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mental health

This shows a person laying down, surrounded by swirls.

·June 12, 2025·5 min read

Out-of-Body Experiences Help the Mind Escape from Trauma

New research suggests that out-of-body experiences (OBEs) may serve as coping mechanisms triggered by trauma, rather than symptoms of mental illness. Based on data from over 500 individuals, those who had OBEs reported higher rates of mental health conditions, but also described lasting benefits from their experiences.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 12, 2025·2 min read

Weekend Catch-Up Sleep Boost May Lower Teen Anxiety

A new study reveals that teenagers who get moderate catch-up sleep—up to two extra hours—on weekends report fewer symptoms of anxiety. Sleeping significantly more or less on weekends than on weekdays, however, was linked to higher anxiety levels.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·June 12, 2025·4 min read

Social Status and Genes Interact to Shape the Aging Brain

A global study of nearly one million individuals has identified hundreds of genetic regions linked to socioeconomic status, revealing a shared genetic signal across income, education, occupation, and deprivation. Researchers found that about 9% of the variation in socioeconomic status could be attributed to genetics, while the rest was driven by social and environmental factors.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·June 12, 2025·4 min read

Stress Genes Guide Cell Cleanup

New research has uncovered how the body clears dying cells during times of stress, shedding light on the unexpected role of classic stress-response genes. Using the model organism C. elegans, scientists tracked how these genes activate a pathway that helps remove cellular debris, a process essential for immune health and development.

This shows the outline of a child and a brain.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 12, 2025·6 min read

Childhood Trauma Rewires the Brain Through Inflammation

Childhood trauma doesn't just leave psychological scars—it biologically reshapes the brain through chronic neuroinflammation and structural changes, increasing vulnerability to psychiatric disorders later in life. New research shows that early adversity can reprogram immune responses, altering lifelong mental health outcomes.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 12, 2025·4 min read

Negative Surroundings Skew Emotions in People with Depression

People with depressive symptoms are more likely to interpret neutral images as negative when those images are surrounded by unrelated negative visuals. This emotional “spillover” effect shows how peripheral cues—like background imagery or context—can shape our emotional responses more than we realize.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·June 10, 2025·6 min read

Genetic Sensitivity to Environment May Shape Mental Health Traits

A large international study of over 21,000 identical twins has identified genetic variants that influence how individuals respond to life experiences, affecting traits such as anxiety, depression, and autistic traits. By analyzing genetic differences in identical twins, researchers discovered that certain genes make people more or less sensitive to environmental exposures.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 10, 2025·3 min read

Stress-Linked Brain Pathway Disrupts Sleep and Memory

New research reveals a stress-sensitive neural pathway that impairs both sleep and memory in male mice. Scientists activated neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, known for their role in stress response, which caused sleep loss and poor memory performance.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·June 10, 2025·5 min read

Late-Life Mood Disorders May Foreshadow Alzheimer’s

Late-life depression and bipolar disorder may be more than psychiatric conditions—they could be early warning signs of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Using advanced brain imaging and postmortem tissue analysis, researchers found that half of the participants with late-onset mood disorders showed signs of tau accumulation, a key hallmark of neurodegeneration.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 9, 2025·2 min read

Sleep Quality Shapes Jealousy in Insecure Relationships

A new study reveals that poor sleep quality is linked to increased jealousy in people with high relationship anxiety. Anxious attachment, marked by insecurity and low self-esteem in relationships, was associated with worse sleep quality.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·June 8, 2025·5 min read

Listening to the Voices of Autism

A massive study of over 700,000 Reddit posts has given researchers a unique window into the lived experiences of autistic individuals, revealing a focus on community, personal interests, and coping strategies. Using natural language processing, the team grouped posts into recurring themes like music, food, friendships, and emotional challenges.

Neuroscience

·June 7, 2025·6 min read

Symptom Provocation Boosts Brain Stimulation Effectiveness

A new meta-analysis suggests that provoking symptoms just before delivering repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve clinical outcomes for OCD and nicotine dependence. Researchers examined data from multiple studies and found that rTMS was nearly twice as effective when paired with targeted symptom provocation.