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.

10 papers

Cingulate dynamics track depression recovery with deep brain stimulation

Sankaraleengam Alagapan, Ki Sueng Choi, Stephen Heisig, Patricio Riva‐Posse, Andrea Crowell, Vineet Tiruvadi, et al.
Nature Summary & key facts 2023 233 citations

Researchers tested deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a small group of people whose depression did not get better with usual treatments. They used an implanted device that both delivered stimulation to the subcallosal cingulate (a brain area linked to mood) and recorded brain electrical signals. Around 9 out of 10…

Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Neurological disorders and treatments Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies

Long-Term Occupational Stress Is Associated with Regional Reductions in Brain Tissue Volumes

Eva Blix, Aleksander Perski, Hans Berglund, Ivanka Savic
PLoS ONE Summary & key facts 2013 131 citations

Several brain-imaging studies found that people with long-term work-related burnout showed differences in brain structure and function compared with matched healthy adults. In groups where participants had worked more than about 60–70 hours per week for several years, researchers reported larger amygdala size, thinner medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) tissue, weaker…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Stress Responses and Cortisol

Higher Media Multi-Tasking Activity Is Associated with Smaller Gray-Matter Density in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Kep Kee Loh, Ryota Kanai
PLoS ONE Summary & key facts 2014 129 citations

The article says that heavy use of digital media and constant multitasking can harm thinking skills like focus, memory, and decision-making. It explains that intuition depends on brain networks and chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. The piece cites research linking more media multitasking to smaller gray-matter density in a…

Media Influence and Health Mind wandering and attention Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research

Psychedelic integration: An analysis of the concept and its practice

Geoff J Bathje, Eric Majeski, Mesphina Kudowor
PubMed Central (PMC) Summary & key facts 2022 125 citations

This paper reviews how people talk about and practice “psychedelic integration.” The authors say the term has many different definitions and many kinds of practices, which has created confusion. They present the first wide-ranging review and a new, synthesized definition and model of integration, plus a long list of integration…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Progressive brain changes in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: A longitudinal MRI study

Zack Shan, Richard Kwiatek, Richard Burnet, Peter Del Fante, Donald Staines, Sonya Marshall‐Gradisnik, et al.

The results suggested that CFS is associated with IFOF WM deficits which continue to deteriorate at an abnormal rate. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:1301-1311.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Rapid neuroplasticity changes and response to intravenous ketamine: a randomized controlled trial in treatment-resistant depression

Jared M. Kopelman, Timothy A. Keller, Benjamin Panny, Angela Griffo, Michelle Degutis, Crystal Spotts, et al.
Translational Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2023 52 citations

In a randomized trial, 98 adults with treatment-resistant depression had brain scans before and 24 hours after a single intravenous infusion of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) or saline. The researchers measured mean diffusivity (DTI-MD), an MRI-based, indirect marker of microstructural brain change that tends to fall when new synapses or tissue…

Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Treatment of Major Depression

Mania-related effects on structural brain changes in bipolar disorder – a narrative review of the evidence

Christoph Abé, Benny Liberg, Anna Luisa Klahn, Predrag Petrovic, Mikael Landén
PubMed Central (PMC) Summary & key facts 2023 39 citations

Long-term MRI studies show that people with bipolar disorder often have unusual brain changes over time, but the pattern is mixed and not fully clear. Some studies link manic episodes to faster thinning and volume loss in parts of the prefrontal cortex. A large multi-site study (307 patients, 925 controls,…

Bipolar Disorder and Treatment Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Schizophrenia research and treatment

Testing the extreme male brain hypothesis: Is autism spectrum disorder associated with a more male‐typical brain?

Liza van Eijk, Brendan P. Zietsch
Autism Research Summary & key facts 2021 21 citations

The authors made a score that measures how male-typical a person’s subcortical brain shape is. They trained this score on 2,153 people and then measured it in 1,060 people with autism and 1,166 neurotypical controls. People with autism had a small, higher average “brain maleness” score (d = 0.20), and…

Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

The diagnosis of ASD with MRI: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Sjir J. C. Schielen, Jesper Pilmeyer, Albert P. Aldenkamp, Svitlana Zinger
Translational Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2024 15 citations

This review combined 134 studies (159 experiments) that tried to tell apart people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from healthy controls using resting-state MRI. Across studies the pooled accuracy was moderate: about 76% sensitivity, 75.7% specificity, and an AUC of 0.823. However, the authors say there is a lot of…

Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Child Development and Digital Technology Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Parental History of Childhood Maltreatment and Offspring Attachment Insecurity and Disorganization: Two Meta-Analyses

Aino Sirparanta, Camille Danner Touati, Chantal Cyr, Raphaële Miljkovitch
Trauma Violence & Abuse Summary & key facts 2024 4 citations

The authors combined 25 studies (23 samples, 2,592 people) to see if parents' own childhood maltreatment relates to their children's attachment. They found a very small but statistically significant link with child attachment insecurity (r = .06) and no significant link with child attachment disorganization (r = .03). The authors…

Child Abuse and Trauma Child Welfare and Adoption Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
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