Wondering what you are going to do over the holidays? 🤔 Don't worry, we got you covered with another rundown of what's new #ThisWeekInNPP...and it's a lot! 🤩

Have you wondered why higher bipolar polygenic scores (BP PGS) seem to predict better outcomes among people with psychosis? Here’s why (1/6) 🧪#PsychSciSky

🧠🐭💊 Check out our work on the role of Central Amygdala cell-types in opioid withdrawal ... Now published in Neuropsychopharmacology @npp-journal.bsky.social Open-access link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This recent review draws from human and animal studies to propose a developmental model in which impaired inhibitory signaling & sensory gating during infancy trigger a cascade leading to sensory over-responsivity, autistic traits, & anxiety

In this recent study, a non-invasive model of perinatal asphyxia was used, uncovering a role for IL-1 and suggesting that early anti-inflammatory intervention may mitigate lasting & behavioral impairments after perinatal asphyxia

This recent review highlights behavioral inhibition (BI) & maternal anxiety in infancy as anxiety risk factors; infants w/ BI or maternal stress exposure have altered patterns in attention & control systems, predicting greater anxiety in adolescence

This GWAS of cannabis lifetime use identified 11 variants, with greatest signal near CADM2 Cannabis lifetime use showed broad genetic correlations & bidirectional causal links w/ traits related to risk-taking, openness & substance use, distinct from CUD

The second installment of this 2-part review outlines progress toward transdiagnostic prevention strategies that target shared risk factors across psychiatric disorders in youth that aim to reduce overall incidence & severity of mental illness

The holiday break is fast approaching, but that doesn't mean we're taking a break at @npp_journal just yet! 🎄❄️ Check out what's new #ThisWeekInNPP- including effects of corticosterone on behavioral flexibility, a new selective & potent D2/D3 antagonist & the genetics of cannabis use 👇

Thank you ACNP @npp-journal.bsky.social for this recognition! 😇🙏 This #transdiagnostic work with Gearshift Fellowship aims to move beyond static tasks toward dynamic, mechanistic understanding of how people regain agency when control is uncertain and rules change. Super excited for #ACNP2026.

This recent study characterized ML-007, a dual M1/M4 muscarinic receptor agonist, as a potential treatment for psychosis in schizophrenia & Alzheimer’s disease, showing strong efficacy in multiple models & was ~10x more potent than xanomeline

In part 1 of a 2-part series, this recent review summarizes converging evidence for a transdiagnostic model of mental illness, emphasizing shared genetic, environmental, neurobiological, & psychological risk factors that emerge early in life

In this recent paper, transcription factor activity profiling unidentified T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor & RE1-silencing transcription factor as key regulators of gene expression changes linked to depression

In carvone-derived (+)-CBD enantiomers, longer alkyl chains ⬆️ anticonvulsant potency, with (+)-CBD-oct ⬇️ seizures, mortality, & abnormal dendritic spines, highlighting alkyl chain length in efficacy of next-gen CBD analogs for epilepsy

This recent ✨ Early Career Commentary ✨ makes the case that interoception - the sensing & interpretation of internal bodily signals - should be studied within a Bayesian multisensory framework

So, what's new #ThisWeekInNPP? 🤔 We have the latest about BDNF-driven brakes on alcohol intake, the impact of collider bias on genetic predictions, and a hippocampal hub for ketamine's anti-depressant effects 👇

Hayley is one to watch out for with expertise all way from GWAS to animal/circuit studies to molecular dissection!

Aaaahhhhh I KNOW her!!! Way to go @lcornelas.bsky.social !!

Honored to receive the ACNP Travel Award and looking forward to attending my first ACNP conference in the Bahamas! #ACNP2026 @acnporg.bsky.social

DBS of the NAc altered genes linked to synaptic plasticity, stress & inflammation - particularly in glutamatergic neurons expressing Nlgn1, Snca, Pde10a, & Syt1 - revealing molecular mechanisms through which NAc DBS may modulate 🧠 circuits

This recent study found that perinatal NMDA receptor hypofunction ⬆️ perineuronal net thickness and rigidity, disrupted excitation–inhibition balance, & impaired cognition & social memory, which was partially restored by clozapine 💊

In this study, MDMA metabolite MDA produced longer & stronger psychedelic-like effects than MDMA, along with ⬆️ negative & fear-related responses Lys-MDA acted as a slow-release MDA, delaying onset & peak effects, while Lys-MDMA failed to release MDMA

In this study, low-intensity focused ultrasound disrupted functional connectivity along targeted tracts, ⬆️ positive affect & ⬇️ cardiac-sympathovagal balance in patients w/ MDD, offering a tool for probing & treating mood-related 🧠 networks

In this recent study, RNAscope mapping showed limited CB1R–MOR co-expression, mainly in thalamic glutamatergic neurons, suggesting cannabinoid–opioid synergy arises from parallel activation in distinct circuits rather than direct receptor interaction

A new week, a new lineup of the latest and greatest #ThisWeekInNPP See below for the newest findings on cannabis, polysubstance use, opioids, psilocybin and more 👇

