A brain scan with functional MRI (fMRI) is enough to predict which patients with pediatric anxiety disorder will respond to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or “talk therapy,” and so may not need to use psychiatric medication, say neuroscientists from Georgetown University Medical Center. The results of the study are being presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego. ...

A telephone- and Internet-delivered mindfulness-based depression treatment has been shown to significantly reduce depressive symptoms in adults with epilepsy, according to a study by Emory University public health researchers, published in the November 2010 issue of Epilepsy & Behavior. ...

A study of adolescents who had a major depressive disorder found that nearly all recovered from their episode after treatment. But within five years, nearly half of them had relapsed, and females were at much higher risk of another major episode, researchers at Duke University Medical Center found. The study was published in the Nov. 1 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. ...

African-American women may benefit as much as their Caucasian counterparts in treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), despite being more likely to drop out of treatment prematurely. PTSD is a mental health disorder and, specifically, an anxiety disorder, that arises from trauma. Symptoms of distress must also arise in three domains: re-experiencing the trauma (e.g., flashbacks, nightmares); avoi ...

New research from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center may help clinicians better predict how a child with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) will respond to some of the most commonly used treatment approaches. The findings, published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, could help guide important clinical decisions about the best interven ...

Both drinking and withdrawal from chronic drinking can raise circulating glucocorticoid levels, known as cortisol in humans and corticosterone in rodents. Prolonged and high concentrations of glucocorticoids can have damaging effects on neuronal function and cognition. Evidence shows that glucocorticoids are associated with neurotoxicity during abstinence after withdrawal from alcohol dependence (AD), and t ...

Taking medications to treat insomnia and anxiety increases mortality risk by 36%, according to a study conducted by Geneviève Belleville, a professor at Université Laval's School of Psychology. The details of this study are published in the latest edition of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. ...

Changing how a person perceives and thinks about others was the most effective intervention for loneliness, a sweeping analysis of previous research has determined. The findings may help physicians and psychologists develop better treatments for loneliness, a known risk factor for heart disease and other health problems. The results were published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Review. ...

Insomnia and other sleep disorders are very common, yet are not generally well understood by doctors and other health care professionals. Now the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) has released up-to-the-minute guidelines in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, to guide psychiatrists and physicians caring for those with sleep problems. ...

Depression is actually defined by specific clinical symptoms such as sadness, difficulty to experience pleasure, and sleep problems that are present for at least two weeks with impairment of psychosocial functioning. These symptoms guide the physician to make a diagnosis and to select antidepressant treatment such as drugs or psychotherapy. ...