Research Highlights from 2022

In one of the largest genetic studies of its kind researchers funded by the National Institute of Mental Health identified variations in 10 genes that significantly raise the risk for schizophrenia—information that could help identify new treatment targets.

The recent NIMH Mental Health Services Research conference covered a range of topics, including mental health equity, policy, and funding.

In a recent study supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, researchers examined the impact of a family-based intervention on suicide risk in youth and found risk-reduction benefits up to 10 years later.

An NIMH-supported workgroup developed an evidence-based screening pathway to help primary care doctors identify adults at risk of suicide and bridge them to critical mental health services.

Researchers used computational methods to automatically detect abnormalities in spoken language that could be used to predict symptoms of psychotic disorders including schizophrenia.

In an NIMH-supported study, researchers found that toddlers respond to emotionally expressive speech in different ways, and these varied responses are linked with their social, linguistic, and cognitive abilities.

In an NIMH-supported study, researchers found that low social affiliation—low motivation for social engagement and bonding—may be a precursor that identifies children as early as age 2 who are likely to develop callous-unemotional behaviors.

Researchers asked a group of self-identified adult “picky eaters” to reflect on their parents’ feeding strategies to better understand which strategies were helpful and which weren’t.

A new NIMH-supported study shows that experiencing persistent feelings of detachment following trauma is an early psychological and biological marker of worse mental health outcomes.

A new NIMH-supported analysis shows that disciplinary disparities occur as early as preschool and that their effects can negatively influence how well students do in later years.

A recent NIMH co-authored study shows that a Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention program was associated with fewer inpatient mental health admissions and emergency department visits, and a 5 percent reduction in documented suicide attempts.

NIMH-supported researchers have found an online mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy—called Mindful Mood Balance—is effective at reducing residual depressive symptoms and at reducing suicidal ideation in those who experience these symptoms.

An NIMH-supported study shows that incorporating a multistage screening process for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) into federally funded early intervention services may reduce disparities in early ASD diagnosis.

Researchers supported by NIH have developed a way to genetically insert a type of light receptor into neurons. The new technique enables the researchers to suppress the neuron’s activity using pulses of light.

TMS can only directly stimulate the outermost layer of the brain, but NIMH researchers have found that mapping a person’s brain architecture may make it possible to guide TMS to deep brain targets.

A recent study of gene networks may hold some promising clues about shared mechanisms underlying autism spectrum disorder and congenital heart disease, two physiologically distinct disorders that often co-occur.

A recent NIMH-supported study investigated whether deep brain stimulation could be personalized for individuals with treatment-resistant depression.

NIMH researchers examine what people with ASD and people without ASD look at when viewing a social scene.