Growing Evidence for the Link Between ADHD Diagnosis and Age at School Admission
Researchers detect a striking relationship between the month of school enrollment relative to peers and patterns of ADHD diagnoses in a large sample of elementary school students throughout the US.
Is There an Optimal Sleep Duration for Adolescents?
A new study finds ideal sleep duration differs in adolescents for peak mental health and academic outcomes.
J&J Alleged To Hide Evidence That Risperdal Grows Boys’ Breasts
"A drug that was never meant for kids was illegally marketed to kids," said a lawyer for the plaintiff in opening remarks for the...
Criticism of Coercion and Forced Treatment in Psychiatry
A recent editorial, published in BMJ, argues there is an increase in coercive measures in psychiatry that are damaging to individuals diagnosed with mental illness.
Pharma Data Sharing Efforts Off to a Slow Start
Researchers discuss the preliminary results of clinical trial data sharing efforts by pharmaceutical companies and other groups.
I Am Not a Brain: Philosophy of Mind
From Times Higher Education: A new book by Marcus Gabriel, I Am Not a Brain: Philosophy of Mind for the 21st Century, critiques the idea prevalent...
Exposure to Antidepressants in the Womb Linked to Autism
Researchers, publishing in Toxicology Research, review the evidence that antidepressant exposure in the womb is linked to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in humans.
NIMH Director Insel Proposes Solutions to Lack of Reproducibility in Research
National Institute of Mental Health Director Thomas Insel laments the lack of reproducibility in such a large majority of mental health-related research. He describes...
Former Duke Psychiatry Chair Calls for BMJ to Retract Article about Antidepressant Black Box...
A former Duke University psychiatry chair is calling for a retraction of a study suggesting that the FDA's black-box warnings about increased suicidality in youth taking SSRIs led to increases in adolescent suicide attempts.
Mental Health Advocates Protest Congressional Mental Health Bill
Rep. Tim Murphy, a former psychologist, introduced the "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act" to congress today, a bill aimed at stopping violence...
Are Pharmaceutical Companies to Blame for the Opioid Epidemic?
From The Atlantic: As opioid abuse rises, some attorneys general and advocates are filing lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for misleading doctors and the public about...
Illinois Rep. Calls for Task Force to Investigate “False Epidemics” and Psychotropic Drugs
Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) has introduced a resolution to the Illinois House of Representatives calling for a 'Task Force on Mental Diagnosis and Illinois...
Community Treatment Orders Don’t Work
Legislation in the U.K. that empowers psychiatrists to impose treatment on patients has lost the support of one of its key advocates. "The evidence is...
Ritalin Causes Long-Lasting Change in Prefrontal Neurons
Drexel University researchers found that methylphenidate (Ritalin) administered to juvenile rats produced significant depressive effects on pyramidal neurons. The authors conclude that "the juvenile...
Long-term Usage of ADHD Drugs Linked to Growth Suppression
Findings suggest that treatment not only fails to reduce the severity of “ADHD” symptoms in adulthood but is associated with decreased height.
Forest Labs’ Antidepressant Marketing Woes Continue
Forest Labs has been hit with a new lawsuit in Massachusetts, over misleading marketing of its antidepressant drugs Celexa and Lexapro to adolescents, even...
Questions Remain About New “Smart Drug” Modafinil Safety
A number of news outlets have been reporting on a review of modafinil, labeled the new "smart drug," this week. The review in question summarized the recent literature on the drug but others have claimed that the authors underestimated potential side-effects.
Maternal Skin-to Skin Contact Affects Long-Term Development
Israeli researchers find that maternal skin-to-skin contact with pre-term infants are related to "dynamic cascades of child physiological regulation and parental provisions in shaping...
Pharma Direct-to-consumer Ad Spending in US Jumps to $4.53 Billion
-The pharmaceutical industry spent $4.53 billion on direct-to-consumer advertising in the US in 2014, up 18% from $3.83 billion in 2013.
Non-Distressed Psychosis-Like Experiences Not Linked to Serious Mental Illness
Research from the University of Maryland finds that "Although 'psychosis-like experiences' (PLEs) may reflect elevated risk for onset of serious mental illness," further examination...
Why Having a Bad Job is Worse Than Having No Job
From Big Think: New research suggests that having a stressful, badly paid, or unstable job may be worse for people's mental health than being unemployed.
"Focusing...
60 Minutes to Cover Antidepressant/Placebo Controversy This Sunday
Lesley Stahl interviews Irving Kirsch of the Placebo Studies Program at Harvard Medical School this Sunday's edition of 60 Minutes. Stahl says the implication...
Children Raised in Institutions: Increased ADHD, Anxiety, etc.
Data drawn from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project show that children raised in institutions in Romania exhibit elevated symptoms of ADHD, anxiety, depression, and...
Major Review Finds Antidepressants Ineffective, Potentially Harmful for Children and Teens
In a large review study published this week in The Lancet, researchers assessed the effectiveness and potential harms of fourteen different antidepressants for their use in children and adolescents. The negative results, familiar to MIA readers, are now making major headlines.
J&J Asks to Keep Risperdal Studies Under Seal
Law 360 reports that Johnson & Johnson asked a Pennsylvania judge to keep a series of clinical studies related to the drug Risperdal under...
