TL;DR: A 2026 randomized trial in Nature and Science of Sleep found that Sancai acupoint acupuncture reduced primary-insomnia severity more than sham acupuncture, with parallel improvements in sleep testing and peripheral 5-HT and BDNF biomarkers. Key Findings 76-person insomnia trial: Researchers randomized 38 patients to real Sancai acupuncture and 38 to sham acupuncture. 20 treatment …
TL;DR: A 2026 preprint in medRxiv linked recurrent major depression to direction-specific effective-connectivity changes, with strongest patterns in cerebellar-cortical, sensorimotor, cognitive, neurotransmitter, and oligodendrocyte precursor cell maps. Key Findings 1,627-person discovery dataset: REST-meta-MDD resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) and T1 MRI data compared 839 people with major depression and 788 controls. Recurrent depression pattern: First-episode drug-naive …
TL;DR: A 2025 human proteomics study in Molecular Metabolism found that about 10 days of medically supervised water-only fasting caused weight loss and lower circulating amyloid beta proteins, but also increased inflammatory and platelet-activation markers. Key Findings 20 volunteers: The main cohort included 20 middle-aged adults with mean age 52.2 years and mean BMI 28.8 …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in BJPsych Open found that closely monitored antidepressant care improved quality of life and reduced societal costs in both PReDicT and usual-care groups, while the PReDicT algorithm added uncertain, country-dependent economic value. Key Findings Multinational trial data anchored the analysis: The economic evaluation followed 913 patients in France, Germany, the Netherlands, …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Radiology Case Reports described a 14-year-old boy whose seizure workup found a rare congenital left parahippocampal herniation on MRI, with imaging features that favored a benign developmental variant rather than tumor or acute brain herniation. Key Findings One adolescent case: The report involved a previously healthy 14-year-old boy evaluated after …
TL;DR: A 2026 methods paper in Nature Methods describes Neuropixels Opto probes that combine high-density neural recording with spatially addressable blue and red optogenetic stimulation in 1 mouse-brain device. Key Findings 960 recording sites: Each prototype probe packed 960 electrical sites on a 70-micrometer-wide, 1-centimeter-long shank. 28 light emitters: Two sets of 14 emitters delivered …
TL;DR: A 2026 mouse study in Journal of Extracellular Vesicles found that two intranasal doses of hiPSC-NSC-EVs reduced inflammatory pathway markers in the aged hippocampus and were associated with better memory performance. Key Findings Two-dose nasal treatment: Late middle-aged 18-month-old male and female C57BL/6J mice received two intranasal doses of hiPSC-NSC-EVs before assessment in old …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in iScience found that 1 hour of small-space confinement suppressed male courtship in Drosophila, and dopamine signaling into the mushroom body was needed to keep that suppression going after the stress ended. Key Findings 1-hour stress model: Male flies confined in a 3 mm by 2 mm small-space chamber showed reduced …
TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Journal of Sleep Research found that agomelatine modestly improved subjective sleep quality versus placebo, but objective total sleep time did not significantly increase and somnolence reports were more frequent. Key Findings 25 RCTs: The review included 25 double-blind randomized controlled trials with 6,812 randomized participants. Subjective sleep …
TL;DR: A 2026 preprint in medRxiv surveyed people with multiple system atrophy and found that neurogenic orthostatic hypotension was often underdiagnosed, rarely fully controlled, and strongly tied to daily function and caregiver burden. Key Findings 259 MSA respondents: The survey analyzed 259 people with self-reported multiple system atrophy, with mean age 64.38 years and 44% …
