Summary: Middle-aged and older adults who experience chronic pain often show worsening symptoms of depression up to eight years before the pain begins. A large-scale study found that depressive symptoms…
Tag: Neurology
Inflammation Triggers Repetitive Behaviors in ASD and OCD
Summary: New research reveals that chronic brain inflammation can directly lead to repetitive behaviors, often seen in conditions like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In mice with…
Inflammation Tied to Motivation Loss in Schizophrenia
Summary: A new study has uncovered a biological link between inflammation and motivational deficits in people with schizophrenia, identifying a promising treatment target for symptoms that current medications fail to…
Clues in Spinal Fluid Could Unlock Early FTD Diagnosis
Summary: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a common form of early-onset dementia, is often misdiagnosed due to its overlapping symptoms with psychiatric and neurological disorders. In a new NIH-funded study, researchers identified…
Knowing Alzheimer’s Risk Lowers Anxiety, But Motivation Fades
Summary: A new study shows that learning about amyloid beta buildup — a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease — does not increase emotional distress, but motivation to maintain healthy habits…
Emotional Regulation Offers a New Path to Relief
Summary: A new study shows that improving emotional processing can significantly reduce chronic pain and improve quality of life. Researchers developed Pain and Emotion Therapy, an online intervention teaching emotional…
Negative Expectations Worsen Pain More Than Positive Ones Ease It
Summary: New research shows that negative expectations, known as nocebo effects, exert a stronger and longer-lasting impact on pain perception than positive expectations, or placebo effects. In a two-session study,…
Disrupted Myelin Protein Implicated in Schizophrenia
Summary: A new study has identified the protein hnRNP A1 as a key player in the production and maintenance of myelin, the fatty sheath that insulates nerve fibers in the…
From Anxiety to Alzheimer’s, Music Makes a Difference
Summary: Music therapy is proving to be a powerful adjunct treatment for a range of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, chronic pain, movement disorders, and mental health issues. Research highlights how…
Pregnant Women Face Lower Odds of Long COVID
Summary: A large study of over 72,000 pregnant women found that those infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy were less likely to develop Long COVID than non-pregnant peers. Using data from…
