New Atlas

Science Audio available

Yale research suggests brain scan can detect suicide risk in PTSD sufferers

Rich Haridy May 14, 2019

Researchers believe they have homed in on a specific biomarker that can be linked to suicidal thoughts in subjects suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The new study adds to a growing body of research into novel ways clinicians can identify patients at high risk of suicide.

New research suggests increased activity of a certain brain receptor can signal suicidal thoughts in patients ...

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Speech assessment may provide a definitive PTSD diagnosis

Ben Coxworth April 22, 2019

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be a very serious problem, and it unfortunately often goes undiagnosed. New technology could help, however, as it uses artificial intelligence to determine if someone has PTSD – based on their speech.

PTSD is currently diagnosed via interviews or self-reports, although these are both subjective

Medical

Breakthrough blood test for PTSD on the horizon

Rich Haridy March 12, 2019

As part of a decade-long research project a newly published study has revealed the development of a blood test that can purportedly identify patients most at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and possibly even predict future psychiatric hospitalizations.

Research suggests PTSD severity could be potentially predicted through a simple blood test tracking hundreds of ...

Health & Wellbeing

Skin test shows promise for identifying predisposition to mental illness

Ben Coxworth March 12, 2019

Post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety can all be quite serious conditions, but it's often difficult to determine who may be prone to developing them. New research suggests that in order to find out, we should perhaps look to a person's skin.

Tests utilizing skin conductance sensors may be able to identify individuals who are at risk of ...

Biology Audio available

DNA tags in the brain found to help erase fear memories

Michael Irving February 19, 2019

New research from the University of Queensland (UQ) has now found a chemical pathway that helps the brain wipe fear memories, which could lead to new potential treatments for phobias and other fear-related anxiety disorders.

A new study has found DNA modifications related to how we unlearn fears, which could be ...

Medical

MDMA therapy achieves astounding 76% success rate for treating PTSD

Rich Haridy November 1, 2018

Newly published results from a Phase 2 clinical trial into the efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in treating PTSD have revealed striking success, with 76 percent of subjects not meeting the standard clinical criteria for PTSD 12 months after receiving the treatment.

Phase 2 trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy hve proven extremely successful, and Phase 3 trials are now ...

Health & Wellbeing

Connection between stress and autoimmune disease affirmed by massive 30-year study

Rich Haridy June 19, 2018

A massive study spanning 30 years of data and examining a cohort of over one million people has found a strong association between persons suffering from stress disorders, including PTSD, and an increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

Does stress trigger the onset or development of autoimmune disease, or is the connection between stress ...

Biology

How therapy can reprogram the neurons that recall traumatic memories

Rich Haridy June 14, 2018

Scientists have directly identified the cluster of neurons in the brain responsible for recalling long-term memories of traumatic experiences, helping answer the question of whether therapy suppresses fear-based memories or if it actually rewrites those memories.

The green shows a cell active when recalling a traumatic memory, the red is a cell ...

Health & Wellbeing

The bacteria that could lead to a probiotic-based immunization for stress, anxiety and depression

Rich Haridy June 6, 2018

Intriguing new research suggests that a particular bacteria may have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects on the brain. Early studies in rodent models found that through injections of the bacteria the animals can be "immunized" against displaying anxious responses to stressful situations.

Ambitious new research suggests a probiotic-based vaccine could be developed that protects against stress, anxiety and ...

Biology

Scientists inject one snail's memories into another's brain

Michael Irving May 14, 2018

Biologists at UCLA have effectively transferred a memory from a trained snail into the mind of an untrained one. The experiment could eventually lead to new treatments for restoring memory in Alzheimer’s patients or to reduce traumatic memories.

Researchers have transferred genetic memories from the brains of one marine snail to another