White Matter Hyperintensities Tracked ALS Progression and Survival

White Matter Hyperintensities Tracked ALS Progression and Survival

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that white matter hyperintensity (WMH) burden, the amount of MRI-visible white-matter injury, was greater and progressed faster in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with progression tied to worse motor and cognitive scores. Key Findings 369-person MRI sample: Researchers analyzed 204 ALS patients and 165 healthy controls from the Canadian ALS …

Read more

Ventral Capsule DBS Reduced Severe OCD Symptoms by 60%

Ventral Capsule DBS Reduced Severe OCD Symptoms by 60%

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint reported that ventral capsule deep brain stimulation (DBS), an implanted brain-stimulation treatment, reduced severe treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms by 22 Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) points on average in 10 participants. Key Findings 10 severe OCD patients: Researchers implanted bilateral ventral internal capsule DBS leads in participants with intractable obsessive-compulsive …

Read more

Serum Hydrogen Sulfide Was Lower in Drug-Naive Depression

Serum Hydrogen Sulfide Was Lower in Drug-Naive Depression

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that serum hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels, a blood measure tied to brain signaling and inflammation biology, were about 7.7-fold lower in drug-naive major depressive disorder patients than in matched controls. Key Findings 100-person comparison: Researchers enrolled 50 drug-naive major depressive disorder patients and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls …

Read more

Violent Pornography Linked to Sexual Aggression Risk When Peer Rape Myths Were High

Violent Pornography Linked to Sexual Aggression Risk When Peer Rape Myths Were High

TL;DR: A 2025 survey study in Archives of Sexual Behavior linked violent pornography use to higher self-reported sexual aggression risk among university students, especially when pornography was perceived as realistic and peer rape myth acceptance was high. Key Findings 686 Dutch university students surveyed: The online sample was 63.4% female and measured pornography attitudes, violent-content …

Read more

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Increased Occipital Brain Connectivity in Pilot fMRI Study

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Increased Occipital Brain Connectivity in Pilot fMRI Study

TL;DR: A 2026 pilot study in Food & Function found that one month of extra virgin olive oil intake was associated with higher resting-state occipital functional connectivity than regular olive oil in 9 healthy young adults. Key Findings Occipital connectivity was the imaging endpoint: The 9-person neuroimaging substudy came from a larger randomized crossover trial …

Read more

Psilocybin Suppressed SST Interneurons Through 5-HT1A Signaling

Psilocybin Suppressed SST Interneurons Through 5-HT1A Signaling

TL;DR: A 2026 mouse preprint in bioRxiv found that psilocybin reduced firing in somatostatin (SST) interneurons, inhibitory cortical cells that gate dendritic input, while increasing parvalbumin (PV) interneuron firing in the medial frontal cortex. Key Findings SST firing decreased: Opto-tagged SST interneurons fell from 5.5 to 3.7 Hz after psilocybin, while saline did not produce …

Read more

GLP-1 Agonists Showed Dose-Specific ON-Medication Motor Effects in Parkinson’s Disease

GLP-1 Agonists Showed Dose-Specific ON-Medication Motor Effects in Parkinson's Disease

TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review and exploratory network meta-analysis of 5 randomized trials in Neurological Sciences found dose-specific ON-medication motor improvements, measured while usual Parkinson’s drugs were active, for some GLP-1 receptor agonists, glucose-related metabolic hormone drugs, in Parkinson’s disease, but broader motor, non-motor, and quality-of-life evidence remained limited. Key Findings 5 randomized trials: The …

Read more

Antipsychotic D2 Blockade May Disturb Pancreatic Insulin Secretion

Antipsychotic D2 Blockade May Disturb Pancreatic Insulin Secretion

TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Neuropsychopharmacology found that dopamine D2-like receptor activation suppressed glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), insulin release after high glucose, in animal pancreatic cells, suggesting one peripheral route by which antipsychotic dopamine blockade can disturb glucose control beyond weight gain. Key Findings 39 eligible studies: Researchers screened 12,457 citations and …

Read more

Half of 292 Adult ADHD Randomized Trials Skipped a General Psychopathology Assessment, Scoping Review Found

Half of 292 Adult ADHD Randomized Trials Skipped a General Psychopathology Assessment, Scoping Review Found

TL;DR: A 2025 scoping review in European Psychiatry screened 292 randomized trials of adults diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and reported that 49.7% did not assess general psychopathology and only 35% had the ADHD diagnosis allocated by a psychiatrist or psychologist. Key Findings Half of the trials skipped a general psychopathology check: 49.7% of the …

Read more

25C-NBF, a Selective 5-HT2A Phenethylamine, Reduced Despair and Restored Sucrose Preference in Male Mice

25C-NBF, a Selective 5-HT2A Phenethylamine, Reduced Despair and Restored Sucrose Preference in Male Mice

TL;DR: A 2026 mouse and rat study in Molecular Psychiatry reported that 25C-NBF, a selective serotonin 2A receptor agonist from the 2C-X phenethylamine series, produced rapid antidepressant-like effects, increased dendritic spines and Bdnf expression in the prefrontal cortex, and showed no rewarding or reinforcing properties at the tested doses. Key Findings Despair behavior fell after …

Read more