Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

New research shows specific mechanisms may not exist for facial recognition

New research from Georgetown University Medical Center suggests that the brain may not have developed a specific ability for "understanding faces" but instead uses the same kind of pattern recognition techniques to distinguish between people as it uses to search for differences between other groups of objects, such as plants, animals and cars.

19 Apr 2006

Gender equality leads to better sex lives for over 40's

Older couples who live in Western countries and who enjoy more equality between men and women are most likely to report being satisfied with their sex lives, according to a new study on sexual well-being, aging and health that was conducted in 29 countries by a University of Chicago research team.

19 Apr 2006

White girls become less depressed as they age while black girls continue feeling the same

Franko and her associates surveyed more than two thousand girls and young women of both ethnicities and concluded that the depression rate in Caucasian females drops over time, while it remains steady in their African-American counterparts.

19 Apr 2006

Promising treatment for Huntington's disease soon to be tested clinically

At the Institut Curie, CNRS and Inserm researchers have shown that cysteamine, which is already used to treat a rare disease called cystinosis, prevents the death of neurons in Huntington's disease. Like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, is characterized by the abnormal death of neurons.

19 Apr 2006

New London based centre for clinical genetic research

The London Genetics Centre will provide access to knowledge and expertise in clinical genetics across London's biomedical institutions, and help position London as the leading European centre for genetic medicine.

19 Apr 2006

Brits get serious about drinking and depression

Experts in the UK are warning that the favorite ritual of a glass of wine at the end of a stressful working day is for many a form of "self-medication" and a substitute for seeking professional help with their problems.

18 Apr 2006

It's a vicious circle - exposure to stress causes anxiety and depression

Experts in the United States say the results of a study with mice suggests that stress in itself may cause anxiety and depression.

18 Apr 2006

STEPPS group treatment for borderline personality disorder in The Netherlands

Trade between countries usually involves products. However, one successful export from the United States to the Netherlands, Norway and several other countries is a cognitive therapy treatment program created by University of Iowa experts to help people with borderline personality disorder.

18 Apr 2006

Anxiogenic-like effect of chronic corticosterone in the light-dark emergence task in mice

Neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School and its affiliate McLean Hospital have shown that long-term exposure to stress hormone in mice directly results in the anxiety that often comes with depression.

18 Apr 2006

That mistake will cost you and your brain knows staight away!

According to a team of researchers in the U.S.a particular part of the brain called the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, or rACC, becomes much more active when a person realizes he or she has made an error that carries consequences - for instance, losing money.

12 Apr 2006

Interstitial cystitis average cost in first year after diagnosis $3000 or more

Wu and colleagues studied data for patients under age 65 with at least one diagnosis of Interstitial Cystitis (IC) from a de-identified administrative database of 2 million beneficiaries that included medical, drug and disability claims for 1999-2002.

11 Apr 2006

Dealing with children's misbehavior

When children's misbehavior or delinquency creates problems, it's not enough to deal with the children alone. Mental health professionals recommend behavioral parent training as well, reports the April issue of Harvard Mental Health Letter.

11 Apr 2006

Targeted mutations in mice uncover two key molecular events linked to learning

Johns Hopkins researchers have used mouse mutants to define critical steps involved in learning basic motor skills. The study focuses on the behavior of two proteins and the specific steps they take to control a neuron's ability to learn by adapting to signals from other nerve cells.

11 Apr 2006

Men's and women's brains behave differently

A key part of the brain involved in processing emotionally-influenced memories acts differently in men and women, even in the absence of stimuli, UC Irvine researchers have found.

11 Apr 2006

Gene variant doubles risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) have identified a previously unknown gene variant that doubles an individual's risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

11 Apr 2006

Alcohol use, comorbidity, and mortality

Older men who drink as few as two drinks twice a week and also have diseases that could be worsened by alcohol or cause problems with medications taken while drinking alcohol have higher death rates, as compared to men who either drink less or may drink more but don't have such comorbidities.

11 Apr 2006

Depression is an often undiagnosed source of suffering for elderly

Elderly patients with lesser versions of depression, a group many times larger than those with major depression, are more than five times as likely as healthy patients to descend into major depression within one year, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

11 Apr 2006

Early transition to menopause may increase risk for first onset of depression

Women with no history of depression may be at an increased risk of new onset depressive symptoms and disorders as they transition to menopause, according to two studies in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Apr 2006

Doctors must listen when patients talk of a failing memory

A team at the Aging and Memory Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, has found that a higher self awareness of memory difficulties may be associated with brain function decline over time, particularly in older adults with a genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease.

6 Apr 2006

Staggering costs of sleep disorders and sleep deprivation on the nation

According to a new report by the Institute of Medicine ( IOM), 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from a disorder of sleep and wakefulness, which adversely affects daily functioning, health and longevity.

5 Apr 2006