Biological Psychiatry

Schizophrenia genes increase chance of IQ loss

People who are at greater genetic risk of schizophrenia are more likely to see a fall in IQ as they age, even if they do not develop the condition.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Feb 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Life scientists identify drug that could aid treatment of anxiety disorders

(Medical Xpress)—The drug scopolamine has been used to treat a variety of conditions, including nausea and motion sickness. A new study by UCLA life scientists suggests that it may also be useful in treating anxiety disorders.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Feb 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Life experiences put their stamp on the next generation: New insights from epigenetics

The 18th century natural philosopher Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proposed that the necks of giraffes lengthened as a consequence of the cumulative effort, across generations, to reach leaves just out of their grasp. This view of ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Feb 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Scopolamine: An old drug with new psychiatric applications

Scopolamine is an anticholinergic drug with many uses. For example, it prevents nausea, vomiting, and motion sickness.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Feb 12, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers spot attention deficits in babies who later develop autism

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine are able to detect deficits in social attention in infants as young as six months of age who later develop Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Published in the current issue of Biological Ps ...

Autism spectrum disorders created Feb 05, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

If you are impulsive, take modafinil and count to 10

Poor impulse control contributes to one's inability to control the consumption of rewarding substances, like food, alcohol, and other drugs. This can lead to the development of addiction. FDA-approved medications for alcoholism, ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Feb 01, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Disulfiram: New support for an old addiction drug

Disulfiram was the first medication approved for the treatment of alcoholism over 50 years ago. It works, at least in part, by preventing the metabolism of an alcohol by-product, acetaldehyde. High levels of acetaldehyde ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jan 31, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Rats, like humans, return to drinking once punishment is removed

Once heavy drinking impairs function, a variety of punishment-related threats may motivate people to stop drinking: spouses may threaten divorce, employers may threaten job loss, and courts threaten drunk drivers with losing ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jan 30, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

People with low risk for cocaine dependence have differently shaped brain to those with addiction

People who take cocaine over many years without becoming addicted have a brain structure which is significantly different from those individuals who developed cocaine-dependence, researchers have discovered. New research ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jan 17, 2013 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Borderline personality disorder: The "perfect storm" of emotion dysregulation

Originally, the label "borderline personality disorder" was applied to patients who were thought to represent a middle ground between patients with neurotic and psychotic disorders. Increasingly, though, ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jan 15, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 0

How do happiness and sadness circuits contribute to bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a severe mood disorder characterized by unpredictable and dramatic mood swings between the highs of mania and lows of depression. These mood episodes occur among periods of 'normal mood', termed euthymia.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jan 14, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Declining access to electroconvulsive therapy: A clinical choice or an economic one?

Horrific images from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest notwithstanding, modern electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains one of the safest and most effective antidepressant treatments, particularly for patients who do not tolerate ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jan 10, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Why good resolutions about taking up a physical activity can be hard to keep

Physical inactivity is a major public health problem that has both social and neurobiological causes. According to the results of an Ipsos survey published on Monday 31 Dec., the French have put "taking up ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jan 04, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Brain imaging identifies bipolar risk

(Medical Xpress)—Researchers from the Black Dog Institute and University of NSW have used brain imaging technology to show that young people with a known genetic risk of bipolar but no clinical signs of ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Dec 17, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Does the brain become unglued in autism?

A new study published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that autism is associated with reductions in the level of cellular adhesion molecules in the blood, where they play a role in immune function.

Autism spectrum disorders created Dec 11, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0