https://mentalhealthdaily.com/Mental health research, clearly explained.en-UShttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/23/schizophrenia-symptom-dimensions-five-clusters-panss-network-analysis/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12552Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTA 2026 network reanalysis of PANSS ratings from 1,213 adults with schizophrenia found 5 symptom groups that matched older five-factor models; hostility/excitement was the least stable group, and suspiciousness straddled 2 groups.PsychiatryPsychosisSchizophreniahttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/23/chatgpt-bipolar-disorder-trust-case-studies/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12558Fri, 23 Oct 2026 01:00:00 GMTTwo women with bipolar disorder who used ChatGPT on their own came to rely on it for information, emotional support and even companionship, according to a 2026 interview study from the Netherlands. Both sometimes trusted the chatbot more than their own clinicians, a pattern the researchers called a shift in trust.1 Research Highlights 2 detailed … Read moreBipolar DisorderPsychiatryTherapyhttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/22/btbr-autism-mouse-model-sex-differences-behavior/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12561Thu, 22 Oct 2026 22:00:00 GMTIn a 2026 study of BTBR mice, a lab strain used to model autism, males and females showed different autism-like changes. Female BTBR mice formed fewer habits and engaged less with other mice, while males struggled more to learn a balance task and were slower to approach a stranger.1 Research Highlights Small mouse study: 22 … Read moreAutismBrainNeurosciencehttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/22/autism-preschool-children-later-bedtimes-shorter-sleep-night-waking-china/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12564Thu, 22 Oct 2026 19:00:00 GMTAutistic children under 6 fell asleep later, woke later and slept a little less than typically developing children of the same age, according to a 2026 study from Guangzhou, China.1 Parents also reported that autistic children were nearly twice as likely to wake up at night more than once a week. Research Highlights Later weekday … Read moreAutismSleephttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/22/eeg-machine-learning-childhood-adhd-classification-frontal-theta/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12567Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTMachine-learning models reading brain-wave recordings correctly sorted about 81% of children with and without ADHD in a 2026 study of 121 children ages about 7 to 12.1 The models were tested on one existing dataset, and each child was scored by a model that had never seen that child’s data. Research Highlights About 4 in … Read morePsychiatryADHDNeurosciencehttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/22/childhood-white-matter-teen-depression-adhd-mri/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12570Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMTBrain scans taken at ages 8 to 13 were linked to depression scores years later, in teens with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A 2026 study followed 76 children into adolescence and found that the size of one emotion-related wiring bundle in childhood statistically predicted later depression symptoms, regardless of ADHD diagnosis.1 Research … Read moreDepressionADHDBrainNeurosciencehttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/22/autism-adhd-brain-connectivity-hippocampus-default-mode-network-mri/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12573Thu, 22 Oct 2026 01:00:00 GMTAutistic young people who also have ADHD showed weaker resting brain connections than autistic peers without ADHD, according to a 2026 brain-imaging study of 69 people.1 Most autism-linked differences were shared by both autistic groups, but the extra ADHD diagnosis came with its own pattern, especially in a brain area that helps with attention and … Read moreADHDBrainAutismNeurosciencehttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/21/ultra-processed-food-adhd-children-quality-of-life-saudi/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12576Wed, 21 Oct 2026 22:00:00 GMTUltra-processed food made up almost half the daily calories of 128 Saudi children and teens with ADHD in a 2026 survey study.1 Their quality of life was well below published norms, but kids who ate more ultra-processed food did not report a worse quality of life than kids who ate less.1 Research Highlights Half the … Read morePsychiatryADHDDiet & Nutritionhttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/21/autism-eeg-brain-signal-complexity-children-preschool-age/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12582Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTAutistic children had more complex, irregular brain-wave signals at rest than typically developing children in a 2026 EEG study of 186 kids aged 3 to 11 in Beijing.1 The gap was widest in preschoolers aged 3 to 6 and smaller, and limited to some brain regions, in school-age children. Research Highlights Higher complexity in autism: … Read morePsychiatryAutismNeurosciencehttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/21/treatment-resistant-schizophrenia-prevalence-japan-clozapine/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12585Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMTA 2026 nationwide study in Japan found that 28.6% of hospitalized patients with schizophrenia who were checked for treatment resistance met the criteria.1 Nearly half of those patients left the hospital on clozapine, the only antipsychotic with established benefit for this form of the illness. Research Highlights Large real-world sample: records covered 18,914 inpatients discharged … Read