Science News About Institute Announcements

Dr. Shelli Avenevoli has been named deputy director of NIMH.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) congratulates two NIMH grantees, Mary Kay Lobo from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Eric Morrow from Brown University, who are among the 102 scientists and researchers receiving the 2017 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) announces that Francis McMahon, M.D., is a recipient of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s 2016 Colvin Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Mood Disorders Research.

The NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) unit, the Delaware Project (DP), and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) will launch a webinar series examining the science-to-service pipeline in psychology and psychiatry.

At its annual meeting for 2016, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced the election of 79 regular members, including the National Institute of Mental Health’s (NIMH Karen F. Berman, M.D. One of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, election to the Academy recognizes outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recently released updates to its Strategic Research Priorities.

RDoC Unit at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) announce that they are holding monthly virtual “office hours” starting Friday, October 14, 2016.

NIMH is supporting Zero Suicide efforts with 3 new research grants. Each project focuses on prevention and health care systems.

Three NIMH grantees have been named recipients of the 2016 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience.

ORDGMH conducts two series of webinars with NIMH grantees, focusing on mental health disparities and research.

Studies based on a database made available by the Human Connectome Project’s first phase reveal that an individual’s brain connectivity can predict his or her behavior.

NIMH congratulates four NIMH grantees who received the 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

The more folding in the thinking parts of our brain, the smarter we are – to a degree.

Is mobile mental health research the next frontier for smartphones? Based on Dr. Patricia Areán’s pioneering BRIGHTEN study, research via smartphone app is already a reality.

Coordinated Specialty Care for First Episode Psychosis is Cost Effective

NIMH scientists have recently discovered a link between order in the activity of neurons in the brain and excitability—how likely it is that individual neurons will “fire”— which may provide a means for monitoring treatment of conditions like epilepsy that would be less invasive and thus more versatile than current methods

On October 16, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced support for a new treatment for first episode psychosis called coordinated specialty care (CSC). This decision means more clinics may be able to offer CSC and it may become more readily available.

Researchers find antipsychotic use among older adults increases with age despite known health risks. In 2010, more than 3/4 of seniors receiving an antipsychotic prescription had no documented clinical psychiatric diagnosis during the year. In addition, among those who did have a diagnosed mental disorder and/or dementia, nearly half of the oldest patients had dementia, regardless of FDA warnings that antipsychotics increase mortality in people with dementia.

New research shows that a team-based, coordinated specialty care treatment plan produces better outcomes than typical community care for people with first episode psychosis. Investigators also found that treatment is most effective for people who receive care soon after psychotic symptoms begin.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Unit has launched its official account on Twitter, @NIMH_RDoC.

NIMH, NIH, and the National Institute of Justice are collaborating on a 4-year, $6.8 million study called Suicide Prevention for at-Risk Individuals in Transition or “SPIRIT.” The study focuses on the high-risk individuals who are transitioning from jail to community. SPIRIT is NIMH’s first major investment in suicide prevention in the justice system.

New York expanded OnTrackNY, a treatment program for youth with psychosis which is an offshoot of one of the two NIMH-funded Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) studies.

Boys are more likely than girls to receive an antipsychotic prescription regardless of age, according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

New report on mental health service use among racial/ethnic groups

New NIMH Strategic Plan balances the need for long-term investments in basic research with urgent mental health needs.

Dr. Sarah Hollingsworth Lisanby, one of the leading researchers in the area of neuromodulatory interventions for treating major depression, will join NIMH as the director of the Division of Translational Research.

Many patients with first-episode psychosis receive medications that do not meet guidelines. A study finds that almost 40 % of people with first-episode psychosis in community mental health clinics across the country might benefit from medication treatment changes.

Soldiers hospitalized with a psychiatric disorder have a higher suicide risk in the year following discharge from the hospital.

Many patients with psychosis develop health risks associated with premature death early in the course of their mental illness, researchers have found.

An increasing number of U.S. adults connect to the web through smartphones or a tablets, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Internet Project. With NIMH’s new mobile-friendly website, visitors can access NIMH information and resources anywhere, anytime, and on any device—from desktop computers to tablets and mobile phones.

NIMH announces a new unit within the Office of the Director to support the development of the institute’s Research Domain Criteria initiative. The unit will enhance communication with scientists, clinicians, and the public to refine the RDoC research framework and accelerate the translation of basic research into clinical treatments.

A drug being studied as a fast-acting mood-lifter restored pleasure-seeking behavior independent of – and ahead of – its other antidepressant effects.

Many patients with psychosis develop health risks associated with premature death early in the course of their mental illness, researchers have found.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released the findings of a new clinical study providing national data on the past-year prevalence of specific mental disorders in adults.

Over the past decade or so, evidence has emerged suggesting that the birth of new neurons in the adult brain’s memory hub, or hippocampus, may play a key role the action of antidepressants, resilience to stress, the benefits of exercise and enriched environments, and preventing memory loss. But understanding how it might work has remained elusive. NIMH researchers in NIH’s new Porter Neuroscience Research Center are following up leads.

NIMH Director Honored by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation

NIMH’s Dr. Robert Heinssen Receives Special Presidential Commendation from APA

The 22nd National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Conference on Mental Health Services Research (MHSR): Research in Pursuit of a Learning Mental Health Care System, will be convened on April 23–25, 2014, at the Natcher Conference Center on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Campus, Bethesda, MD.

