Press releases at the ECNP Congresses

37^th ECNP Congress, 21-24 September 2024

• Researchers find that Antidepressants may improve brain function
• Study shows alcohol-dependent men and women have different biochemistries, so may need different treatment
• Study shows psychedelic drug psilocybin gives comparable long-term antidepressant effects to standard antidepressants, but may offer additional benefits
• Study finds symptoms of depression during pregnancy linked to specific brain activity: scientists hope to develop test for “baby blues” risk
• UK study shows there is less stigma against LGBTQ people than you might think, but people with mental health problems continue to experience higher levels of stigma

Follow the media coverage of the congress here.

36^th ECNP Congress, 7-10 October 2023

• Major study reveals safest way to take Valium and Ativan
• Wearable bracelet tracks bipolar mood swings: changing electrical signals in skin linked to manic or depressed moods
• Is this how antidepressants work, and why they take weeks to kick-in?
• Teaching expectant mothers to bond with their babies
• Antidepressants versus running for depression: is there a winner?
• Ketamine-related drug gives better treatment for difficult to treat clinical depression
• Women’s mood worsens during ‘pill pause’ period of monthly contraceptive pill cycle

Follow the media coverage of the congress here.

35^th ECNP Congress, 15-18 October 2022

• Scientists discover structure of adult brain – previously thought to be fixed - is changed by treatment
• Strict parenting may hard-wire depression risk into a child’s DNA
• The U-curve: children born to younger or older parents have an increased risk of bipolar disorder
• Nicotine dose in a single cigarette blocks estrogen production in women’s brains
• Eating well and avoiding the news gave the best mental health outcomes during Covid
• Patients with clinical depression “stopped seeking treatment” during the Covid waves

Follow the media coverage of the congress here.

34^th ECNP Congress Hybrid, 2-5 October 2021

• A guide to accelerate the discovery of new medicines for neurological and psychiatric diseases 
  (also in Spanish and Catalan language)
• “Magic mushroom” anti-depressive psychedelic affects perception of music
• Depressed COVID patients respond better than expected to antidepressants
• Depression history written in the reactions of the brain
• Intestinal drug shown to boost memory and cognition
• Scientists find protein which indicates whether memories can be changed
• Depressed adolescents’ brains shown to mute distressing information
• Fast driver, fast life: genetics and everyday behaviour reflected in risky driving

Follow the media coverage of the congress here.

33^rd ECNP Congress Virtual, 12-15 September 2020

• Not so similar after all: depression, but not anxiety, linked with inflammation and metabolic changes
• Doctors develop system which can predict Bipolar Disorder 4 years before onset
• Baby heartbeat reveals the stress of having a depressed or anxious mother
• Improved early psychosis detection system may halve risk in young people
• Electroconvulsive therapy shown to significantly reduce suicide risk in bipolar patients
• Measuring brainwaves while sleeping can tell if you should switch antidepressants
• Depression risk detected by measuring heart rate changes
• Is the “Mozart Effect” real? New analysis indicates that music can help epilepsy

Follow the media coverage of the congress here. 

32^nd ECNP Congress, 7-10 September 2019, Copenhagen

• "Speaking your mind”: analysis locates brain areas for understanding metaphors in healthy and schizophrenic people
• Study shows 1/3 of young children admitted to intensive care for sepsis show PTSD symptoms years later
• Deep magnet stimulation shown to improve symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder
• Study locates brain areas for understanding metaphors in healthy and schizophrenic people
• Children of anxious mothers twice as likely to have hyperactivity in adolescence
• Scientists find psychiatric drugs affect gut contents
• Snips and snails or sugar and spice? Research shows puberty changes the brains of boys and girls differently
• The fast and the curious: fitter adults have fitter brains
• ADHD medication: how much is too much for a hyperactive child?
• Why don’t the drugs work? Research shows controlling inflammation can make antidepressants more effective
  
  

31^st ECNP Congress, 6-9 October 2018, Barcelona

• Study shows diet and weight may affect response to bipolar disorder treatment 31st ECNP Congress Barcelona
• Pregnant women recognise baby facial expressions and cries differently depending on their mental health history
• Gene which decreases risk of social network-related stress, increases finance-related stress risk
• Research shows club drug GHB associated with brain and cognitive changes
• Study shows DNA of people with childhood abuse or depression ages faster
• Sexual abuse as a child changes the body’s biochemical response to stress
• European researchers set out priorities for dealing with problem internet use
  
  

30^th ECNP Congress, 2-5 September 2017, Paris

• Is ADHD really a sleep problem? (watch the webcast)
• Pilot study shows that neurofeedback may help treatment-resistant depression
• Financial stress is associated with migraine, if you have specific circadian gene variants
• Alterations in blood-based miRNA in veterans affected with combat-related PTSD
• Heavy alcohol use alters brain functioning differently in young men and women
• Study shows coping skills affect women’s anxiety levels
• Scientists discover brain area which can be targeted for treatment in patients with schizophrenia who ‘hear voices’
• Study shows contrasting long-term cognitive effects of psychiatric drugs in schizophrenia
• What makes alcoholics drink? Research shows it’s more complex than supposed
  
  

29^th ECNP Congress, 17-20 September 2016, Vienna

• High status job means you are less likely to respond to treatment for depression
• Study shows that opioids may affect how we perceive ‘cuteness’ of babies
• Why don’t antidepressants work in some patients? Mouse study shows it may be down to your environment
• Study shows lack of interest in sex successfully treated by exposure to bright light
• Study measures effects of beer on psychosocial and sexual attitudes
• Hormone EPO (also used as a doping drug) can help with bipolar disorder
• Neuroscience may explain the ‘freezing’ reaction when scared
• Tourette’s patients are not aggressive, as people think
• Reason antidepressants often don’t work may be due to your circumstances
• Cancer deaths doubled in men who are anxious (large UK study)
• Internet addiction may be a sign of other mental health problems
• Neuroscience may vindicate 200 year old Art theory (from Immanuel Kant)
  

28^th ECNP Congress, 28 August-1 September 2015, Amsterdam

• “But doctor, I’m not ill”: Research finds relation between marker of brain cell dysfunction and awareness of illness in psychotic patients
• Women in poor areas twice as likely to develop clinical anxiety as men
• Clinical trial shows first treatment for ‘emotional flatness’ associated with schizophrenia
• Research shows testosterone changes brain structures in female-to-male transsexuals
• Psychotic patients distinguished from controls while watching movie Alice in Wonderland
• Study shows that food may be addictive: research indicates food craving is ‘hard-wired’ in the brain
• Can you avoid hangovers after heavy drinking?
• Scientists show how magnetic pulses change the brain in treatment for depressed patients: may open door to individualised treatment
• How can we prevent suicide? Major study shows suicide risk factors associated with depression
• A single cocaine dose lowers perceptions of sadness and anger