Biological Psychiatry

Ketamine shows significant therapeutic benefit in people with treatment-resistant depression

Patients with treatment-resistant major depression saw dramatic improvement in their illness after treatment with ketamine, an anesthetic, according to the largest ketamine clinical trial to-date led by researchers from the ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 19, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Expert explores how sunlight may affect ADHD patients

Researchers are interested in exploring how sunlight, sleep and screens (like those on computers and TVs) may affect those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), says Dr. L. Eugene Arnold, a child psychiatrist ...

Attention deficit disorders created May 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Genetic risk for schizophrenia is connected to reduced IQ

The relationship between the heritable risk for schizophrenia and low intelligence (IQ) has not been clear. Schizophrenia is commonly associated with cognitive impairments that may cause functional disability. There are clues ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 16, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Autism risk spotted at birth in abnormal placentas

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have figured out how to measure an infant's risk of developing autism by looking for abnormalities in his/her placenta at birth, allowing for earlier diagnosis and ...

Autism spectrum disorders created Apr 25, 2013 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Increased brain activity predicts future onset of substance use

Do people get caught in the cycle of overeating and drug addiction because their brain reward centers are over-active causing them to experience greater cravings for food or drugs? In a unique prospective study Oregon Research ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 18, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Stimulating the brain blunts cigarette craving

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths globally. Unfortunately smoking cessation is difficult, with more than 90% of attempts to quit resulting in relapse.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

A new treatment option for alcohol dependence: Reduced consumption rather than abstinence

A potential new treatment for alcoholism called nalmefene is effective and safe for reducing alcohol consumption in alcohol dependent individuals, says a new study published this week in Biological Psychiatry.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 11, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Success in patients with major depression: For the first time, physicians stimulated patients' medial forebrain bundles

Researchers from the Bonn University Hospital implanted pacemaker electrodes into the medial forebrain bundle in the brains of patients suffering from major depression with amazing results: In six out of ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 09, 2013 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 5

Common gene variants explain 42% of antidepressant response

Antidepressants are commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression, but many individuals do not experience symptom relief from treatment. The National Institute of Mental Health's STAR*D study, the largest and longest ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 28, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Human emotion: We report our feelings in 3-D

Like it or not and despite the surrounding debate of its merits, 3-D is the technology du jour for movie-making in Hollywood. It now turns out that even our brains use 3 dimensions to communicate emotions.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 26, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

The mysterious GRIN3A and the cause of schizophrenia

Since the 1960s, psychiatrists have been hunting for substances made by the body that might accumulate in abnormally high levels to produce the symptoms associated with schizophrenia. In particular, there was a search for ...

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

Neuron loss in schizophrenia and depression could be prevented

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) deficits have been implicated in schizophrenia and depression. In schizophrenia, deficits have been particularly well-described for a subtype of GABA neuron, the parvalbumin fast-spiking interneurons. ...

Neuroscience created Mar 13, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Tickling the brain with magnetic stimulation improves memory in schizophrenia

Cognitive impairments are disabling for individuals with schizophrenia, and no satisfactory treatments currently exist. These impairments affect a wide range of cognition, including memory, attention, verbal and motor skills, ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 12, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Stroke risk in elderly treated with antipsychotics is newly linked to specific drug actions

Antipsychotic administration in the elderly is associated with an increased risk for cerebrovascular accident, more commonly known as stroke; a new study published in Biological Psychiatry provides additional insight into t ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 11, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Worming our way to new treatments for Alzheimer's disease

According to a 2012 World Health Organization report, over 35 million people worldwide currently have dementia, a number that is expected to double by 2030 (66 million) and triple by 2050 (115 million). Alzheimer's disease, ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created Mar 07, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast