Medical

Acute and Post-Acute Settings Initiated Most Cognition-Altering Prescriptions in Older Adults With Dementia

May 25, 2026May 14, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 study in JAMA Network Open analyzed Medicare claims for adults 66+ from 2008 to 2021 and found that cognition-altering medications — antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, hypnotics, anticholinergics — were disproportionately initiated in emergency rooms, hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities rather than doctors’ offices, especially in dementia patients (43% of antipsychotic starts vs 22% of …

Cochrane Review of 17 Trials Found Anti-Amyloid Antibodies Made No Clinically Meaningful Difference in Early Alzheimer’s

May 25, 2026May 14, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews pooled 17 trials of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies (N=20,342 people with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s dementia) and concluded that any effect on memory decline or dementia severity was either nonexistent or well below the threshold considered clinically meaningful for patients. Key Findings …

Mendelian Randomization Found Brain Structure Causally Contributed to ADHD and Autism

May 14, 2026May 14, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 Mendelian randomization study in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry used genetic data to test direction of effect between brain structure and neurodevelopmental conditions, and found that increased surface area in the superior frontal gyrus raised ADHD risk while increased surface area in the orbital frontal gyrus protected against autism — with …

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

May 14, 2026May 14, 2026 by BrainASAP

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 …

Hypothalamic LPO-BDNF Neurons Deepened Anesthesia and DMH Glutamate Neurons Accelerated Emergence in Mice

May 15, 2026May 13, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 mouse study in iScience found that anesthetic emergence slowed sharply below 31.9°C because two hypothalamic thermoregulatory pathways pushed anesthesia in opposite directions: preoptic BDNF neurons deepened anesthesia, while a dorsomedial-hypothalamus-to-raphe-pallidus glutamate pathway accelerated emergence. Key Findings Emergence delay grows logarithmically below 31.9°C core temperature: In mice, anesthetic emergence time increases logarithmically as …

Ex-Smokers Had Higher Food Cue Reactivity on fMRI

May 13, 2026 by BrainASAP

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 …

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

May 15, 2026May 13, 2026 by BrainASAP

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 …

Autism Polygenic Scores Predicted Lower Brain Neurite Density in 36,000 People

May 15, 2026May 13, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2025 Molecular Psychiatry study of more than 36,000 people found that higher autism polygenic risk was associated with lower MRI-derived neurite density, a measure of neural-fiber packing, across cortex and white matter in both children and adults. Key Findings Higher autism polygenic score predicted lower neurite density: Across over 36,000 individuals, a robust …

Subcallosal Cingulate May Guide Depression Stimulation

May 13, 2026May 13, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review in Translational Psychiatry found that depression brain-stimulation studies repeatedly linked treatment response to subcallosal cingulate connectivity, but inconsistent methods still limit its use as a treatment-selection biomarker. Key Findings 28 studies met criteria: The review included resting-state functional MRI (fMRI), a scan that tracks blood-flow changes as a proxy for …

Sleep Growth-Hormone Switch Linked Body and Brain

May 12, 2026 by BrainASAP

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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