Monophasic combined oral contraceptives may trigger emotional eating and binge eating episodes, according to a prospective cohort study published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers at Michigan State University found that women using these pills reported more frequent binge-related behaviors during the 21 days of active hormone intake compared to the seven days of inactive reminder … Read more
Problematic social media use (PSMU) is linked to a significant increase in everyday memory failures, according to a recent study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. Researchers found that young adults who engage in high-frequency social media use report more frequent lapses in both retrospective recall and prospective memory—the ability to remember intended future actions. Data … Read more
Esketamine, marketed by Johnson & Johnson as Spravato, has evolved from a niche add-on therapy into a primary monotherapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), with sales reaching $1.7 billion in 2024. Recent data presented at Psych Congress Elevate suggests that long-term remission rates for the drug may be more durable than previously documented in clinical literature, … Read more
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have identified a liver-based enzyme as a primary driver of cocaine addiction, shifting the focus of potential treatments away from the brain. Published in Nature Communications, the study utilized nearly 900 genetically diverse rats to isolate the Ces1 gene group, which regulates how the body metabolizes cocaine … Read more
Menopause is a critical neurological transition that significantly alters brain function, according to research published in the journal Menopause. A study from the University of Vermont’s Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine indicates that resting-state brain activity shifts across premenopause, perimenopause, and postmenopause, primarily driven by hormonal fluctuations like estrogen. These findings suggest the menopause … Read more
New research led by the University of Exeter indicates that children who play outdoors frequently between the ages of two and four are less likely to develop emotional and behavioral difficulties by age eight. According to the study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, each additional day of outdoor play per week … Read more
The Gut-Mind Connection: Why Digestive Health is the Next Frontier in Mental Wellness For decades, the medical world has treated the mind and the body as two separate entities. We visit a therapist for our emotions and a gastroenterologist for our digestion. But a groundbreaking new meta-analysis published in Translational Psychiatry is shattering that silo, … Read more
The Hidden Aging Crisis: Why Autistic Traits Lead to Worsening Anxiety in Later Life For decades, the conversation surrounding autism has been dominated by childhood development. However, a significant, often-overlooked demographic is now demanding our attention: the middle-aged and older adult population. A landmark study published in Nature Mental Health has revealed that adults with … Read more
A New Frontier: Could a Simple Urine Test Transform Autism Diagnosis? For decades, diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been a complex, time-consuming process rooted entirely in behavioral observation. Because there has been no “blood test” or biological marker for autism, families often face years of uncertainty, waiting for developmental milestones to signal a need … Read more
A New Window Into Autism: Could a Simple Urine Test Change the Diagnostic Landscape? For families navigating the complex journey of an autism diagnosis, the path is often defined by long wait times and reliance on subjective behavioral observations. However, a breakthrough from researchers at Arizona State University is offering a new perspective: a biology-based … Read more