{"title":"Unlocking deep relaxation: the power of rhythmic breathing on brain rhythms.","authors":"Vaibhav Tripathi, Lakshmi Bhaskar, Chhaya Kharya, Manvir Bhatia, Vinod Kochupillai","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00156-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00156-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues across the world. The limited availability of mental health professionals is preventing many from seeking help, which highlights the need for easily available mental health care routines like yoga, breathing, and meditation. A breath-based meditation technique known as Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) harnesses the power of breath to induce deep relaxation and makes meditation easier for beginners and has proven beneficial across multiple conditions, including depression, anxiety, and hypertension. The exact EEG dynamics happening during the practice are not well understood. We collected EEG data from 43 subjects undergoing SKY and analyzed their brain rhythms before, after, and during various stages of the technique, and found that rhythmic breathing accentuates theta rhythms (d = 0.63) which allows for an easier transition to a relaxed meditative state predominant with delta-theta rhythms, reduced alpha power (d = 1.70) and aperiodic signals (d = 2.04).</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"39"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12375072/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144981741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Allen M Osman, Kevin P Madore, Paul I Jaffe, Emanuela Offidani, Ann C Childress, Jeffrey H Newcorn, Robert J Schafer
{"title":"Real-world effectiveness of a widely available digital health program in adults reporting a lifetime diagnosis of ADHD.","authors":"Allen M Osman, Kevin P Madore, Paul I Jaffe, Emanuela Offidani, Ann C Childress, Jeffrey H Newcorn, Robert J Schafer","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00157-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00157-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We examined real-world evidence on whether Lumosity, a remote digital health technology designed to deliver cognitive training to healthy adults, can improve cognition and reduce inattention in adults who reported having received a prior (lifetime) diagnosis of ADHD. Over the course of Lumosity training, this cohort of commercial users was assessed repeatedly online with a neuropsychological test battery (NCPT) and a scale of attention and mood in real-world contexts (BAMS-7). More Lumosity training between successive assessments led to greater improvements on the NCPT composite measure and the attentional subscale of the BAMS-7. This positive dose-response relation was found for six of eight NCPT subtests and three of four BAMS-7 attentional items. Additional findings support the participants' clinical status and sensitivity of the assessments to ADHD symptoms. These findings provide evidence of cognitive and attentional benefits in a real-world cohort of adults reporting a lifetime diagnosis of ADHD from training with Lumosity under real-world conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"38"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12373820/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144981745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introducing a mindfulness-based intervention in school curriculum to 16-24-year-olds. A nationwide cluster-randomized trial.","authors":"Lise Juul, Morten Frydenberg, Emilie Hasager Bonde, Michelle Sand Beck, Katinka Goetzsche, Susanne Bruggisser, Lone Overby Fjorback","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00150-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00150-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim was to assess the effectiveness of an intervention comprising a teacher-training program and the implementation of a ten-session mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) in regular classroom teaching for 16- to 24-year-old students in Denmark. In a cluster-randomized trial (2019-2021), upper secondary schools and vocational schools for social and health care were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive the intervention (21 schools, 35 teachers, 438 students) or teaching-as-usual (22 schools, 38 teachers, 551 students). Eighteen self-report measures of mental health were collected at baseline, three, and six months, with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS) as the primary outcome. Intention-to-treat analyses were conducted using mixed-effects linear regression and bootstrapping. Fourteen intervention schools (n = 277) and 17 teaching-as-usual schools (n = 419) provided follow-up data. No statistically significant effect on the primary outcome (SWEMWBS) was found in the total population. However, a small positive effect on SWEMWBS was observed among females in upper secondary schools at three months, but not sustained at six months. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04610333, registered October 26, 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=&term=NCT04610333&cntry=&state=&city=&dist= .