A brain blueprint maps where genes are tuned on and off during mid-pregnancy—when most brain disorders such as autism and schizophrenia occur.

NIMH scientists presented hands-on demonstrations of neural electrical activity at the National Museum of Health and Medicine Brain Awareness Week program, March 12, 2014.

NIMH announces updated World Health Organization estimates of the burden of disease in the United States.

As part of Brain Awareness Week 2014, scientists from seven NIH institutes will sponsor hands-on activities—aimed at helping students learn about the brain—at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring, MD

NIMH Twitter Chat on Eating Disorders

NIMH/NICHD experts explain what sparks and halts youth violence.

Neuroscientists have generated over 250 genetically engineered mice lines that will help further our understanding of the human brain.

Join NIMH’s Jovier Evans, Ph.D., Chief of the Geriatric Translational Neuroscience Program, for a Twitter Chat on depression and older adults.

Despite facing lean financial times, NIH continues to generate the most bang for the buck regarding research. Tomorrow on C-SPAN Washington Journal, NIH Directors Drs. Collins, Insel, Fauci, Varmus, and Green will field questions from the public pertaining to sequestration and research as well as other topics.

The NIH NeuroBioBank provides researchers with one-stop access to post-mortem brains.

NIH experts Drs. Chris Sarampote and Valerie Maholmes discuss bullying prevention.

Miss the Twitter chat on the teen brain and Brain Awareness Week? Read the transcript.

Researchers have found a shortcut to rapidly convert induced human stem cells into healthy neurons for “disease-in-a-dish” discovery – and, ultimately, personalized medicine.

NIMH’s Daniel S. Pine, M.D., is one of three NIH scientists elected as members of the prestigious Institute of Medicine.

Thomas C. Südhof, M.D., along with James E. Rothman, Ph.D., and Randy W. Schekman, Ph.D., received the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries delineating how a cell organizes its transport system.

Susan Murphy, Ph.D., a statistician from the University of Michigan and former NIMH grantee, is one of 24 recipients of the MacArthur “Genius” Award.

NIMH’s Jay Giedd discusses brain scan research with Alan Alda in the two-episode PBS documentary “Brains on Trial.”

Two National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grantees recently collected the prestigious 2013 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for their meticulous mapping of the molecular mechanisms involved in neurotransmitter release, the process by which the brain send and receives chemical messengers.

To commemorate World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, 2013, NIMH will host a twitter chat on the topic.

Our New Search Engine Delivers Faster, Better Results

Bruce Cuthbert, Ph.D., director, NIMH Division of Translational Research and Treatment Development, discusses the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative, which he coordinates.

Researchers have reverse-engineered the outlines of a disrupted prenatal gene network in schizophrenia, by tracing spontaneous mutations to where and when they likely cause damage in the brain.

With nearly 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections, the human brain remains one of the greatest mysteries in science and one of the greatest challenges in medicine. NIMH Director Thomas Insel recently went on The Charlie Rose Brain Series to discuss The BRAIN Initiative, which aims to create better tools to solve this mystery.

Improving care for depression in low-income communities -- places where such help is frequently unavailable or hard to find -- provides greater benefits to those in need when community groups such as churches and even barber shops help lead the planning process, according to a new study.

Learn about post-traumatic stress disorder by joining NIMH’s Farris Tuma for a Twitter chat.

See NIMH’s new website design.

NIMH teams up with Perry D. Hoffman from the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder for a chat about this topic.

NIMH and APA have a shared interest in ensuring that patients and health providers have the best available tools and information today to identify and treat mental health issues, while we continue to invest in improving and advancing mental disorder diagnostics for the future.

NIMH experts discuss childhood rapid-onset OCD during our next Twitter chat on May 8, 2013.

The National Institutes of Health announced new funding for two Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE), bringing to eleven the number of ACE centers now being funded for up to five years.

Losing weight is challenging for everyone. It can be particularly difficult for someone with a serious mental illness. An NIMH-funded clinical study proves that a modified diet and exercise program can work for people with serious mental illnesses. Participants lost 7 pounds more than controls—and continued to lose weight.

Miss the Twitter chat on the teen brain and Brain Awareness Week? Read the transcript.

As part of the National Museum of Health and Medicine museum’s 14th annual Brain Awareness Week celebration, several hundred curious students from the Washington, D.C., area will have a chance to learn about what goes on inside the human brain, through a series of interactive exhibits led by scientists from eight institutes of the National Institutes of Health.

An international study supported by NIMH reported today that community efforts, in comparison to standard clinical testing and counseling, yielded greater testing and lower HIV incidence in high-risk individuals.

A recent NIMH-funded study identified small regions of the genome that are uniquely regulated in human neurons, but not in primate neurons. The findings provide insight into human intellectual function and risk for human diseases, including autism and Alzheimer’s disease.

Want to know how the latest findings in neuroscience research go from bench to bedside? NIMH and Science/AAAS partnered to produce an informative webinar on translating neurobiological research into treatments.

The American Medical Association feted Thomas Insel M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health, with its top government service award.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius discusses state of U.S. mental health care, commemorates JFK’s speech on the topic 50 years ago.

Brain imaging might soon predict which treatment options would work best for patients with social phobia.

Renowned neurobiologist Susan Amara recently joined NIMH as scientific director of its intramural research program.