# Science News About Depression

Intervention Reduces Likelihood of Developing Postpartum Anxiety and Depression by More Than 70%
February 27, 2024                • Press Release

Results from a large clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health show that an intervention for anxiety provided to pregnant women living in Pakistan significantly reduced the likelihood of the women developing moderate-to-severe anxiety, depression, or both six weeks after birth. 

Magnetic Seizure Therapy as Effective as Electroconvulsive Therapy for Treating Depression
December 18, 2023                • Research Highlight

This clinical trial found that MST is equally effective at reducing depression symptoms as ECT, but with fewer side effects.

Cracking the Ketamine Code
October 27, 2023                • Feature Story • 75th Anniversary

NIMH supported science and NIMH researchers helped pave the way for the development of ketamine—a groundbreaking treatment that has improved the lives of those who are impacted by treatment-resistant depression.

Mothers' Difficult Childhoods Impact Their Children’s Mental Health 
June 16, 2023                • Research Highlight

In this NIMH-funded study, researchers examined how trauma gets passed from one generation to the next.

Population Study Finds Depression Is Different Before, During, and After Pregnancy
May 15, 2023                • Research Highlight

New NIMH-funded research tracked population-level rates of postpartum depression among new mothers before, during, and after pregnancy.

Brief Cognitive Training May Extend the Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine
January 9, 2023                • Research Highlight

An NIMH-supported study suggests that a brief self-association training program can extend the effects of a single ketamine infusion by shifting people’s negative self-beliefs.

Family-Based Intervention Lowers Long-Term Suicide Risk in Youth
September 29, 2022                • Research Highlight

In a recent study supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, researchers examined the impact of a family-based intervention on suicide risk in youth and found risk-reduction benefits up to 10 years later.

Mindful Mood Balance Effective for Treating Residual Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation
May 9, 2022                • Research Highlight

NIMH-supported researchers have found an online mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy—called Mindful Mood Balance—is effective at reducing residual depressive symptoms and at reducing suicidal ideation in those who experience these symptoms.

New Approach Allows Magnetic Brain Stimulation to Target Deep Brain Structures
March 25, 2022                • Research Highlight

TMS can only directly stimulate the outermost layer of the brain, but NIMH researchers have found that mapping a person’s brain architecture may make it possible to guide TMS to deep brain targets.

Personalizing Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression
February 28, 2022                • Research Highlight

A recent NIMH-supported study investigated whether deep brain stimulation could be personalized for individuals with treatment-resistant depression.

Assessing Suicide Risk Among Childbearing Women in the U.S. Before and After Giving Birth
May 26, 2021                • Research Highlight

NIMH-supported researchers investigated suicide risk among women in the year before and year after giving birth.

NIMH Addresses Critical Need for Rapid-Acting Interventions for Severe Suicide Risk
April 15, 2021                • Research Highlight

NIMH is working to meet the urgent need for rapid-acting suicide prevention interventions by supporting research investigating the feasibility and safety of treatment protocols that have the potential to quickly reduce severe suicide risk in youth and adults.

Gene Readouts Contribute To Distinctness of Mental Disorders
February 9, 2021                • Press Release

A new study conducted by researchers at NIMH suggests that differences in the expression of gene transcripts – readouts copied from DNA that help maintain and build our cells – may hold the key to understanding how mental disorders with shared genetic risk factors result in different patterns of onset, symptoms, course of illness, and treatment responses.

Using Mobile Technology to Improve Care for Teens with Depression
October 29, 2020                • Research Highlight

In a project funded by the NIMH Small Business Technology Transfer program, researchers are investigating whether mobile technology can be used to create a passive monitoring system that can predict teens’ depressive symptoms and improve the quality of their care.

NIMH’s Carlos Zarate Jr., M.D., Elected to National Academy of Medicine
October 22, 2020                • Institute Update

Carlos Zarate Jr., M.D., chief of the Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch within the NIMH Intramural Research Program, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Infant Temperament Predicts Personality More Than 20 Years Later
April 20, 2020                • Press Release

Researchers investigating how temperament shapes adult life-course outcomes have found that behavioral inhibition in infancy predicts a reserved, introverted personality at age 26 and for some, a risk of internalizing psychopathology such as anxiety and depression.

Fast-Fail Trial Shows New Approach to Identifying Brain Targets for Clinical Treatments
March 30, 2020                • Press Release

An innovative NIMH-funded trial shows that a receptor involved in the brain’s reward system may be a viable target for treating anhedonia (or lack of pleasure), a key symptom of several mood and anxiety disorders.

Combined Electroconvulsive Therapy and Venlafaxine a Well-Tolerated Depression Treatment for Older Adults
February 25, 2020                • Research Highlight

The use of right unilateral ultrabrief pulse (RUL-UB) electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in combination with the antidepressant venlafaxine to treat depression in elderly patients is well tolerated and results in minimal neurocognitive side effects, according to a new NIH-funded study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Developing Rapid, Accurate Assessment of Mental Disorders, Suicide Risk in Youth
February 25, 2020                • Research Highlight

For many adults who have a mental disorder, symptoms were present—but often not recognized or addressed—in childhood and adolescence. Early treatment can help prevent more severe, lasting impairment or disability as a child grows up.

