New Atlas

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Study finds too much social media is making us feel lonely and depressed

Rich Haridy November 12, 2018

An interesting new study from the University of Pennsylvania has demonstrated the first causal connection between social media use and feelings of depression and loneliness. The findings claim that decreasing one’s social media use can lead to significant improvements in personal well-being.

Limiting social media use to just 30 minutes per day reduced reported feelings of depression and ...

Science

AI better than humans at predicting outcomes for those at risk of psychosis and depression

Rich Haridy September 26, 2018

A study has revealed a machine-learning algorithm can effectively predict the social outcomes of patients with depression or psychosis better than human experts. The research found the AI outperformed clinician predictions when estimating a patient’s social functioning up to a year in the future.

A machine learning has model effectively predicted social outcomes up to one year in the future

Medical Audio available

Major schizophrenia breakthrough finds immune cells on the wrong side of the tracks

Nick Lavars September 16, 2018

In what is being labeled one of the biggest breakthroughs in schizophrenia research of recent times, scientists have detected heightened immune cell activity in the brains of sufferers, providing a brand new target for further research into its causes, diagnosis and treatment.

Scientists have discovered new links between schizophrenia and the immune cells in the body

Medical

Cannabis extract could form basis of new anti-psychotic treatments

Michael Irving August 30, 2018

Marijuana compounds like cannabidiol (CBD) have been found to impart benefits to the brain without the negative “stoned” side-effects. Now, researchers at King’s College London have shown that CBD could help reset the brain abnormalities found in people suffering from psychosis.

Researchers have found that a cannabis extract might help relieve symptoms of psychosis

Health & Wellbeing

Bad sleep increases feelings of loneliness - and it may be contagious

Rich Haridy August 15, 2018

A new study from UC Berkeley investigated the relationship between poor sleep and loneliness finding people tend to withdraw and avoid social interaction after even a single night’s disrupted sleep, and what's more, those feelings could be contagious.

The study found sleep-deprived people were less attractive to others and made normal subjects feel more ...

VR

VR therapist helps patients overcome fear of heights in Oxford study

Rich Haridy July 12, 2018

A new study has used a VR-based treatment to help people overcome a fear of heights. The treatment is the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of a completely automated therapy guided by a computer-generated virtual therapist that responds to the patient's voice.

This is the first treatment that removes the need for a real-life therapist to guide a ...

Biology

Researchers home in on a possible genetic basis for loneliness

Rich Haridy July 3, 2018

An intriguing new study has homed in on several specific genomic regions that seem to be associated with greater traits of social isolation and loneliness. The results suggest genetic traits associated with loneliness cross over with a susceptibility for bad cardiovascular health and depression.

Are loneliness and social isolation genetic traits?

Medical

Could electrically stimulating criminals' brains prevent crime?

Rich Haridy July 2, 2018

A new study by a team of international researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Nanyang Technological University is suggesting that electrically stimulating the prefrontal cortex can reduce the desire to carry out violent antisocial acts by over 50 percent.

New research shows that low current electrical brain stimulation could significantly decrease violent behavior

Science Feature

Psychedelic Medicine 101: Psilocybin and the magic of mushrooms

Rich Haridy June 5, 2018

Psychedelic Medicine 101 is a series investigating the psychedelic renaissance in medical research, examining the past, present and future clinical uses of these formerly taboo substances.

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, is undergoing a renaissance in medical research (Credit: kooikkari ...

Health & Wellbeing

Long-term study finds link between antidepressants and weight gain

Rich Haridy May 23, 2018

A study has found a link between long-term use of antidepressants and sustained weight gain. The research, collating medical data from over 300,000 adults monitored over a decade, suggests that widespread, and increasing, antidepressant use could be contributing to growing obesity levels worldwide.

A long-term association between antidepressant use and weight gain has been identified, but no causal connection ...