TL;DR: A 2026 preprint on medRxiv used resting-state functional MRI (fMRI), a brain-connectivity scan taken while people are not doing a task, to divide older adults at Alzheimer’s risk into anxiety biotypes that responded differently to frontal-lobe tDCS stimulation. Key Findings Older-adult tDCS trial: The final sample included 199 older adults, with 99 sham tDCS …
TL;DR: A 2026 Nature Communications paper introduced CAptVE, a fluorescent aptamer method that labels molecular features in mouse brain tissue while preserving ultrastructure for electron-microscopy connectomics. Key Findings Detergent-free labeling: CAptVE used slow off-rate modified aptamers to label brain cells without detergent permeabilization that can disrupt ultrastructure. Three fixation steps: The optimized pipeline balanced fluorescence …
TL;DR: A 2026 randomized trial in Scientific Reports found that adding esketamine to sufentanil patient-controlled analgesia lowered short-term postoperative depression and anxiety scores in elderly colorectal cancer surgery patients, without improving pain scores or increasing adverse events. Key Findings Three randomized groups: 91 older colorectal cancer surgery patients completed follow-up after assignment to sufentanil alone, …
TL;DR: A study in Communications Biology found that environmental enrichment, richer housing with objects, running space, and novelty, reduced early-life-stress-linked visceral pain and depression-like behavior in rats while normalizing a CB1 receptor-sensitive prefrontal-limbic stress circuit. Key Findings Early stress model: Researchers used neonatal colorectal distension (CRD), a controlled early-life gut stressor, in male and female …
TL;DR: A 2026 paper in Current Therapeutic Research described an acute PGAD-like genital arousal episode after self-initiated duloxetine withdrawal, with symptoms resolving within 5 hours after emergency admission and no recurrence over 36 months. Key Findings 59-year-old patient: The case involved a woman with multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, restless legs syndrome, overactive bladder, and mixed anxiety-depressive …
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: …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
