Content Related to Translational Research

Study Uncovers Cell Type-Specific Genetic Insights Underlying Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complex disease with variable presentations. The diverse nature of this mental health disorder has made understanding the mechanisms that cause the disease, and subsequently developing effective treatments, especially challenging. In a new study published May 23 in Science, a team...

Researchers Unveil Shared and Unique Brain Molecular Dysregulations in PTSD and Depression

A comprehensive approach that examines the intersection of multiple biological processes is necessary to elucidate the development of stress-related disorders. In a new study, investigators from McLean Hospital, a member of the Mass General Brigham health care system, working with colleagues at The...

Severity of Dissociative Experiences Similar in Adolescents and Adults With BPD

It is well established that dissociative experiences are commonly reported by adults with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and differentiate them from adults with other psychiatric disorders. In contrast, dissociation in adolescents with BPD has not been well studied. Researchers at McLean...

Mentalizing May Enhance Functioning of People With Borderline Personality Disorder

Longitudinal research into borderline personality disorder (BPD) has revealed a paradox: symptomatic remission is common, but doesn’t uniformly translate into improved psychosocial functioning. Psychosocial functioning is the ability to work, build, or maintain a supportive social network, or...

Glucose Levels Affect Cognitive Performance in People With Type 1 Diabetes Differently

A new study led by researchers at McLean Hospital, a member of Mass General Brigham, and Washington State University used advances in digital testing to demonstrate that naturally occurring glucose fluctuations impact cognitive function in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Results showed that...

Causal Factors in Childhood and Adolescence for Later Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use Identified

Anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use has become a major worldwide substance use disorder that threatens the health of tens of millions of individuals. Thus, it is important to understand the factors that lead certain people to start using these drugs. Researchers at McLean Hospital reanalyzed data...

Being in Therapy Prior to COVID-19 Pandemic Prevented Anxiety Uptick During Its Peak

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented exposure to stressors driven by fears of a novel and deadly disease, intense uncertainty, and resulting isolation measures, which in turn resulted in increases in anxiety for many. According to new research, however, individuals who were in...

McLean Hospital Launches Clinical Trial of Ketogenic Therapy for Bipolar Disorder

Baszucki Group announced the launch of a new partnership with McLean Hospital for a clinical trial of a therapeutic ketogenic diet for bipolar disorder. A cross-disciplinary team at the McLean OnTrack™ program will investigate nutritional ketosis as both a novel treatment strategy and a critical...

Wellcome Leap Trial Aims To Improve Depression Care Through Precision Medicine

Depression has become the leading cause of disability worldwide across all illnesses, according to the World Health Organization. In only a single year, 264 million people deal with depression, and 800,000 lives are lost to suicide. Yet psychiatrists are often forced to resort to a trial-and-error...

Video: Lecture – Uncovering Mechanisms To Improve TMS Effectiveness

Presented by Joshua C. Brown, MD, PhD, McLean Hospital – McLean Forum lecture Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a safe and effective tool for treatment-resistant depression and obsessive compulsive disorder and has the potential to treat any brain disorder involving cortical networks. This...

Research Review: Irritability in Children and Adolescents With Psychiatric Disorders

Irritability is the most common reason children are brought for psychiatric evaluation. It is a diagnostic criterion or associated symptom for multiple diagnoses listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Over the past 20 years, much has been learned...

Single-Cell Study Reveals Genes That May Be Involved in Post-Traumatic Stress and Major Depressive Disorders

An international team led by investigators at McLean Hospital analyzed the genes expressed in approximately 575,000 individual cells from the brains of people with and without post-traumatic stress and major depressive disorders (PTSD and MDD), revealing new insights into the mechanisms behind the...

Bolstering Optimism Is a Promising Intervention for Inpatients With Substance Use Disorders

Much research on treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) focuses on reducing symptoms like depression and cravings. However, a growing body of literature examines the role of grit, gratitude, happiness, and other positive psychological constructs, including optimism. Dispositional optimism—the...

McLean Researchers Make Key Improvements to Parkinson’s Disease Cell Therapies

Cell therapy holds promise as a new treatment for Parkinson’s disease, but in many trials to date, most transplanted dopamine cells have failed to survive, raising a fundamental obstacle. Recent advancements led by researchers at McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital could change this...

Video: Lecture – The Alfred Pope Award for Early Career Investigators 2023

Honoring Andrea M. Cataldo, PhD, and Antonia V. Seligowski, PhD, McLean Hospital – The Alfred Pope Award for Early Career Investigators Each year, McLean Hospital recognizes young researchers with the Alfred Pope Award for Early Career Investigators. The honor is named for one of the hospital’s most...

NFL Players Who Experienced Concussion Symptoms Show Reduced Cognitive Performance Decades After Retirement

Former professional football players who reported experiencing concussion symptoms during their playing careers were found to perform worse on a battery of cognitive tests than nonplayers, according to a study led by Mass General Brigham investigators from McLean Hospital and Spaulding...

Improving Child and Adolescent Care With “Big Data”

All too often, getting to the right diagnosis and treatment plan for a mental health disorder is a time-consuming, confusing, and stressful progression of guesswork, trial and error, and missed opportunities. This painful scenario is only intensified when it’s a child who is struggling. Dr. Alex De...

Racial Disparities in Childhood Adversity Linked to Brain Structural Differences in U.S. Children

Black children in the United States are more likely to experience childhood adversity than white children, and these disparities are reflected in differential changes to regions of the brain linked to psychiatric diseases like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to new research led by...

Investigators Shed New Light on Brain Activity Related to Dissociative Symptoms

Trauma can cause dissociative symptoms—such as having an out-of-body experience, or feeling emotionally numb—that may help an individual cope in the short term but can have negative impacts if the symptoms persist for a long period of time. In a new study recently published in...

McLean Study Reveals No Beneficial Effect of Antidepressants Against COVID-19

Since the onset of the pandemic, scientists have been searching for existing, available medications that might be repurposed to treat COVID-19. Laboratory studies and observations in patients suggested that medications used to treat depression—especially so-called serotonergic antidepressants such...

Translational Research Related Content

Type of Content