Teens With Mental Health Conditions Use Social Media Differently

Summary: Adolescents with mental health conditions report distinct and often more negative experiences on social media compared to their peers. Those with internalising conditions like anxiety and depression were more…

Stressful Neighborhoods May Numb Kids’ Brains to Joy and Loss

Summary: Children raised in disadvantaged neighborhoods may show blunted brain responses to rewards and losses, especially if they have a family history of depression. New research reveals that community-level stress,…

Music Mindfulness Eases Anxiety and Depression

Summary: Mindfulness exercises paired with music were found to engage both neural and cardiac systems, potentially reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. A recent study showed that live and virtual…

Shared Brain Circuit Links Insomnia, Anxiety, and Depression

Summary: A large brain imaging study suggests that insomnia, depression, and anxiety, often co-occurring, share overlapping brain abnormalities. Researchers found reduced cortical surface area, smaller thalamic volume, and weaker brain connectivity…

Brain-Body Links in Emotion and Health

Summary: Researchers have developed D-PSCAN, a novel imaging technique that enables high-resolution, minimally invasive observation of the brainstem’s nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) in living animals. The NTS, a vital relay…

Happiness Is as Unique as You Are

Summary: A large international study shows that happiness does not stem solely from either external circumstances or internal attitudes, but varies widely between individuals. Some people’s happiness is shaped mostly…

Girls With ADHD Face Higher Risk of Anxiety

Summary: A new study reveals that in girls, symptoms of inattentive-type ADHD significantly increase the likelihood of developing anxiety during adolescence. Inattention and anxiety appear to reinforce each other in…

Negative Expectations Worsen Pain More Than Positive Ones Ease It

Summary: New research shows that negative expectations, known as nocebo effects, exert a stronger and longer-lasting impact on pain perception than positive expectations, or placebo effects. In a two-session study,…

The Psychology Behind Why Some People Give More Than Others

Summary: A new analysis of over 90,000 participants shows that personality traits influence how people engage in volunteering and charitable giving. Researchers found that extraverts are more likely to volunteer,…

Practicing Gratitude Builds Resilience and Hope

Summary: While gratitude has been praised for its mental health and relationship benefits, cultivating it during stressful times can be especially challenging. Negative information naturally grabs our attention more than…