Psychotic spectrum (PS) disorders are characterized by abnormalities in beliefs, perceptions and behavior, but how these disorders manifest themselves in earlier development stages is largely unknown. A new study reports differences in brain structure among youth with PS disorders relative to typically developing youth. The study found surface area reductions in a number of cortical…

Each year, one in five US adults — an estimated 53 million people — experience harm because of someone else’s drinking, according to new research. Similar to how policymakers have addressed the effects of secondhand smoke over the last two decades, society needs to combat the secondhand effects of drinking, the authors state, calling alcohol’s…

Scientists have discovered a new role for the brain chemical dopamine that is independent of classic neurotransmission. The new role appears to be critical to changes in gene expression related to chronic exposure to, or abuse of, cocaine. «Our study provides the first evidence of how dopamine can directly impact drug-induced gene expression abnormalities and…

Adolescents and young adults with anorexia nervosa whose weight is in the healthy, overweight or obese ranges face similar cardiovascular and other health complications as their counterparts with low body mass index (BMI), according to a new study. The study, led by Andrea Garber, PhD, RD, chief nutritionist for the UCSF Eating Disorders Program, compared…

Researchers have discovered new changes in blood samples associated with Alzheimer’s disease. A new international study was conducted on disease-discordant Finnish twin pairs: one sibling suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and the other being cognitively healthy. The researchers utilised the latest genome-wide methods to examine the twins’ blood samples for any disease-related differences in epigenetic marks…

Scientists have taken a significant step forward in the search to find effective new drug candidates for the treatment of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease. Researchers from the Universities of Liverpool (UK) and Nagoya (Japan) have shown that a Selenium-based drug-molecule called ebselen and a number of other novel compounds…

Successful epilepsy surgery can improve brain connectivity similar to patterns seen in people without epilepsy. The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study of 15 people with temporal lobe epilepsy is the first to show improvements in brain networks after surgery compared to a group of healthy subjects. Brain networks involved in the study are important…

In experiments with human cells and mice, researchers report evidence that combining the experimental cancer medication TAK228 (also called sapanisertib) with an existing anti-cancer drug called trametinib may be more effective than either drug alone in decreasing the growth of pediatric low-grade gliomas. The combination therapy, when tested in tumor cell lines derived from children’s…

Researchers have now demonstrated that behavior therapy that exposes people to memories of their trauma doesn’t cause relapses of opioid or other drug use, and that PTSD severity and emotional problems have decreased after the first therapy session. Johns Hopkins researchers have now demonstrated that behavior therapy that exposes people to memories of their trauma…

A new paper comparing the ability to match pitch and duration in speech and song is providing valuable insight into vocal imitation deficits for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder. The results show how individuals with ASD perform quite differently in two different categories of pitch imitation, a finding that has broad implications when…