News • Predictive psychiatry
Brain imaging finds biomarkers of mental illness
In a new study, researchers use a very large dataset to identify predictive brain imaging-based biomarkers of mental illness in adolescents.
Mental health
News • Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response
ASMR videos: Why do they work?
Soothing words, gentle sounds: ASMR videos are known to induce pleasant tingling sensations in viewers. Researchers have now published the first systematic review on why (and how) this works.
News • Supportive communication reduces uncertainty
One of clinicians' mightiest weapons against breast cancer? Empathy
Clinicians who show more empathy promote better psychological health among breast cancer patients, according to a new US study examining how oncology doctors facilitate psychological well-being.
News • Under the knife
Social media and low self-compassion: a breeding ground for cosmetic surgery
When celebrities admit to having undergone cosmetic surgery on social media, the nubmer of procedures increase. But why is that? Australian researchers looked deeper into this phenomenon.
News • Overcoming a common mental health belief
Suppressing negative thoughts might not be so bad after all
The commonly-held belief that attempting to suppress negative thoughts is bad for our mental health could be wrong, a new study from scientists at the University of Cambridge suggests.
News • Meta-analysis challenges theory
Do depression and anxiety increase cancer risk? Not likely, says study
One less thing to worry about: Mental health isues such as depression and anxiety are not linked to higher risks for most types of cancer, according to a new analysis of multiple studies.
News • Blueprint for use in psychotherapy
AI and mental health care: Combatting the gold rush-mentality
While it’s true that AI holds tremendous potential for improving the science and practice of psychotherapy, it remains a definitively high-stakes area. Stanford experts define the potential benefits and concerns of deploying the technology.
News • The "Rx" factor
GP burnout linked to higher opioid and antibiotic prescribing
When in doubt, write a prescription? New research links burnout in GPs to higher antibiotic and strong opioid prescribing, especially in more deprived areas of the North of England.
News • Long-term anxiety
Cardiac arrest 'haunts' women more often than men
More than 40% of women report anxiety four months after a cardiac arrest compared with 23% of men, according to research presented at ESC Acute CardioVascular Care 2023.
News • Access to medical information
Bad news from test results? Patients still want to know right away
A recent survey of more than 8,000 patients found that users overwhelmingly supported receiving their test results immediately, even if their provider had not yet reviewed them.
News • Psychological issues of NCMP
Childhood obesity programme: doing more harm than good?
England’s National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is designed to tackle childhood obesity. However, a new study suggests it might give rise to mental health problems in children.
News • "Critical" critical care
Study shows soaring mental health challenges for frontline Covid nurses
Nurses who worked in critical care during the Covid pandemic are at an increased risk of mental health problems, according to a new study.
News • Mental health
Robots can be used to assess children’s mental wellbeing
According to a new study, robots can be better at detecting mental wellbeing issues in children than parent-reported or self-reported testing.
News • Surprising results
Experts expected smoking to increase during the pandemic – but the opposite happened
Danish smokers bought less tobacco and more quit smoking during the Covid pandemic, new research finds. This comes as a surprise given that mental health and exercise habits waned during the lockdown.
News • Effects on anxiety, depression
Is having a dog good for mental health? Yes and no, say experts
It is often believed that a close relationship between owners and their dogs can bring many mental health benefits to owners, but findings from a new study paint a more complicated picture.
News • During pandemic
Extent of moral injuries faced by healthcare workers
Staff across all levels of UK health and social care reported feeling betrayed, morally violated and being treated unjustly and unfairly at work during the Covid-19 pandemic.
News • Workforce exodus
A third of GPs plan to jump ship within five years
Around 33% of GPs are likely to quit direct patient care within five years, according to a UK survey. The high percentage of young physicians is especially alarming.
News • Coronavirus after-effects
Severe Covid-19 linked to increased anxiety and depression risk
People who were bedridden for at least a week due to Covid-19 are more likely to experience anxiety and depression for up to 16 months after the infection, a new study shows.
News • Decrease in wellbeing
Covid-19 pandemic has devastating effect on mental health, study shows
The Covid pandemic might be responsible for a “substantial decrease” in mental wellbeing in the UK, according to new research from the University of East Anglia and University of York.
News • UK study reveals
Many women feel 'brushed aside' by the healthcare system
Many women feel they are not being listened to about their health needs – and experience a lack of empathy around problems relating to menstruation, fertility, childbirth and menopause.
Article • Chatbots & co
E-mental health: A solution for a rising challenge
E-mental health services could provide a response to these challenges and offer effective ways for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare.
News • Stress, depression, anxiety
Suppress or sustain? How our brain handles traumatic memories
Two clusters of brain cells compete to promote either the persistence or disappearance of traumatic memories, according to a new study conducted in mice. The findings could provide important insights into human conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, and associated problems such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) that can arise from the persistence of traumatic…
News • Post-traumatic stress disorder
Is PTSD on the rise - or just overdiagnosed?
Some clinicians are concerned that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis has risen throughout Western society since the late 1980s. Is this correct? And if so, has the true incidence of PTSD really spiralled out of control, or has it simply become overdiagnosed? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ this week. PTSD is a serious and uncommon condition resulting from severe trauma, but it…
News • Sex differences in medication
A drug that could help men help cope with fear (but might make things worse for women)
A research team from the Institut de Neurociències at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (INc-UAB) has showed that inhibition through a drug of the Tac2 neuronal circuit, involved in the formation of the memory of fear, has opposite effects on the ability to remember aversive events in mice according to sex: it is reduced in male mice and increased in female mice.
News • Reducing hospital-related stress and anxiety
Website helps children and parents to prepare for hospitalization
Every year, millions of children around the world are admitted to hospital for having anaesthesia and surgery. Many of them experience preoperative anxiety which negatively affects both their hospital experience and medical outcome, as well as their future relationships with healthcare services from both a short-term and long-term point of view. A new, internationally aimed website offers…
