Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

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.

13 papers

Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry

Suzanne C Segerstrom, Gregory E Miller
PubMed Central (PMC) Summary & key facts 2004 3,257 citations

This paper is a meta-analysis of more than 300 studies in humans that looked at links between psychological stress and measures of the immune system. It found that very short, acute stressors (minutes) were tied to increases in some natural (innate) immune measures and decreases in some specific (adaptive) immune…

Health, psychology, and well-being Stress Responses and Cortisol Tryptophan and brain disorders

The Health-Related Quality of Life for Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)

Michael Falk Hvidberg, Louise Brinth, Anne Vingaard Olesen, Karin Dam Petersen, Lars Holger Ehlers
PLoS ONE Summary & key facts 2015 212 citations

This study measured health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Danish patients with ME/CFS using the EQ-5D-3L tool and found their scores were much lower than the general population and lower than 20 other conditions. The average (unadjusted) EQ-5D-3L score for the ME/CFS group was 0.47, while the population average was…

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Resilience and Mental Health

The biology of burnout: Causes and consequences

Adam Bayes, Gabriela Tavella, Gordon Parker
PubMed Summary & key facts 2021 143 citations

This 2021 review looked at research on the biology of burnout, which it defines as exhaustion from long or excessive workplace stress. The authors found evidence that burnout is linked with ongoing activation of the nervous system, problems in the body’s fast stress response (the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary axis), and changes in…

Cardiac Health and Mental Health Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation

Attachment Anxiety Is Linked to Alterations in Cortisol Production and Cellular Immunity

Lisa M. Jaremka, Ronald Glaser, Timothy J. Loving, William B. Malarkey, Jeffrey R. Stowell, Janice K. Kiecolt‐Glaser
Psychological Science Summary & key facts 2013 130 citations

Researchers studied 85 married couples (170 people) to see if worries about close relationships (attachment anxiety) link to stress hormones and immune cells. People with higher attachment anxiety had higher saliva cortisol across three days and lower counts of several T-cell types in blood. The study is observational, mostly white…

Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum Work-Family Balance Challenges

Impact of Cannabis Use on the Development of Psychotic Disorders

Samuel T. Wilkinson, Rajiv Radhakrishnan, Deepak Cyril D’Souza
Current Addiction Reports Summary & key facts 2014 128 citations

This review looks at research on how cannabis and its active chemicals relate to psychosis. It says there are three patterns: short psychotic symptoms during intoxication, short psychosis that can last beyond intoxication (often resolving within a month in case reports), and persistent psychosis that is not clearly tied to…

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research Sleep and Wakefulness Research

The relevance of ‘mixed anxiety and depression’ as a diagnostic category in clinical practice

Hans‐Jürgen Möller, Borwin Bandelow, Hans‐Peter Volz, Utako Birgit Barnikol, Erich Seifritz, Siegfried Kasper

This paper looks at whether 'mixed anxiety and depressive disorder' should be an official diagnosis. That label describes people who have both anxiety and depression symptoms that are real and limiting, but not strong enough to count as a full disorder on their own. The authors review studies that support…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

New Insights into the Pivotal Role of the Amygdala in Inflammation-Related Depression and Anxiety Disorder

Ping Hu, Ying Lü, Bing‐Xing Pan, Wenhua Zhang

This 2022 review looks at studies linking stress, inflammation, and changes in the amygdala to depression and anxiety. It says stress can trigger inflammation in the body and brain, that inflammation can change neurons and circuits in the amygdala, and that these changes are linked to depression- and anxiety-like signs…

Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms Stress Responses and Cortisol Tryptophan and brain disorders

Influence of Short-Term Consumption of Hericium erinaceus on Serum Biochemical Markers and the Changes of the Gut Microbiota: A Pilot Study

Xie Xiao-qian, Yan Geng, Qijie Guan, Yilin Ren, Lin Guo, Qiqi Lv, et al.
Nutrients Summary & key facts 2021 50 citations

Researchers had 13 healthy adults take Hericium erinaceus powder every day for seven days. They tested blood with routine blood and serum chemistry tests and checked gut bacteria using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. After the week, the gut bacterial community showed higher within-sample diversity and higher levels of several bacteria…

Fungal Biology and Applications Ginseng Biological Effects and Applications Gut microbiota and health

Modified Cortisol Circadian Rhythm: The Hidden Toll of Night-Shift Work

Aikaterini Andreadi, Stella Andreadi, Federica Todaro, Lorenzo Ippoliti, Alfonso Bellia, Andrea Magrini, et al.

This 2025 narrative review explains that cortisol normally peaks in the early morning and falls to its lowest levels in the early night. Night-shift work often shifts or flattens that pattern, causing a blunted or delayed morning peak and a less steep decline through the day. The authors link this…

Circadian rhythm and melatonin Climate Change and Health Impacts Stress Responses and Cortisol

Stress as a trigger for headaches: Relationship between exposure and sensitivity

Paul R. Martin, Lidia Lae, John Reece
Anxiety Stress & Coping Summary & key facts 2007 36 citations

This Healthline article explains a body-based method called shaking therapy (also called TRE or neurogenic tremoring). It says some experts believe gentle shaking can help the nervous system release tension and calm stress. The article gives simple ways to try it, notes possible benefits people report, and also clearly says…

Migraine and Headache Studies Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies

Polysaccharide-K (PSK) in Cancer – Old Story, New Possibilities?

Cheng‐Cao Sun, Ann H. Rosendahl, X.D. Wang, Dan‐Hong Wu, R Andersson
Current Medicinal Chemistry Summary & key facts 2012 30 citations

Polysaccharide-K (PSK, also called Krestin) is a mushroom extract widely used as an additive in cancer treatment in Asia, especially Japan. Studies over about 40 years report anti-tumor effects in laboratory experiments and in living organisms for several cancer types, but researchers say the exact ways PSK works are not…

Cancer Treatment and Pharmacology Colorectal Cancer Treatments and Studies Fungal Biology and Applications
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