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Psychiatry news

Heart rate alignment rises when people are close, offering social engagement clue

When people are close—both physically and emotionally—their heart rates begin to align, rising and falling together. Could such cardiac alignment be used as a way to measure social engagement and connection in everyday settings?

Personality may shape how caregiving affects health

Caring for a spouse with dementia is one of life's most demanding responsibilities. While the emotional toll is well documented, the physical effects of chronic caregiving stress can vary dramatically from one person to another. ...

Scientists discover ancient neurons that control attention

Neurons tucked away in an ancient part of the brain control the ability to pay attention by suppressing distractions and directing focus. The discovery of these neurons in mice by Johns Hopkins University researchers, in ...

Our brains may be automatically filtering out negative words

We tend to assume that emotionally charged words are more likely to grab our attention. An insult shouted across a crowded room or a disturbing phrase overheard on television can seem impossible to ignore. But a new study ...

How overlooked social connections can prevent suicide

Treatment of a serious mental illness that can lead to suicide, such as major depressive disorder, often centers on medication and talk therapy with little or no consideration of factors such as social isolation or financial ...

Hiding who you are can take a toll on mental health

The decision to reveal or conceal a core part of one's identity may seem like a small, everyday choice. But new research from the University of Michigan suggests those moments can have meaningful consequences for emotional ...

Low-cost mental health tool helps refugees in limbo

A simple self-help workbook paired with brief phone support can make a measurable difference to the mental health of displaced refugees, a new study has found. In Indonesia, where UNSW researchers tested the intervention, ...

Lower dopamine may drive teen risk-taking that fades with age

Teenage risk-taking, such as experimentation with alcohol, cannabis, nicotine and other substances, may reflect a compensatory response to lower baseline dopamine, the brain chemical for reward activity, a new University ...