THE LATEST RESEARCH
New findings about the brain, behavior and mental health—with the evidence and limits in view.
TL;DR: Among 450 older stroke survivors in a Chinese hospital who lived with ongoing pain, thinking abilities fell into three patterns, and about 1 in 10 had broad thinking problems. Men and people with depression were more often in the weaker groups, but this…
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TL;DR: In UK Biobank data, people who slept either less than about 6 or more than about 8 hours tended to look biologically older across several organs, and both groups had higher death rates. The "youngest" clocks lined up with roughly 6 to 8 hours of sleep,…
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TL;DR: When 28 Spanish-speaking adults silently decided whether the names of two pictures rhymed, brain scans showed a wide left-side speech network at work, including Broca's area and regions for movement planning and sound. The new task avoids written words,…
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TL;DR: A 42-year-old man lost part of his vision in one eye from a stroke-like event in the optic nerve after losing about 40 kg in two months on semaglutide (Wegovy). One case can't show the drug caused it, and he had several other risk factors. Key Findings…
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TL;DR: Female rats that learned to stop fearing a sound during their active hours (night, for rats) held on to that lesson better than rats trained during their resting hours. A brain pathway that calms fear was more active, and had more nerve-cell contact poi…
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TL;DR: In a small trial of 29 older adults with pre-frailty or frailty, a month of daily pectin fiber led to more chair stands than placebo. The inflammation blood tests it targeted did not change, and it was too small to be conclusive. Key Findings Main goal…
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TL;DR: After a burst brain aneurysm, patients given the heart drug milrinone through an IV had about half the odds of delayed brain injury from narrowed arteries. There was no clear recovery or survival benefit, and the finding was fragile. Key Findings 7 stud…
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TL;DR: Linking 10 placebo-controlled trials statistically, lumateperone ranked top among add-on depression drugs, improving scores 4.7 points more than placebo on a 60-point scale. Its maker paid for the analysis, and each drug rests on just two trials. Key Fi…
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TL;DR: In 52 healthy adults, how strongly a tiny brainstem alertness hub responded during waking tasks was linked to the intensity of their REM sleep measured in the lab. The direction of the link depended on the task and on age. Key Findings 52 adults: 34 you…
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TL;DR: In a Hong Kong study of 6,935 people and a pooled review, lithium and valproate showed no clear difference in suicide risk in bipolar disorder, and both were linked to lower risk than no treatment. Observational studies cannot show cause. Key Findings H…
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