When the going gets tough, the materialistic go shopping

Materialistic people experience more stress from traumatic events such as terrorist attacks and are more likely to spend compulsively as a result, according to an international study.

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How stress can rewire brain making benign smells malodorous

In evolutionary terms, smell is among the oldest of the senses. New research shows how anxiety or stress can rewire the brain, linking centers of emotion and olfactory processing, to make typically benign smells malodorous.

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Identifying trauma risk in small children early after an accident

Small children also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders after a serious accident. With the aid of a new test, children with an increased risk can already be identified in the space of a few days. The test helps to treat traumatized small children at an early stage.

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Skydiving is never 'plane sailing'

Skydivers show the same level of physical stress before every jump whether a first-timer or experienced jumper, say researchers.

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For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests

Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or under-react in response to stressful tasks.

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Antidepressant reduces stress-induced heart condition

A drug commonly used to treat depression and anxiety may improve a stress-related heart condition in people with stable coronary heart disease, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

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Insomnia may cause dysfunction in emotional brain circuitry

A new study provides neurobiological evidence for dysfunction in the neural circuitry underlying emotion regulation in people with insomnia, which may have implications for the risk relationship between insomnia and depression.

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Breakthrough on Huntington's disease

Researchers have succeeded in preventing very early symptoms of Huntington’s disease, depression and anxiety, by deactivating the mutated huntingtin protein in the brains of mice.

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Hormone levels may provide key to understanding psychological disorders in women

Women at a particular stage in their monthly menstrual cycle may be more vulnerable to some of the psychological side-effects associated with stressful experiences, according to a study from UCL.

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Link between domestic violence and perinatal mental health disorders

Women who have mental health disorders around the time of birth are more likely to have previously experienced domestic violence, according to a study by UK researchers.

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Role conflict and emotional demands are 'most important' risk factors for distress in workers

Employees who face high emotional demand and conflicting roles are more likely to report psychological distress—placing them at higher risk of mental health disorders and reduced productivity, reports a new study.

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Anxious? Activate your anterior cingulate cortex with a little meditation

Scientists, like Buddhist monks and Zen masters, have known for years that meditation can reduce anxiety, but not how. Scientists have now succeeded in identifying the brain functions involved.

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Exposure to rocket attacks in Israel increases adolescent violence

A study followed 362 Israeli adolescents from the southwestern Negev from 2008 to 2011, and conducted annual assessments of exposure to rocket attacks, symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as acts of violence.

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Half of those diagnosed with PTSD also suffer from depression

About one of every two people diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder also suffer symptoms of depression, according to new research.

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Drug prevents post-traumatic stress-like symptoms in mice

When injected into mice immediately following a traumatic event, a new drug prevents the animals from developing memory problems and increased anxiety that are indicative of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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'Belief in science' increases in stressful situations

A faith in the explanatory and revealing power of science increases in the face of stress or anxiety, a study by psychologists suggests. The researchers argue that a 'belief in science' may help non-religious people deal with adversity by offering comfort and reassurance, as has been reported previously for religious belief.

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Parkinson's disease-like sleep and motor problems observed in alpha-synuclein mutant mice

In the quest for an animal model of Parkinson's disease that mimics motor and non-motor symptoms of human Parkinson's disease (PD), scientists have developed strains of mice that overexpress alpha-synuclein. By studying a strain of mice bred to overexpress alpha-synuclein via the Thy-1 promoter, scientists have found these mice develop many of the age-related progressive motor symptoms of PD and demonstrate changes in sleep and anxiety.

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Suicide risk factors described

The rate of suicide among men is almost three times that of women, according to new research. Being young, single and having a low level of education were stronger risk factors for suicide among men, while mental illness was a stronger risk factor among women. Unemployment was the strongest social risk factor among women, whereas being single was the strongest among men.

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Do antidepressants impair the ability to extinguish fear?

Common antidepressant medications may impair a form of learning that is important clinically. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, commonly called SSRIs, are a class of antidepressant widely used to treat depression, as well as a range of anxiety disorders, but the effects of these drugs on learning and memory are poorly understood.

