News & Comment

ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in children, yet despite a large increase in awareness and in the number of diagnoses, much less is known about how this disorder affects adults. More research is needed to understand how ADHD may present differently as a function of age or how the experience of ADHD may change in people as they age.

Increasing inequality and social fragmentation may give rise to a collective state of despair that may not only diminish the desire to live but also dampen the drive to reproduce, resulting in shrinking fertility and population decline.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound mental health problems among left-behind children (LBC). Here we discuss the challenges that LBC are facing in the post-COVID-19 era and the potential underlying mechanisms, and provide recommendations for future policy priorities.

Reporting, discussing and interpreting sex differences in clinical and biomedical research has become a more complicated task in recent years, but necessarily so. Achieving clarity around what constitutes sex and what is associated with gender provides few conclusive answers and far more questions. As cogently expressed by Beans Velocci, a historian of sex and science, in a recent piece in Cell on sex as a scientific category, “…because it is so many things at once, all we can say for sure about what sex is is what a given scientist does with it” (B. Velocci, Cell 187, 1343–1346; 2024).

Wastewater analysis can quantify the pharmaceuticals used to treat mental health disorders, providing data for policy development. This Comment highlights the potential of such wastewater-based epidemiology to enhance the estimation of treated mental health disorders at the community level.

We launched the ENIGMA-Neuroendocrinology working group with the aim to address knowledge gaps about the role of sex hormones in the brain, which lead to prevalent sex- and gender-based health disparities in biomedical research. We approach this by adopting a lifespan perspective to explore the interplay of hormonal dynamics and mental health in the brain.

In this Q&A, we speak to Tobias Hauser, head of the Developmental Computational Psychiatry lab at the University of Tübingen and the Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, and awardee of this year’s FENS-EJN Young Investigator Prize. His research aims to better understand the neurocomputational mechanisms that underlie learning and decision-making and especially their role in the development of psychiatric disorders.

Loneliness and social isolation are associated with a range of serious negative physical and mental health consequences and can affect people across the lifespan. As these are among the most formidable current public health issues, identifying interventions are paramount.

As the world grapples with the repercussions of climate change, the consequences for physical and mental health have become more salient. Climate mental health unifies multidisciplinary approaches, including climate science, psychiatry and psychology, to inform and shape public policy and action to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on mental health.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented developmental disruptions to children and young people. Here we address its long-term impact on children and young people, relay their views on important issues for mental health in the context of the pandemic and provide recommendations for future research priorities.

Looking closely at the papers published in Nature Mental Health, patterns and connections among topics become apparent. In the January 2024 issue, a narrative theme emerges that encourages inclusivity in mental health research through transdiagnostic approaches, innovative methodology and representation across the lifespan.

A deficit-oriented approach to describing living with schizophrenia obscures the challenges affected individuals face in being understood by others. Though symptoms of the illness complicate the development of a robust narrative self, patients still seek meaningful dialogue, and provider attitudes and practices can foster this narrative voice.

Clinical staging could be an actionable concept for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), providing clinicians with tools to navigate choices of treatment, acceptability of side effects and suitable care settings. This would pave the way for more research into tailored interventions that are much needed in high-stage BPSD.

This article explores debates in psychiatry about generalism and subspecialization, illustrating the potential benefits and issues of each in the context of service delivery and education founded on the biopsychosocial model. Recommendations are given to respond to varying global dynamics and support moves toward patient-centred care.

In this Q&A, we speak to Melissa Marselle, a member of the British Psychological Society’s Climate Environment Action Coordinating Group, which supports and advises on the implementation of effective climate change and environment work rooted in psychological evidence, and a lecturer of environmental psychology at the University of Surrey, UK. Her research examines the mental health benefits of contact with nature, with a specific focus on biodiversity.

Intergenerational trauma, passed down through generations, is a significant concern for refugees and their descendants. Millions of people are forcibly displaced worldwide, with profound effects on mental and physical health. Refugees face many challenges, from acculturation to legal uncertainties, leading to a range of emotional struggles.

As Nature Mental Health closes in on one year of publication, there is a special opportunity to reflect on the state of mental health in 2023 to shape the mental health priorities for 2024. The journal considers the role of some of these defining issues as it readies for the new year.