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mental health

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·May 29, 2025·5 min read

Seasonal Sunlight Still Shapes Human Sleep

Despite modern lighting and lifestyle, human sleep patterns remain deeply influenced by seasonal changes in sunlight. New research reveals that our circadian rhythms track daylight shifts across seasons, impacting mood, sleep alignment, and overall health.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·May 25, 2025·5 min read

Chronic Stress Quietly Raises Your Stroke Risk

Chronic stress is increasingly recognized as a contributor to stroke risk by intensifying conditions like high blood pressure, inflammation, and unhealthy lifestyle habits. While stress isn't as easily measured as cholesterol or blood pressure, long-term exposure to it can set the stage for vascular damage and increase both ischemic and, less commonly, hemorrhagic stroke risk.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 24, 2025·4 min read

Stress Hampers Emotional Regulation in Anxiety, Depression & BPD

New research reveals that acute stress can impair key brain functions involved in emotion regulation, particularly in individuals with distress-related disorders like depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder. The study found that executive functions—such as working memory, impulse control, and cognitive flexibility—are more likely to be disrupted in these individuals during high-stress moments.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 24, 2025·2 min read

Married Minds: Oral Microbiota May Mediate Shared Anxiety

A new study suggests that oral microbiota transmission between newlywed couples may influence the onset of depression and anxiety symptoms. Researchers observed that healthy spouses of partners with insomnia, depression, and anxiety developed similar mental health symptoms and microbiota profiles within six months of marriage.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 24, 2025·4 min read

Boosting Ketamine’s Antidepressant Effects to Last Two Months

Ketamine is a fast-acting antidepressant that can relieve symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) within hours, even in treatment-resistant cases. However, its effects typically last only a week, and frequent dosing poses risks like dissociation or addiction.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 24, 2025·5 min read

Smart Floss Measures Stress Hormone for Easy, Real-Time Monitoring

Engineers have developed a novel dental floss device that can detect cortisol—a hormone linked to stress—through saliva, offering a painless, real-time method for stress monitoring. The device uses electropolymerized molecularly imprinted polymers (eMIPs), which act like custom molds to recognize specific molecules.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 23, 2025·5 min read

Brain Activity Linked to Implicit Suicidal Thoughts

For the first time in Veterans, researchers have identified brain regions activated during subconscious associations between the self and suicide-related concepts using the Suicide Implicit Association Test (S-IAT). These brain areas are part of networks responsible for self-processing and identifying significant stimuli, offering potential targets for future treatment.

This shows a drawing of a hand, symbolizing the blood test.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·May 22, 2025·4 min read

Blood Test Identifies Depression Risk in Teenagers

Summary: Researchers have identified nine blood-based microRNAs that are elevated in teens diagnosed with depression, offering a potential biomarker for...

Neuroscience

·May 22, 2025·6 min read

Long-Term Antidepressant Use Tied to Tougher Withdrawal Symptoms

A new study finds that people who have taken antidepressants for more than two years are significantly more likely to experience withdrawal symptoms when stopping the medication. The longer someone used antidepressants, the more severe and prolonged the symptoms became, with 64% of long-term users reporting moderate or severe withdrawal.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 22, 2025·6 min read

More Social Media, More Depression: Study Links Cause and Effect

A new study has found that as preteens increase their social media use, depressive symptoms also rise—but not the other way around. Researchers tracked nearly 12,000 youth over three years and discovered that increased screen time predicted later depression, while depressive symptoms did not predict more social media use.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 22, 2025·4 min read

Parental Mental Illness Raises Risk of Childhood Psychopathology

A new long-term study confirms that children of parents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder face a higher risk of developing mental health issues compared to peers without parental psychiatric diagnoses. Over four years, researchers tracked 238 children and found distinct patterns of symptoms depending on whether a parent had schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 22, 2025·7 min read

Potassium Channel Drug Offers New Hope for Treating Depression

Two new studies reveal that ezogabine, a drug originally approved for epilepsy, may alleviate depression symptoms by targeting potassium channels in the brain. Researchers found that the drug improves function in reward-related brain regions like the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which is key to motivation and pleasure.