A trio of genome-wide studies ? collectively the largest to date ? have pinpointed a vast array of genetic variation that cumulatively may account for at least one third of the genetic risk for schizophrenia. One of the studies traced schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, in part, to the same chromosomal neighborhoods.

We swim in a sea of information, but filter out most of what we see or hear. New analysis of data from dozens of studies sheds new light on how we choose what we do and do not hear. The study found that while people tend to avoid information that contradicts what they already think or believe, certain factors can cause them to seek out, or at least consider, other points of view.

The physical and mental health needs of juvenile offenders should be treated as a priority if offenders held in detention have any real hope of rehabilitation, according to new research from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Therefore, juvenile offenders need more mental health counseling and services.

New initiatives to enhance suicide prevention activities in the north are now being implemented, Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Steve Ashton announced here today.

?Last fall, we announced a comprehensive strategy to prevent youth suicide, improve access to mental-health care and provide hope and opportunity to young people,? said Irvin-Ross. ?Today, we?re getting a number of the strategy?s initiatives underway to reach out to youth across the north.?

The new initiatives include:

The public is broadly sympathetic towards people with mental health problems, according to a Department of Health survey published today.

The survey 'Attitudes to Mental Illness 2009' showed that the vast majority of the public think that people with mental health problems deserve sympathy and that society needs to be more tolerant towards them (86 and 85 per cent respectively).

There were some improvements in attitudes on employment and integration of people with mental ill health into the community. The survey shows:

Spending hours taking a high-pressure aptitude test may make people feel mentally fatigued, but that fatigue doesn't necessarily lead to lower test scores, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. If anything, performance might actually improve on a longer test, the study found.

?The experience of fatigue during testing does not appear to be, in and of itself, detrimental to test performance,? said co-authors Phillip Ackerman, PhD, and Ruth Kanfer, PhD.

Reducing the number of beds available in public psychiatric hospitals is associated with increased suicide rates ? and community-based mental health care is often not funded at a level sufficient to help. A new study finds that for every bed lost for 100,000 people in the population, 45 additional suicides would occur per year.

Approximately 71,000 adults in Nebraska have a serious mental illness, an often misunderstood but common health condition that causes changes in a person?s thinking, mood and behavior.

?It?s important to remember that people can and do recover from mental illness and lead productive lives with the support of our friends in the community,? said Carol Coussons de Reyes, Office of Consumer Affairs administrator in the Department of Health and Human Services.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide grant support for the completion of a project under way to evaluate the effectiveness of a new training program for telephone crisis counselors at suicide hotline centers. The rollout of the new training program, which began in winter of 2008, offers an unrepeatable opportunity to assess the benefits of the training. The information could shape telephone-based suicide prevention services across the country.

There are more than 780,000 children and youth under the age of 18 in the State of Mississippi, and nearly one in five could benefit from short-term mental health treatment through a community health center, school-based or nonprofit therapist, or private practitioner.

Almost 36,000 Mississippi children have persistent mental health needs which can impact every aspect of their lives requiring comprehensive mental health services.

The cost to our children, families and community are significant, not only in dollars but also in lost futures, broken families and great heartache.

Researchers at McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School, have identified a particular protein in the brain that serves as a trigger for the body's innate fear response. This discovery suggests a new potential target for the development of new medications aimed at treating anxiety, particularly generalized anxiety disorder, a condition that afflicts millions.

The province has opened 50 new mental health and addiction treatment beds in south and central Alberta. An additional 10 youth treatment beds will be opened near Rocky Mountain House later this spring, making treatment services more widely available in the province.

Systems of care -- coordinated networks of community-based mental health services and supports for children and youth with serious mental health challenges -- are able to dramatically improve the academic, behavioral and emotional performance of participating youth according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Kentuckians Encouraging Youth to Succeed (KEYS), a part of the Department for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addiction Services, will gather Saturday, May 9, at the Newport Aquarium to emphasize the importance of children?s mental health awareness.

Youth involved with the KEYS program along with students from Covington Holmes High School?s modeling club will conduct a fashion show and education event to promote awareness and reach out to their peer groups. The event will be at 5:30 p.m. at the aquarium. Tickets are required for entry, but the event is open to all media.

As the prevalence of stress and stress-related conditions increases and associated treatment costs escalate into the billions of dollars, the newly-created psychological trauma program at Ohio State University Medical Center serves as a resource for local community providers to address the needs of those suffering from untreated emotional trauma.