Science News from 2023
- Combined, High Maternal Stress and Prenatal COVID-19 Infection May Affect Attention Span in Infants
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Prenatal COVID-19 infection increased the risk for impaired attention and delayed socioemotional and cognitive functioning among infants of mothers who experienced high psychosocial stress during their pregnancy.
- RAISE-ing the Standard of Care for Schizophrenia: The Rapid Adoption of Coordinated Specialty Care in the United States
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• 75th Anniversary
The Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode research initiative, launched by NIMH to test the effectiveness of coordinated specialty care to treat first-episode psychosis, has transformed the mental health landscape in the United States and helped thousands of people with schizophrenia achieve better outcomes.
- Dr. Patricia A. Areán Named New Director of NIMH’s Division of Services and Intervention Research
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Patricia A. Areán, Ph.D., has been selected as the new director of the National Institute of Mental Health’s (NIMH) Division of Services and Intervention Research (DSIR).
- Dr. Lisa Bowleg Named James S. Jackson Memorial Award Winner
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The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has named applied Social Psychologist Lisa Bowleg, Ph.D., M.A., the 2023 James S. Jackson Memorial Award winner.
- Blocking HIV Enzyme Reduces Infectivity and Slows Viral Rebound
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In this NIMH-funded study, researchers developed a compound that blocked an enzyme critical for forming HIV particles, which stopped the virus from correctly forming and becoming infectious.
- Youth Emergency Department Visits for Mental Health Increased During Pandemic
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Hospital visits for urgent mental health care increased among children and teens in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an NIMH-supported study.
- Researchers Solve the Puzzle of a Brain Receptor’s Activation
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Researchers in a NIMH-supported study identified a new receptor for glycine that helps enhance communication between nerve cells in the brain and offers a potential new target for treating mental disorders.
- Mothers' Difficult Childhoods Impact Their Children’s Mental Health
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In this NIMH-funded study, researchers examined how trauma gets passed from one generation to the next.
- Newly Discovered Brain Connection Affects Reward Behavior in Mice
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NIMH-funded research sheds light on how negative early life experiences may impact how we act in response to rewards, which is often disrupted in people with mental illnesses.
- Researchers Find Order in the Language of the Brain
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New research supported by NIMH used mathematical approaches to explain how neurons in the brain communicate over time to support information processing.
- Youth Suicide Rates Increased During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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In one of the first studies to examine national youth suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers showed that the pandemic increased youth suicide rates and the impact varied by sex, age, and race and ethnicity.
- NIMH’s Dr. Susan Daniels Designated National Autism Coordinator
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Susan A. Daniels, Ph.D. has been appointed as the HHS National Autism Coordinator and Director of the Office of National Autism Coordination (ONAC).
- Population Study Finds Depression Is Different Before, During, and After Pregnancy
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New NIMH-funded research tracked population-level rates of postpartum depression among new mothers before, during, and after pregnancy.
- Infants’ Health Record Data May Improve Early Autism Screening
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Research supported by NIMH suggests that children’s health records may yield some promising insights that could improve the accuracy of early autism screening.
- Chatbot Encourages People With Eating Disorders to Seek Care
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In a new NIMH-funded study, Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine, and colleagues developed a chatbot to encourage people with eating disorders to connect with care.
- Researchers Unlock Genetic Mutations Contributing to Disorders in the Brain
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Researchers identified novel genes with mosaic mutations contributing to treatment-resistant pediatric epilepsy and pointing to specific disrupted pathways in cortical development.
- HIV Can Persist for Years in Myeloid Cells of People on Antiretroviral Therapy
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A subset of white blood cells, known as myeloid cells, can harbor HIV in people who have been virally suppressed for years on antiretroviral therapy, according to findings from a small study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
- Medicaid Data Show Wide Differences in Mental Health Care in the United States
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A new NIMH-supported study revealed differences in rates of mental health care among Medicaid enrollees based on where they live in the United States.
- New NIH Study Reveals Shared Genetic Markers Underlying Substance Use Disorders
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Analyzing genomic data from more than 1 million people, researchers have identified genes that are commonly inherited across substance use disorders, regardless of the substance being used.
- Breaking Down Barriers to HIV Medication Access
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Researchers investigated whether home delivery of ART for a modest fee could help improve ART access and use, finding it resulted in increased viral suppression in participants compared with clinic-based medication distribution.
- Long-acting antiretroviral therapy suppresses HIV among people with unstable housing, mental illnesses, substance use disorder
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A long-acting antiretroviral treatment given every four to eight weeks, and delivered with comprehensive support services, suppressed HIV in people who were previously not virologically suppressed.
- Attention to Geometric Images May Offer Biomarker for Some Toddlers with Autism
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An NIMH-supported study shows that preference for geometric images may be robust enough to serve as a biomarker for identifying some young children with autism.
- NIMH Researcher Karen Berman Elected as AAAS Fellow
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Karen Berman, M.D., a senior investigator at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), has been elected as a 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow.
- COVID-19 Pandemic Associated With Worse Mental Health and Accelerated Brain Development in Adolescents
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An NIMH-supported study suggests that adolescents living through the COVID-19 pandemic may be experiencing more anxiety and depression symptoms and accelerated brain aging.
- Brief Cognitive Training May Extend the Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine
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An NIMH-supported study suggests that a brief self-association training program can extend the effects of a single ketamine infusion by shifting people’s negative self-beliefs.
- NIMH Creates Publicly Accessible Resource With Data From Healthy Volunteers
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The NIMH Healthy Research Volunteer Study aims to build a comprehensive, publicly accessible resource with a range of brain and behavioral data from healthy volunteers.