morePsychiatrySchizophreniaAntipsychoticsPsychosishttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/21/autism-brain-structure-networks-boys-girls-mri/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12588Wed, 21 Oct 2026 01:00:00 GMTIn an MRI study of 337 young people aged 8 to 18, autistic boys and autistic girls each showed their own cluster of brain structure differences compared with peers of the same sex.1 The boys’ pattern centered on a face-processing region and tracked with social and communication traits; the girls’ pattern centered on a memory … Read moreBrainAutismNeurosciencehttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/20/adhd-medication-self-harm-risk-before-treatment/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12591Tue, 20 Oct 2026 22:00:00 GMTAmong people prescribed ADHD medication in 5 health systems, recorded self-harm was most common in the 3 months before their first prescription, not after it.1 Risk fell once treatment began but stayed a little above each person’s unmedicated baseline. Research Highlights Highest risk before the first prescription: in the 90 days before starting ADHD medication, … Read moreDrugsPsychiatryStimulantsADHDSuicidehttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/20/virtual-reality-adhd-children-school-participation-trial/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12594Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:00:00 GMTAn 8-week virtual reality game program improved teacher ratings of how well children with ADHD were managing school, compared with children on a waiting list. A randomized trial in Turkey tested the program in 92 children aged 7 to 12.1 Research Highlights Scores rose with VR: the teacher-rated school participation total climbed from 136.6 to … Read morePsychologyTherapyADHDhttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/20/racism-sexism-ptsd-substance-use-disorder-people-of-color/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12597Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTIn a 2026 interview study, people of color living with both PTSD and a substance use disorder described racism and sexism as part of how both conditions began.1 Women and men told different stories, though: for women, the path ran through sexual violence and fear of being blamed; for men, through street and family violence … Read moreAddictionPsychologyPTSDhttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/20/guanfacine-adult-adhd-tics-case-series/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12600Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMTThree men with ADHD and lifelong tics, treated at a Tokyo clinic, saw their tics ease soon after starting a low dose of guanfacine, a non-stimulant ADHD medication, according to a 2026 case report.1 Their ADHD symptoms improved more slowly and only partly, and with 3 patients and no comparison group, the report raises a … Read moreDrugsPsychiatryADHDhttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/20/ucla-ptsd-reaction-index-turkish-teens-screening-daily-functioning/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12603Tue, 20 Oct 2026 01:00:00 GMTA Turkish version of the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index, a widely used child and teen PTSD questionnaire, separated trauma-exposed adolescents with and without PTSD well in a 157-person clinic study.1 Higher scores were linked to more problems at home, at school, with friends, and in development.1 Research Highlights Strong screening accuracy: total scores told apart … Read morePsychiatryPTSDhttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/19/family-functioning-resilience-sleep-problems-children-cancer-depression-anxiety/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12606Mon, 19 Oct 2026 22:00:00 GMTChildren and teens in cancer treatment who felt their family worked well together reported fewer sleep problems, in a 2026 study of 518 young patients in China.1 Lower depression and anxiety accounted for a sizable share of that link. Research Highlights Better family functioning, fewer sleep problems: each 1-point rise on a 0–10 family functioning … Read morePsychologyAnxietyDepressionSleephttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/19/adhd-conduct-disorder-teens-machine-learning-risk-factors/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12609Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:00:00 GMTIn a 2026 study of 138 teens with ADHD at a clinic in Turkey, school discipline, frequent absences, family factors and gaps in ADHD treatment were far more common in those who also had conduct disorder.1 A machine-learning model built from school, family and treatment records rarely flagged the wrong teen, but it missed about … Read morePsychologyPsychiatryADHDhttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/19/adhd-children-number-sense-numerosity-estimation-math/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12612Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTChildren with ADHD often find math harder than their classmates do, but a weak gut sense of “how many” does not seem to be the reason. In a 2026 Italian study of 20 children with ADHD and 43 children without it, the ADHD group scored lower in math yet estimated quantities of dots, flashes and … Read morePsychologyADHDCognitionhttps://mentalhealthdaily.com/2026/10/19/cognitive-disengagement-syndrome-sluggish-cognitive-tempo-adhd-overlap-iran/https://mentalhealthdaily.com/?p=12267Mon, 19 Oct 2026 13:15:00 GMTCognitive disengagement syndrome, the daydreaming, foggy, slowed-down pattern once called sluggish cognitive tempo, overlapped strongly with ADHD symptoms in a large Iranian survey of teens and adults. Even so, about half of the people with the highest scores on one measure did not score high on the other.1 Research Highlights Strong overlap with ADHD: among … Read morePsychologyADHDCognition