Science News about Children and Adolescents

Searching for Risk Factors of Suicidal Events During Antidepressant Treatment

Science Update • May 29, 2009

A new set of analyses of the NIMH-funded Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS) were conducted to better understand what may predict the development of suicidal events during treatment. The analyses, which were published in the May 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, showed that youths with suicidal thoughts and more severe depression prior to treatment were at higher risk for suicidal events while undergoing treatment.

ADHD Medication Treatment Associated with Higher Academic Performance in Elementary School

Science Update • April 27, 2009

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who take medication to treat the condition tend to do better in math and reading compared to their peers who also have ADHD but do not take medication, according to data from a national survey. The NIMH-funded study was published in the May 2009 issue of Pediatrics.

Black Teens, Especially Girls, at High Risk for Suicide Attempts

Science Update • April 10, 2009

Black American teens, especially females, may be at high risk for attempting suicide even if they have never been diagnosed with a mental disorder, according to researchers funded in part by NIMH. Their findings, based on responses from adolescent participants in the National Survey of American Life (NSAL), provide the first national estimates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (ideation) and suicide attempts in 13- to 17-year-old black youth in the United States. The study was published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Child Abuse Survivors Have Higher Risk for STDs in Adulthood Than Non-abused Adults

Science Update • April 10, 2009

A history of child abuse or neglect can increase the risk for STDs in adulthood, according to a study partly funded by NIMH. The researchers reported their findings in the April 2009 supplemental issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Autism Skews Developing Brain with Synchronous Motion and Sound

Press Release • March 31, 2009

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) tend to stare at people’s mouths rather than their eyes. Now, an NIH-funded study in 2-year-olds with the social deficit disorder suggests why they might find mouths so attractive: lip-syncing — the exact match of lip motion and speech sound.

Childhood Maltreatment Undermines Physical Health in Adulthood

Science Update • March 30, 2009

It’s well known that early life experiences can affect a child’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development. A recent study funded by NIMH takes this link one step further showing that negative childhood experiences, such as abuse or neglect, can affect a person’s physical health as well. Published in the February 24, 2009, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study suggests a history of child abuse or neglect can lower a person’s overall immunity and ability to manage stress, and that this effect may be long-lasting.

Short-term Intensive Treatment Not Likely to Improve Long-term Outcomes for Children with ADHD

Science Update • March 26, 2009

Short-term Intensive Treatment Not Likely to Improve Long-term Outcomes for Children with ADHD

Youths Exposed to HIV Before Birth Have Higher Chance of Developing Psychiatric Disorders

Science Update • March 19, 2009

Youths who were exposed to HIV before birth, especially those who were born HIV positive, have a high chance of developing psychiatric disorders, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print February 27, 2009, in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Brain Awareness Week Teaches Kids How Their Brains Work

Press Release • March 17, 2009

The 10th annual Brain Awareness Week (BAW), a science and health education fair held in various locations across the United States, teaches fifth through eighth grade students about the brain. In Washington, D.C., it will take place March 16-20, 2009, at the National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Several institutes from the National Institutes of Health will provide interactive exhibits and lectures focusing on brain health and neuroscience on March 18th and 19th.

Suicidal Thinking May Be Predicted Among Certain Teens with Depression

Science Update • February 17, 2009

Certain circumstances may predict suicidal thinking or behavior among teens with treatment-resistant major depression who are undergoing second-step treatment, according to an analysis of data from an NIMH-funded study. The study was published online ahead of print February 17, 2009, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Getting Closer to Personalized Treatment for Teens with Treatment-resistant Depression

Science Update • February 11, 2009

Some teens with treatment-resistant depression are more likely than others to get well during a second treatment attempt of combination therapy, but various factors can hamper their recovery, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print February 4, 2009, in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Adolescents with Depression Not Harmed in Studies Using Placebo

Science Update • January 15, 2009

Teens with depression who initially are randomly assigned to placebo treatment (inactive pill) during a trial are no more likely to experience harm or have a diminished response to subsequent active treatments than teens who are initially randomized to active treatment, according to an analysis of data from the NIMH-funded Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS).

Depression Relapse Less Likely Among Teens Who Receive CBT After Medication Therapy

Science Update • December 05, 2008

Adolescents with major depression who received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) after responding to an antidepressant were less likely to experience a relapse or recurrence of symptoms compared to teens who did not receive CBT, according to a small, NIMH-funded pilot study published in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Anxious and Depressed Teens and Adults: Same Version of Mood Gene, Different Brain Reactions

Science Update • December 02, 2008

An NIMH study using brain imaging shows that some anxious and depressed adolescents react differently from adult patients when looking at frightening faces.

