Psychology

AI Chatbot Use for Companionship Predicted Higher Emotional Isolation Four Months Later in 12-Month Cross-Lagged Study

by
AI Chatbot Use for Companionship Predicted Higher Emotional Isolation Four Months Later in 12-Month Cross-Lagged Study

TL;DR: A 12-month four-wave longitudinal study in Psychological Science (N=2,149 adults across the UK, US, Canada, and Australia) found that feeling more emotionally isolated predicted higher chatbot use four months later — and that higher chatbot use, in turn, predicted further increases in emotional isolation at the next wave. Key Findings Bidirectional link with emotional …

Read more

First 25 mg Psilocybin Dose Increased EEG Entropy and Predicted Well-Being

by
First 25 mg Psilocybin Dose Increased EEG Entropy and Predicted Well-Being

TL;DR: A 2026 exploratory study in Nature Communications found that a first 25 mg psilocybin dose in 28 psychedelic-naive adults increased electroencephalography (EEG), a scalp recording of brain electrical activity, entropy during the acute session and that entropy predicted one-month well-being change. Key Findings 28 psychedelic-naive adults: Participants received 1 mg psilocybin as a low-dose …

Read more

Inflammation Markers Did Not Track Depression or Alcohol Use

by
Inflammation Markers Did Not Track Depression or Alcohol Use

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health found that depression symptoms, alcohol use, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms were not associated with C-reactive protein (CRP), a blood inflammation marker, or a pro-inflammatory cytokine index in 972 community adults, and twin analyses suggested familial confounding explained several cytokine-AUD links. Key Findings …

Read more

Monocyte Epigenetic Aging Tracked Non-Somatic Depression in Women With and Without HIV

by
Monocyte Epigenetic Aging Tracked Non-Somatic Depression in Women With and Without HIV

TL;DR: A 2026 study in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences measured a monocyte-specific DNA methylation clock (MonoDNAmAge) in 440 women with and without HIV, and found that accelerated monocyte epigenetic aging was specifically linked to non-somatic depressive symptoms (anhedonia, hopelessness, cognitive impacts) but not to broader depression severity, supporting …

Read more

Longer Breastfeeding Predicted Better Self-Control at Age 3.5 in Quebec Longitudinal Cohort

by
Longer Breastfeeding Predicted Better Inhibitory Control at Age 3.5 in Quebec Longitudinal Cohort

TL;DR: A 2026 longitudinal study in Appetite following 491 Quebec children found that infants breastfed for at least three to six months showed better inhibitory control — the ability to suppress an automatic response — at age three and a half than infants who were never breastfed, with the largest behavioral benefits in those breastfed …

Read more

Childhood Loneliness Multiplied Psychosis Risk in EU-GEI

by
Childhood Loneliness Multiplied Psychosis Risk in EU-GEI

Childhood Loneliness Multiplied Psychosis Risk in EU-GEI TL;DR: Loneliness that started before age 12 and persisted into adolescence tracked with sharply higher schizophrenia-spectrum risk, especially when it stacked on top of genetic liability. Key Findings Persistent loneliness carried the risk signal: The EU-GEI analysis included 1,261 people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, 1,282 unaffected siblings, and 1,525 …

Read more

Medical Cannabis for Anxiety, PTSD, and Sleep: Cannabinoid Evidence Remains Weak

by
Cannabinoids Had Weak Evidence for Mental Disorders

Cannabinoids Had Weak Evidence for Mental Disorders TL;DR: A Lancet Psychiatry review of randomized trials found little support for routine cannabinoid treatment in common mental disorders, despite possible weak signals in a few narrower conditions. Key Findings 54 randomized controlled trials were reviewed: The analysis covered 2,477 participants across mental disorders and substance-use disorders. Routine …

Read more

Autonomy-Frustrating Memories Increased COVID Conspiracy Beliefs

by
Old Autonomy Wounds Made COVID Conspiracies Stickier

Old Autonomy Wounds Made COVID Conspiracies Stickier TL;DR: COVID conspiracy beliefs became stronger when restrictive situations reactivated memories of lost autonomy, suggesting that misinformation can feel persuasive because it repairs an old sense of being controlled. Key Findings 141 Quebec adults linked restriction to later belief: In Study 1, participants read a mask-rule scenario, described …

Read more

Grin2a Gene Linked to Mediodorsal Thalamus Activity and Belief Updating in Schizophrenia

by
Mediodorsal Thalamus Activity Restored Belief Updating

Mediodorsal Thalamus Activity Restored Belief Updating TL;DR: A Nature Neuroscience mouse study linked a schizophrenia-risk Grin2a mutation to weaker mediodorsal thalamus activity, impaired belief updating, and behavioral rescue when researchers reactivated the thalamus-prefrontal circuit during flexible decision-making in mice. Key Findings Grin2a was the genetic entry point: The mutation affects an NMDA receptor subunit gene …

Read more

Loneliness Impaired Memory Without Accelerating 6-Year Decline

by
Loneliness Lowered Memory Without Speeding Decline

Loneliness Lowered Memory Without Speeding Decline TL;DR: In 10,217 older Europeans, loneliness was linked to lower immediate and delayed recall at baseline, but it did not make memory decline faster over 6 years. Key Findings 10,217 SHARE participants: The analysis included adults aged 65 to 94 from 12 European countries who participated in waves 5, …

Read more

+ Load more