In this recent study, glutamate & GABA were ⬆️ in antipsychotic-free individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis, showing that medication status critically influences MRS-based neurochemical results in psychosis research

This recent 🔥 Hot Topic 🔥 introduces Building Brain Resilience through Brain Capital - an emerging concept that cuts across sectors & holds the promise of transforming the way we treat mental illnesses 🧠

Congratulations to Ian Maze, Ph.D. and Erin Calipari, Ph.D. for being awarded the Daniel H. Efron Research Award. 🎉#ACNP2026

Congratulations to Michael Gandal, M.D., Ph.D. on being awarded the 2025 Eva King Killam Research Award! 👏 #ACNP2026 Please click here ➡️ tinyurl.com/52447muh#ACNP2026to watch the acceptance video by Michael Gandal, M.D., Ph.D.

Congratulations to Harriet De Wit, Ph.D., for being awarded the Barbara Fish Memorial Award! ☺️ #ACNP2026 Please click here ➡️tinyurl.com/2ndexz5k#ACNP2026to watch the nominator video by Abraham Palmer, Ph.D.

In this perspective, a mother recounts her son’s struggle with severe childhood mental illness, marked by shifting diagnoses/medications & persisting symptoms, despite expert care; she calls for more rigor in diagnosing & treating pediatric mental illness

This recent 🔥 Hot Topic 🔥 highlights new insights into how the lateral septum regulates social behavior via the amygdala & PFC Cross-species molecular studies suggest conserved mechanisms that may underlie social dysfunction in psychiatric disorders

This recent 🔥 Hot Topic 🔥 highlights how brain bioenergetics (regulation of energy metabolism & mitochondrial function) drive psychiatric vulnerability, highlighting metabolic interventions that may ⬆️ energetic balance & support 🧠 development

Congrats to @pact-lab.bsky.social postdoc @ryanntansey.bsky.social on receiving an @acnporg.bsky.social Travel Award! 🎉 #ACNP2026

Get ready, another installment of #ThisWeekinNPP is incoming 🚀 See below for the newest insights on the relationships between neuromelanin & schizophrenia, BDNF & alcohol, and the impact of a high-fat diet on microglia 👇

This recent 🔥 Hot Topic 🔥 discusses how AI-assisted decision-support systems - including large language models - could strengthen mental health care in conflict zones by supporting clinician reasoning & consistency under extreme stress

So excited to be a part of this stellar group of travel awardees this year!! See you at #ACNP2026 🏝️☀️🔬

We're < 2 months away from #ACNP2026, so it's time to start the countdown @npp-journal.bsky.social journal style: by highlighting the fantastic @acnporg.bsky.social Travel Awardees who will be attending 🤩

This recent 🔃 Review 🔃 examines how structural racism is embedded in nearly every sector of society, creating social & environmental contextual drivers that affect mental & physical health of minoritized populations

This paper describes outreach efforts on X. Now that Elon’s fascist leanings and algorithms are so obvious, why is NPP still using X? You should stop immediately and rely on Bluesky to drive engagement. Stop supporting rapacious fascists in our name!

We are proud to announce ACNP's NPP Journal award winners! Dhvani D. Mehta, B.Sc. (NEATOR Award), John H. Krystal, M.D. (NEAR Award), and Max E. Joffe, Ph.D. @mejoffe (NEECA Award) @npp-journal.bsky.social, #ACNP2026

Fascinating study, you can also read my Research Highlight on this paper and connectome harmonics here pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40940590/

Congratulations to Dhvani D. Mehta, BSc for being awarded the NEATOR Award, The Neuropsychopharmacology Editors' Award for a Transformative Original Report @npp-journal.bsky.social

Happy to share our review "Investigating hierarchical critical periods in human neurodevelopment” in @npp-journal.bsky.social! We examine neurobiological, environmental & behavioral evidence for human critical periods in sensory and association cortex +discuss new research directions rdcu.be/eMkVU 🧵

Congratulations to John H. Krystal, M.D. for being awarded the NEAR Award for the top review paper published in print in @npp-journal.bsky.social in 2024, tinyurl.com/3a6ea5wf!

Check out his acceptance video at tinyurl.com/mwzwt9yv and a video in support by Marianne Seney, Ph.D. at tinyurl.com/mrxkwckh @npp-journal.bsky.social #ACNP2026

This recent paper found that striatal neuroinflammation may promote maladaptive goal-directed behaviors, challenging the view that compulsivity arises solely from habit dominance

This recent 🔃 Review 🔃 discusses how computational psychiatry can reveal latent mechanisms in ADHD & mood disorders, emphasizing ways to ⬆️ reliability & develop more precise, ecologically valid models for diagnosis & treatment

In this correspondence, authors warn that multiple studies misidentified PF-05231023, using a commercial small molecule instead of Pfizer’s intended Fc-conjugated FGF21 analog CVX-343, resulting in misattribution of biological effects to FGF21 signaling

This study examined genetic risk for treatment-resistant depression in the Taiwan Biobank and compared polygenic score associations with European data, with some trait-specific associations differing between East Asian and European groups