A 2026 eNeuro analysis of 163 people ages 3.5–24.7 found that wake EEG amplitude behaved like a sleep-pressure marker, but wake alpha-density changed in opposite directions across development: it decreased overnight in children and increased overnight in adolescents and adults.1 Research Highlights Alpha density flipped by age: In 163 participants ages 3.5–24.7, oscillation density showed …
A 2026 UK Biobank MRI preprint involving 71,214 adults found that chronic pain plus current depression had a structural brain profile that was more than chronic pain plus depression pasted together. The 1,377-person comorbid group showed widespread lower cortical volume, lower bilateral thalamic and hippocampal volume, lower left accumbens volume, and broad white-matter microstructure differences …
Deep brain stimulation works for Parkinson’s, but it requires implanted electrodes. A 2026 randomized crossover trial by Stalter and colleagues tested whether transcranial temporal interference stimulation — a non-invasive technique designed to reach deep targets without exciting overlying cortex — can move the needle on motor symptoms when aimed at the putamen.1 Research Highlights Transcranial …
Parkinson’s disease has a years-to-decades prodromal stage where motor symptoms haven’t yet emerged but pathology is accumulating. A 2026 review by Schaeffer et al. synthesizes the case for (and limits of) intervening during this window — with implications for high-risk individuals weighing whether to enter preventive trials.1 Research Highlights Prodromal Parkinson’s disease is the period …
Until recently, Alzheimer’s pathology could only be confirmed in living patients via PET imaging or lumbar puncture. Plasma p-tau217 changed that calculus — but how to interpret a positive result depends substantially on APOE genotype.1 Research Highlights Plasma p-tau217 is a blood biomarker that rises years before Alzheimer’s symptoms. The 2024 Alzheimer’s Association revised criteria …
An ear-clip that modulates mood by stimulating the vagus nerve has obvious appeal — but the evidence base for non-invasive tVNS in depression has been mixed for a decade. A 2026 cross-over RCT by Forbes et al. sharpens what specifically tVNS does well.1 Research Highlights Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a non-invasive ear-electrode version …
Cognitive fluctuations are a defining feature of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), helping distinguish it from Alzheimer’s disease — but they remain notoriously difficult to characterize and measure. A 2026 review by Mahajan and colleagues maps the neurobiology, measurement, and clinical implications of fluctuations across the Lewy body spectrum.1 Research Highlights Cognitive fluctuations are episodes …