Depression

Researchers have identified how Lactobacillus, a member of our guts’ microbiome community, affects a critical immune system protein, influencing stress levels and mental health. The findings could lead to new treatments for depression and anxiety.

Two recent studies may have discovered how electroconvulsive therapy is so effective at alleviating some mental illnesses, especially severe depression, something that has puzzled psychiatrists and neuroscientists for decades.

We know chronic poor sleep is bad for your health but for decades scientists have reported a strange phenomenon where acute sleep deprivation actually leads to elevated mood so a team of researchers set out to investigate this odd physiological sensation.

Scientists have found the molecular mechanism that causes a losing zebrafish to wave the white flag. While fighting fish in general may not spark a lot of interest, their shared neurobiology with humans means this could be a very significant discovery.

A study into using ketamine to treat depression has yielded surprising results. Despite the unique way in which the researchers ensured the trial was ‘blind’, the placebo and treatment groups had the same improvement in symptom severity.

Using a new kind of neuroimaging tool, researchers have uncovered evidence to help explain how antidepressant medications work, and why they take so many weeks to kick in.

A study has found that nighttime exposure to light increases the risk of mental illness, while daytime light exposure reduces it. The findings offer a simple and effective, non-pharmacological means of improving mental health.

Ongoing stress can take a sizeable toll on the body, including higher risks of obesity, graying hair, hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. And it may be just as damaging to the brain, even doubling the risk of developing dementia.

Delivering electric shocks to 1mm-long roundworms may sound rather meanspirited, but scientists have used this stimuli to uncover some curious behaviors of C. elegans that could further our understanding of human emotional mechanisms.

Scientists have discovered that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is largely inherited, directly increases the risk of sufferers also developing major depression, post-traumatic stress, anorexia nervosa and attempting suicide.

One in two people will be diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder by the age of 75 a new global study has found. The researchers say their findings highlight the importance of timely interventions tailored to at-risk people.

The death of a loved one following a cancer battle can trigger prolonged grief that can seemingly cause life to come to a standstill. It can also be hard to treat, leaving the griever 'stuck' in this stage. Now, magic mushrooms are offering fresh hope.