Psychiatry | Featured Specialties | UC Davis Health

A study in Nature Aging identifies specific microRNAs in the brain that likely contribute to bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, PTSD and Parkinson’s disease. “To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify microRNAs that contribute to the development of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases,” said Aliza Wingo, M.D., senior author of the study. 

Research published in Science suggests that it could be possible to separate treatment from hallucinations when developing new drugs based on psychedelics. The research shows that decoupling the beneficial effects of psychedelics from their hallucinogenic effects isn’t just a matter of chemical compound design. It’s a matter of targeted neural circuitry.

A meta-analysis published in Biological Psychiatry found lower choline-containing compounds focally in the prefrontal cortex and across all cortical regions in anxiety disorders. This contrasted with elevated choline-containing compounds observed meta-analytically in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression.