Adults in their 40s and 50s with higher levels of cortisol — a hormone linked to stress — performed worse on memory and other cognitive tasks than peers of the same age with average cortisol levels, research found. Higher cortisol in the blood also was associated with smaller brain volumes, according to the study, published […]
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Social stigma contributes to poor mental health in the autistic community
Stress related to social stigma may be the reason why autistic people experience more mental health problems than the general population, dispelling past theories that the condition itself is the origin of such distress. In the first study of its kind, published in the Journal of Society and Mental Health, researchers from the University of […]
Recognizing the uniqueness of different individuals with schizophrenia: Research reveals large differences between individual patients
Schizophrenia is an extremely variable psychiatric disorder which is diagnosed based on the presence of specific symptoms. Thomas Wolfers and André Marquand of Radboud university medical center investigated how much the brains of individual patients diagnosed with schizophrenia differ from the ‘average’ patient. For this purpose, they compared brain scans of 250 healthy individuals with […]
Effective ketamine doses for treatment-resistant depression
A study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators identifies two subanesthetic dosage levels of the anesthetic drug ketamine that appear to provide significant symptom relief to patients with treatment-resistant depression. In the October 2018 issue of Molecular Psychiatry they describe finding that single intravenous doses of 0.5 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg were more effective […]
Link between childhood adversity, burnout and depression
A study on childhood adversity at The University of Texas at El Paso School of Nursing found that undergraduate nursing students who were exposed to a higher number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — such as abuse, neglect or family dysfunction — encountered higher levels of burnout and depression. ACEs can have negative, lasting effects […]
Rethinking lethality in youth suicide attempts: Firearms are a major factor in first suicide attempts in youth ages 10 to 24
First suicide attempts are more lethal than previously realized, reports a study of children and adolescents published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP). Seventy-one percent of youth dying by suicide did so on their first attempt, also known as the “index” attempt; the authors also found that firearms […]
Breastfeeding changes gene activity that may make babies less reactive to stress
It has long been known that there are many physical and mental health benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and babies. But can these benefits be due to genetic changes induced by breastfeeding? New research suggests that connection. The research, published in the September 2018 edition of the Pediatrics, was led by Barry M. Lester, PhD, […]
Similar changes in the brains of patients with ADHD and emotional instability
In both ADHD and emotional instability disorders (e.g. borderline and antisocial personality disorder as well as conduct disorder in children), the brain exhibits similar changes in overlapping areas, meaning that the two types of conditions should be seen as related and attention should be paid to both during diagnosis. This according to researchers at Karolinska […]
Anxiety, depression, other mental distress may increase heart attack, stroke risk in adults over 45
Adults ages 45 or older who experience psychological distress such as depression and anxiety may have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. In a study of 221,677 participants from Australia, researchers found that: among women, high/very high psychological distress […]
Maternal depression may alter stress and immune markers in children
New research suggests that depression in women may affect their children’s stress and physical well-being throughout life. For the Depression & Anxiety study, researchers followed 125 children from birth to 10 years. At 10 years, mothers’ and children’s cortisol (CT) and secretory immunoglobulin (s-IgA) — markers of stress and the immune system — were measured, […]