A research team from the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory at Toyohashi University of Technology has found that approach–avoidance behavior in a virtual reality (VR) environment modulates how individuals recognize facial expressions. Notably, the study demonstrated that participants were more likely to perceive a facial expression as “angry” when they actively moved away from the face stimulus than when the face moved away from them. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the reciprocal relationship between perception and action in social contexts. The study was published online on July 31, 2025, in the International Journal of Affective Engineering. https://doi.org/10.5057/ijae.IJAE-D-24-00049

A trailblazing Genomic Press interview with Dr. Bruce M. Cohen explores how cutting-edge brain cell technology is providing revolutionary new information on the biological origins of psychiatric disorders. Among these findings, the Harvard professor discusses discoveries on mitochondrial dysfunction that are opening novel therapeutic pathways for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer disease. In addition, his advocacy for evidence-based diagnostic models challenges century-old psychiatric frameworks, proposing specific dimensional approaches that better capture the complexities of causes, presentations, and outcomes of mental illnesses.

Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany, have discovered that heart rate deceleration within the first 45 seconds of brain stimulation predicts treatment success in major depression up to six weeks later. The study of 75 patients found that monitoring cardiac responses during transcranial magnetic stimulation could help clinicians identify which patients will benefit most from treatment. Roberto Goya-Maldonado and colleagues at the University Medical Center Göttingen published these findings, demonstrating a potential biomarker for personalizing depression therapy.

A groundbreaking Genomic Press interview explores Dr. Najaf Amin's innovative approach to depression genetics at Oxford University. The internationally acclaimed researcher has identified novel metabolites, rare gene variants, and systemic pathways that expand current understanding of depression's biological underpinnings. Her discoveries, including the RCL1 gene mutation, 124 depression-linked metabolites and 13 types of gut bacteria, provide new insights into the multifactorial nature of this prevalent psychiatric disorder and suggest potential avenues for more targeted therapeutic approaches.

Around 70% of women who suffer a sexual assault develop PTSD; now scientists have shown that many of these women show a marked reduction in the usual communication between two important brain areas involved in processing and control of emotions, the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex. In some women, synchronisation between these areas can drop to near zero. This work is presented at the ECNP conference in Amsterdam.