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Posttraumatic stress disorder treatment: Genetic predictor of response to exposure therapy

There is growing evidence that a gene variant that reduces the plasticity of the nervous system also modulates responses to treatments for mood and anxiety disorders. In this case, patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, with a less functional variant of the gene coding for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), responded less well to exposure therapy.

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Dad's life stress exposure leaves mark on sperm, can affect offspring brain development

Stress felt by dad -- whether as a preadolescent or adult -- leaves a lasting impression on his sperm that gives sons and daughters a blunted reaction to stress, according to a new preclinical study. The findings point to a never-before-seen epigenetic link to stress-related diseases such as anxiety and depression passed from father to child.

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Estrogen replacement therapy helps reduce anxiety in anorexia nervosa

Estrogen replacement therapy is associated with a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms among girls with anorexia nervosa, a new clinical trial finds.

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One in four stroke patients suffer PTSD

One in four people who survive a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) suffer from symptoms of PTSD within the 1st year post-event, and one in nine experience chronic PTSD more than a year later. The data suggest that each year nearly 300,000 stroke/TIA survivors will develop PTSD symptoms as a result of their health scare.

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Feeling stressed? Oxytocin could help you reach out to others for support

Scientists have shown that reaching out to other people during a stressful event is an effective way to improve your mood, and researchers suggest that the hormone oxytocin may help you accomplish just that.

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Vietnam vets with PTSD more than twice as likely to have heart disease

Male twin Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more than twice as likely as those without PTSD to develop heart disease during a 13-year period, according to a new study.

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Tired and edgy? Sleep deprivation boosts anticipatory anxiety

Researchers have found that a lack of sleep, which is common in anxiety disorders, may play a key role in ramping up the brain regions that contribute to excessive worrying. The results suggest that people suffering from such maladies as generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder, may benefit substantially from sleep therapy.

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People's perception of the effect of stress on their health is linked to risk of heart attacks

People who believe that stress is having an adverse impact on their health are probably right, because they have an increased risk of suffering a heart attack, according to new research.

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Stress: It should never be ignored, experts say

Work pressure, tension at home, financial difficulties... the list of causes of stress grows longer every day. There have been several studies in the past showing that stress can have negative effects on health (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and more). According to a new study people under stress have twice the risk of a heart attack, compared with others.

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Helping SAD sufferers sleep soundly

Researchers report that individuals with seasonal affective disorder -- a winter depression that leads to loss of motivation and interest in daily activities -- have misconceptions about their sleep habits similar to those of insomniacs.

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Pre-existing insomnia linked to PTSD and other mental disorders after military deployment

New research found military service members who have trouble sleeping prior to deployments may be at greater risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety once they return home. The study found that pre-existing insomnia symptoms conferred almost as a large of a risk for those mental disorders as combat exposure.

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People show more humorous creativity when primed with thoughts of death

Humor is an intrinsic part of human experience. It plays a role in every aspect of human existence, from day-to-day conversation to television shows. Yet little research has been conducted to date on the psychological function of humor. In human psychology, awareness of the impermanence of life is just as prevalent as humor. According to the Terror Management Theory, knowledge of one's own impermanence creates potentially disruptive existential anxiety, which the individual brings under control with two coping mechanisms, or anxiety buffers: rigid adherence to dominant cultural values, and self-esteem bolstering.

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Exercise reorganizes the brain to be more resilient to stress

Physical activity reorganizes the brain so that its response to stress is reduced and anxiety is less likely to interfere with normal brain function.

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Gang members found to suffer unprecedented levels of psychiatric illness

Young men who are gang members suffer unprecedented levels of psychiatric illness, placing a heavy burden on mental health services, according to new research.

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Vitamins and minerals can boost energy and enhance mood

Vitamin and mineral supplements can enhance mental energy and well-being not only for healthy adults but for those prone to anxiety and depression, according to new research.

