https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Few moments in a soccer game are more electrifying than the penalty kick. The goalkeeper stands, waiting for the kick—and even before the ball is struck, they must predict where it is going and spring into action. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-brains-world-wrong.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:40:04 EDT news701434142 Laughter is a universal social signal that connects us with others, but the brain regions underlying laughter are not well understood, in part because it's hard to elicit genuine laughter in the lab. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-spontaneous-voluntary-laughter-brain-regions.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 11:00:04 EDT news701340361 New James Cook University research has shown that AI can be used to help doctors differentiate between healthy people and people with schizophrenia, even when patients are stressed. The research was published in the journal Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, led by JCU Ph.D. candidate Gideon Vos as part of a multidisciplinary team of engineers, data scientists, neuroscientists and psychology researchers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-scientists-ai-tools-doctors-mental.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 09:00:12 EDT news701423641 Schizophrenia is more complicated than ever imagined. Advanced gene network analysis reveals how distant genetic variants work together to influence brain function and mental health. Scientists have long known that schizophrenia runs in families, but pinpointing exactly which genes contribute to risk has been like searching for needles in a haystack. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-schizophrenia-genes-uncovered-network.html Mon, 22 Jun 2026 05:00:02 EDT news701077681 Different neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are characterized by highly distinct patterns of behavior and associated challenges. While many past neuroscience studies have tried to uncover the unique neurobiological underpinnings of each condition, whether they share any common markers remains unclear. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-genes-link-mental-disorders-biomarkers.html Sat, 20 Jun 2026 15:20:01 EDT news701087146 The altered presence of tiny fragments of neuronal genes, called microexons, causes hyperarousal in zebrafish. This is the main conclusion of an international study led by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG). An abnormal pattern of neural microexon presence leads to a hyperarousal state characterized by heightened neural activity and insomnia, commonly associated with stress but also with neurodevelopmental disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-tiny-genetic-fragments-critical-brain.html Fri, 19 Jun 2026 14:00:03 EDT news701010062 An international research team led jointly by the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), the University of Göttingen and the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, has shown that nerve cells in the brain specialize in different tasks when processing visual information. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-brain-cells-reshape-function-vision.html Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:40:01 EDT news701011861 Researchers in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo have discovered a connection between a specific gene and healthy brain function. "The hope is that this discovery could eventually lead to expanded treatment for psychiatric and neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism," explains Mikhail V. Pletnikov, MD, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, the senior author of the study with Kateryna (Kate) Murlanova, Ph.D., the first lead author and a research scientist in the department. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-gene-energy-production-brain-treatment.html Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:20:09 EDT news701010861 Carnegie Mellon University and University of California, San Francisco researchers have found that childhood trauma, poverty, social isolation and other adverse life experiences are associated with brain changes linked to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders—findings that could help researchers identify people at risk earlier and develop interventions before severe symptoms emerge. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-early-life-schizophrenia.html Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:00:21 EDT news700758496 The rise in the number of cases of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) always gets quite a bit of attention from both the public and the media. This has led to the rise of several misinformed theories about the cause. On the other hand, the increase in the number of people diagnosed has also led to crucial scientific investigations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-people-adhd-autism-genetic-earlier.html Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:40:10 EDT news700735945 Suicide is a major public health concern. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is responsible for more than 700,000 deaths a year. In Spain, it is the leading cause of death from non-natural causes, above traffic accidents. The number of suicides in recent years has reached record highs, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, 4,227 people (74% of them men and 26% women) died from this cause. In other words, an average of 12 people a day died by suicide. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-suicide-taboo-stigmatizing-metaphors.html Sun, 14 Jun 2026 17:00:07 EDT news700231865 Researchers have identified a promising new therapeutic strategy for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A research team led by Director KIM Eunjoon of the IBS Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions has now identified a promising new strategy for restoring NMDA receptor (NMDAR) function by targeting a glycine transporter called Slc6a20a/SLC6A20. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-therapy-reverse-autism-brain-deficits.html Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:20:01 EDT news700222501 Researchers at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have created one of the largest reference models ever developed for the human brain, using diffusion MRI scans from more than 54,000 people to chart how the brain's communication pathways develop, mature, and decline across the lifespan. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-brain-growth-white-human-lifespan.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:40:04 EDT news699620087 Therapy donkeys are helping patients with mental health conditions recover in a psychiatric hospital unit outside Paris that's unique to France. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-patients-therapy-donkeys-psychiatric-hospital.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:40:04 EDT news699541695 Amid growing concern about the widespread off-label use of sedative medications for sleep problems, Flinders University researchers have led a world-first clinical trial examining how a commonly prescribed "sleeping pill" affects sleep, breathing and next-day performance. