Latest Research News

Carlos Grilo, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and of Psychology and Director of the Yale Program for Obesity Weight and Eating Research, served as guest co-editor on the January 2021 special issue of Clinical Therapeutics, centered on the topic of eating disorders.

Attempts to identify the genetic causes of neuropsychiatric diseases such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through large-scale genome-wide analyses have yielded thousands of potential links. The challenge is further complicated by the wide range of symptoms exhibited by those who have PTSD. For instance, does extreme arousal, anger, or irritation experienced by some have the same genetic basis as the tendency to re-experience traumatic events, another symptom of the disorder? A new study led by researchers at Yale and the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) provides answers to some of these questions and uncovers intriguing genetic similarities between PTSD and other mental health disorders such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

William Prueitt, MD, a second-year resident, is co-author of a paper published in Psychiatry Research that explores the relationship between childhood maltreatment and the clinical features of major depression in adults.

Marina Gaeta, a fourth-year Yale School of Medicine student, and Declan Barry, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, are first and senior authors, respectively, of a paper published in Medical Care that evaluates the correlates of homelessness among patients enrolled in low-barrier-to-treatment-access methadone maintenance treatment programs for opioid use disorder.

Women’s Health Research at Yale announced funding to investigate how the presumably non-intoxicating cannabis ingredient cannabidiol (CBD) affects the brain, and if it affects women and men differently. CBD use is growing in popularity exponentially, yet the safety and effectiveness of this non-regulated category of products are unknown.

In recent years, high-fidelity simulation has proven to be a significantly effective teaching tool in psychiatry and specifically in the treatment of addiction and substance abuse. High-fidelity simulation recreates real-life medical scenarios in a safe learning environment and results in improved medical care and better patient outcomes.

A new WHRY-funded study is exploring the psychological resilience of health care providers to develop targeted strategies promoting mental health.

Adolescent and adult rodents exposed to repeated administration of cannabinoids show persistent microstructural changes in the hippocampus both pre- and post-synaptically, a new study by Yale Psychiatry researchers has found.

Jack Tsai, PhD, Associate Professor Adjunct of Psychiatry, and Rajiv Radhakrishnan, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, are co-authors of a study that examined antipsychotic medication use and correlates of antipsychotic medication prescriptions among homeless and unstably housed veterans.