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- New Social Neuroscience Grants to Help Unravel Autism, Anxiety Disorders
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October 10, 2007
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Science Update
How genes and the environment shape the brain circuitry underlying social behavior is among the questions being addressed by three newly NIMH-funded studies.
- Bipolar Disorder Phenome Database May Aid Search for Related Genes
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October 2, 2007
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Science Update
Early findings from the recently launched Bipolar Disorder Phenome Database were published in the August 2007 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
- Gene Triggers Obsessive Compulsive Disorder-Like Syndrome in Mice
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August 22, 2007
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Press Release
Using genetic engineering, researchers have created an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - like set of behaviors in mice and reversed them with antidepressants and genetic targeting of a key brain circuit. The study, by NIH-funded researchers, suggests new strategies for treating the disorder.
- New Studies Search for Clues to Mental Illness in Gatekeepers of Gene Expression
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August 10, 2007
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Science Update
What goes awry in the brain to cause mental illness may ultimately be traced to glitches in genes - but not necessarily the parts of genes commonly suspected. Rather than the areas of genes that code for proteins, the secrets may be hidden in mysterious short sequences of genetic material called microRNAs.
- New Technique Pinpoints Crossroads of Depression in Rat Brain
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August 2, 2007
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Science Update
NIMH-funded scientists have developed a new high-speed technique for imaging brain activity and used it to pinpoint a circuit signal in rats that may be at the crossroads of depression.
- Study Offers Glimpse of Molecules That Keep Memories Alive
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July 2, 2007
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Science Update
Working memory is a kind of temporary-storage system in the brain. Unlike long-term memory, it stores disposable information we must keep in mind only transiently, for tasks at hand. But how?
- Genetic Roots of Bipolar Disorder Revealed by First Genome-Wide Study of Illness
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May 8, 2007
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Press Release
The likelihood of developing bipolar disorder depends in part on the combined, small effects of variations in many different genes in the brain, none of which is powerful enough to cause the disease by itself, a new study shows.
- Cell Networking Keeps Brain’s Master Clock Ticking
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May 4, 2007
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Science Update
Each day, a master clock in the brain synchronizes the timing of lesser clocks in cells throughout the body to the rising and setting of the sun, regulating such daily rhythms as sleep, body temperature, eating, and activity. Scientists funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health have now discovered that the secret to this master clock’s robust time-keeping ability lies in the unique way its cells work together.
- Cortex Area Thinner in Youth with Alzheimer’s-Related Gene
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April 24, 2007
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Press Release
A part of the brain first affected by Alzheimer’s disease is thinner in youth with a risk gene for the disorder, a brain imaging study by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has found.
- Gene Knockout Unleashes Manic Mouse
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April 5, 2007
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Science Update
Mice engineered to lack a specific gene showed behaviors similar to human mania in a study funded in part by NIMH; they were hyperactive, slept less, appeared less depressed and anxious, and craved sugar, cocaine and pleasure stimulation.
