TL;DR: A 2026 randomized study in The British Journal of Psychiatry found that the experimental 5-HT4 receptor agonist PF-04995274 did not mimic citalopram’s early emotional-bias effects in unmedicated depression, but it was linked with lower depression ratings and increased medial-frontal brain activation after about 1 week. Key Findings 90 randomized adults: The RESTAND study assigned …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Psychopharmacology found that low oral THC doses did not meaningfully reduce most subjective or physiological responses when healthy adults retrieved memories of a prior social stress task. Key Findings Low-dose THC groups: Participants aged 18-35 were assigned to placebo, 5 mg THC, or 10 mg THC groups, with 12 people …
TL;DR: A 2026 exploratory study in Translational Psychiatry found blood DNA methylation changes after 25 mg psilocybin in detoxified alcohol use disorder patients, including findings near TLE4 and RASGRP4, but the small trial did not establish a definitive AUD biomarker. Key Findings 37 AUD patients: The methylation analysis used a randomized, double-blind psilocybin trial completed …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Human Brain Mapping found that full-term neonates already showed stronger structural and functional connectivity between cortical gyri than between sulci, with brain structure-function coupling shifting toward decoupling around 41 weeks postmenstrual age. Key Findings Neonatal imaging sample: Researchers analyzed full-term neonates from the developing Human Connectome Project scanned between 38.14 …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Nature Communications used deep learning, yeast screening, and human brain organoids to identify talarozole and sertaconazole as preclinical candidates that rescued several SURF1-related Leigh syndrome cell and organoid phenotypes. Key Findings 2,250-drug yeast screen: Researchers screened a repurposable-drug library in a yeast model carrying a SURF1-homologue defect and selected top …
TL;DR: A 2026 pilot trial in PLOS One found that a 7-day chicory-and-green-tea herbal supplement did not improve sleep, quality of life, or objective sleep architecture more than placebo in adults with insomnia. Key Findings Small crossover pilot: The crossover pilot enrolled 10 adults aged 50 years or older with insomnia; 9 were women and …
TL;DR: A 2026 preclinical study in the International Journal of Nanomedicine developed human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell membrane-coated PLGA nanoparticles to co-deliver doxorubicin and curcumin to glioblastoma models, improving tumor-cell uptake and mouse tumor suppression without proving human efficacy. Key Findings MSC membrane coating: Researchers coated PLGA nanoparticles with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem …
TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review in The Cerebellum found that deep brain stimulation (DBS) produced modest symptom improvement in selected cerebellar ataxia patients, with dentate nucleus stimulation most common in humans and interposed nucleus stimulation emerging from animal studies. Key Findings Dentate nucleus is the dominant human DBS target: Across 15 clinical studies (27 patients), …
TL;DR: A 2026 meta-analysis in Psychological Medicine found that reduced resting-state connectivity between the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex was the most robust brain-network difference in anxiety disorders. Key Findings 15 datasets: The meta-analysis pooled 14 studies with 15 independent datasets of amygdala-based resting-state functional MRI. 783 total participants: Included samples covered 378 people with …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Acta Neuropathologica Communications used Boolean-network AI analysis of Alzheimer’s RNA-seq data to identify a 40-gene disease signature and validate CgA-KO/PS19 mice as a model of asymptomatic Alzheimer’s-like resilience. Key Findings 289-person training set: Boolean Network Explorer was trained on cortical RNA-seq data from 70 cognitively normal controls and 219 Alzheimer’s …