Long-term Academic Effects of Child’s ADHD May Extend to Siblings

Science Update • December 02, 2008

The long-term academic problems that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience may affect their siblings as well, according to an analysis partially funded by NIMH and published in the Journal of Health Economics.

Study Identifies Three Effective Treatments for Childhood Anxiety Disorders

Press Release • October 30, 2008

Treatment that combines a certain type of psychotherapy with an antidepressant medication is most likely to help children with anxiety disorders, but each of the treatments alone is also effective.

Brain's Wiring Stunted, Lopsided in Childhood Onset Schizophrenia

Science Update • October 30, 2008

Growth of the brain's long distance connections, called white matter, is stunted and lopsided in children who develop psychosis before puberty, NIMH researchers have discovered.

Task Force Finds Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Effective for Children and Adolescents Exposed to Trauma

Science Update • October 29, 2008

Individual and group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) were the only interventions found effective in an evaluation of seven commonly-used approaches to reduce the psychological harm to youth who experience trauma.

Lack of Eye Contact May Predict Level of Social Disability in Two-Year Olds with Autism

Science Update • October 23, 2008

By age 2, children with autism show unusual patterns of eye contact compared with typically developing children.

New Study to Evaluate Ways to Control Metabolic Side Effects of Antipsychotics

Science Update • October 01, 2008

A new NIMH-funded grant will examine ways to control the metabolic side effects associated with the use of the newer atypical antipsychotic medications in children with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Newer Antipsychotics No Better Than Older Drug in Treating Child and Adolescent Schizophrenia

Press Release • September 15, 2008

Two newer atypical antipsychotic medications were no more effective than an older conventional antipsychotic in treating child and adolescent schizophrenia and may lead to more metabolic side effects, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Family-Focused Therapy Effective in Treating Depressive Episodes of Bipolar Youth

Science Update • September 01, 2008

Adolescents with bipolar disorder who received a nine-month course of family-focused therapy (FFT) recovered more quickly from depressive episodes and stayed free of depression for longer periods than a control group, according to an NIMH-funded study published September 2008 in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Antipsychotic Does Not Harm—and May Improve—Cognitive Skills in Children with Autism

Science Update • August 27, 2008

The atypical antipsychotic medication risperidone (Risperdal) does not negatively affect cognitive skills of children with autism, and may lead to improvements, according to an NIMH-funded study published recently in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.

Common Mechanisms May Underlie Autism’s Seemingly Diverse Mutations

Press Release • July 10, 2008

Many of the seemingly disparate mutations recently discovered in autism may share common underlying mechanisms, say researchers supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Abnormal Surge in Brain Development Occurs in Teens and Young Adults with Schizophrenia

Science Update • July 08, 2008

Schizophrenia may occur, in part, because brain development goes awry during adolescence and young adulthood, when the brain is eliminating some connections between cells as a normal part of maturation, results of a study suggest. The new report appears online July 8, 2008 in Molecular Psychiatry.

Anxious Youth Have Disturbed Brain Responses When Looking at Angry Faces

Science Update • June 20, 2008

When looking at angry faces so quickly that they are hardly aware of seeing them, youth with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) have unchecked activity in the brain’s fear center, say NIMH researchers.

New NIMH Research to Test Innovative Treatments for Children with ADHD

Science Update • June 05, 2008

Two new grants funded by NIMH will focus on novel and innovative approaches to treating children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

NIMH Funds Research to Find Best Treatments for Children with Autism and ADHD Symptoms

Science Update • June 02, 2008

A new NIMH-funded study will help guide the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Medication-only Therapy and Combination Therapy Both Cost Effective for Treating Teens with Depression

Science Update • May 12, 2008

Treating depressed teenagers with either the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) or a combination of fluoxetine and psychotherapy can be cost effective, according to a recent economic analysis of the NIMH-funded Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). The study was published online ahead of print April 15, 2008, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Clues to Role of Brain Development as Risk for Mental Disorders May Also Lead to Better Treatments

Science Update • May 06, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC, May 6 — Increasing evidence points to links between the timing and growth rates of specific brain areas in the young brain and the likelihood of developing a wide range of mental disorders later in life, say researchers convened by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a part of the National Institutes of Health. Included among these mental disorders are autism, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, substance abuse, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).