Press
Contact the ECNP Press Office
The ECNP Press Officer, Tom Parkhill, can be reached via: press@ecnp.eu
For urgent enquiries, call him on +39 349 238 8191 or call the ECNP Office on +31 88 756 9555.
Office hours are 09.00 to 17.30 (CET), Monday to Friday.
About ECNP
The European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) is a pan-European body which works to ensure that advances in the understanding of brain function and human behaviour are translated into better treatments and better public health. ECNP draws its membership from psychiatry, neuroscience, and many other disciplines. The ECNP annual congress attracts up to 6000 delegates, and is the largest European congress on major psychiatry and neuroscience. The ECNP can give specialist press comment on subjects related to mental health and neuroscience including:
- The state of mental health in Europe
- Drugs and addiction
- Bipolar disorder (previously called manic depression)
- Anxiety and depression
- Stress, including post-traumatic stress
- Brain imaging
- ADHD
- Dementia
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Information for the public
Please note that there is no-one in our office who is medically qualified and we are unable to give any medical advice. Because of this, we are not allowed to accept calls from patients.
Media opportunities at the ECNP Congress
Every year the ECNP press team promotes selected research presented at the ECNP Annual Congress. This tends to get good international press coverage – in 2017 our work was featured by the likes of The Observer, Huffington Post, The Sun, The Telegraph, CBS, NBC News, Agence France Press, Bild, Times of India, etc. The work needs to be newsworthy and based on good science or be clinically important, meaning that we only promote around 8 to 10 items each year from a much larger initial selection. If you would be interested in having us consider your abstract as part of our media programme, please indicate that on the abstract submission form.
Recent and notable press releases
32nd ECNP Congress, 7-10 September 2019, Copenhagen
Speaking your mind”: analysis locates brain areas for understanding metaphors in healthy and schizophrenic people
Study shows 1/3 of young children admitted to intensive care for sepsis show PTSD symptoms years later
Deep magnet stimulation shown to improve symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder
Study locates brain areas for understanding metaphors in healthy and schizophrenic people
Children of anxious mothers twice as likely to have hyperactivity in adolescence
Scientists find psychiatric drugs affect gut contents
Snips and snails or sugar and spice? Research shows puberty changes the brains of boys and girls differently
The fast and the curious: fitter adults have fitter brains
ADHD medication: how much is too much for a hyperactive child?
Why don’t the drugs work? Research shows controlling inflammation can make antidepressants more effective
11 June 2019
Inga Neumann wins 2019 ECNP Neuropsychopharmacology Award
06 March 2019
Scientists unveil plans to identify common social and cognitive elements in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Depression, Schizophrenia (PRISM Project)
2 October 2018
Why do some get depressed and others don’t? Clues from the “winter blues”
26 March 2018
Marion Leboyer wins 2018 ECNP Neuropsychopharmacology Award
8 November 2017
World’s first prize for “negative” scientific results announced
31st ECNP Congress, 6-9 October 2018, Barcelona
Study shows diet and weight may affect response to bipolar disorder treatment 
Pregnant women recognise baby facial expressions and cries differently depending on their mental health history
Gene which decreases risk of social network-related stress, increases finance-related stress risk
Research shows club drug GHB associated with brain and cognitive changes
Study shows DNA of people with childhood abuse or depression ages faster
Sexual abuse as a child changes the body’s biochemical response to stress
European researchers set out priorities for dealing with problem internet use
30th ECNP Congress, 2-5 September 2017, Paris
Sunday 3 September 2017
Monday 4 September 2017
Tuesday 5 September 2017
Thursday 7 September 2017
Media coverage
Blood test for PTSD on horizon as scientists find genetic changes in traumatised soldiers (The Telegraph, UK)
PTSD screening breakthrough: Soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder could be diagnosed with a simple blood test, research claims (The Sun)
A Breakthrough Discovery Could Let Us Diagnose PTSD Using A Blood Test (Huffington Post, UK)
ADHD and sleep (CBS News)
Stress and the Clock gene (Newsweek)
April 2017
Michel Hamon wins 2017 ECNP Neuropsychopharmacology Award
March 2017
Scientists show cognitive enhancing drugs can improve chess play
November 2016
Study suggests prescribing of baclofen for alcohol dependence “should be reconsidered”
29th ECNP Congress, 17-20 September 2016, Vienna, Austria
Media coverage
Los Angeles Times: For those in posh jobs, depression may be harder to treat
Newswise report
Hormone EPO can help with mental health – UPI report on ECNP Vienna
Study shines a light on low winter-time male libido
Reuters: Study shines a light on low winter-time male libido
Beer, sex and the Simpsons in New York News
Severe anxiety doubles cancer death rate in men
Internet addiction may indicate other mental health problems - study
Internet addiction may be red flag for other mental health issues
Internet Addiction May Be Red Flag for Other Mental Health Issues: Study
The internet and social media is leaving young people 'more at risk of mental health problems'
Internet Addiction May Be Red Flag for Other Mental Health Issues ...
