Anxiety

Brain Connectivity Predicted Learning and Extinction Differences

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Brain Connectivity Predicted Learning and Extinction Differences

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Nature Communications found that different brain-connectivity measures predicted different parts of associative learning: functional connectivity predicted acquisition, structural connectivity predicted extinction learning, and effective connectivity was most informative for renewal. Key Findings 509 resting-state fMRI scans: Researchers analyzed resting-state functional MRI data from 509 participants across six learning studies. 463 …

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Birth DNA Methylation and DMN-Limbic Growth Predicted Age-13 Anxiety in Boys

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Birth DNA Methylation and DMN-Limbic Growth Predicted Age-13 Anxiety in Boys

TL;DR: A 2026 Research Square preprint linked DNA methylation (DNAm), an epigenetic mark measured in cord blood at birth, with default mode network-limbic brain development and age-13 anxiety symptoms in boys. Key Findings Birth-to-teen pathway tested: Researchers analyzed 97 children from the GUSTO birth cohort who had cord-blood DNAm, repeated resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) scans, …

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Social Anxiety May Be a Prefrontal Control Problem

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Social Anxiety May Be a Prefrontal Control Problem

TL;DR: A 2026 study in The British Journal of Psychiatry found that social anxiety disorder was linked to altered communication inside prefrontal control circuits during a functional MRI emotion-regulation task. Key Findings 102-person fMRI sample: The study analyzed emotion processing and regulation in 61 people with social anxiety disorder and 41 healthy controls using a …

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Neuroticism Linked to Problem-Focused Thoughts During Blank-Screen Rest

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Neuroticism Linked to Problem-Focused Thoughts During Blank-Screen Rest

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Personality and Individual Differences found that people higher in neuroticism reported more problem- and uncertainty-focused thoughts during blank-screen rest periods, which tracked with more unpleasant feelings. Key Findings Neuroticism was tested during idle thought: researchers used a blank-screen paradigm to sample what participants thought about when they had no task …

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Inaudible Infrasound Increased Stress Hormones and Negative Mood in Controlled Trial

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Inaudible Infrasound Increased Stress Hormones and Negative Mood in Controlled Trial

TL;DR: A 2026 Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience study reported that inaudible infrasound shifted mood toward unease and raised stress-hormone markers under controlled conditions, offering a physiological explanation for some room-specific fear sensations without supporting supernatural claims. Key Findings Inaudible infrasound shifted mood: Controlled exposure produced measurable mood changes — toward unease, anxiety, and a felt …

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Lateral Septal PACAP Signaling Regulated Stress and Anxiety Responses

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Lateral Septal PACAP Signaling Regulated Stress and Anxiety Responses

TL;DR: A 2026 rat study in Neuropsychopharmacology found that PACAP/PAC1 signaling in the lateral septum changed forced-swim coping, ACTH stress-hormone release, open-arm exploration, and grooming behavior. Key Findings Stress changed PACAP signals by brain region: Acute swim stress increased PACAP mRNA in the lateral septum, BNST, and basolateral amygdala, while chronic variable mild stress reduced …

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Oral Acetate Case Series Found Metabolic Improvements in Psychotropic Weight Gain

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Oral Acetate Case Series Found Metabolic Improvements in Psychotropic Weight Gain

TL;DR: A 2026 case-series study in Translational Psychiatry tested delayed-release oral acetate from apple cider vinegar capsules in 11 young adults taking psychotropic medications and found high adherence, no product-related adverse events, microbiome shifts, and metabolic improvement in 6 participants, but the uncontrolled design means the findings need placebo-controlled testing. Key Findings 11 completers: The …

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Eye Tracking Found Hyper-Scanning and Hyper-Pursuit in Anxiety Disorders

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Eye Tracking Found Hyper-Scanning and Hyper-Pursuit in Anxiety Disorders

TL;DR: A 2026 study in The British Journal of Psychiatry found that people with anxiety disorders showed hyper-scanning during neutral image viewing and hyper-pursuit during moving-dot tracking, suggesting that eye-tracking could capture measurable patterns of anxiety-related vigilance. Key Findings 307-person sample: Researchers compared 91 patients with anxiety disorders, 118 with depressive disorders, and 98 healthy …

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AI Therapy Chatbot Reduced PHQ-9 Depression Scores in Pilot Trial

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AI Therapy Chatbot Reduced PHQ-9 Depression Scores in Pilot Trial

TL;DR: A 2026 randomized feasibility trial in JMIR Mental Health found both a structured AI therapy chatbot and ChatGPT reduced PHQ-9 depression scores versus assessment-only control, but neither AI condition improved anxiety significantly or beat the other. Key Findings PHQ-9 depression scores fell: The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a depression-symptom scale, improved more with AI …

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Reward Uncertainty Mapped Mood and Anxiety Signals in Teen fMRI Study

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Reward Uncertainty Mapped Mood and Anxiety Signals in Teen fMRI Study

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Neuropsychopharmacology found that reward uncertainty, measured with functional MRI (fMRI), a brain-scan method, engaged different adolescent brain networks during waiting for a possible reward versus learning the outcome, with anxiety and anhedonia tied to different parts of that response. Key Findings 84 adolescents were scanned: The sample included psychotropic-medication-free youth …

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