News Mentions for the week of September 2, 2024

A new study led by Stanford Medicine scientists found that certain changes in neural activity predicted which patients would benefit from a type of cognitive behavioral therapy. Leanne Williams, the Vincent V.C. Woo Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and Xue Zhang, postdoctoral scholar in psychiatry and behavioral sciences, are quoted.

A brain network involved in reward processing and attention to stimuli is markedly bigger in people with depression and can be detected in children before depression onset. Teddy Akiki, clinical scholar of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, provides comment.

You might be surprised by what the pros have to say on this controversial subject. Vicki Harrison, program director of the Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing, provides comment.

Dopamine stimulators may lessen the systemic side effects — often weight gain and diabetes — of dopamine-blocking antipsychotics. Jacob Ballon, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, provides comment.

Increasing levels of synaptic serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), can impact how people respond to unpleasant or negative outcomes, according to a study published in Nature Communications. Serotonin is an ancient chemical messenger (neurotransmitter) that controls a wide range of behaviors across species, including basic actions such as feeding to complex ones such as the ability to think about multiple things at the same time. Neir Eshel, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, is quoted.

Some researchers argue that the roles of social environment and personal choice have to be considered in order to make progress in treating people addicted to drugs. Keith Humphreys, the Esther Ting Memorial Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, is quoted.

Sergiu Pașca, the Kenneth T. Norris, Jr. Professor II of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and Bonnie Uytengsu and Family Director of the Stanford Brain Organogenesis Program, has figured out how to watch the human brain develop in real time. Next up: revolutionizing psychiatry.

The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision not to approve midomafetamine-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) puts the therapy's near-term future in doubt, but officials say the rejection may not knock it out of contention as an eventual therapeutic tool for a variety of conditions. Michael Ostacher, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, provides comment.

A strange thing has happened on the path to marijuana legalization. Users across all ages and experience levels are noticing that a drug they once turned to for fun and relaxation now triggers existential dread and paranoia. Keith Humphreys, the Esther Ting Memorial Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, provides comment.

The research is surprising given that sleep experts have emphasized for years the importance of keeping a consistent sleep schedule. Natalie Solomon, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, provides comment. Related coverage can be read here.

In this episode of "From Our Neurons to Yours," from Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Leanne Williams, the Vincent V.C. Woo Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, talks about distinctive biotypes of depression revealed by brain imaging and AI, and the implications for therapy and mental health.

Joe Simitian, Santa Clara County Supervisor, writes this opinion piece about allcove Palo Alto and recent expansions in San Mateo County. Steven Adelsheim, clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, is mentioned. A new allcove center in San Jose is mentioned in this recent article.