NIH Grantees Eye Neuroprotective Mechanism for Alzheimer’s Scientists have discovered a compound that restores the capacity to form new memories in aging rats, likely by improving the survival of newborn neurons in the brain’s memory hub. The research, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, has turned up clues to a neuroprotective mechanism [...]
By Faith H. Robinson, CNN (CNN) — Every Friday morning, students walk into an art class in Atlanta, Georgia. Some look dazed, uncertain in their environment, as if it’s vaguely familiar but they can’t fully recognize where they are — until they sit down and begin to draw. The moment their brushes hit the paper, [...]
By Elizabeth Landau CNN.com Health Writer/Producer Some guys sound tough – and according to a new study, that may a good way of predicting whether they really are. Results in the current Proceedings of the Royal Society B found that people can accurately evaluate the upper-body strength based on men’s voices from four different populations [...]
Up to 14 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression that is severe enough to disrupt their daily lives, new research finds. Between 8.5 percent and 14 percent of soldiers reported mental health issues that caused difficulties in work or private life, according to the report published in the [...]
Older veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are more likely to develop dementia than fellow vets who don’t have PTSD, new research finds. Researchers followed more than 180,000 veterans aged 55 and older for seven years. All were free from dementia at the study’s outset, while about 30 percent had PTSD. Nearly 11 percent of [...]
Secondhand smoke may place individuals at greater risk for mental health problems, new research asserts. In a study of 8,155 men and women in the Scottish Health survey, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers found non-smokers exposed to a lot of secondhand smoke were 50 percent more likely to suffer from psychological distress [...]
Lack of quality long-term relationships related to poorer well-being. WASHINGTON – Moving to a new town or even a new neighborhood is stressful at any age, but a new study shows that frequent relocations in childhood are related to poorer well-being in adulthood, especially among people who are more introverted or neurotic. The researchers tested [...]
Bad effects depend on certain personality traits; games can offer learning opportunities for others. WASHINGTON – Playing violent video games can make some adolescents more hostile, particularly those who are less agreeable, less conscientious and easily angered. But for others, it may offer opportunities to learn new skills and improve social networking. In a special [...]
Differences in brain growth patterns between preschool-aged boys with Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability, and their healthy peers suggest that the disorder may affect brain development both before and after birth, according to NIMH-funded researchers. In addition, their findings indicate ages 1-5 are an important window for better [...]
An early response to second-course treatment is associated with greater likelihood of remission among teens with hard-to-treat depression, according to recent data from an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print May 17, 2010, in the American Journal of Psychiatry. “These results suggest that early treatment decisions are probably the most crucial to the recovery [...]
A coordinated, multi-component treatment approach was more effective in treating anxiety disorders than usual care found in primary care settings, according to an NIMH-funded study published May 19, 2010, in a special issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association devoted to mental health. Background Research has found that a collaborative care approach, in [...]
A comprehensive behavioral therapy is more effective than basic supportive therapy and education in helping children with Tourette syndrome manage their tics, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study was published May 19, 2010, in a special issue of the Journal of the American Medication Association dedicated [...]
Targeting Gene Regulator in Brain Reward Circuit Eyed as Treatment Scientists have discovered a mechanism that helps to explain resilience to stress, vulnerability to depression and how antidepressants work. The new findings, in the reward circuit of mouse and human brains, have spurred a high tech dragnet for compounds that boost the action of a [...]
Few youths with early-onset schizophrenia who are treated with antipsychotic medications for up to a year appear to benefit from their initial treatment choice over the long term, according to results from an NIMH-funded study. The study was published online ahead of print May 4, 2010, in the Journal of the American Academy of Child [...]
Confirming results from earlier research, a clinical trial of treatment for major depression showed that the medication scopolamine, commonly used for motion sickness and as a sedative, could lift symptoms of depression within days, far faster than current antidepressants. Though the study was small, the magnitude of scopolamine’s effects in comparison with placebo suggests that [...]
Trial of Non-Invasive Treatment Used New, Convincing Sham Control Some depressed patients who don’t respond to or tolerate antidepressant medications may benefit from a non-invasive treatment that stimulates the brain with a pulsing electromagnet, a study suggests. This first industry-independent, multi-site, randomized, tightly controlled trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) found that it produced [...]
New Neurons Pinpointed as Central to Exercise Benefit In a study in a mouse model that mimics the contribution of social stress to human depression, an environment that promotes exercise and exploration alleviated depressive behavior in the mice. The beneficial effect of activity depended on the growth of new neurons in the adult brain. Background [...]