Feature Channels: Psychology and Psychiatry

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A research team led by the University of Houston has developed a vaccine targeting the dangerous synthetic opioid fentanyl that could block its ability to enter the brain, thus eliminating the drug’s “high.”

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Gratitude has been a trendy sentiment in recent years – sparking an industry of journals, knickknacks and T-shirts touting thankfulness as a positive force in individuals’ lives.

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Teachers experienced significantly more anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic than healthcare, office, and other workers, according to new research released today.

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Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine posit that a region of the brain that Francis Crick thought to impart consciousness may have been incorrect: They developed a new theory — built on data — that the claustrum behaves more like a high-speed internet router, taking in executive commands from “boss” areas of the brain’s cortex that forms complex thoughts to generate “networks” in the cortex.

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In the fall of 2019 — before the onset of COVID-19 — emergency departments in Illinois experienced a spike in visits from youth ages 5 to 19 with suicidal thoughts or ideas, according to a new study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. There was an additional surge in these types of visits during the pandemic, the study found.

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Social connections are essential for good health and wellbeing in social animals, such as ourselves and other primates.

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What does having a particular artist on repeat tell us about how to — or how not to — navigate our romantic lives, friendships and family ties?

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Intranasal (in.) administration has been garnering increasing popularity as a non-invasive approach to deliver drugs directly to the brain.

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded researchers Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft and Denise Wilfley a grant to help improve outcomes for eating disorders in adolescent girls.

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Can mind-body practices such as gentle yoga or self-reflection benefit patients undergoing surgery? It’s a question that researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are examining with the support of a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

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Researchers say there is evidence infants are exploring the world of make-believe before they’re even aware they are doing it

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Research from Queen’s University Belfast suggests that deaf children are more at risk of developing mental health and emotional wellbeing issues compared to children who can hear.

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Can highly processed foods be addictive?

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A guided mindfulness-based stress reduction program was as effective as use of the gold-standard drug -- the common antidepressant drug escitalopram -- for patients with anxiety disorders, according to results of a first-of-its-kind, randomized clinical trial led by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center.

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How can we have open-minded talks about guns and safety? A new podcast, launched this week by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS), hopes to address this question. Through a series of interviews and stories, the podcast, “Let’s Talk About Your Guns,” will offer practical and non-judgmental ways to talk about safe storage of firearms in tough situations.

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Many of us spend our lives chasing “happiness,” a state of contentment that is more difficult for some to achieve than others. Research in Psychological Science suggests that one reason happiness can seem so elusive is that our current feelings can interfere with memories of our past well-being.

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Curbing depression among caregivers improves control of asthma and lung function in children

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While the physical differences between humans and non-human primates are quite distinct, a new study reveals their brains may be remarkably similar. And yet, the smallest changes may make big differences in developmental and psychiatric disorders.

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Findings also help explain why happy people are more optimistic, how false visual memories can be perpetuated, and why feeling good often just means feeling better.

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A study suggests that exposure to violent screen content in the preschool years is associated with a heightened risk of psychological and academic difficulties in adolescence.

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Ochsner Health psychologist discusses Alzheimer's Disease during Alzheimer's Awareness Month

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Under the project, experts will work to better prepare school crisis intervention teams to prevent violence and promote a positive school atmosphere.

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Night owls may be looking forward to falling back into autumn standard time but a new study from the University of Ottawa has found Daylight Saving Time may also suit morning types just fine.

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The Endocrine Society rebukes the Florida Board of Medicine’s decision to ban gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse teenagers.

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Trauma can cause dissociative symptoms—such as having an out-of-body experience, or feeling emotionally numb—that may help an individual cope in the short term but can have negative impacts if the symptoms persist for a long period of time.

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Using human brain organoids, an international team of researchers has shown how the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 infects cortical neurons and specifically destroys their synapses — the connections between brain cells that allow them to communicate with each other.

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Recent research in Psychological Science expands on past work by indicating that experiences of deprivation and threat may influence children’s psychological development differently. That is, early deprivation experiences, such as parental neglect and financial difficulties, appear to be more closely associated with cognitive and emotional functioning in adolescence than early threat experiences, such as exposure to abuse.

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A pandemic survey found that adolescents who answered more COVID-19 test questions correctly also reported lower stress, anxiety and depression as well as lower loneliness and fear of missing out, also known as FOMO.

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The new study finds brain-wide changes in virtually all of the 11 cortical regions analyzed, regardless of whether they are higher critical association regions – those involved in functions such as reasoning, language, social cognition and mental flexibility – or primary sensory regions.

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More people in the U.S. have discovered Día de los Muertos. Unlike Halloween, it's celebrated over several days and lifts up the spirits of the dead instead of fearing them.

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November is National Family Caregivers Month

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Roughly 21% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients at the height of the pandemic required an intensive care stay and the bulk were cared for by family upon discharge. However, not much is known about how these caregivers and patients adapted.

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Physicists at McMaster University have identified a natural delivery system which can safely carry potent antibiotics throughout the body to selectively attack and kill bacteria by using red blood cells as a vehicle.