BrainASAP

Depression Severity Linked to Brain Energy Landscape State-Transition Entrapment

by
Depression Severity Linked to Brain Energy Landscape State-Transition Entrapment

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Nature Communications used resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) to link major depressive disorder to more frequent but shorter visits to a salience-dominated brain state. Key Findings Resting-state fMRI compared depression with controls: the analysis included 38 adults with major depressive disorder and 38 healthy controls. Structural-connectivity modeling used a smaller subset: …

Read more

CYP2C19 Metaboliser Status Linked to DNA Methylation Patterns

by
CYP2C19 Metaboliser Status Linked to DNA Methylation Patterns

TL;DR: A 2026 methylome-wide study in Clinical Epigenetics found that genetically inferred CYP2C19 metaboliser status, a pharmacogenomic marker relevant to antidepressant handling, was associated with DNA methylation patterns in a large Scottish cohort. Key Findings 18,396-person discovery cohort: Generation Scotland supplied the main genetic and DNA methylation analysis for CYP2C19 metaboliser status. 48 quadratic CpG …

Read more

Conservative Social Attitudes Linked to Higher Fertility Across 72 Countries

by
Conservative Social Attitudes Linked to Higher Fertility Across 72 Countries

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Evolutionary Psychological Science linked more conservative social attitudes with a slightly higher reported number of biological children across 72 countries, with stronger patterns for women on some attitude measures. Key Findings Cross-national sample: the final analytic sample covered 78,754 adults from 72 countries after missing-data and country-size exclusions. Conservative attitude …

Read more

Positive Emoji Use Tracked College Student Mental Health in Smartphone Study

by
Positive Emoji Use Tracked College Student Mental Health in Smartphone Study

TL;DR: A 2026 Research Square preprint followed 120 college students with a smartphone app and found that a higher share of positive emoji check-ins was the most consistent digital marker tied to lower depression, lower anxiety, and higher flourishing. Key Findings 120-student smartphone study: The app combined brief emoji check-ins, symptom questionnaires, voice samples, GPS-derived …

Read more

Coherent Breathing Improved Recovery Markers in Trained Athletes

by
Coherent Breathing Improved Recovery Markers in Trained Athletes

TL;DR: A 2026 randomized study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that coherent breathing, a slow 6-breaths-per-minute breathing routine, improved several recovery markers in highly trained 400-meter athletes under repeated race stress without improving race times. Key Findings 22 trained athletes: Researchers randomized 11 athletes to usual recovery and 11 athletes to …

Read more

Clomipramine Inhibited Itch and Improved Memory in Alzheimer’s Mice

by
Clomipramine Inhibited Itch and Improved Memory in Alzheimer's Mice

TL;DR: A 2026 mouse study in iScience found that blocking Itch, an E3 ubiquitin ligase involved in protein tagging, improved several memory-test readouts in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model and reduced neuronal apoptosis, including when researchers used the existing drug clomipramine. Key Findings Two Itch strategies: Researchers tested AAV-delivered loss-of-function Itch mutants and clomipramine, a …

Read more

Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Score Predicted Cognitive Recovery After Stroke

by
Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Score Predicted Cognitive Recovery After Stroke

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that a composite cerebral small vessel disease (cCSVD) score from routine T1 MRI predicted 3-month cognitive recovery after stroke better than any single small-vessel marker in a 65-person cohort. Key Findings Recovery window: The study analyzed 65 early subacute stroke survivors who completed baseline and 90-day follow-up visits. MRI …

Read more

Cerebellar Gray Matter Was Lower in Bipolar Than Unipolar Depression

by
Cerebellar Gray Matter Was Lower in Bipolar Than Unipolar Depression

TL;DR: A 2026 study in BMC Psychiatry found that structural MRI of the cerebellum separated first-episode bipolar depression from unipolar depression with 76.3% exploratory model accuracy, mainly because several cerebellar gray-matter regions were smaller in bipolar depression. Key Findings MRI cohort included three groups: Researchers analyzed structural MRI from 42 bipolar depression patients, 48 unipolar …

Read more

Catatonia Linked to Lower Left Paracingulate Sulcus Presence on MRI

by
Catatonia Linked to Lower Left Paracingulate Sulcus Presence on MRI

TL;DR: A 2026 MRI preprint on medRxiv found that patients with catatonia were less likely to have a left paracingulate sulcus (PCS), a stable anterior cingulate cortex fold, than psychiatric patients without catatonia. Key Findings 523 MRI scans: Researchers compared 109 patients with catatonia, 323 psychiatric patients without catatonia, and 91 healthy controls. Left PCS …

Read more

Cannabis Use Frequency and THC Exposure Did Not Change Brief-Abstinence Pain Sensitivity

by
Cannabis Use Frequency and THC Exposure Did Not Change Brief-Abstinence Pain Sensitivity

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Psychopharmacology found that healthy adults who used cannabis frequently had higher circulating THC markers after at least 12 hours of verified abstinence, but their cold-pressor pain threshold, pain tolerance, and pain ratings did not differ from occasional users. Key Findings 75 cannabis users were tested: the sample included 38 occasional …

Read more

+ Load more