Psychology

Catatonia Limbic System Alterations Identified in Systematic Review of Neurobiological Evidence

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Catatonia Limbic System Alterations Identified in Systematic Review of Neurobiological Evidence

TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review in European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience argues that catatonia, a syndrome of freezing, mutism, and abnormal movement, may involve underweighted limbic-system circuitry linking emotional regulation with motor shutdown. Key Findings Limbic system has been comparatively underexplored in catatonia neurobiology: Most prior models focused on cortical motor systems and …

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Autistic Children Picked Up Unexpected Second Languages From Screens at 4× the Rate of Peers

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Autistic Children Picked Up Unexpected Second Languages From Screens at 4× the Rate of Peers

TL;DR: A 2026 study in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found unexpected bilingualism in 38.7% of autistic children aged 2-6, about 4.4 times the rate in typically developing peers, with caregivers reporting screen media as the usual source. Key Findings 38.7% of autistic children showed unexpected bilingualism: Using a language absent from the …

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Autism EEG Signals Pointed to Opposing Excitation-Inhibition Subtypes

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Autism EEG Signals Pointed to Opposing Excitation-Inhibition Subtypes

TL;DR: A 2026 preprint electrophysiology study in medRxiv found that the Hurst exponent and gamma oscillations tracked different aspects of excitation-inhibition balance, while human EEG data suggested two autism neurosubtypes with opposing Hurst-gamma profiles. Key Findings Study type: an in-silico, animal-validation, and human EEG study of excitation-inhibition balance in autism. Human EEG dataset: human electroencephalography …

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Antidepressant Discontinuation Did Not Shift Facial Emotion Recognition

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Antidepressant Discontinuation Did Not Shift Facial Emotion Recognition

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Psychological Medicine found that stopping maintenance antidepressants did not meaningfully change facial emotion recognition over 12 or 52 weeks in adults with recurrent depression who were currently well. Key Findings Trial sample: The analysis came from 478 adults in a randomized antidepressant relapse-prevention trial. Emotion task: Participants classified morphed faces …

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Anxiety in ALS Was Driven Mostly by Depression Symptoms

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Anxiety in ALS Was Driven Mostly by Depression Symptoms

TL;DR: A 2026 BJPsych Open study found clinically significant anxiety in about 18% of non-demented ALS patients for state anxiety and 14% for trait anxiety, with anxiety scores driven mainly by cognitive-affective depression symptoms rather than motor severity. Key Findings ALS cohort: The study compared 433 non-demented ALS patients with 313 healthy controls. State anxiety: …

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AI Identified ADHD Risk From Electronic Health Records Before Formal Diagnosis

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AI Identified ADHD Risk From Electronic Health Records Before Formal Diagnosis

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Nature Mental Health describes an AI system that scans routine electronic health records (EHRs) and combines early-life visits, prescriptions, and comorbidities into a risk flag for ADHD evaluation before formal diagnosis. Key Findings AI flagged ADHD risk from routine EHR data alone: The model identified patterns predictive of future ADHD …

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CARES Addiction Risk Tool Faced Workflow and Stigma Barriers

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CARES Addiction Risk Tool Faced Workflow and Stigma Barriers

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that hospital stakeholders saw a need for CARES, a Comprehensive Addiction Risk Evaluation System combining genetic and behavioral/environmental risk information, but warned that provider burden, substance-use stigma, and workflow integration could limit adoption. Key Findings 15 stakeholder interviews: Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. …

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Ventral Capsule DBS Reduced Severe OCD Symptoms by 60%

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Ventral Capsule DBS Reduced Severe OCD Symptoms by 60%

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint reported that ventral capsule deep brain stimulation (DBS), an implanted brain-stimulation treatment, reduced severe treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms by 22 Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) points on average in 10 participants. Key Findings 10 severe OCD patients: Researchers implanted bilateral ventral internal capsule DBS leads in participants with intractable obsessive-compulsive …

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Serum Hydrogen Sulfide Was Lower in Drug-Naive Depression

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Serum Hydrogen Sulfide Was Lower in Drug-Naive Depression

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that serum hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels, a blood measure tied to brain signaling and inflammation biology, were about 7.7-fold lower in drug-naive major depressive disorder patients than in matched controls. Key Findings 100-person comparison: Researchers enrolled 50 drug-naive major depressive disorder patients and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls …

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Violent Pornography Linked to Sexual Aggression Risk When Peer Rape Myths Were High

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Violent Pornography Linked to Sexual Aggression Risk When Peer Rape Myths Were High

TL;DR: A 2025 survey study in Archives of Sexual Behavior linked violent pornography use to higher self-reported sexual aggression risk among university students, especially when pornography was perceived as realistic and peer rape myth acceptance was high. Key Findings 686 Dutch university students surveyed: The online sample was 63.4% female and measured pornography attitudes, violent-content …

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