Topic: Mental Health

Health & MedicineSeptember 23, 2026

AI-based characterization of Alzheimer's disease phenotypes from population-scale single-cell data.

The complexity of Alzheimer's disease (AD) manifests in diverse clinical phenotypes, including cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms. However, the etiology of these phenotypes remains elusive. To address this, the PsychAD project generated a population-level single-nucleus RNA sequencing dataset comprising over 6 million nuclei from the prefrontal cortex of >1,000 individual brains, covering a variety of disease phenotypes. Here, leveraging this dataset, we developed a com

Health & MedicineSeptember 22, 2026

Catechol- O -methyltransferase connects dopamine homeostasis to redox signaling, metal homeostasis, and protein folding in schizophrenia.

Dysregulated dopamine (DA) signaling and redox homeostasis contributes to multiple neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Polymorphisms that influence the activity of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an enzyme critical for degrading DA in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, have been implicated in behavioral and neuropsychiatric alterations associated with schizophrenia (SCZ). Adverse neuropsychiatric effects have also been reported in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients administere

Physical/TechSeptember 16, 2026

A retinoic acid autoregulatory loop governing prefrontal-motor arealization.

The frontal lobe comprises the prefrontal association cortex (PFC), which supports complex cognition and goal-directed behaviour, and the motor cortex (MC), which executes movement 1-14 . The establishment of distinct regional identities and connections along the sensorimotor-to-association axis provides a fundamental scaffold for cortical areal organization and function 15-19 . Retinoic acid (RA) signalling has emerged as a key regulator of PFC development 19-26 . However, the mechanisms t

Health & MedicineSeptember 1, 2026

Cross-species single-cell atlas of the striatum defines cell-type and subregion disease vulnerabilities.

The striatum is critical for decision-making, movement, and reward processing, functions achieved through subregional cellular and molecular specialization. Striatal cell types and subregions are differentially implicated in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, but the mechanisms underlying these vulnerabilities are poorly understood. Using single-nucleus RNA sequencing across 109 human and 22 mouse samples spanning dorsal and ventral striatum, we provide a comprehensive atlas of su

Artificial IntelligenceAugust 7, 2026

A clinically validated framework for auditing AI chatbot behavior in mental health interactions.

Millions of users turn to consumer artificial intelligence chatbots to discuss emotional, behavioral and mental-health concerns, creating an urgent need for rigorous and scalable safety evaluations. Here we introduce simulated (SIM) vulnerability-amplifying interaction loops (VAILs) (SIM-VAIL), a clinically validated framework for auditing chatbot behavior in mental-health contexts. SIM-VAIL simulates users with specific psychiatric vulnerabilities and conversational intents, engages them in mul

Health & MedicineAugust 6, 2026

Psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder in a public healthcare setting: a randomized controlled trial.

Psilocybin-assisted therapy may be a promising new treatment for treatment-resistant depression. We examined the feasibility of administering a single 25-mg dose of psilocybin or placebo with psychological support in a randomized controlled trial design with 6 weeks of follow-up. A two-arm, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled feasibility trial was conducted at one National Health Service (NHS) site in England. Eligible participants met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Health & MedicineAugust 4, 2026

Targeting peripheral 5-HT 2A R enhances antitumor immunity in colorectal cancer.

Cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. While classical psychedelics have been used clinically to treat cancer-associated psychiatric disorders, their impact on tumor progression is unclear. Here, we show that by targeting the serotonin receptor 5-HT 2A R, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) enhances CD8 + T cell-mediated antitumor immunity and suppresses colorectal cancer (CRC) growth. To harness this activity while avoiding psychedelic effects, we developed IHCH-8110,

Health & MedicineJuly 28, 2026

Global economic burden of depression in 154 countries from 2025 to 2050.

Depression is a major contributor to the global burden of diseases with substantial socioeconomic consequences. Here, to estimate the economic effects of depression, we developed a macroeconomic model using data from the World Bank and Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The model estimated the impact of depression on labor force participation, educational attainment and work experience, adjusted for age and sex. The projected global economic burden from 2025 to 2050 is estimated at US$12 trill

Health & MedicineJuly 28, 2026

The genetic architecture of fibromyalgia across 2.5 million individuals.

Fibromyalgia is a common and debilitating chronic pain syndrome of poorly understood etiology. Here we conduct a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study meta-analysis across 2,563,755 individuals (54,629 cases and 2,509,126 controls) from 11 cohorts, identifying 26 risk loci for fibromyalgia. The strongest association was with a coding variant in HTT, the causal gene for Huntington's disease. Gene prioritization implicated the HTT regulator GPR52, as well as diverse genes with neural roles,