Science News from 2006

Experience Sculpts Brain Circuitry to Build Resiliency to Stress

Press Release • December 21, 2006

It’s long been known that experiencing control over a stressor immunizes a rat from developing a depression-like syndrome when it later encounters stressors that it can’t control.

Landmark Council Session Spotlights “Real World” Trials

Science Update • December 21, 2006

Principal investigators of NIMH's four large-scale clinical trials presented study results and their implications at the National Advisory Mental Health Council meeting on September 15, 2006.

New Data on Suicidal Behaviors in Black Americans May Guide Interventions

Science Update • December 13, 2006

The prevalence of attempted suicide among black Americans is higher than previously reported, but near the levels reported for the general population.

Receptor Helps Neurons Grow in Right Direction

Science Update • December 12, 2006

Researchers have discovered a receptor for a key protein that helps guide certain nerve cells into the correct position as the nervous system develops — a vital part of a process that enables the brain to receive sensory input from the environment and to send messages to the rest of the body via the spinal cord.

Broad HIV Screening Valuable Even in Communities with Low Infection Rates

Science Update • December 05, 2006

An HIV/AIDS screening program may be cost-effective even in communities where the infection rate and the prevalence of the disease are very low and among populations at low risk for HIV infection, according to an NIMH-funded study published December 5, 2006, in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Benefits to Employers Outweigh Enhanced Depression-Care Costs

Press Release • December 04, 2006

It may be in society’s and employers’ best interests to offer programs that actively seek out and treat depression in the workforce, suggests an analysis funded by NIMH.

Brain’s Fear Center Likely Shrinks in Autism’s Most Severely Socially Impaired

Press Release • December 04, 2006

The brain’s fear hub likely becomes abnormally small in the most severely socially impaired males with autism spectrum disorders, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered.

Older Medication May Be More Cost-Effective for Some Patients with Schizophrenia

Press Release • December 01, 2006

A new study analyzing the economic implications of the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) concludes that the older (first generation) antipsychotic medication perphenazine was less expensive and no less effective than the newer (second generation) medications used in the trial during initial treatment, suggesting that older antipsychotics still have a role in treating schizophrenia.

Targeting the Most Aggressive Children May Be Cost-Effective Prevention of Later Conduct Disorders

Science Update • November 14, 2006

Targeted preventive interventions may help reduce conduct problems in children displaying the most aggressive or disruptive behaviors.

New NIMH Research Strives to Understand How Antidepressants May Be Associated with Suicidal Thoughts and Actions

Science Update • November 13, 2006

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding five new research projects that will shed light on antidepressant medications, notably selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and their association with suicidal thoughts and actions.

Mouse Model May Reveal Anxiety Gene, Marker for Antidepressant Failure

Science Update • November 09, 2006

Studies of a new mouse model suggest that a specific gene variation plays a role in the development of anxiety disorders and in resistance to common medications for anxiety and depression.

U.S. Youth Suicide Rates Lower in Counties with High SSRI Use

Science Update • November 08, 2006

For children ages five to 14, suicide rates from 1996 to 1998 were lower in areas of the country with higher rates of antidepressant prescriptions, according to an NIMH-funded study published in the November 2006 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Odds of Beating Depression Diminish as Additional Treatment Strategies are Needed

Science Update • November 01, 2006

An overall assessment of the nation's largest real-world study of treatment-resistant depression suggests that a patient with persistent depression can get well after trying several treatment strategies, but his or her odds of beating the depression diminish as additional treatment strategies are needed.

Colloquium to Mark 25 Years of Improving Access to Mental Health Research Careers

Science Update • October 31, 2006

When mostly minority college students being groomed for careers in mental health-related research convene in Washington D.C. early next month, a program to promote diversity in the scientific workforce will mark a quarter century of progress.

More Direct Way to Map Brain Activity Deemed Feasible

Science Update • October 30, 2006

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to directly detect the electrical activity emitted by neurons, NIMH scientists and colleagues have demonstrated.