Neural Signature Identifies People Likely to Respond to Antidepressant Medication
February 10, 2020                • Press Release

NIH-funded research uses machine learning algorithm to predict individual response to a commonly-prescribed antidepressant.

Side Effects Mild, Brief with Single Antidepressant Dose of Intravenous Ketamine
November 18, 2019                • Press Release

A single, low-dose ketamine infusion was relatively free of side effects for patients with treatment-resistant depression.

Study Reveals Sex-Based Differences in the Development of Brain Hubs Involved in Memory and Emotion
October 2, 2019                • Press Release

Researchers have uncovered sex-based differences in the development of the hippocampus and amygdala—brain areas that have been implicated in the biology of several mental disorders that impact males and females differently.

Mental Health Research Centers Forge Collaborations – with ALACRITY
September 3, 2019                • Institute Update

Mental health research center directors emerged from a recent meeting with a renewed commitment to help each other achieve their common mission – to transform care of children, adolescents and adults with severe psychiatric disorders.

Release of “13 Reasons Why” Associated with Increase in Youth Suicide Rates
April 29, 2019                • Press Release

A study conducted by researchers at several universities, hospitals, and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) found that the Netflix show “13 Reasons Why” was associated with a 28.9% increase in suicide rates among U.S. youth ages 10-17 in the month (April 2017) following the shows release, after accounting for ongoing trends in suicide rates.

Nationwide Essay Contest Challenges High Schoolers to be Frank About Mental Health
April 29, 2019                • Press Release

The National Institutes of Health invites students ages 16 to 18 years old to participate in the “Speaking Up About Mental Health!” essay contest to explore ways to address the stigma and social barriers that adolescents from racial and ethnic minority populations may face when seeking mental health treatment.

Ketamine Reverses Neural Changes Underlying Depression-Related Behaviors in Mice
April 11, 2019                • Press Release

Researchers have identified ketamine-induced brain-related changes that are responsible for maintaining the remission of behaviors related to depression in mice — findings that may help researchers develop interventions that promote lasting remission of depression in humans.

Bench-to-Bedside: NIMH Research Leading to Brexanolone, First-Ever Drug Specifically for Postpartum Depression
March 19, 2019                • Media Advisory

FDA approval of the postpartum depression treatment brexanolone represents the final phase of a bench-to-bedside journey for this drug — a journey that began in the NIMH Intramural Research Program. NIMH experts are available to provide information on postpartum depression and the importance of, and the science underlying, this new drug.

NIH Study Reveals Differences in Brain Activity in Children with Anhedonia
March 13, 2019                • Press Release

Researchers have identified changes in brain connectivity and brain activity during rest and reward anticipation in children with anhedonia, a condition where people lose interest and pleasure in activities they used to enjoy.

NIH Study Shows Many Preteens Screen Positive for Suicide Risk During ER Visits
March 11, 2019                • Press Release

A research team found nearly one-third of youth ages 10 to 12 years screened positive for suicide risk in emergency department settings, including those seeking help for physical concerns only.

Dynamic Associations Among Motor Activity, Sleep, Energy, and Mood Could Suggest New Focus for Depression Treatment
December 13, 2018                • Science Update

A new study looking at interactions among sleep, energy, activity level, and mood suggests that instability in activity and sleep systems could lead to mood changes. The findings suggest new targets for depression treatment. 

Intervention Shows Promise for Treating Depression in Preschool-Aged Children
June 20, 2018                • Press Release

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have shown that a therapy-based treatment for disruptive behavioral disorders can be adapted and used as an effective treatment option for early childhood depression.

NIMH to Host Twitter Chat on Teen Depression
April 16, 2018                • Institute Update

On May 3, 2018, join NIMH for a Twitter chat on teen depression with experts Dr. Argyris Stringaris and Dr. Ken Towbin.

Suspect Molecules Overlap in Autism, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder
March 1, 2018                • Science Update

Depression, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder share some of the same patterns of suspect gene expression – molecular signatures.

NIMH Twitter Chat on Seasonal Affective Disorder
February 13, 2018                • Science Update

On February 20, 2018, join NIMH for a Twitter chat on Seasonal Affective Disorder with expert Dr. Matthew Rudorfer.

Brain’s Alertness Circuitry Conserved Through Evolution
November 2, 2017                • Press Release

Using a molecular method likely to become widely adopted by the field, researchers have discovered brain circuitry essential for alertness – and for brain states more generally.

Depression’s “Transcriptional Signatures” Differ in Men vs. Women
August 28, 2017                • Science Update

Brain gene expression associated with depression differed markedly between men and women.  Such divergent “transcriptional signatures” may signal divergent underlying illness processes requiring sex-specific treatments.

