mental illness

Researchers have been looking into whether psychedelics could be used to treat PTSD. Currently, only therapy and two antidepressant medications are approved to treat the condition.

MDMA Treatment for PTSD Fails to Secure Federal Approval

One day after the FDA declined to approve the psychedelic for medical use, a journal retracted three studies of MDMA-assisted therapy due to unethical conduct by researchers

A picture of Calhoun in a mouse utopia in 1970

This Old Experiment With Mice Led to Bleak Predictions for Humanity’s Future

From the 1950s to the 1970s, researcher John Calhoun gave rodents unlimited food and studied their behavior in overcrowded conditions

A heat map of brain activity shows stable patterns before and after taking psilocybin in blue and green, while temporary changes are shown in red, orange and yellow.

See How the Brain Responds to Psychedelic 'Magic Mushrooms'

A new study mapped large, temporary changes in brain areas related to introspection and one's sense of self, after participants took a dose of the drug psilocybin

After Ronald Reagan stumbled through his answers and closing statement at the first presidential debate in 1984, Walter Mondale closed the gap in the polls. This photo was taken at the second debate two weeks later.

When a Debate Flop Raised Concerns About Ronald Reagan's Fitness to Run for Re-Election

During the 1984 campaign, the 73-year-old president meandered his way through his first face-off against Walter Mondale, prompting questions about his mental acuity

A 2019 study found that teenagers who spend more than three hours per day on social media have double the risk for anxiety and depression symptoms.

Surgeon General Calls for Placing Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms

Vivek H. Murthy views social media as a contributor the mental health crisis in young people, and he suggests tobacco-style warnings on the apps

Many new technologies are being developed to help diagnose mental illnesses.

Can Technology Help Us More Accurately Diagnose Mental Illnesses?

A new wave of tools promises to offer quicker, more objective assessments to help patients and clinicians

Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, the real Baron Münchhausen, was a retired German officer who fought with a Russian regiment in two campaigns against the Ottoman Empire.

The 18th-Century Baron Who Lent His Name to Munchausen Syndrome

The medical condition is named after a fictional storyteller who in turn was based on a real-life German nobleman known for telling tall tales

For each bad night of sleep in a one-month period, participants reported feeling three months older, on average, than they really are.

Bad Sleep Can Make You Feel Years Older Than You Really Are, Study Suggests

After just two nights of short sleep, a person’s “subjective age,” or how old they feel, can spike by more than four years

A Parkinson’s patient in Nice, France, is prepped for a surgery to implant electrodes into the brain. The technique, called deep brain stimulation, is being used experimentally or in small studies to treat addiction.

Can a Brain Implant Treat Addiction?

Some experts tout deep brain stimulation as a lifeline for people struggling with opioid use. Others question the hype

Leaves from the iboga plant, collected in 1933 from Angola. The psychedelic drug ibogaine can be derived from the plant's root bark.

A Lesser-Known Psychedelic Drug Shows Promise for PTSD Treatment

Ibogaine, derived from a central African shrub, has been used in rituals for two millennia. But in a small study, it appeared to reduce symptoms of PTSD among veterans

Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter dancing at the presidential Inaugural Ball in January 1977

From the Governor's Mansion to the White House and Beyond, Rosalynn Carter Was a Tireless Advocate for the Vulnerable

Smithsonian experts reflect on the life and legacy of the former first lady, who died Sunday at age 96

A candlelit vigil on January 13, 2022, in Washington, D.C., for nurses who died during the Covid-19 pandemic. A new study finds that Covid-19 was the leading reason for a growing gap in life expectancy between U.S. men and women from 2019 to 2021.

Women Now Live Nearly Six Years Longer Than Men in the United States

Disparities from Covid-19 and opioid overdose deaths are major contributors to the widening gap, according to a new study

Ketamine and esketamine are the only psychedelics currently being used clinically with eating disorder patients.

Are Psychedelics the Future of Eating Disorder Treatment?

The drugs have been shown to reduce depression and anxiety symptoms and make individuals more flexible in their thinking

Retired Col. Robert Certain returned to the site of the Hanoi Hilton 50 years after he was freed from the infamous prisoner of war camp.

Healing the Wounds of the Vietnam War

Two perspectives on the 20th-century conflict look back, five decades after the fighting stopped, to discuss what was lost and what is remembered today

In 2022, nearly 46 percent of health workers felt burnt out either often or very often.

Health Care Workers Are Burning Out, CDC Says

Depression, anxiety and harassment of health professionals have risen beyond crisis levels, per a new report from the agency

MDMA, also called molly or ecstasy.

MDMA Moves Closer to Approval for PTSD Treatment After New Clinical Trial

If endorsed by the FDA, the drug would become the first psychedelic approved for mental health treatment in the United States

Seventy-eight years after the end of World War II, hospital trains are an oft-forgotten chapter in U.S. military history.

What Happened on the Trains That Brought Wounded World War II Soldiers Home?

The logistics of moving patients across the U.S. by rail were staggeringly complex

Some psychologists argue that certain people with psychopathic traits such as meanness can excel in business and other areas where boldness is an asset.

Can Psychopathic Tendencies Help You Achieve Success?

New research is reframing this often sensationalized and maligned set of traits and finding some positive twists

Blister packs of Ketamine lozenges

Could Ketamine Treat Severe Depression?

Research suggests the anesthetic is at least as effective as electroconvulsive therapy, the current standard for treatment-resistant depression

Many new digital psychiatry solutions have attracted funding in recent years, and experts have questions about how helpful or harmful they will be.

Can Digital Psychiatry Really Fill the Mental Health Care Gap?

Thousands of new tools with unproven results are entering the fold to help Americans in need

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