</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"37"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12340006/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144823357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Maternal stress, cord blood zinc and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.","authors":"Nagahide Takahashi, Tomoko Nishimura, Akemi Okumura, Toshiki Iwabuchi, Taeko Harada, Md Shafiur Rahman, Yoko Nomura, Jeffrey H Newcorn, Kenji J Tsuchiya","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00149-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00149-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Zinc regulates dopaminergic signaling, and reduced serum zinc levels have been reported in individuals with ADHD. However, genetic associations between zinc and ADHD remain unclear. We examined this link using large-scale GWAS and molecular analyses across three cohorts: iPSYCH (14,584 ADHD cases and 22,492 controls), FAMHES (n = 1798), and the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort (n = 726). Two-sample Mendelian randomization revealed bidirectional associations between low serum zinc levels and ADHD diagnosis. Genetic correlation and polygenic risk score analyses supported this association. In the birth cohort, lower cord blood zinc were associated with higher ADHD symptom scores at ages 8-9. Zinc levels negatively correlated with IL-6 and maternal depressive symptoms. Directed acyclic graph analysis indicated that maternal stress increased IL-6, which reduced fetal zinc levels, linking to ADHD symptoms. These findings suggest low prenatal zinc may contribute to ADHD pathophysiology in genetically vulnerable children, potentially mediated by maternal stress and inflammation.</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"36"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12331919/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144801131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jeanet F Karchoud, Chris M Hoeboer, Irina Karaban, Joanne Mouthaan, Marit Sijbrandij, Miranda Olff, Rens van de Schoot, Mirjam van Zuiden
{"title":"PTSD course and predictors in a 15 year longitudinal cohort following suspected serious injury.","authors":"Jeanet F Karchoud, Chris M Hoeboer, Irina Karaban, Joanne Mouthaan, Marit Sijbrandij, Miranda Olff, Rens van de Schoot, Mirjam van Zuiden","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00153-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00153-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Investigating long-term posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) course and its predictors may guide prevention and early intervention strategies following trauma exposure, potentially reducing the long-lasting impact of trauma. N = 155 emergency-admitted adults with (suspected) serious injury were repeatedly assessed until one-year post-trauma and completed a 12-15 year follow-up including a clinical PTSD interview. Adverse one-year PTSD trajectories; more exposure to additional potentially traumatic events and recent life stressors; and early post-trauma predictors (younger age, greater perceived impact of prior potentially traumatic events, higher heart rate) were significantly associated with higher PTSD symptom severity 12-15 years post-trauma. This study showed high consistency between one-year PTSD and its early post-trauma predictors with long-term PTSD outcomes. Early post-trauma predictors had predictive value up to 12-15 years. This suggests that early risk identification of one-year PTSD and subsequent effective early interventions also hold long-term beneficial effects for PTSD outcome.</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"35"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12331889/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144801132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Adela C Timmons, Abdullah Aman Tutul, Kleanthis Avramidis, Jacqueline B Duong, Kayla E Carta, Sierra N Walters, Grace A Jumonville, Alyssa S Carrasco, Gabrielle F Freitag, Daniela N Romero, Matthew W Ahle, Jonathan S Comer, Shrikanth S Narayanan, Ishita P Khurd, Theodora Chaspari
{"title":"Developing personalized algorithms for sensing mental health symptoms in daily life.","authors":"Adela C Timmons, Abdullah Aman Tutul, Kleanthis Avramidis, Jacqueline B Duong, Kayla E Carta, Sierra N Walters, Grace A Jumonville, Alyssa S Carrasco, Gabrielle F Freitag, Daniela N Romero, Matthew W Ahle, Jonathan S Comer, Shrikanth S Narayanan, Ishita P Khurd, Theodora Chaspari","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00147-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00147-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and pervasive computing offers new opportunities to sense mental health symptoms and deliver just-in-time adaptive interventions via mobile devices. This pilot study tested personalized versus generalized machine learning models for detecting individual and family mental health symptoms as a foundational step toward JITAI development, using data collected through the Colliga app on smart devices. Over a 60-day period, data from 35 families resulted in approximately 14 million data points across 52 data streams. Findings showed that personalized models consistently outperformed generalized models. Model performance varied significantly based on individual factors and symptom profiles, underscoring the need for tailored approaches. These preliminary findings suggest that successful implementation of passive sensing technologies for mental health will require accounting for users' unique characteristics. Further research with larger samples is needed to refine the models, address data heterogeneity, and develop scalable systems for personalized mental health interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12329041/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144796327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depression.","authors":"Qi Wu, Chenshuang Li, Luxia Zhang, Ying Zhou","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00152-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00152-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Depression is highly clustered among people with low socioeconomic status (SES). Improved environments are known to be potentially beneficial, but the extent to which environments alleviate socioeconomic inequalities in depression remains unclear. Based on 334,536 UK Biobank participants, we quantified mediating roles of green space and air pollution in association between SES and depression, and examined interactive and joint relationships between SES and environments on depression. Co-improvements in green space and air quality significantly mediated 2.7% of this association. Interaction analysis indicated stronger environmental benefits for low-SES populations. Joint analysis revealed that low-SES adults in favorable environments had a 14.6% lower depression risk than medium-SES individuals in unfavorable conditions, with more pronounced effects among females (16.4%) and older adults (9.8%). Our findings emphasize mitigating role of upstream environmental factors involving green space and air quality in tackling socioeconomic inequalities in depression, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly and females.</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"33"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12317017/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144765879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brandon J Griffin, Shira Maguen, Matthew L McCue, Robert H Pietrzak, Carmen P McLean, Jessica L Hamblen, Ashlyn M Jendro, Sonya B Norman
