Answers to frequently asked questions about the treatment of mental disorders in children. En Español
This guide describes the types of medications used to treat mental disorders, side effects of medications, directions for taking medications, and includes any FDA warnings.
Rats exposed to an antidepressant just before and after birth showed substantial brain abnormalities and behaviors, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. 
The prescribed use of stimulant medications to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rose slowly but steadily from 1996 to 2008, according to a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). 
Patients experiencing cardiovascular or metabolic side effects while taking an antipsychotic medication may fare better if they switch to a different medication provided they are closely monitored, according to an NIMH-funded study.
A study in mice has pinpointed a pivotal new player in triggering the rapid antidepressant response produced by ketamine. By deactivating a little-known enzyme, the drug takes the brakes off rapid synthesis of a key growth factor thought to lift depression, say researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.
An experimental drug that lifts depression in hours likely works by rapidly stimulating connections between brain cells, a study in rats has revealed. The drug, called ketamine, quickly generated such synapses in a brain circuit implicated in human depression by triggering a key enzyme. More Science News about Medications
By Thomas Insel on January 26, 2012
Dr. Insel responds to discussion from the National Advisory Mental Health Council concerning the need to balance research funding for basic science and mental health services.
By Thomas Insel on January 05, 2012
Dr. Insel discusses opportunities for treatment development.
By Thomas Insel on December 23, 2011
Dr. Insel shares NIMH’s Top 10 Research Advances for 2011.
By Thomas Insel on December 22, 2011
Dr. Insel discusses opportunities for treatment development.
By Thomas Insel on December 14, 2011
Dr. Insel discusses the state of psychiatric research and development (R&D) in the public and private sectors
September 03, 2007
A recently published research paper (September 2007, Archives of General Psychiatry) reported a 40-fold increase in the rate of diagnosing bipolar disorder in youth over the past decade.
December 01, 2006
The recent publication (December 1, 2006, American Journal of Psychiatry) of the cost-effectiveness results from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials in Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) has raised questions among advocates, families, and clinicians about reimbursement policies for antipsychotic medications.
October 12, 2006
The recent publication of phase 1 results from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials in Intervention Effectiveness for Alzheimer's disease (CATIE-AD) in the New England Journal of Medicine provides new information about the use of several "atypical" antipsychotic medications for the treatment of psychotic symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health
This page last reviewed: December 15, 2011.