Anxiety

Major Upper-Limb Amputation Linked to Higher Mental Health Diagnoses

June 11, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 retrospective database study in Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery found that people with major upper-extremity amputations had higher one-year rates of new mental-health diagnoses, antidepressant starts, and psychotherapy use than matched patients with minor hand or digit amputations. Key Findings Matched database study: Researchers compared 1,226 major upper-extremity amputation patients with …

Frontal Midline Theta Linked Negative Emotionality to Weaker Cognitive Control

June 10, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience found that lower frontal midline theta, an EEG marker of cognitive-control engagement, partly explained why young adults with higher negative emotionality performed worse on a Go/No-Go inhibition task. Key Findings 106 young adults completed EEG testing: U.S. Army National Guard recruits performed a Go/No-Go task …

Esketamine-Sufentanil PCA Reduced Postoperative Depression Scores

June 10, 2026 by BrainASAP

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, …

Bhagavad Gita Learning Reduced Healthcare Worker Anxiety at 45 Days

June 9, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 randomized trial in PLOS One found that one week of Bhagavad Gita learning, alone or paired with yoga, was associated with lower Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scores in Indian healthcare workers, with the strongest 45-day responder rate in the Gita-only group. Key Findings 68 healthcare workers: Researchers randomized 17 participants each to …

AI Chatbot Support Lowered Anxiety Scores in High-Risk Pregnancy

June 8, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Scientific Reports found that 300 high-risk pregnant women in Egypt reported much lower pregnancy anxiety and stress scores after 4 weeks of daily AI chatbot emotional support, although the pre-post design cannot prove the chatbot caused the full change. Key Findings 300 high-risk pregnancies: Researchers recruited women aged 18-45 from …

Brain Connectivity Predicted Learning and Extinction Differences

June 3, 2026 by BrainASAP

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 …

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

June 2, 2026 by BrainASAP

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, …

Social Anxiety May Be a Prefrontal Control Problem

May 29, 2026 by BrainASAP

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 …

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

May 27, 2026 by BrainASAP

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 …

Inaudible Infrasound Increased Stress Hormones and Negative Mood in Controlled Trial

May 26, 2026 by BrainASAP

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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