A powerful psychedelic compound best associated with the Sonoran desert toad (Incilius alvarius) has been recreated in a lab and transformed into a fast-acting nasal spray. A recent clinical trial outlined this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests this spray could help people with treatment resistant depression, without the often
Getty Images Getty Images hide caption toggle caption i Getty Images Some people with clinical depression can’t get out of bed. But what about those who exhibit other signs of depression who never stop moving, and may double down on their work? Psychiatrist Dr. Judith Joseph says the second group often goes unnoticed, even by
Researchers used tens of thousands of magnetic-resonance-imaging scans to map how the brain’s outer layer matures during adolescence.Credit: Zephyr/Science Photo Library The speed at which regions of the brain mature during early adolescence can forecast the emergence of mental-health conditions up to four years before symptoms develop, according to a study of nearly 12,000 young
Credit: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty The 2026 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel has been awarded to economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford for their research on how to stabilize an economy to avoid socially and economically damaging fluctuations in inflation, growth and employment. The work, in the words
Every year, millions of people start taking a drug with therapeutic effects that can’t be fully explained, for a condition that can’t be objectively diagnosed with a laboratory test. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, are among the most prescribed medications in the world. Yet, even after decades of use, scientists are still untangling the
The brains of people with depression seem to be worse at producing new neurons than are those of people without the disorder. That’s according to a study1 that includes the most comprehensive map of the cell types in the human adult hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning, memory and emotions. For more than 20
