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- Gene Variants Force Mental Trade-offs: Efficiency vs. Resiliency
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September 15, 2008
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Science Update
Mice genetically engineered to have an over active version of a human gene, like their human counterparts, gain in emotional mettle under stress, but at a cost of less efficient thinking, NIMH scientists have discovered. Such talents seesawed in mice engineered to have either too much or not enough the val version of the COMT gene, the most common of two that humans inherit. The new study in mice confirms and helps to explain the trade-offs seen in earlier studies in humans, which have suggested that the val version slightly biases the brain’s workings toward increased risk for schizophrenia.
- Newer Antipsychotics No Better Than Older Drug in Treating Child and Adolescent Schizophrenia
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September 15, 2008
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Press Release
Two newer atypical antipsychotic medications were no more effective than an older conventional antipsychotic in treating child and adolescent schizophrenia and may lead to more metabolic side effects.
- Why “My Get Up and Go Has Got Up and Went”
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September 15, 2008
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Science Update
If, as the song laments, our “get up and go” fades as we get older, it may stem from aging-related changes in a brain reward circuit. Compared to young participants, older participants showed less activity in brain motivation hubs while they viewed a slot machine-like video game and received money in a NIMH brain imaging study.
- Childhood Bedwetting Occurred Twice as Often in Adults with Schizophrenia
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August 29, 2008
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Science Update
Childhood bedwetting occurred twice as often in adults with schizophrenia
than in their unaffected brothers and sisters, according to a new study from researchers at NIMH. Their report appears in the September 2008 issue of the journal Brain.
- Increased Burden of Rare Genetic Variations Found in Schizophrenia
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July 30, 2008
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Press Release
People with schizophrenia bear an “increased burden” of rare deletions and duplications of genetic material, genome-wide, say researchers supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
- Health Risks Associated with Certain Antipsychotics Warrant Extra Monitoring
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July 24, 2008
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Science Update
Some atypical antipsychotics may be more likely than others to cause metabolic and cardiovascular side effects, according to recent analyses using data from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE).
- Newer Antipsychotics No Better Than Older Medications in Reducing Schizophrenia-related Violence
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July 11, 2008
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Science Update
Antipsychotic medications can reduce the risk of violence among people with schizophrenia, but the newer atypical antipsychotics are no more effective in doing so than older medications.
- Abnormal Surge in Brain Development Occurs in Teens and Young Adults with Schizophrenia
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July 8, 2008
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Science Update
Schizophrenia may occur, in part, because brain development goes awry during adolescence and young adulthood, when the brain is eliminating some connections between cells as a normal part of maturation, results of a study suggest. The new report appears online July 8, 2008 in Molecular Psychiatry.
- NIMH Schizophrenia Initiative Featured in Biological Psychiatry
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July 3, 2008
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Science Update
An NIMH initiative to fill the gap between advances in basic cognitive neuroscience and practical clinical applications for patients with schizophrenia is the topic of the July 1, 2008 issue of Biological Psychiatry. It contains eight articles on the Cognitive Neuroscience Approaches to the Treatment of Impaired Cognition in Schizophrenia (CNTRICS) initiative, including a commentary, and descriptions of meetings related to the effort.
- Mice Expressing Human Genes Bred to Help Unravel Mental Disorders
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June 26, 2008
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Science Update
New mouse strains engineered to express human genes related to mental disorders are being developed under a recently-launched grant program from NIMH's Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science.
