Summary: Researchers examined the evolving use of ketamine as a treatment for depression in New Zealand. While acknowledging its potential benefits for treatment-resistant depression, they advise against a rapid large-scale…
Category: mental health
Psychedelics Sync Neurons: A Glimpse into Consciousness & Psychosis
Summary: Researchers have pioneered a method to simultaneously measure electrical signals from 128 brain regions in conscious rats. Using this technique, they observed the effects of psychedelic drugs, LSD and…
Depression and Anxiety Are Not Cancer Risk Factors
Summary: The association between depression, anxiety and cancer risk has been a point of contention in scientific circles. In an new study a multi-national team refutes the idea that these…
Untangling the Ties Between Chronic Pain and Mental Health
Summary: A recent commentary underscores the complex relationship between chronic pain and mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. The interaction is revealed to be driven by a bi-directional feedback…
Negative Memory Replay Offers PTSD Insight
Summary: Scientists discovered that rats intensify their memories of negative experiences in familiar places by repetitively replaying them. This mental map, generated by specific neurons known as place cells, can…
Linking Childhood Trauma to Mental Illness: Astrocytes Key to the Puzzle
Summary: The removal of excitatory synapses by astrocytes, triggered by stress hormones, can lead to mental illnesses induced by childhood neglect or abuse. The study reveals that synthetic glucocorticoids, or…
Bridging the Sex Gap: Personalizing Treatments for Mood Disorders
Summary: Researchers explore the advancements made in understanding sex differences in mood disorders since the 2016 NIH mandate to include sex as a biological variable in basic research. Their review…
Amotivation and Anhedonia Key to Social Functioning in Schizophrenia
Summary: Amotivation and anhedonia, rather than expressive dysfunction, are crucial to determining the social functioning of individuals with schizophrenia. The transdiagnostic network analysis examined the relationship between negative symptoms, other…
Investigating Stress Response in PTSD and Depression Through Gene Analysis
Summary: Researchers conducted an analysis of genes in nearly 575,000 brain cells from individuals with and without post-traumatic stress and major depressive disorders (PTSD and MDD), yielding new insights into…
