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…

College students with loans more likely to report bad health and skip medicine and care, study finds

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Students who took out loans to pay for college rated their overall health and mental health…

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…

Behavioral Parallels: The Shared Routes of Aggression and Psychopathy

Summary: Aggressive and psychopathic individuals have difficulty shedding hostile behaviors once they’ve adopted them, according to new research. A mathematical model applied to a task assessing hostile responses confirmed this…

Plasma Proteins Predict Mental Health Risk in Teens

Summary: Researchers discovered plasma protein-based biomarkers that could predict mental health risks in adolescents. These markers offer a potential for early detection of mental health issues, which currently afflict 10-20%…

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…

Scorching Stress: The Hidden Mental Toll of Summer Heatwaves

Summary: Research suggests that extreme summer heat can significantly impact mental health, in addition to physical health. Changes in emotions and behaviors can occur due to heat’s influence on serotonin,…

Psychiatric History of Both Parents Tied to Preterm Birth Risk

Summary: A new study reveals the increased risk of preterm birth in infants when both parents have psychiatric diagnoses. The research analyzed data on all live births in Sweden between…

Study Challenges Longstanding Beliefs About Action of Antipsychotic Medications

Summary: Researchers uncovered a pivotal detail that could revolutionize schizophrenia treatment. Contrary to longstanding belief, antipsychotic drugs that mitigate overactive dopamine, a hallmark of schizophrenia, interact primarily with a different…