Webinar: RDoC - Fear & Anxiety: From Mechanisms to Implementation
July 20, 2017                • Institute Update

This November 2016 RDoC webinar highlights the role of fear and anxiety in disorders such as phobias and depression.

NIMH Grantee Wins One of Science’s Most Coveted Prizes
May 31, 2017                • Science Update

NIMH grantee Karl Deisseroth, M.D., Ph.D., of Stanford University, has been awarded one of science’s most generous prizes. A German foundation presented the inventor of technologies that are transforming neuroscience with its 4 million euros Fresenius Prize.

Pediatrics-based Brief Therapy Outdoes Referral for Youths with Anxiety and Depression
May 31, 2017                • Science Update

A streamlined behavioral therapy delivered in a pediatrics practice offered much greater benefit to youth with anxiety and depression than a more standard referral to mental health care with follow-up in a clinical trial comparing the two approaches.

Estrogen Alters Memory Circuit Function in Women with Gene Variant
April 19, 2017                • Science Update

Brain scans reveal that fluctuations in estrogen can trigger atypical functioning in a key brain memory circuit in women with a common version of a gene. Since working memory function is often disturbed in mental disorders, such gene-hormone interactions are suspect mechanisms that may confer risk.

Tapping Crowd-Sourced Data Unearths a Trove of Depression Genes
August 1, 2016                • Press Release

Scientists have discovered 15 genome sites – the first ever – linked to depression in people of European ancestry. But – in a twist – the researchers didn’t have to sequence anyone’s genes! Instead, they analyzed data already shared by people who had purchased their own genetic profiles via an online service and elected to participate in its research option.

Electroconvulsive Therapy Lifts Depression, Sustains Remission in Older Adults
July 18, 2016                • Science Update

An individualized program of follow-up treatment with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) combined with an antidepressant was effective in preventing relapse in patients 60 years and older who had had a successful initial course of treatment for severe depression.

Twitter Chat on African American Men’s Mental Health
June 16, 2016                • Live Chat

A live Twitter chat discussing African American men’s mental health.

Ketamine Lifts Depression via a Byproduct of its Metabolism
May 4, 2016                • Press Release

A chemical byproduct, or metabolite, created as the body breaks down  likely holds the secret to its rapid antidepressant action .

Facebook Q&A on Electroconvulsive Therapy
March 17, 2016                • Science Update

On March 17, 2016, NIMH hosts a Facebook Q&A on electroconvulsive therapy with expert Dr. Sarah Lisanby.

A BRIGHT Technological Future for Mental Health Trials
February 19, 2016                • Science Update

Is mobile mental health research the next frontier for smartphones? Based on Dr. Patricia Areán’s pioneering BRIGHTEN study, research via smartphone app is already a reality. 

Webinar Series – Office for Research on Disparities and Global Mental Health
August 12, 2015                • Science Update

View the archived webinars with NIMH experts and grantees, which focus on training, research, and methodology

NIH Joins with Women’s Organization to Debut Postpartum Depression Video
July 16, 2015                • Science Update

A new video about postpartum depression marks the launch of a mental health education collaboration by two NIH Institutes and one of the nation’s largest African-American women’s organizations.

Twitter Chat on Cancer and Psycho-Oncology
July 14, 2015                • Live Chat

NIMH and NCI host a Twitter chat on how patients and caregivers, across all ages, can deal with the psychological impact of cancer.

Disorders Share Risk Gene Pathways for Immune, Epigenetic Regulation
January 29, 2015                • Science Update

Risk genes for different mental disorders work through same pathways

NIMH Twitter Chat on Seasonal Affective Disorder
November 5, 2014                • Live Chat

NIMH Twitter Chat on Men and Depression

Rapid Agent Restores Pleasure-seeking Ahead of Other Antidepressant Action
October 17, 2014                • Press Release

A drug being studied as a fast-acting mood-lifter restored pleasure-seeking behavior independent of – and ahead of – its other antidepressant effects.

NIMH Twitter Chat on Depression and the Development of Novel Medications
October 2, 2014                • Science Update

NIMH Twitter Chat on Depression and the Development of Novel Medications

NIMH Twitter Chat on Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
July 29, 2014                • Science Update

NIMH Twitter Chat on Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

NIMH Twitter Chat on Men and Depression
June 10, 2014                • Science Update

NIMH Twitter Chat on Men and Depression

NIMH Twitter Chat on Postpartum Depression
May 5, 2014                • Science Update

NIMH Twitter Chat on Postpartum Depression

Jump-starting Natural Resilience Reverses Stress Susceptibility
April 17, 2014                • Press Release

Scientists have traced vulnerability to depression-like behaviors to out-of-balance neuronal electrical activity and made mice resilient by reversing it.

Girls Thrive Emotionally, Boys Falter After Move to Better Neighborhood
March 11, 2014                • Science Update

Girls in public housing benefited emotionally from a move to a better neighborhood while boys fared worse than if they’d stayed in the poor neighborhood. Rates of depression and conduct disorder markedly increased in boys and decreased in girls.  Boys also experienced significantly increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complicating housing policy decision-making.