Researchers said on Wednesday they had found three more genes implicated in autism and turned up some evidence to explain why the disorder occurs more frequently among children of older parents.

Scientists have discovered how electroconvulsive or electric shock therapy — a controversial but effective treatment — acts on the brains of severely depressed people and say the finding could help improve diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.

Men who smoke experience greater mental declines over time than men who never smoked, but the same link does not appear among women, said a British study published in the United States on Monday.

Children who develop autism already show signs of different brain responses in their first year of life, scientists said on Thursday in a study that may in the future help doctors diagnose the disorder earlier.

People who challenge their brains throughout their lifetimes — through reading, writing and playing games — are less likely to develop protein deposits in the brain linked with Alzheimer's, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

One in five adults in the United States, or nearly 50 million people, suffered mental illnesses in the past year, with women and young adults suffering disproportionately, a government report released on Thursday found.

Confined to a wheelchair, in constant pain and unable to bathe without help, a 63-year-old grandmother has forced the issue of assisted suicide into Canadian courts for the third time in two decades.

Count your blessings this holiday season. It's good for you.

Older women who got more exercise and less television time were the least likely to be diagnosed with depression, according to a U.S. study of thousands of women — with physical activity having the biggest impact.

Scientists have used a portable device that tracks changes in brain waves to communicate with people in a vegetative state, some of whom have been locked in their bodies for more than a year.