fMRI Noise Signal Tracked Nicotine Craving and Stimulant Effects

by
fMRI Noise Signal Tracked Nicotine Craving and Stimulant Effects

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science found that systemic low-frequency oscillation (sLFO), a slow whole-body physiology readout usually treated as functional MRI noise, tracked nicotine dependence, cue-induced craving, abstinence, and stimulant-related task performance across four fMRI cohorts. Key Findings The study analyzed four fMRI cohorts: Researchers examined a 64-person cigarette cue-reactivity …

Read more

Early Psychosis Linked to Work and Education Disruption in SEEearly Cohort

by
Early Psychosis Linked to Work and Education Disruption in SEEearly Cohort

TL;DR: A 2026 study in European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience found that more than half of 184 young adults entering an early-psychosis supported employment and education trial were not in work, school, or training, even though nearly all had finished at least lower- or upper-secondary schooling. Key Findings The SEEearly cohort included 184 …

Read more

Blood miRNAs Linked to Hippocampal Volume and Brain Atrophy

by
Blood miRNAs Linked to Hippocampal Volume and Brain Atrophy

TL;DR: A 2026 Molecular Psychiatry study linked blood-derived microRNAs, short RNA regulators that help control gene expression, to left hippocampal volume and later brain atrophy in adults from the Rhineland Study. Key Findings Baseline MRI cohort: Researchers compared blood microRNA expression in 2,062 adults with baseline MRI measures of left and right hippocampal volume, hippocampal …

Read more

Youth Cannabis Use Linked to Flatter Cognitive Development

by
Youth Cannabis Use Linked to Flatter Cognitive Development

TL;DR: A 2026 Neuropsychopharmacology study of 11,036 ABCD participants found youth who initiated cannabis use showed flatter cognitive-development trajectories from ages 9 to 17, with hair-detected THC linked to worse episodic-memory change. Key Findings 11,036 youth were followed: Researchers used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study to track neurocognitive performance from late childhood into …

Read more

Young Men Reported More Dominance-Seeking Moral Grandstanding

by
Young Men Reported More Dominance-Seeking Moral Grandstanding

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Political Psychology found that men ages 18 to 35 reported the highest levels of dominance-seeking moral grandstanding, a form of moral expression aimed at putting opponents down rather than only defending a belief. Key Findings Dominance-seeking moral grandstanding was highest among men ages 18 to 35. Four-country survey: 8,420 adults …

Read more

When Biopolymer Injections End in Delusional Infestation

by
When Biopolymer Injections End in Delusional Infestation

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Cureus found that a 55-year-old woman developed anxiety, somatic hypervigilance, and eventual delusional infestation after illicit cosmetic biopolymer injections, raising the possibility that chronic inflammatory exposure can help tip vulnerable patients into a secondary Ekbom syndrome. Key Findings One 55-year-old patient with no prior psychiatric history: The case centers on …

Read more

Visual Distraction Strengthened the Oblique Effect in Working Memory

by
Visual Distraction Strengthened the Oblique Effect in Working Memory

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience found that visual working memory, the short-term holding of visual details, still showed a strong cardinal-versus-diagonal orientation bias under distraction, while transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a weak noninvasive brain-stimulation method, did not improve task reports. Key Findings Two stimulation experiments tested orientation memory: Researchers …

Read more

Violent Pornography Arousal Linked to Learning, Not Evolution

by
Violent Pornography Arousal Linked to Learning, Not Evolution

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Journal of Sex Research found that in 571 German women, arousal to an aggressive written sexual narrative was better explained by sex drive, rape myth acceptance, and prior violent pornography exposure than by evolutionary life-history markers. Key Findings 571 women were quota-sampled: The German sample was selected to reflect age …

Read more

Opioid Use Disorder Drove 30-Year Rise in US Substance Use Burden

by
Opioid Use Disorder Drove 30-Year Rise in US Substance Use Burden

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Population Health Metrics used Global Burden of Disease 2019 estimates and found that U.S. substance-use-disorder health loss rose sharply from 1990 to 2019, with opioid use disorders driving the largest increase. Key Findings 19.5 million cases: Estimated U.S. substance use disorder prevalence increased from 12.6 million in 1990 to 19.5 …

Read more

Uncensored Trauma Videos Were Linked to Higher PTSD Symptoms

by
Uncensored Trauma Videos Were Linked to Higher PTSD Symptoms

TL;DR: A 2026 preprint cohort analysis in medRxiv found that about 24.1% of the sample met the PCL-5 threshold for probable post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, while frequent uncensored video exposure was associated with higher PTSD symptom severity after accounting for other risk factors. Key Findings Indirect trauma design: Researchers studied people who were not …

Read more

+ Load more