mental health Archives

Unravelling the links between substance use and binge-like eating disorders

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The researchers explore the role of brain reward systems in eating disorders and substance use disorders.

Binge eating disorder (BED) and substance use disorders (SUD) are characterised by maladaptive responses in the reward system of the brain. Dr Mary C Olmstead at Queen’s University, Canada, and Dr Katia Befort, University of Strasbourg, France, are using rodent models to explore how a part of the reward system, called the endocannabinoid system (ECS), affects the two conditions. They hope […]

Who will care for the mental healthcare professionals? A wake-up call from the Netherlands

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Mental healthcare workers are trained to deal with mental health problems, but that doesn’t mean they are immune themselves.

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us many lessons; one is that mental healthcare workers are not immune to the ravages of mental health problems. The pandemic put them under considerable stress in ways unimaginable before; many are still feeling it. Dr Anneloes van den Broek and Dr Lars de Vroege, senior researchers and clinical psychologists in mental healthcare in the Netherlands, […]

More than intention: Towards better collaboration within mental healthcare

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The research team analysed the level of vertical collaboration between different sustainable partnerships between stakeholders in the mental healthcare system to optimise care for people with (mental) health issues.

The Netherlands prides itself on its commitment to caring for citizens with mental health issues, as well as having a first-rate healthcare system. However, that system has come under considerable strain lately. Anneloes van den Broek PhD, MHA, and Margot Metz PhD, both senior mental healthcare practitioners and researchers at GGz Breburg and Tilburg University, together with full professor Inge […]

The success of simple metaphors in communicating brain science

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The Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) researches science of brain development to support positive lifelong health outcomes for all.

The Alberta Family Wellness Initiative, supported by the Calgary-based Palix Foundation, has succeeded in achieving individual, organisational, and systems level change regarding brain development, epigenetics, mental health, and addiction. The Brain Story, which uses simple metaphors to communicate complex brain science, has proven an effective tool to achieve this change and move towards building more resilient individuals and communities. Until […]

Loneliness and social isolation: How can we protect our mental health and cognitive functions?

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How can we protect our mental health and cognitive functions? Dr Jing Liang and her team study social isolation in mice and DHM treatments.

It is well known that social isolation can cause poor mental and physical health. Our recent global experience of compulsory social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic has created a need to find new ways to prevent its devastating consequences, such as anxiety-induced cognitive decline, from manifesting. Dr Jing Liang and her team at the University of Southern California’s Mann School […]

Race against dementia: Join the drive to eradicate the disease

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Dementia is the umbrella term for a wide range of conditions that affect the brain and cause symptoms such as memory loss, cognitive impairment, and impaired decision-making. More than 55 million people live with dementia globally; the most common form is Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, there is no cure – only treatment to slow the progression of symptoms. A charity founded […]

Microbiomes – the key to a healthier planet?

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Andrew Bartlow and colleagues are researching the importance of microbiomes to animal and human health.

Microbiomes are communities of microorganisms living on or in animals, helping to keep them healthy. Changes in the composition of microbiomes could make wildlife more vulnerable to diseases which may be zoonotic – transmissible to humans – so monitoring them could help us to predict outbreaks of disease and protect global health. Dr Andrew Bartlow and colleagues at the Los […]

Month of birth, ultraviolet radiation exposure, and the development of major mental illnesses

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George E Davis Jr and colleagues are researching the link between month of birth, UVR exposure, lifespan, and MMI

Major mental illnesses (MMIs) are a significant global health burden. Recent data confirms that MMI is associated with an individual’s month of birth (MOB). Levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) vary during the calendar year, and over cyclic periods UVR intensity peaks. UVR can cause cellular mutations and affect epigenetic processes, therefore exposure at conception or during early gestation potentially has […]

Rethinking psychiatric medication: An interview with Will Hall

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Will Hall discusses his work in mental health advocacy, schizophrenia and coming off psychiatric medication

Influential mental-health advocate, therapist, and researcher Will Hall talks to us about his latest research on psychiatric drugs, carried out at Maastricht University in the Netherlands with fellow pioneers in the field. Drawing on his own clinical experience as a therapist and personal experience of the mental-health system, Hall’s research indicates that the current pharmaceutical approach to treating mental illnesses […]

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

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research outreach - mental health awareness week

The 10th–15th of May is Mental Health Awareness Week , an event which focuses on improving people’s mental wellbeing across the UK. This year’s theme is ‘loneliness’, something that has affected many of us at some point during our lives, and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mental Health Foundation have found that an increasing number of people are experiencing […]