New Research Helps to Improve Understanding of Bipolar Disorder in Youth

Science Update • October 24, 2006

Bipolar disorder may be hard to identify in children and adolescents for several reasons, including a lack of age-appropriate diagnostic guidelines and symptoms different than those commonly seen in adults with the disorder.

Gene Linked to Autism in Families with More Than One Affected Child

Press Release • October 17, 2006

A version of a gene has been linked to autism in families that have more than one child with the disorder. Inheriting two copies of this version more than doubled a child’s risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder, scientists supported by NIMH and NICHD have discovered.

Preschoolers with ADHD Improve with Low Doses of Medication

Press Release • October 16, 2006

The first long-term, large-scale study designed to determine the safety and effectiveness of treating preschoolers who have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with methylphenidate (Ritalin) has found that overall, low doses of this medication are effective and safe.

Antipsychotic Medications Used to Treat Alzheimer’s Patients Found Lacking

Press Release • October 11, 2006

Commonly prescribed antipsychotic medications used to treat Alzheimer’s patients with delusions, aggression, hallucinations, and other similar symptoms can benefit some patients, but they appear to be no more effective than a placebo when adverse side effects are considered, according to the first phase of a large-scale clinical trial funded by NIMH.

Gene Therapy May One Day Prevent AIDS–Related Brain–Cell Death

Science Update • October 11, 2006

Scientists have shown that gene therapy has potential for treating brain pathology triggered by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS.

How Strep Triggers Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – New Clues

Science Update • October 11, 2006

A likely mechanism by which a bacterial infection triggers obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in some children has been demonstrated by NIMH scientists and collaborators at California State University and the University of Oklahoma.

NIMH Researchers Discover Medication’s Antidepressant Potential

Science Update • October 02, 2006

A commonly used sedative and motion-sickness treatment shows promise as a fast-acting antidepressant, according to a study conducted by researchers at NIMH.

New NIMH Research Program Launches Autism Trials

Press Release • September 07, 2006

NIMH has launched three major clinical studies on autism at its research program on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

New Schizophrenia Trial: Does Method of Administering Medication Make a Difference?

Science Update • September 05, 2006

A new clinical trial is testing whether an injection of a long-lasting antipsychotic medication every two weeks results in better adherence to treatment and better outcomes among people with schizophrenia than do oral medications taken daily.

Bipolar Disorder Exacts Twice Depression’s Toll in Workplace, Productivity Lags Even After Mood Lifts

Press Release • September 01, 2006

Bipolar disorder costs twice as much in lost productivity as major depressive disorder, an NIMH funded study has found.

Subsequent Treatment Strategies for Persistent Depression Yield Modest Results

Science Update • September 01, 2006

Patients with treatment-resistant depression had a modest chance of becoming symptom-free when they tried different treatment strategies after two or three failed treatments, according to results from the nation's largest real-world study of depression.

College Women at Risk for Eating Disorder May Benefit From Online Intervention

Press Release • August 07, 2006

A long-term, large-scale study has found that an Internet-based intervention program may prevent some high risk, college-age women from developing an eating disorder.

Experimental Medication Kicks Depression in Hours Instead of Weeks

Press Release • August 07, 2006

People with treatment—resistant depression experienced symptom relief in as little as two hours with a single intravenous dose of ketamine, a medication usually used in higher doses as an anesthetic in humans and animals, in a preliminary study.

Shy Temperament: More than Just Fearful

Science Update • August 07, 2006

Compared to others, children with extremely shy temperament have heightened brain activity in response to any prominent event, whether the event is positive or negative, a new imaging study suggests.

Receptor Knockout Yields an Adventurous Mouse

Press Release • August 01, 2006

Mice altered to lack a particular type of receptor in the brain’s executive hub are more prone to go where normal mice fear to tread, NIMH funded scientists have discovered.