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'Love hormone' is two-faced: Oxytocin strengthens bad memories and can increase fear and anxiety

Oxytocin is known as the hormone that promotes feelings of love, bonding and well-being. It's even being tested as an anti-anxiety drug. But new research shows oxytocin also can cause emotional pain. Oxytocin appears to be the reason stressful social situations, perhaps being bullied at school or tormented by a boss, reverberate long past the event and can trigger fear and anxiety in the future. That's because the hormone actually strengthens social memory in the brain.

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PTSD after traumatic events: Which teens are at risk?

Researchers have identified risk factors for children exposed to trauma in developing PTSD from analyzing 6,483 teen–parent pairs from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, a survey of the prevalence and correlates of mental disorders in the United States. 61 percent of the teens (ages 13 to 17) had been exposed to at least one potentially traumatic event in their lifetime. Nineteen percent had experienced three or more such events.

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Stress early in life leads to adulthood anxiety and preference for 'comfort foods'

New research finds that adult rats reared in a stressful neonatal environment demonstrate more anxiety and stress, and they prefer to eat more foods rich in fat and sugar.

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Robots strike fear in the hearts of fish: Anxious zebrafish help researchers understand how alcohol affects fear

The latest in a series of experiments testing the ability of robots to influence live animals shows that bio-inspired robots can not only elicit fear in zebrafish, but that this reaction can be modulated by alcohol. These findings may pave the way for new methodologies for understanding anxiety and other emotions, as well as substances that modulate them.

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Tired, moody and pregnant? Exercise may be the answer

Exercise may improve the mood of pregnant women and help to reduce levels of fatigue reports new research. The study examined whether a four week exercise intervention program would result in improvements in the psychological well-being of previously inactive pregnant women. The results were clear, with participants reporting significant improvements in their mood during the program. They also saw reduced levels of fatigue, suggesting that pregnant women should be encouraged to engage in regular exercise to improve both psychological and physical well-being.

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Why is orange the new black for female victims of trauma?

How do pathways to jail vary for females who are victims of specific types of trauma? New research pinpoints the types of trauma such as caregiver violence, witnessing violence, and intimate partner violence, that lead to specific types of offending later in life and offers explanations based on real experiences.

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Depressed fish could help in the search for new drug treatments

Antidepressant normalizes the behavior of zebrafish with a defective stress hormone receptor.

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Psychiatry study reveals need to identify, triage, and treat mental health disorders after disasters

Mental health services should be integrated into disaster response as part of emergency services planning, according to a new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center psychiatrists who completed an exhaustive review of articles on the aftereffects of disasters on mental health.

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Brain molecule regulating human emotion, mood uncovered

Scientists have discovered an enzyme called Rines that regulates MAO-A, a major brain protein controlling emotion and mood. The enzyme is a potentially promising drug target for treating diseases associated with emotions such as depression.

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Worms may shed light on human ability to handle chronic stress

Researchers hope a new study will shed light on how our nervous system responds to stress and why some people suffer and others are better able to cope.

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Brain circuit can tune anxiety

New findings may help neuroscientists pinpoint better targets for antianxiety treatments.

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Mood is influenced by immune cells called to the brain in response to stress

New research shows that in a dynamic mind-body interaction during the interpretation of prolonged stress, cells from the immune system are recruited to the brain and promote symptoms of anxiety.

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Even mild stress can make it difficult to control your emotions

Even mild stress can thwart therapeutic measures to control emotions, a team of neuroscientists has found. Their findings point to the limits of clinical techniques while also shedding new light on the barriers that must be overcome in addressing afflictions such as fear or anxiety.

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Do girls really experience more math anxiety?

Girls report more math anxiety on general survey measures but are not actually more anxious during math classes and exams, according to new research.

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Size of personal space is affected by anxiety

The space surrounding the body (known by scientists as 'peripersonal space'), which has previously been thought of as having a gradual boundary, has been given physical limits by new research into the relationship between anxiety and personal space.

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Shutting off neurons helps bullied mice overcome symptoms of depression

A new drug target to treat depression and other mood disorders may lie in a group of GABA neurons shown to contribute to symptoms like social withdrawal and increased anxiety, researchers report.

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