Mental Health

A double-blind trial suggests that microdosing the psychedelic drug LSD can reverse blunted neurological responses to emotional rewards, potentially offering targeted biological interventions for individuals struggling with mild to moderate depression.

Researchers created a custom Roblox game to help improve body image in children. However, a new study of over 1,000 kids reveals that the game's optional educational messages failed to actually boost players' self-esteem or body satisfaction.

A new study of over 6,600 adolescents reveals that bad daily habits rarely occur alone. When behaviors like poor sleep and physical inactivity cluster together, they dramatically increase a teen's risk of developing both anxiety and depression.

Eye-tracking technology reveals that people with social anxiety scan moving faces more rapidly and identify faint sadness more accurately than those without the condition. Moving facial expressions may help researchers better understand the mechanics of the socially anxious brain.

Wearable trackers show a new parent's actual sleep time doesn't predict their mental health. Instead, a new study finds that psychological distress actually worsens perceived sleep quality over the first year postpartum for both parents.

A new study reveals how feelings of social isolation can trigger a sequence of shopping behaviors, transforming private emotional compensation into public displays of status that ultimately foster online shopping addiction.

Individuals with a history of severe childhood trauma who attended ceremonial psychedelic retreats reported marked reductions in anxiety and increased well-being. The findings suggest psychedelics could offer a novel approach for populations historically resistant to traditional mental health therapies.

You do not have to be tricked to experience the placebo effect. A recent study reveals that older adults who knowingly took fake sugar pills still saw real improvements in their short-term memory, physical mobility, and daily stress levels.

Young people who spend a lot of time comparing their bodies to others on the internet maintain those concerns into adulthood. A new longitudinal study reveals how digital appearance anxieties eventually catch up to almost all adolescents.

A new review of over 250,000 individuals reveals that having a clear sense of meaning in life is consistently linked to lower levels of depression, though the strength of this protection varies widely across different ages and cultural backgrounds.

A recent study found that consuming high amounts of sugar and sweetened beverages is associated with a greater chance of experiencing depression and anxiety.

A new longitudinal study reveals that Israeli adults who experienced chaotic, unpredictable childhoods suffered sharper spikes in psychological distress following the outbreak of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.

Exposure to supposedly safer alternatives to traditional forever chemicals during early development causes lasting cognitive problems in adult rats. Emerging research suggests these widely used synthetic compounds can severely disrupt the physical construction of the mammalian brain.

A new study in rats shows how experiencing social isolation during adolescence directly changes the brain’s chemical response to alcohol, altering dopamine pathways linked to reward and aversion and paving the way for future substance use issues.

A new study analyzing over 1.7 million birth records in California reveals that the age of maternal grandparents may be linked to the likelihood of their grandchildren developing autism. The patterns vary substantially across different racial and ethnic groups.