Serotonin transporters increase when depression fades

Low levels of serotonin in the brain are seen as a possible cause of depression and many antidepressants act by blocking a protein that transports serotonin away from the nerve cells. A brain imaging study now shows that the average level of the serotonin transporter increased in a group of 17 individuals who recovered from depression after cognitive behavioral therapy.
Read More

Feeling younger buffers older adults from stress, protects against health decline

People who feel younger have a greater sense of well-being, better cognitive functioning, less inflammation, lower risk of hospitalization and even live longer than their older-feeling peers. A study suggests one potential reason for the link between subjective age and health: Feeling younger could help buffer middle-aged and older adults against the damaging effects of stress.
Read More

New neuroimaging technique studies brain stimulation for depression

Despite increased use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in psychiatry, the rates at which patients respond to the therapy and experience remission of often-disabling symptoms have been modest at best. Now, a team of psychiatrists and biomedical engineers applied an emerging functional neuroimaging technology, known as diffuse optical tomography (DOT), to better understand how rTMS works so they can begin to improve the brain stimulation procedure's effectiveness in treating depression.
Read More

Researchers identify a psychedelic-like drug without the hallucinogenic side effects

Psychedelic drugs have shown promise for treating neuropsychiatric disorders like depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. However, due to their hallucinatory side effects, some researchers are trying to identify drugs that could offer the benefits of psychedelics without causing hallucinations. Researchers now report they have identified one such drug through the development of a genetically encoded fluorescent sensor -- called psychLight -- that can screen for hallucinogenic potential.
Read More