Unpredictability Is an Important Childhood Adversity That a Simple Screen Can Capture, Study Shows | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Over the last quarter-century, a number of pivotal studies focusing on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have powerfully documented the cumulative effects of exposure to potentially traumatic experiences on a wide range of health conditions affecting the brain and body. Abuse, neglect, and exposure to violence in and beyond the household setting are now understood to take a heavy toll on young people, with impacts often extending far beyond childhood.

ow.ly

Ketogenic Diet, in a First Randomized Trial, Correlates With Symptom Improvement in Schizophrenia & Bipolar Disorder With Psychosis | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

A team led by BBRF grantees and Scientific Council members has reported the first-ever randomized, controlled trial to assess the effects of a ketogenic diet on psychiatric symptoms, metabolism, and cognition in people with schizophrenia spectrum and bipolar I disorders.

ow.ly

How to Talk About Alzheimer’s Disease: Communicating with Compassion and Respect | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Talking about Alzheimer’s disease can be difficult. A diagnosis may bring fear, grief, uncertainty, and questions about what the future will hold. Friends and family members may worry about saying the wrong thing, while the person living with Alzheimer’s may feel embarrassed, anxious, frustrated, or excluded. Yet avoiding the subject can deepen isolation. Thoughtful, respectful communication can help preserve connection, reduce distress, and remind a person that they remain valued and understood.

ow.ly

Study Suggests Regular Cannabis Use in Adolescents Alters the Dopamine System, With Still Uncertain Impacts on Brain Development and Mental Health | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Studies in both animals and humans have suggested that adolescence is a vulnerable time in which to begin using cannabis, owing to various ways it is thought to modify the brain’s development process. Of course, the adolescent years are precisely those in which young people so inclined will typically begin to experiment with cannabis or begin using it regularly.

ow.ly

Abnormalities in Perception of GI Tract Signals Are Found to Be a Possible “Core Pathology” in Anorexia Nervosa | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

It has long been thought that people diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN), and perhaps those with other eating disorders, have problems properly sensing and interpreting signals from within the body—what researchers call interoception.

ow.ly

Accelerated TMS Guided by Individualized fMRI Connectivity Targeting Outperformed Conventional Targeting in Major Depression Patients | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

A clinical trial led by BBRF grantee and prizewinner Joseph J. Taylor M.D., Ph.D., of Harvard and Mass General Brigham, has generated head-to-head evidence that neuroimaging can be used to improve clinical outcomes in psychiatry. Prior research has suggested such efficacy, but not in patient trials directly comparing use vs. non-use of neuroimaging-based targeting to achieve therapeutic results.

ow.ly

In Clinical Test, TMS Targeted Comorbid Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Separately, With Precision-Psychiatry Implications | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Many psychiatric disorders are what doctors call “comorbid”—they co-occur with other disorders, whether other brain-based disorders or those affecting other parts of the body. Depression, for example, is often comorbid with anxiety. In such cases, one question that intrigues researchers is how treatment for one set of symptoms affects symptoms of the comorbid condition, if at all.

ow.ly

Sign Up to Receive the Latest Research News in Our Weekly eNewsletter

Sign up for the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation email list and receive weekly updates on the latest mental health research bringing us closer to improved treatments, better diagnostic tools, and ultimately cures for mental illnesses.

bbrfoundation.org

Child and Adolescent Mental Health: What We Know and What Parents Can Do | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Protecting our children’s mental health is one of the most important and urgent concerns for parents today. Whether your child is a preschooler, in elementary school, or navigating the teenage years, mental health plays a critical role in their overall development and well-being. Each stage of childhood brings different challenges and opportunities: moments to observe, to support, and — when needed — to intervene early. Why Early Attention Matters

ow.ly

Harnessing Potentially Therapeutic Properties of Psychedelics While Eliminating Hallucinations and Other Unwanted Effects | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

BBRF-funded researchers search for ways of harnessing potentially therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs while minimizing or eliminating hallucinations and other unwanted side effects.

ow.ly

Two Medicines for Alcohol Use Disorder May Be Effective in Different, Non-Overlapping Patient Subgroups, Animal Tests Suggest | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Researchers led by a BBRF grantee report results of experiments that have potentially valuable precision-medicine implications for treating people with alcohol-use disorder (AUD).

ow.ly

Experiments That May Answer the Riddle of Ketamine’s Rapid Antidepressant Action Are Basis for Finding Other Rapid-Acting Treatments With Fewer Side Effects | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

In a what could be a major step forward in depression research, a team led by BBRF grantees has reported the results of experiments that they say reveals the mechanism through which the rapid anti-depressant effects of ketamine are initiated, within minutes of the drug’s arrival in the brain.

ow.ly

ADVICE ON MENTAL HEALTH: ADHD: What You Need to Know: A Q&A for Parents, Teachers, and Families | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Dr. Stephen Hinshaw, a world expert on ADHD, suggests ADHD is not an “attention deficit” per se, but rather, more of a regulatory disorder, often reflected in difficulty shifting gears between tasks, particularly those that are highly engaging vs. those that are routine. He offers advice on how parents and teachers can work with the child to maximum benefit.

ow.ly

In Children with ADHD, Neuroimaging Data Reveals 3 Distinct Neural Biotypes | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

A new study based on MRI data from a large cohort of children diagnosed with ADHD and controls has identified three distinct ADHD “biotypes.” These biotypes indicate various ways in which specific and contrasting patterns of variation in brain structure and function manifest across a large set of ADHD patients.

ow.ly

GLP-1 Drug Semaglutide Substantially Reduced Heavy Alcohol Consumption and Weight in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder and Obesity | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Researchers have reported positive results in the first clinical trial testing the diabetes and weight-loss medicine semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) in treatment-seeking patents with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who were also obese.

ow.ly

New Trials Show ECT and MST Both Effective in Reducing Bipolar Depression & “Unipolar” Major Depression, with a Safety Advantage for MST | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

In recent weeks, researchers led by two BBRF grantees have reported encouraging results of a small pilot trial comparing the clinical and cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) vs. magnetic seizure therapy (MST) in patients experiencing an episode of bipolar depression. Separately, the same investigators and colleagues reported results of a much larger trial confirming MST’s “non-inferiority” vs. ECT in treating major depressive disorder (MDD), again with a notable safety advantage. (Results of this depression trial are discussed at the end of this article.)

ow.ly

Sign Up to Receive the Latest Research News in Our Weekly eNewsletter

Sign up for the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation email list and receive weekly updates on the latest mental health research bringing us closer to improved treatments, better diagnostic tools, and ultimately cures for mental illnesses.

bbrfoundation.org

GLP-1 Drug Semaglutide Substantially Reduced Heavy Alcohol Consumption and Weight in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder and Obesity | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Researchers have reported positive results in the first clinical trial testing the diabetes and weight-loss medicine semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) in treatment-seeking patents with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who were also obese.

ow.ly