{"title":"Moral injury is independently associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempt in high-stress, service-oriented occupations.","authors":"Brandon J Griffin, Shira Maguen, Matthew L McCue, Robert H Pietrzak, Carmen P McLean, Jessica L Hamblen, Ashlyn M Jendro, Sonya B Norman","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00151-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00151-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study explores the link between moral injury and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among US military veterans, healthcare workers, and first responders (N = 1232). Specifically, it investigates the risk associated with moral injury that is not attributable to common mental health issues. Among the participants, 12.1% reported experiencing suicidal ideation in the past two weeks, and 7.4% had attempted suicide in their lifetime. Individuals who screened positive for probable moral injury (6.0% of the sample) had significantly higher odds of current suicidal ideation (AOR = 3.38, 95% CI = 1.65, 6.96) and lifetime attempt (AOR = 6.20, 95% CI = 2.87, 13.40), even after accounting for demographic, occupational, and mental health factors. The findings highlight the need to address moral injury alongside other mental health issues in comprehensive suicide prevention programs for high-stress, service-oriented professions.</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"32"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12317004/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144765878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Functional connectivity-related changes underlying mindfulness meditation for internet gaming disorder: a randomized clinical trial.","authors":"Xuefeng Xu, Haosen Ni, Huabin Wang, Tongtong Wang, Chang Liu, Xiaolan Song, Guang-Heng Dong","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00154-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00154-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is recognized as a mental health issue. Traditional interventions have limitations, but mindfulness meditation (MM) shows promise due to its flexibility and social acceptance. Study 1, fMRI data from 61 IGD patients and 60 healthy controls (HCs) were compared to assess functional connectivity (FC). Study 2- a randomized clinical trial, 80 IGD patients underwent either an MM intervention (twice-weekly for 8 sessions) or progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) as a control (pre-registered-Chinese clinical trial registry, ChiCTR2300075869, September 18, 2023). Study 1 revealed abnormal FC within the executive control network (ECN) and between the ECN and reward network in IGD patients. Study 2 showed that MM enhanced FC within the ECN and frontostriatal pathway. MM refining the coupling between brain regions involved in executive control and reward processing. This enhancement improves top-down control over game craving. These findings suggest that MM can effectively treat IGD.</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12313989/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144762576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bridianne O'Dea, Philip J Batterham, Taylor A Braund, Cassandra Chakouch, Mark E Larsen, Michael Berk, Michelle Torok, Helen Christensen, Nick Glozier
{"title":"A randomised cross over trial examining the linguistic markers of depression and anxiety in symptomatic adults.","authors":"Bridianne O'Dea, Philip J Batterham, Taylor A Braund, Cassandra Chakouch, Mark E Larsen, Michael Berk, Michelle Torok, Helen Christensen, Nick Glozier","doi":"10.1038/s44184-025-00140-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44184-025-00140-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Linguistic features within individuals' text data may indicate their mental health. This trial examined the linguistic markers of depressive and anxiety symptoms in adults. Using a randomised cross over trial design, 218 adults provided eight different types of text data of varying frequencies and emotional valance. Linguistic features were extracted using LIWC-22 and correlated with self-reported symptoms. Machine learning was used to determine associations. No linguistic features were consistently associated with depressive or anxiety symptoms within or across all tasks. Features associated with depressive symptoms were different for each task and there was only some degree of reliability of these features within tasks. In all machine learning models, predicted values were weakly associated with actual values. Some text tasks had lower levels of engagement and negative impacts on mood. Overall, the linguistic markers of depression and anxiety shifted in response to contextual factors and the nature of the text analysed. This trial was prospectively registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (date registered: 15 September 2021, ACTRN12621001248853).</p>","PeriodicalId":74321,"journal":{"name":"Npj mental health research","volume":"4 1","pages":"30"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12276349/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144669116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}