An 8-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) intervention reduced stigma and self-harm, and improved mindfulness and insight in young women with schizophrenia. In a randomized trial of 62 female patients, those receiving MBCT showed significantly lower scores on measures of stigma and self-harm compared to a control group receiving conventional treatment. Mindfulness scores and treatment attitudes improved significantly. Higher mindfulness was linked to lower stigma. The findings suggest MBCT can lessen the cumulative burden of mental disorders and self-harm in this population.
In a randomized controlled trial, 44 patients with treatment-resistant depression received either a one-hour inhalation of 50% nitrous oxide with 50% oxygen or a placebo of 50% oxygen with 50% air. Nitrous oxide treatment significantly altered the segregation of interconnected brain functional modules, as measured by EEG. The treatment showed superior antidepressant efficacy compared to placebo, with reductions in both the participation coefficient and connector hub after treatment. Changes in these modular metrics moderately correlated with reductions in depressive symptoms, offering insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying nitrous oxide's rapid antidepressant effects.
In mice, increasing calcium ion concentration in the brain did not raise consciousness as previously proposed. Injecting a calcium chelator (EGTA) increased the sevoflurane dose needed to suppress the righting reflex—indicating heightened consciousness—while injecting either calcium-40 or calcium-43 chloride lowered that dose, reducing consciousness. The identical effects of the two calcium isotopes show no isotope dependence, contradicting predictions based on Posner molecules and nuclear-spin entanglement. These findings disprove the conventional idea that calcium ion concentration correlates with consciousness.