Health & Wellness

Intestinal Epithelial Serotonin Reduced Anxiety and Depression-Like Behavior via Vagus in Mice; In Utero SSRI Linked to Infant Constipation

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Intestinal Epithelial Serotonin Reduced Anxiety and Depression-Like Behavior via Vagus in Mice; In Utero SSRI Linked to Infant Constipation

TL;DR: A 2024 Gastroenterology study found that intestinal epithelial serotonin reduced anxiety- and depression-like behavior in mice through vagal signaling, while prenatal SSRI exposure in a human cohort predicted infant functional constipation independent of maternal depression. Key Findings Gut-only serotonin reuptake transporter ablation reduced anxiety and depression-like behavior: Targeting SERT only in the intestinal epithelium …

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Ex-Smokers Had Higher Food Cue Reactivity on fMRI

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Ex-Smokers Had Higher Food Cue Reactivity on fMRI

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that ex-smokers had higher fMRI blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses to high-energy food pictures than adults with obesity or abstinent alcohol dependence, suggesting a brain reward route for post-quitting weight gain. Key Findings 77-person fMRI comparison: Researchers compared 25 ex-smokers, 26 abstinent adults with alcohol dependence, and 26 …

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Early-Life Visceral Stress Sensitized Auditory Brainstem and Altered Cochlear Proteome in Rat IBS Model

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Early-Life Visceral Stress Sensitized Auditory Brainstem and Altered Cochlear Proteome in Rat IBS Model

TL;DR: A 2026 rat study in Neurobiology of Stress found that early-life visceral stress produced adult IBS-like symptoms alongside auditory brainstem sensitization and cochlear protein changes, giving a mechanistic explanation for sound sensitivity reported by some IBS patients. Key Findings Early-life visceral stress sensitized the auditory brainstem: Rats exposed to early-life visceral stress (the standard …

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Braless State Increased Attractiveness Ratings but Lowered Faithfulness Ratings

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Braless State Increased Attractiveness Ratings but Lowered Faithfulness Ratings

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that braless images were rated as more attractive but less faithful, while women who feared sexual harassment reported being less likely to go braless in public. Key Findings 409 Slovak women surveyed: Researchers asked women about bra wearing in public and private settings, body-related factors, sexual …

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Big Five Personality Traits Predicted Sexual Fantasy Frequency

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Big Five Personality Traits Predicted Sexual Fantasy Frequency

TL;DR: A 2026 study in PLOS One found that Big Five personality traits were linked to how often 5,225 partnered adults reported sexual fantasies: conscientiousness and agreeableness predicted lower fantasy frequency, while the depression facet of negative emotionality predicted higher frequency. Key Findings Partnered adult sample: researchers surveyed 5,225 partnered adults recruited through Qualtrics Panels, …

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Sleep Growth-Hormone Switch Linked Body and Brain

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Sleep Growth-Hormone Switch Linked Body and Brain

TL;DR: A 2025 mouse study in Cell mapped a sleep-growth hormone circuit, showing how hypothalamic GHRH and somatostatin neurons coordinate hormone pulses and then feed back onto wakefulness. Key Findings GH rose in REM and NREM: Growth hormone release was enhanced during both rapid eye movement and non-REM sleep. Two neuron types controlled release: Hypothalamic …

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Ultra-Processed Foods Eroded Visual Attention

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Ultra-Processed Foods Eroded Visual Attention

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring found that each 10% higher energy share from ultra-processed foods was associated with lower attention scores and higher modifiable dementia-risk scores in 2,192 dementia-free Australian adults. Key Findings A dementia-free midlife sample anchored the analysis: the Healthy Brain Project included 2,192 Australians …

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Ten-Minute Digital Meditation Reduced Anxiety Symptoms

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Ten-Minute Digital Meditation Reduced Anxiety Symptoms

TL;DR: A 2026 randomized-trial preprint in medRxiv reported that 10 minutes of daily digital meditation reduced anxiety and mind wandering, with the largest gains in people who started with higher symptom burden. Key Findings Ten daily minutes reduced anxiety: Meditation-naive adults were assigned to immediate training or waitlist control in a delayed-intervention design. Low-dose protocol: …

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Higher Temperatures Linked to Police-Violence Death Risk

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Higher Temperatures Linked to Police-Violence Death Risk

TL;DR: A county-level 2026 study in PLOS One found that warmer monthly temperatures in the United States from 2013 to 2024 were associated with higher police-violence death rates, with projected additional deaths by 2050 under high-emissions climate scenarios. Key Findings 2013-2024 county-level data: Researchers linked U.S. police-violence deaths with monthly temperature and precipitation data across …

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Severe Infections Stayed Linked to Dementia After Comorbidities

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Severe Infections Stayed Linked to Dementia After Comorbidities

TL;DR: A 2026 study in PLOS Medicine found that severe infections stayed linked to later dementia in Finland even after researchers accounted for a broad set of noninfectious comorbid diseases. Key Findings 62,555 dementia cases: The analysis matched Finnish adults diagnosed with late-onset dementia from 2017 to 2020 against 312,772 dementia-free controls. 29 prior hospital …

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