Last update:

Psychology & Psychiatry news

Psychology & Psychiatry

Hot sauce study finds asymmetric placebo effect can offer insights into pain perception

The expectations humans have of a pleasurable sensation asymmetrically shape neuronal responses and subjective experiences to hot sauce, according to a study published October 8, in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Mental health app could help prevent depression in young people at high risk

A cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) app has been found to significantly prevent increases in depression in young people who are at high risk—and could be implemented as a cost effective public mental health measure.

Medical research

Psilocybin may lead to increased optimism, rat study suggests

Monash University researchers have made a breakthrough in the study of psychedelics to treat disorders including major depression, demonstrating that rats given psilocybin exhibit increased optimism over time.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Screen time tied to depression, anxiety in 9- and 10-year-olds

Spending more time on screens increases the likelihood that 9- and 10-year-olds will develop symptoms of mental illness, according to a study by UC San Francisco that is one of the first long-term looks at the problem.

Psychology & Psychiatry

What's driving the rise in ADHD diagnoses among children and adults?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children, and the numbers are only expected to rise. The CDC reported that in 2022, more than 7 million (11.4%) U.S. children ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Is owning a dog good for your health?

Australia loves dogs. We have one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world, and one in two households has at least one dog.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Are auditory magic tricks possible for a blind audience?

Magic tricks make the impossible seem possible. Magicians have long captivated audiences with visual tricks, such as pulling a bunny from a hat or sawing someone in half, but tricks that rely on sound are scarce.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Research reveals gene expression's role in depression and immunity

A new study, conducted in a shared effort between U.K. and Italian researchers offers novel insights about the biological mechanisms behind major depressive disorder (MDD), and especially on the role of the immune system.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Trauma takes its toll at the end of life, study reveals

Repeating a school year, experiencing parental abuse or engaging in armed combat have far-reaching effects on the mind and body that may extend to a person's last months. These traumatic experiences can worsen the pain, depression ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Sleep phase can reduce anxiety in people with PTSD

A new study shows that sleep spindles, brief bursts of brain activity occurring during one phase of sleep and captured by EEG, may regulate anxiety in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Psychology & Psychiatry

Research links youth mental health and the environment

Global statistics on youth mental health make for sobering reading, with depression a leading cause of adolescent illness, and suicide estimated as the third most common cause of death among 15- to 19-year-olds. A recent ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Report: Mental health crises spike among youth

Emergency room visits for mental health crises spiked among children, teens and young adults from 2011 to 2020, researchers from UConn School of Medicine and other institutions report in the May 2 issue of the Journal of ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

The alarm theory of consciousness

Humans have consciousness. However, is it just a result of evolution or does it serve a crucial purpose? Professors Albert Newen from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, and Carlos Montemayor from San Francisco State University, ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Online art for real-world well-being

A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Vienna, the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics sheds light on the potential of online art viewing ...