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-commonly-medication-problems-alarm-bells.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:00:05 EDT news699524161 A new breakthrough technology, co-developed by UCL scientists, that simultaneously records and manipulates neuron activity deep within the brain could transform our understanding of neural circuits and neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-tiny-brain-probe-reveals-deep.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:06:16 EDT news699530701 Researchers have discovered a new way that brain plasticity is controlled in early life, offering insight into the little-understood phenomenon of critical-period closure. In the months or years after birth, critical periods of learning in the brain are open, making the organ uniquely sensitive to information coming from the outside world. Experiences during this time can have a lasting impact on the brain by sculpting neural connections that persist into adulthood. As a child or young animal matures, this heightened period of brain plasticity ends as critical periods begin to close through mechanisms that remain largely unclear. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-stress-hormone-brain-clues-early.html Sun, 31 May 2026 13:00:03 EDT news699112850 Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have uncovered a substantial genetic component to postpartum psychosis, a rare but severe psychiatric illness that occurs in the days to weeks after childbirth. The findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, provide new evidence that the condition has a substantial biological and genetic basis and may help guide future research into prediction, prevention, and treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-uncover-substantial-genetic-component-postpartum.html Fri, 29 May 2026 11:40:11 EDT news699269989 More people are relying on social media—such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Reddit—to learn about mental health conditions and to interact with people who have shared experiences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-analysis-million-reddit-reveals-shift.html Fri, 29 May 2026 10:40:03 EDT news699268322 In a new study published recently in the journal Nature, researchers at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Health have created the first growth charts for white matter in the brain over a human lifetime. The work brings together nearly two decades of Vanderbilt research collaborations, the university's extensive MRI data collections, and an advanced AI-enabled computing platform. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brain-reveal-lifetime-white-growth.html Thu, 28 May 2026 13:20:02 EDT news699191039 Humans continuously adapt their actions and behaviors in response to changes in their surrounding environment. Past neuroscience studies suggest that this adaptation process relies on the brain's ability to translate abstract goals or rules into specific physical actions or behaviors, yet its neural underpinnings have not yet been clearly elucidated. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-distinct-communication-subspace-brain-goals.html Sun, 24 May 2026 08:40:01 EDT news698411947 Schizophrenia is a severe mental health disorder characterized by hallucinations, false and rigid beliefs (i.e., delusions), impaired mental functions, disorganized speech and, in some cases, repetitive body movements. This debilitating disorder is typically treated with antipsychotics, medications that alter the signaling between neurons. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-gut-lung-microbe-shifts-clozapine.html Fri, 22 May 2026 08:50:01 EDT news698589397 Most people have experienced the feeling: switching from one task to another, only to find the brain momentarily stuck in the old mode of thinking. Sometimes, even after realizing a strategy no longer works, the mind keeps returning to it anyway. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-scientists-brain-circuit-gears.html Thu, 21 May 2026 09:09:47 EDT news698572845 Cancer patients in Ireland living with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder can face life expectancies up to 30 years shorter than the general population, according to a new report. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-severe-mental-illness-shorten-cancer.html Wed, 20 May 2026 15:20:04 EDT news698491847 Researchers at King's College London have identified the biological nature and timing of changes in human cortical neurons caused by altering activity of a schizophrenia-associated gene in developing human neurons. This discovery links a genetic risk factor to cellular changes in neurons; an essential step for understanding the neurobiology of this mental illness and developing future treatments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-schizophrenia-gene-reshape-neurons.html Wed, 20 May 2026 14:00:02 EDT news698501641 If you ask a child to draw an animal that doesn't exist, they'll often cobble together components from real ones—say, the body of a seal with an elephant's trunk, four octopus arms, and one lizard eye. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-neural-basis-thought.html Wed, 20 May 2026 12:58:43 EDT news698500344 A new study by researchers from NHG Health's Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and NTU Singapore Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) has identified blood-based proteomic biomarkers that may help predict who among the at-risk group is at increased risk of developing psychosis. These biomarkers refer to specific patterns of proteins circulating in blood plasma, which reflect underlying biological processes and may provide objective indicators of disease risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-blood-based-markers-psychosis-asian.html Wed, 20 May 2026 12:00:01 EDT news698494441 Autism spectrum disorder affects males far more frequently than females, with diagnoses occurring roughly four times more often in boys. Scientists have long suspected that females may possess biological protective mechanisms that reduce vulnerability to autism, but direct experimental evidence has remained limited. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-strong-genetic-mutation-overrides-female.html Wed, 20 May 2026 10:20:09 EDT news698490242 Stanford Medicine professor Leanne Williams talks about her work leveraging a data-driven approach to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric conditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-harnessing-brain-imaging-shift-mental.html Wed, 20 May 2026 08:40:05 EDT news698481601 An important chemical messenger that typically inhibits brain activity might sometimes do the opposite, according to new Yale School of Medicine (YSM) research. One way that brain cells communicate is through chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. Most research indicates that the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) quiets brain signals, serving as the system's brakes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brain-chemical-power-reshape-mental.html Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:05 EDT news698480014