📄 Category

psychiatry and clinical psychology

146 papers

Understanding the human mind and treating mental health conditions requires a deep blend of biological insight and behavioral science. This category explores the cutting-edge research shaping how we diagnose and treat psychiatric disorders, from depression and anxiety to complex neurological conditions. Here, you will find the latest discoveries that bridge the gap between clinical observation and molecular mechanisms, offering fresh perspectives on patient care and therapeutic innovation.

Gist.Science brings these vital studies directly to you by monitoring medRxiv, the leading preprint server for health sciences. As soon as new manuscripts appear in this field, our team processes them to provide both accessible plain-language summaries and detailed technical overviews. This ensures that complex findings are understandable for everyone, from curious readers to busy professionals who need quick, accurate insights without wading through dense academic prose.

Below are the most recent psychiatry and clinical psychology preprints, curated and summarized to keep you informed on the evolving landscape of mental health research.

📄 psychiatry and clinical psychology

Two and a Half Decades of Evidence on PTSD Determinants in Conflict Regions of Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis of 68 studies involving over 82,000 participants reveals that posttraumatic stress disorder affects approximately 43% of conflict-affected adults in Sub-Saharan Africa, with significantly higher rates among refugees and strong associations with female sex, comorbid depression, and cumulative trauma exposure.

Ngasa, S. N., Nges, L., Ngasa, N. C., Dingana, T. N., Nadeem, S.2026-03-03
📄 psychiatry and clinical psychology

Agreement between smartphone-based mobile sensing and actigraphy sleep metrics in young people with bipolar disorder

This study demonstrates that passive smartphone-based mobile sensing provides a valid, scalable, and robust alternative to actigraphy for monitoring sleep timing and duration in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder.

Lopaczynski, A., Merranko, J., Mak, J., Gill, M. K., Goldstein, T. R., Fedor, J., Low, C., Levenson, J. C., Birmaher, B. (…)2026-03-02
📄 psychiatry and clinical psychology

Multivariate brain-cognition covariance supports the criterion validity of cognitive screening performance

This study validates the Riga Cognitive Screening Task as an effective tool for identifying cognitive impairment in older adults by demonstrating significant multivariate covariance between its performance scores and cortical thickness in temporal and parietal brain regions.

Sneidere, K., Zdanovskis, N., Litauniece, Z. A., Usacka, A., Gulbe, A. I., Freibergs, Z., Stepens, A., Martinsone, K.2026-02-28
📄 psychiatry and clinical psychology

Prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among adults with glaucoma at a tertiary hospital in Tanzania: A cross-sectional study

This cross-sectional study of 297 adults with glaucoma at a tertiary hospital in Tanzania found that 11.1% experienced probable depressive symptoms, with strong and moderate social support identified as significant protective factors against depression.

Rashid, J. S., Chacha, S., Ghaimo, F. E., Mzilangwe, E. S., Morawej, Z., Mhina, C., Kuganda, S.2026-02-28
📄 psychiatry and clinical psychology

Apathy in Mild Behavioural Impairment: Associations with Cortical Thickness and Grey Matter Volume

This study demonstrates that in cognitively normal and mild cognitive impairment individuals, apathy associated with Mild Behavioural Impairment is significantly linked to reduced cortical thickness and grey matter volume in Alzheimer's disease-vulnerable regions, suggesting it reflects early AD-related neurodegeneration rather than traditional apathy-related structural changes.

Vellone, D., Guan, D. X., Goodarzi, Z., Forkert, N. D., Smith, E. E., Ismail, Z.2026-02-27
📄 psychiatry and clinical psychology

Plasma Lipid Alterations Track Multidimensional Psychosis Severity Across Diagnostic Boundaries

This study demonstrates that plasma lipidomic alterations, particularly in specific lipid classes like sphingolipids and phosphatidylcholines, robustly track multidimensional psychosis severity across schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, suggesting these lipid changes reflect transdiagnostic biological processes linked to illness burden that are not fully captured by categorical diagnoses or polygenic risk scores.

Thanabalasingam, A., Wiegand, A., Meijer, J., Dwyer, D. B., Schulte, E. C., The PsyCourse Study,2026-02-26
📄 psychiatry and clinical psychology

A longitudinal study of anxiety and depression in Belgium during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

This longitudinal study of over 10,000 Belgian adults from 2020 to 2024 reveals that while most individuals maintained stable mild mental health symptoms, a significant minority experienced worsening anxiety and depression over time, driven by risk factors like financial insecurity and loneliness, while protective factors such as social support and life satisfaction played crucial but evolving roles in mitigating symptom severity.

Bui, T., Demarest, S., Duveau, C., Hermans, L., Van Hal, G.2026-02-26
📄 psychiatry and clinical psychology

AI-Enabled Continuous Care Features in Real-World Psychotherapy: Treatment Engagement and Clinical Outcomes

In a large-scale, real-world quasi-experimental study, embedding AI-enabled continuous care features into routine psychotherapy was found to significantly improve early treatment engagement and accelerate the reduction of depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to psychotherapy alone.

Graupensperger, S., Brown, M., Chekroud, A., Mabe, B., Kopecky, O., Srokosz, N., Hopkins, J., Hawrilenko, M.2026-02-25
📄 psychiatry and clinical psychology

Noninvasive brain stimulation combined with evidence-based psychotherapy for psychiatric disorders: A meta-analysis of optimal implementation parameters

This meta-analysis of 28 randomized controlled trials demonstrates that noninvasive brain stimulation, specifically non-concurrent repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, significantly enhances the efficacy of human-delivered, manualized cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders, whereas concurrent administration and transcranial direct current stimulation do not yield similar benefits.

Beynel, L., Wiener, E., Baker, N., Greenstein, E., Neacsiu, A. D., Jones, E., Gindoff, B., Francis, S. M., Neige, C., Mo (…)2026-02-24