Mimood

A new pair of studies make the case that early-life mental health problems can lead to physical diseases and advanced aging in adulthood. But because mental health conditions can appear early in life, the researchers say that investment in prompt mental health care could be used to prevent later diseases and reduce healthcare costs.

Scientists report the first evidence that, not short-term stress, like a series of tough college exams, rather chronic, unpredictable stress like that which erupts in our personal and professional lives, induces changes in the function of AgRP neurons that may contribute to depression.

New research found that 61 percent of surveyed university students were at risk of clinical depression, a value twice the rate prior to the pandemic. This rise in depression came alongside dramatic shifts in lifestyle habits.

Exposure to the bacteria that causes strep throat does not appear to make Tourette syndrome and other chronic tic disorders worse in children and teens, according to a new study. However, exposure was associated with increased symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

Can long-term stress lead to heart attacks? Most people would probably answer in the affirmative, but the scientific evidence of this is scarce. A new study reveals that the levels of the stress hormone cortisol were increased in the months preceding a heart attack. The results suggest that long-term stress is a risk factor for heart attacks.

As families settle back into a new school year, sleep experts are reminding parents about the importance of teenagers getting enough sleep, cautioning them that insufficient sleep can negatively affect their mental health.

Feeding method and affectionate touch patterns in depressed and non-depressed mothers and babies as well as infant's EEG activity showed that mother-infant affectionate touch differed as a function of mood and feeding method (breastfeeding and bottle-feeding). Infants in the depressed and bottle-fed group reduced touch toward their mothers while breastfeeding had a positive effect on both mother and baby. Infants of depressed and breastfeeding mothers showed neither behavioral nor brain development dysregulation previously found in infants of depressed mothers.

Researchers report that climate change is a chronic mental health stressor, and promotes a variety of mental health problems. The 2018 Camp Fire is a case study.

A 'biological age' score predicts that being male, overweight, a smoker and having depression all contribute to biological aging, a new study reports.

A new study suggests that differences in the expression of gene transcripts - readouts copied from DNA that help maintain and build our cells - may hold the key to understanding how mental disorders with shared genetic risk factors result in different patterns of onset, symptoms, course of illness, and treatment responses.