction to the Department of Mental Health to avoid the "daily tragedies" taking place there.

A study of more than 2,700 older Canadians reports older adults with diabetes faced a heightened risk of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this cohort, almost 50% of those who had a pre-pandemic history of depression experienced depression during the pandemic.

When you think about housework, you likely think of actions: scrubbing the dishes, running errands, chopping vegetables for dinner. And it's not news to say that mothers often shoulder the burden for most of those activities.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that rates of preteen suicide (ages 8–12) have been increasing by approximately 8% annually since 2008. The study appears in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Three out of five youth who died by suicide in the U.S. did not have a prior mental health diagnosis, signaling missed opportunities to identify children and adolescents for suicide prevention strategies, including therapy or medications to treat depression.

Dental anxiety is a widespread issue that affects countless people globally, causing them to avoid dental care and suffer from poor oral health. A study by the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS), Faculty of Dentistry, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) revealed both dental-related factors and non-dental factors: adverse childhood experience, attributed to dental anxiety.

Comedian Paul Merton and a Cardiff University academic have investigated why Radio 4 program "Just a Minute" is so challenging for players.

A new University of Arizona Health Sciences study found that adults with chronic pain are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression than people without chronic pain, yet they access mental health care at lower rates and are less likely to have their mental health needs met during treatment.

If you're trying to keep drivers from picking up their phones, make it a game, according to a new study led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. When drivers could earn points for making reductions in handheld phone use and had the chance to compete in a weekly leaderboard of others like them, researchers saw as much as a 28% reduction in handheld

Over recent months, a number of politicians have supported calls to ban social media for children under 16 in Australia. Currently, kids under 13 are not allowed to use social media.

For patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), seizure duration of 60 to 69 seconds induced by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is associated with the highest remission rates compared with seizure duration of less than 20 seconds, according to a study published online July 25 in JAMA Network Open.

Although factors such as social circles, income and health influence our levels of contentment, they are less significant than was previously thought, researchers say.

A bad case of the flu during pregnancy can increase the risk for fetal neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. But it's not the virus itself doing the damage; it's the mother's immune response.

The processes in the brain and body through which physical exercise reduces depressive symptoms have been explored by UCL researchers.

When Ralda Nehme, a cell biologist and neuroscientist, first started her lab at the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in 2018, she realized a gap in the field. She was adept at growing stem cells in the lab, converting them into neurons, and using those cells to study the effects of genetic mutations linked to schizophrenia.

For adults, increased substance use (ISU) is seen in populations with direct, indirect, and media exposure to mass terrorism, according to a study published online July 24 in JAMA Network Open.

According to a new study, antidepressants may reduce the risk of relapse in people with alcohol use disorder—but only if the antidepressants are effective in reducing their depression symptoms. People whose depression symptoms do not improve with antidepressant treatment may have an increased risk for relapse into problem alcohol use.

In recent years, the intense pressure professional athletes endure has come under scrutiny, highlighted by incidents like gymnast Simone Biles withdrawing from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and tennis player Naomi Osaka stepping back from the French Open, both citing mental health reasons.

If you have ever wondered how you manage to keep track of the immense amount of information coming to you each day, you might want to thank the positional tagging system in your mind.

In South Africa, little research has been done on depression and anxiety among younger adolescents, those between the ages of 10 and 14. Existing studies have primarily targeted older adolescents and those living with HIV.

More than 18% of physicians reported post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a review and meta-analysis published online July 24 in JAMA Network Open.