Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic debilitating disorder which affects more than two million Americans, and millions more worldwide. While significant progress has been made in understanding the disease and developing treatments, there remains a significant unmet medical need. More than 50% of patients switch their medication in a given year due to either poor response or the experience of adverse events.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental health disorder that causes people to think, feel and perceive the world differently from the general population.

Schizophrenia Diagnosis

Schizophrenia Causes

Schizophrenia Signs and Symptoms

Schizophrenia Neural Processes

Schizophrenia Mechanisms

Schizophrenia Screening, Prevention and Management

Schizophrenia Medication

Schizophrenia Interventions

Schizophrenia Prognosis

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

New brain biomarker could enable early diagnosis of psychosis

The current standard of care for psychosis is a diagnostic interview, but what if it could be diagnosed before the first symptom emerged? Researchers at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester are pointing toward a potential biomarker in the brain that could lead to more timely interventions and personalized care.

25 Nov 2024

Dopamine and serotonin balance reward learning in opposing ways

If you've heard of two of the brain's chemical neurotransmitters, it's probably dopamine and serotonin. Never mind that glutamate and GABA do most of the work -; it's the thrill of dopamine as the "pleasure chemical" and serotonin as tender mood-stabilizer that attract all the headlines.

25 Nov 2024

Groundbreaking method profiles gene activity in the living brain

A groundbreaking method to profile gene activity in the living human brain has been developed by researchers at FutureNeuro, the Research Ireland Centre for Translational Brain Science and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, in collaboration with international partners.

25 Nov 2024

Parkinson's disease drug disrupts the gut microbiome by inducing iron deficiency

In a groundbreaking new study, conducted within the framework of the FWF-funded Cluster of Excellence "Microbiomes drive Planetary Health", scientists from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with the University of Southampton, Aalborg University and Boston University, have revealed that the widely prescribed Parkinson's disease drug entacapone significantly disrupts the human gut microbiome by inducing iron deficiency.

22 Nov 2024

Cannabis use linked to brain changes in young adults at risk of psychosis

Young adults at risk of psychosis show reduced brain connectivity, a deficit that cannabis use appears to worsen, a new study has found.

20 Nov 2024

Multiple sclerosis drug could help individuals with reduced working memory

Fampridine is currently used to improve walking ability in multiple sclerosis. A new study shows that it could also help individuals with reduced working memory, as seen in mental health conditions like schizophrenia or depression.

19 Nov 2024

Researchers use cerebrospinal fluid to unlock pathways in Alzheimer's disease

A multitude of genes have been linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease. Specifically how those genes might influence the progression of neurodegeneration remains something of a black box though, in part because of the challenges of examining in molecular detail the brain of a living patient.

14 Nov 2024

Prenatal cannabis exposure linked to increased risk of opioid addiction later in life

With the increased legalization of recreational cannabis, as many as 1 in 5 pregnant women in the U.S. are now using the drug to help with morning sickness, lower back pain or anxiety.

14 Nov 2024

New study links circadian gene variants to winter depression

Variants of the PER3 gene disrupt adrenal adaptation to winter light, leading to serotonin disruption and depression-like behaviors in humanized mice models.

13 Nov 2024

Exploring the intergenerational impact of adversity on mind-body health

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is hosting a free webinar, "Intergenerational Effects of Adversity on Mind-Body Health: Pathways Through the Gut-Brain Axis" on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 2:00 pm ET. The presenter, Bridget Laura Callaghan, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At UCLA, Dr. Callaghan directs the Brain & Body Lab in the Department of Psychology and also heads the Mental Disorders and Pain research theme at the Goodman Luskin Microbiome Center.

8 Nov 2024

Brain cells form multiple coordinate systems to guide behavioral actions

Neuroscientists have discovered brain cells that form multiple coordinate systems to tell us "where we are" in a sequence of behaviors.

6 Nov 2024

New technology for visualizing AMPA receptors offers insights into psychiatric disorders

Even though psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are quite common, their diagnosis and treatment are challenging.

5 Nov 2024

Adolescents' genetic risks tied to psychotic symptoms

Researchers examine the relationships between neuropsychiatric and cognitive polygenic scores, attention-related phenotypes, and psychosis symptoms.

1 Nov 2024

Study aims to identify clinical subtypes in patients with schizophrenia

A research team led by Professor Takahiro Nemoto at Toho University, in collaboration with Associate Professor Naoki Hashimoto and Assistant Professor Ryo Okubo at Hokkaido University, and Dr. Satoru Ikezawa at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry explored the agreement or discrepancy between subjective social cognitive difficulties and actual cognitive impairment.

29 Oct 2024

Digital avatars may ease distress from troubling voices in psychosis

AVATAR-Extended therapy demonstrates effectiveness in alleviating distress from psychosis voices, promoting lasting improvements in mood and well-being.

29 Oct 2024

Genetics and childhood attention problems linked to psychotic-like experiences in youth

Researchers at UCLA Health have found that a person's risk of developing psychotic-like experiences may be influenced by both childhood attention problems and their genetic makeup.

28 Oct 2024

Study links schizophrenia to increased risk of sudden cardiac death

The lifetime risk of an unexpected and sudden death from a cardiovascular cause in the absence of pre-existing heart disease-;known as sudden cardiac death-;is more than 4 times higher for people with schizophrenia than it is for the general population, indicates Danish research published online in the journal Heart.

22 Oct 2024

Study identifies genetic associations with youth psychopathology

When trying to understand how genetic influences factor into youth behavior, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have taken the "big trawl" approach, casting their net wide to pull in all the measured traits, behaviors and environments that make up who we are and examine associations with the genetic building blocks comprising risk for mental health problems.

17 Oct 2024

$Severe mental illness linked to higher risk of fragility fractures in older adults$

Severe mental illness linked to higher risk of fragility fractures in older adults

People over the age of 50 who have severe mental illness are more likely than the general population to experience fragility fractures but may be less likely to get a diagnosis for osteoporosis, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

15 Oct 2024

Understanding how the hippocampus discriminates social threat from safety

How do we distinguish threat from safety? It's a question important not just in our daily lives, but for human disorders linked with fear of others, such as social anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

15 Oct 2024