New Atlas

Biology Audio available

How our immune system evolved to take control of our decision-making processes

Rich Haridy June 4, 2019

Two new research papers are shedding light on the fascinating relationship between inflammation and behavior, suggesting our immune system can play a significant role in both our motivation and decision-making abilities.

New research suggests inflammatory actions in the brain could reduce motivation and influence the decisions people ...

Medical Audio available

Striking study reveals how dietary fats enter the brain and cause depression

Rich Haridy May 12, 2019

An intriguing study suggests there is a direct causative link between a high-fat diet and the development of depression. The research demonstrates how certain dietary fats can enter the brain, disrupt specific signaling pathways in the hypothalamus, and subsequently induce signs of depression.

A new study demonstrates how fatty acids can enter the brain and disrupt signaling pathways that ...

Medical

Dual studies offer incredible insights into connection between depression and the gut

Rich Haridy May 7, 2019

Two new studies build on a growing body of evidence linking depression with mechanisms in our gut. While one team has uncovered a connection between serotonin and gut dysfunction, another team found microbiome transplants can transfer symptoms of depression from one animal to another.

One study has described a connection between serotonin and gut dysfunction, while another has revealed how ...

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Machine learning algorithm detects signals of child depression through speech

Nick Lavars May 7, 2019

The search is on for clearer, more straightforward ways to diagnose depression and anxiety, and scientists at the University of Vermont believe they have unearthed another with the help of a newly developed AI algorithm that can detect telltale signals in a subject's speech.

Many children suffering from ill mental health under the age of eight go undiagnosed

Medical Audio available

New ketamine-like drug offers antidepressant benefits without psychedelic side effects

Rich Haridy April 17, 2019

A study led by scientists at Yale University has described the promising early-stage results of a new drug designed to mimic the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine, but without that drug’s dissociative psychoactive qualities. The experimental drug is currently in early phases of human testing.

A new drug designed to mimic the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine without the negative side ...

Medical Audio available

Ketamine may relieve depression by mending broken bridges in the brain

Nick Lavars April 11, 2019

There remains a lot to learn about ketamine and its close chemical relatives when treating depression. A new study has shed more light on how it can stave off depressive symptoms, with experiments on mice revealing how it repairs busted circuits in the brain.

New research has shed more light on how ketamine relieves depressive symptoms in mice

Science Audio available

Provocative new insight into how ketamine exerts its rapid anti-depressant effects

Rich Haridy March 28, 2019

Following the FDA’s approval of a ketamine-inspired nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression, new research is offering provocative insights into how the drug exerts such a rapid anti-depressant effect and points to new pathways for research into alternative drugs to treat depression.

New research presents a new and controversial hypothesis to explain how ketamine generates its rapid anti-depressant ...

Health & Wellbeing

Depression and anxiety linked to memory loss in later life

Anthony Wood March 21, 2019

A newly-published study has found a link between repeated episodes of anxiety and depression experienced in the first four decades of life, and a decline in memory function by the time a person reaches their 50s.

The study indicates that multiple episodes of depression could be associated with a decrease in memory ...

Medical

Deep brain stimulation provides fast-acting and long-lasting relief of severe depression

Nick Lavars March 19, 2019

A new study exploring the potential for deep brain stimulation to treat severe depression has returned "absolutely sensational" results, with the reduction of depressive symptoms being not only fast-acting, but in some cases long-lasting.

Researchers implanted electrodes into the brain’s medial forebrain bundle, seen in blue, as a way of ...

Medical

FDA approves first drug to specifically treat postpartum depression, but it isn't cheap

Rich Haridy March 19, 2019

Zulresso, also known as brexanolone, has just been approved to treat postpartum depression by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is the first drug ever approved to specifically assist women suffering from this mood disorder..

A new drug treatment that is administered through a slow IV infusion lasting up to 60 ...