Psychiatry News and Research

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Psychiatry is the treatment, study and prevention of mental disorders.

Diet high in refined carbohydrates may lead to depression risk in postmenopausal women

A diet high in refined carbohydrates may lead to an increased risk for new-onset depression in postmenopausal women, according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

6 Aug 2015

TSRI study shows single injection of blebbistatin drug prevents methamphetamine relapse in animal models

Recovering addicts often grapple with the ghosts of their addiction—memories that tempt them to relapse even after rehabilitation and months, or even years, of drug-free living.

5 Aug 2015

Drug treatment mitigates injury risk in ADHD children

Study findings show the importance of pharmacological treatment for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in ameliorating the increased risk of injuries associated with the condition.

4 Aug 2015

Current psychotherapy treatments less than optimal for war veterans suffering from PTSD

Our nation's veterans continue to suffer emotional and psychological effects of war—some for decades. And while there has been greater attention directed recently toward post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and more veterans are seeking help, current psychotherapy treatments are less than optimal, according to a new narrative review published in the August 4, 2015 issue of JAMA.

4 Aug 2015

Researchers use new dimensional method to distinguish between expectable and worrisome childhood misbehavior

Researchers at Northwestern University are using a novel dimensional method for distinguishing misbehavior that is expectable in early childhood versus that which is cause for clinical concern.

4 Aug 2015

Study reveals new gene that plays crucial role in ASD

A study carried out by the Laboratoire Neurobiologie des Interactions Cellulaires et Neurophysiopathologie (CNRS/Aix-Marseille Université), in collaboration with clinicians from Marseilles Public Hospitals (AP-HM) and scientists from the Salk Institute in San Diego (US), has revealed a new gene that plays a crucial role during early development in humans and whose under-expression may induce certain autistic traits.

4 Aug 2015

Benefits and risks of taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy

Treating maternal psychiatric disorder with commonly used antidepressants is associated with a lower risk of certain pregnancy complications including preterm birth and delivery by Caesarean section, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. However, the medications -- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs -- resulted in an increased risk of neonatal problems.

4 Aug 2015

Trauma may cause long-lasting effects even in people without PTSD

Trauma may cause distinct and long-lasting effects even in people who do not develop PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), according to research by scientists working at the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry. It is already known that stress affects brain function and may lead to PTSD, but until now the underlying brain networks have proven elusive.

4 Aug 2015

People with chronic insomnia may be able to get relief from half of standard sleeping pills

The roughly nine million Americans who rely on prescription sleeping pills to treat chronic insomnia may be able to get relief from as little as half of the drugs, and may even be helped by taking placebos in the treatment plan, according to new research published today in the journal Sleep Medicine by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

4 Aug 2015

Research finding could help reveal how the human brain learns complex motor skills

Like top musicians, songbirds train from a young age to weed out errors and trim variability from their songs, ultimately becoming consistent and reliable performers. But as with human musicians, even the best are not machines. To learn and improve, the songbird brain needs to shake up its tried-and-true patterns with a healthy dose of creative experimentation. Until now, no one has found a specific mechanism by which this could occur.

4 Aug 2015

Northwestern gets $17.5 million NIH grant to invent, develop implantable drug delivery system for HIV prevention

Northwestern Medicine scientists have received a five-year, $17.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for an interdisciplinary project that aims to invent, develop and test an implantable drug delivery system to protect high-risk individuals from HIV infection for up to a year at a time.

4 Aug 2015

UCLA skills program improves social functioning in young adults with autism

Researchers at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA have found that a social skills program for high-functioning young adults with autism spectrum disorder significantly improved the participants' ability to engage with their peers.

3 Aug 2015

Female patients with depression have abnormally high expression levels of glutamate receptor genes

Numerous genes that regulate the activity of a neurotransmitter in the brain have been found to be abundant in brain tissue of depressed females. This could be an underlying cause of the higher incidence of suicide among women, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

31 Jul 2015

IUPUI researchers receive NIH grant to study effect of depression treatment on cardiovascular disease

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis researchers led by Jesse Stewart of the School of Science, have received a $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct the first randomized controlled trial to determine whether depression treatment can help prevent the development of cardiovascular disease.

31 Jul 2015

Psychotropic medication use widespread among older adults, new study finds

Older Americans receive prescriptions for mental health medications at more than twice the rate that younger adults do, a new study finds.

31 Jul 2015

New Norwegian study finds strong relationship between sleep problems and self-harm in adolescents

There is a strong relationship between sleep problems such as insomnia, and self-harm, according to findings in a new Norwegian study.

29 Jul 2015

Sham-controlled trial of deep brain stimulation treatment for depression fails to show efficacy

Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and treatment-resistant symptoms of depression have a terrible personal and societal cost. They can devastate lives, careers, and families. Some severely ill patients may be unable to attend to even the basic elements of self-care, while others attempt or complete suicide.

29 Jul 2015

Study demonstrates that stress hormone cortisol can reduce heroin cravings

Every addiction is characterized by a strong desire for a certain addictive substance, be it nicotine, alcohol or other drug. Researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland recently conducted a study on heroin addiction and demonstrated that the stress hormone cortisol can reduce addictive cravings.

29 Jul 2015

Study suggests potential way to predict autism or psychosis risk in children with genetic abnormality

Doctors and researchers have long known that children who are missing about 60 genes on a certain chromosome are at a significantly elevated risk for developing either a disorder on the autism spectrum or psychosis — that is, any mental disorder characterized by delusions and hallucinations, including schizophrenia. But there has been no way to predict which child with the abnormality might be at risk for which disorder.

28 Jul 2015

Static synapses that lie between cell body and AIS critical for decreasing neuronal excitability

In biology, stability is important. From body temperature to blood pressure and sugar levels, our body ensures that these remain within reasonable limits and do not reach potentially damaging extremes.

25 Jul 2015

Psychiatry News and Research

Further Reading

Diet high in refined carbohydrates may lead to depression risk in postmenopausal women

TSRI study shows single injection of blebbistatin drug prevents methamphetamine relapse in animal models

Drug treatment mitigates injury risk in ADHD children

Current psychotherapy treatments less than optimal for war veterans suffering from PTSD

Researchers use new dimensional method to distinguish between expectable and worrisome childhood misbehavior

Study reveals new gene that plays crucial role in ASD

Benefits and risks of taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy

Trauma may cause long-lasting effects even in people without PTSD

People with chronic insomnia may be able to get relief from half of standard sleeping pills

Research finding could help reveal how the human brain learns complex motor skills

Northwestern gets $17.5 million NIH grant to invent, develop implantable drug delivery system for HIV prevention

UCLA skills program improves social functioning in young adults with autism

Female patients with depression have abnormally high expression levels of glutamate receptor genes

IUPUI researchers receive NIH grant to study effect of depression treatment on cardiovascular disease

Psychotropic medication use widespread among older adults, new study finds

New Norwegian study finds strong relationship between sleep problems and self-harm in adolescents

Sham-controlled trial of deep brain stimulation treatment for depression fails to show efficacy

Study demonstrates that stress hormone cortisol can reduce heroin cravings

Study suggests potential way to predict autism or psychosis risk in children with genetic abnormality

Static synapses that lie between cell body and AIS critical for decreasing neuronal excitability

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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