Spanish
¿Qué otros problemas esconde la adicción a Internet?
Las personas con el síndrome de Tourette no son más agresivas que los demás, según un estudio
German
Sehen wir Kunst anders?
April 2016
Major mental health project aims to uncover root causes of social withdrawal
28th ECNP Congress, 28 August-1 September 2015:
“But doctor, I’m not ill”: research finds relation between marker of brain cell dysfunction and awareness of illness in psychotic patients
Women in poor areas twice as likely to develop clinical anxiety as men
Clinical trial shows first treatment for ‘emotional flatness’ associated with schizophrenia
Research shows testosterone changes brain structures in female-to-male transsexuals
Psychotic patients distinguished from controls while watching movie Alice in Wonderland
Study shows that food may be addictive: research indicates food craving is ‘hard-wired’ in the brain
Can you avoid hangovers after heavy drinking?
Scientists show how magnetic pulses change the brain in treatment for depressed patients: may open door to individualised treatment
How can we prevent suicide? Major study shows suicide risk factors associated with depression
A single cocaine dose lowers perceptions of sadness and anger
August 2015:
Systematic review shows ‘smart drug’ modafinil does enhance cognition
July 2015:
ECNP special news feature: interview Tom Insel
Mary Baker wins the 2015 ECNP Media Award
March 2015:
Francesc Artigas’s exceptional research contributions to depression and schizophrenia recognised by the 2015 ECNP Neuropsychopharmacology Award
October 2014:
27th ECNP Congress, Berlin
Dick Swaab wins the 2014 ECNP Media Award
November 2013:
ECNP in the news:
David Nutt wins the 2013 John Maddox Prize
for Standing up for Science
Spring 2013:
ECNP in the news:
International collaboration to address new
approach to psychiatric drug nomenclature
Joseph Zohar, President of the ECNP
8 May 2012:
The Science Media Centre, London, wins the 2012 ECNP Media Award
5 September 2011:
The Size and Burden of Mental Disorders in Europe
ECNP announces the release of the ECNP/EBC Report on Size and Burden of Mental Disorders in Europe 2011.
For the full press release in English, click here.
To read the full report, click here.
14 June 2011:
Funding crisis threatens development of new treatments for mental illness
ECNP announces the release of the Report on the ECNP Summit on the future of CNS drug research in Europe 2011.
On 14 June ECNP released the report, prepared by David Nutt and Guy Goodwin, of its Summit meeting of key European neuroscience stakeholders on the future of CNS drug research in Europe.
For the full press release in English, click here.
For the full press release in French, click here.
For the full press release in German, click here.
For the full press release in Spanish, click here.
To listen to the Summit Report press briefing at the Science Media Centre in London on 13 June, with David Nutt, Guy Goodwin and Alastair Benbow (European Brain Council), here.