Lower dopamine may drive teen substance use that fades with age
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-Jun-2026 23:16 ET (13-Jun-2026 03:16 GMT/UTC)
A study of more than 800 teens finds that lower dopamine early in adolescence is linked to greater substance experimentation, which often declines as the brain matures and dopamine increases, challenging long‑held assumptions about teen risk‑taking.
A drop of dye added to a glass of water undergoes ordinary diffusion. However, when placed on the surface of a foam, the dye spreads differently – diffusion becomes anomalous. An example of this is the pattern on the froth of a cup of cappuccino. Interestingly, the latest research suggests that diffusion equations in a heterogeneous environment can also describe social phenomena, such as election results or the behaviour of stock market traders.
University of Groningen neuroscientist Robbert Havekes and his team have shown that mice forget encounters with other mice due to sleep deprivation. They also found that these social memories have not been erased; the mice are simply unable to recall them.
A novel study among Indigenous communities in Canada utilizing sharing circles as the primary method of qualitative data collection shows that heart health is shaped by emotional, spiritual, social, and systemic factors, with trauma strongly influencing how care is accessed and trusted. Results of the study appear in CJC Open, published by Elsevier, as the journal’s first arts-based report. This novel format provides an authentic visual narrative that reflects the depth of community experiences and perspectives.
Hitting children (often referred to as smacking) by parents or caregivers as a form of punishment is linked to behavioural problems and worse exam results and should be prohibited in England and Northern Ireland as soon as possible, UCL researchers say.
Content Warning: This press release contains discussions about suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support, please use this link to find an international helpline: www.findahelpline.com.
Governments put up railings and barriers and regulate supplies of certain drugs to prevent people from dying by suicide. But other products associated with fatal self-harm, such as firearms, pesticides, and alcohol remain widely available and publicly promoted. The difference in approach to regulation needs to be addressed to make progress in preventing suicide, according to an analysis published June 10 in the open access journal PLOS Global Public Health by May van Schalkwyk from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and colleagues.