Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
This meta-analysis combined 241 effect sizes from 114 studies to test how six habitual emotion-regulation strategies relate to symptoms of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and substance-related problems. Rumination showed the strongest (large) link with symptoms. Avoidance, problem solving, and suppression showed medium-to-large links, while reappraisal and acceptance showed smaller (small-to-medium)…
This small randomized trial tested a fully automated text-based conversational agent called Woebot as a way to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy to college-age young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Over 2 weeks, the Woebot group (n=34) showed a statistically larger drop in depression scores (PHQ-9) than an information-only…
This 2001 review looked at studies on exercise, anxiety, depression, and stress. It found that short-term emotional effects of exercise are mixed, but many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies report that regular aerobic exercise training reduces anxiety and depression symptoms and may protect against the harmful effects of stress. The clearest…
This umbrella review looked at the best existing reviews and large studies to see if depression is linked to low serotonin or low serotonin activity. Across measures of serotonin in fluids, receptor and transporter studies, tryptophan depletion experiments, and large genetic studies, the evidence was mixed or absent. The authors…
This article reviews a large body of research on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders. It focuses on two common CBT methods — exposure therapy and cognitive therapy — and concludes that CBT generally works for many anxiety problems. The authors also say it is hard to compare active CBT…
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is defined without assuming a single cause and has two main symptoms: depressed mood and loss of interest or pleasure. The paper says we should also pay more attention to fatigue, sleep problems, anxiety, thinking (cognitive) problems, and sexual problems when diagnosing and judging treatment. Some…
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most-studied treatments for alcohol and drug problems. Reviews of many trials find a small but real average benefit: a meta-analysis of 53 controlled trials reported an effect size of g = 0.15 and estimated that 58% of people given CBT did better…
Treatments for depression have gotten better and far more people can get them since the 1980s. Yet the share of people in the general population with depression has not gone down. The authors call this the “treatment-prevalence paradox” and review seven possible explanations. They find little evidence that more cases…
This systematic review looked at 83 published reports on ketamine for mental health and substance use disorders. It found strong evidence that ketamine can produce rapid antidepressant and anti‑suicidal effects, but these benefits tend to be short‑lived. Evidence for other conditions was weaker but often showed similar short-term effects. Many…
The researchers created personalized brain circuit scores from both task-free and task-evoked fMRI scans in a large group of people with depression and anxiety. Using a standardized processing method, they measured 41 circuit features across six brain systems and used those measures to define six distinct “biotypes.” These biotypes showed…
This article explains that a brain network called the default mode network (DMN) supports self-related thoughts and autobiographical memory and helps form a stable sense of self. In people with PTSD, the DMN shows substantially reduced connectivity at rest compared with healthy people, and bigger reductions are linked with worse…
This long study followed 246 treatment-seeking women with anorexia or bulimia for about 9 years. Major depression was common and often long-lasting: 70% of those who had depression recovered, but 65% of those who recovered later relapsed. Recovery chances varied by type of eating disorder, and time on antidepressants was…
