Science News

Autism Research Efforts Highlighted in Biological Psychiatry Special Issue

February 6, 2007 • Science Update
The February 15, 2007 special issue of Biological Psychiatry is dedicated to recent advances in autism research, including many studies funded by the Institute.

Brain’s Reward Circuit Activity Ebbs and Flows with a Woman’s Hormonal Cycle

February 2, 2007 • Press Release
Fluctuations in sex hormone levels during women’s menstrual cycles affect the responsiveness of their brains’ reward circuitry, an imaging study at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has revealed.

Extreme Irritability: Is It Childhood Bipolar Disorder?

February 1, 2007 • Press Release
Results of a new study may help improve the diagnosis and treatment of two debilitating childhood mental disorders — pediatric bipolar disorder (BD) and a syndrome called severe mood dysregulation (SMD).

New Tests May Help Researchers Detect Genetic Basis For Autism

January 30, 2007 • Science Update
Researchers have developed a set of behavioral tests in mice that mimic the core features of autism and may prove useful in detecting a genetic basis for the deficits in social interactions and rigid thinking seen in the disorder.

Clues to Making and Breaking Memories Included in List of Year’s Top Science

January 30, 2007 • Science Update
NIMH-funded researchers were cited in Science Magazine’s December 2006 “Breakthrough of the Year” special issue.

Gene Variant Linked to Schizophrenia

January 23, 2007 • Science Update
A gene implicated in schizophrenia in adults has now also been linked to schizophrenia in children for the first time, strengthening evidence that the gene plays a role in the disease.

U.S.-born Children of Immigrants May Have Higher Risk for Mental Disorders Than Parents

January 17, 2007 • Science Update
In the first studies to examine the effects of immigration and years of residence on the mental health of Caribbean Black, Latino, and Asian populations in the United States, NIMH-funded researchers found that immigrants in general appear to have lower rates of mental disorders than their U.S.-born counterparts.

History of Childhood Abuse or Neglect Increases Risk of Major Depression

January 3, 2007 • Science Update
People who were abused or neglected as children have increased risk of major depression, which often begins in childhood and has lingering effects as they mature, according to a study funded by NIMH.

Different Families, Different Characteristics — Different Kinds of Bipolar Disorder?

January 3, 2007 • Science Update
People with bipolar disorder (BPD) tend to share similarities in certain characteristics with other members of their families, NIMH-funded researchers have shown.

Landmark Council Session Spotlights “Real World” Trials

December 21, 2006 • Science Update
Principal investigators of NIMH's four large-scale clinical trials presented study results and their implications at the National Advisory Mental Health Council meeting on September 15, 2006.

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The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.