Depression News and Research

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Depression is a serious medical illness that involves the brain. It's more than just a feeling of being "down in the dumps" or "blue" for a few days. If you are one of the more than 20 million people in the United States who have depression, the feelings do not go away. They persist and interfere with your everyday life.

New Genetic Insights From Long Read Sequencing in a Teen With Complex Psychiatric Conditions

In a manuscript published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry titled Long-Read Genome Sequencing in Clinical Psychiatry: RFX3 Haploinsufficiency in a Hospitalized Adolescent With Autism, Intellectual Disability, and Behavioral Decompensation, authors describe how they leveraged long-read genomic sequencing (LRS) to make a genetic diagnosis in a17-year-old male with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and acute behavioral decompensation that would not have been possible by standard methods.

12 Apr 2025

Targeting NMDA Receptor Subunit Shows Promise for Fragile X Syndrome

Building on more than two decades of research, a study by MIT neuroscientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory reports a new way to treat pathology and symptoms of fragile X syndrome, the most common genetically-caused autism spectrum disorder.

21 Feb 2025

Study Reveals How the Brain Gauges Risk and Reward in Decision-Making

Every day, our brain makes thousands of decisions, big and small. Any of these decisions - from the least consequential such as picking a restaurant to the more important such as pursuing a different career or moving to a new city - may result in better or worse outcomes.

20 Feb 2025

Research Reveals Key Mitochondrial Role in Social Recognition Memory

Virginia Tech neuroscientists have uncovered a mitochondrial process that supports the brain cells critical for learning, memory, and social recognition.

10 Feb 2025

New Synthesis Method Makes Ibogaine More Accessible for Research

Ibogaine, a psychoactive compound derived from plants, has garnered attention for its anti-addictive and anti-depressant properties.

7 Feb 2025

New Insights into the Biological Basis of Bipolar Disorder

According to research published in Nature on January 22nd, 2025, an international team of psychiatric genetics researchers has discovered 298 regions of the genome with DNA variations that increase the risk for bipolar disorder, more than four times the number previously found.

24 Jan 2025

Mapping of Neuronal IL-1R1 Expression in the Mouse Brain Sheds Light on Mood and Memory

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a key molecule involved in inflammation and plays an important role in both healthy and diseased states.

20 Jan 2025

New Discovery Sheds Light on How Monoamines Regulate Brain Rhythms

A collaborative effort between Mount Sinai and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has shed valuable light on how monoamine neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and now histamine help regulate brain physiology and behavior through chemical bonding of these monoamines to histone proteins, the core DNA-packaging proteins of our cells.

9 Jan 2025

Researchers Uncover Ketamine’s Effect on Astrocytes in Zebrafish

The decades-old anesthetic ketamine could be a game changer for treating severe depression, but there are still many questions about how the drug works, including exactly how it affects the brain's cells and circuits.

18 Dec 2024

Novel Fungal Commensal Shaping Mouse Immune Responses

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine have found a fungus in the stomach of mice that may provide a clue to the evolution of fungi in the gastrointestinal tract.

28 Nov 2024

Dopamine and Serotonin Act as Opposing Forces in Learning and Reward

If you've heard of two of the brain's chemical neurotransmitters, it's probably dopamine and serotonin. Never mind that glutamate and GABA do most of the work -; it's the thrill of dopamine as the "pleasure chemical" and serotonin as tender mood-stabilizer that attract all the headlines.

26 Nov 2024

Deep Neural Connections Drive Social Thought, Study Says

We've all been there. Moments after leaving a party, your brain is suddenly filled with intrusive thoughts about what others were thinking. "Did they think I talked too much?" "Did my joke offend them?" "Were they having a good time?"

24 Nov 2024

Gut Bacteria Influence Stress Responses Through Circadian Rhythms

A pioneering study has uncovered the vital role that gut microbiota plays in regulating stress responses by interacting with the body's circadian rhythms.

6 Nov 2024

Genomic Insights Reveal Path Forward for Inbred Red Fox Populations

A rescue effort can take many forms – a life raft, a firehose, an airlift. For animals whose populations are in decline from inbreeding, genetics itself can be a lifesaver.

27 Sep 2024

How Classic Psychedelics Impact Brain Cell Dynamics and Anxiety

A classic psychedelic, similar to LSD, psilocybin and mescalin, was found to activate a cell type in the brain that silences other neighboring neurons, a result that provides insight into how such drugs reduce anxiety, according to a new study.

25 Sep 2024

New Initiative Targets High-Risk Genes to Understand Neurodevelopmental and Psychiatric Disorders

Neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders (NPD) including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and depression are detrimental to individuals, their families and society as a whole, and in many cases still lack effective treatments.

13 Sep 2024

Harnessing Proteomics to Explore the Role of Probiotic Bacteria in Human Health

The currently available proteomics strategies can be used to identify and quantify probiotic bacterial proteins.

19 Aug 2024

Peers' Genetic Traits Impact Long-Term Risk for Substance Use and Psychiatric Disorders

Mom always said, "Choose your friends wisely." Now a study led by a Rutgers Health professor shows she was onto something: Their traits can rub off on you – especially ones that are in their genes.

12 Aug 2024

Breakthrough in Understanding Brain's Master Protein

Proteins engage in intricate molecular movements to fulfill their biological roles. The NMDAR protein, crucial for brain function, performs a particularly complex dance.

1 Aug 2024

Specific Genes May Determine Stroke Recovery Path

New research led by UCLA Health has found that specific genes may be related to the trajectory of recovery for stroke survivors, providing doctors insights useful for developing targeted therapies.

29 Jul 2024