Media coverage

Dr Jen Dykxhoorn (UCL Psychiatry) believes regeneration programmes may be helpful. She said: 'There is some evidence that initiatives like planting trees, removing litter, and improving the physical quality of neighbourhoods can reduce rates of depression.'

Professor Dr Joanna Moncrieff (UCL Psychiatry) has questioned the method and the labelling of children as mentally ill. “Anyone scoring above the average in this survey is deemed to have a probable mental health problem – I mean that’s nuts,” she says.

A team led by Professor Hugo Spiers (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) are investigating dementia and what shapes our sense of direction using a single mobile video game, Sea Hero Quest.

Professor Rob Howard (UCL Psychiatry) said the benefits of the Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab "were too small to be noticeable" to be adopted by the NHS, while the cost would "have been close to the cost of a nurse's salary for each treated patient."

Higher levels of wellbeing may help reduce the risk of memory loss in middle age, suggests a study led by Dr Amber John and Professor Joshua Stott (both UCL Psychology & Language Sciences), which tracked more than 10,000 over 50-year-olds across a 16-year span.

“Early intervention is something we really ought to be investing in,” said Professor Essi Viding (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) on the importance of early treatment for kids who display psychopathic tendencies, before harmful tendencies become ingrained.

Stroke survivors with depression or anxiety who attend talking therapy sessions are more likely to recover from their psychological symptoms, finds a new study by Dr Jae Won Suh and Professor Joshua Stott (both UCL Psychology & Language Sciences).

Congratulations to members of UCL’s community who have been recognised in The King’s Birthday Honours for their outstanding contributions to economics, child health, the history of medicine, addiction care, science outreach on space, and patient safety.

A series of digital tests, carried out via smartphone app, could enhance the detection of disease progression in Huntington’s disease and improve the efficiency of clinical trials, finds research led by Professor Ed Wild (UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre) and scientists at Roche.

Areas of the brain that help a person differentiate between what is real and what is imaginary have been uncovered in a new study led by Dr Nadine Dijkstra (UCL Department of Imaging Neuroscience) and Professor Steve Fleming (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences).

“We know there are genes that can confer risk for Alzheimer's, but we also know there are lots of other factors,” said Professor Rob Howard (UCL Psychiatry) on the root cause of dementia.

“We can’t conclude that depression is related to serotonin abnormality,” said Professor Joanna Moncrieff (UCL Psychiatry) on the causes of depression.

“There are a few possible mechanisms for the beneficial effect of coffee and caffeine on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, including reducing inflammation, decreasing the chance of stroke and slowing neurone (nerve cell) death,” said Professor Gill Livingston (UCL Psychiatry).

“If we’re going to see any advances in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in the next five to 10 years, it will be through better symptomatic treatments, not through better disease modifiers,” said Professor Rob Howard (UCL Psychiatry) on new Alzheimer's treatments.

“We all have ADHD symptoms to some extent,” said Professor Joanna Moncrieff (UCL Psychiatry) on the prevalence of ADHD and its rates of diagnosis.