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Human Substantia Nigra Neurons Tracked Prior Reward and Faster Motivation

MHD featured image for substantia nigra dopamine reward-history signals.

A 2026 iScience study recorded 27 substantia nigra neurons during deep-brain-stimulation surgery in 11 Parkinson’s disease patients and found that prior reward shaped both putative dopamine-neuron firing and the next reaction time: responses were faster after a +$10 outcome than after neutral or negative outcomes (0.916 s vs. 1.017 s, p = 0.0175).1 Research Highlights …

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Morganella Phospholipids Triggered IL-6 in Depression Mechanism Study

MHD featured image for Morganella gut bacteria, phospholipids, and depression-related inflammation.

A 2025 Journal of the American Chemical Society study identified 4 unusual Morganella morganii phospholipids that activated TLR2/TLR1 immune receptors and induced inflammatory cytokines, especially IL-6.1 The finding does not prove that one gut bacterium causes depression, but it gives the microbiome-depression field something it often lacks: a named molecule and a receptor pathway. Research …

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NeuroMark SPECT Found 23 Schizophrenia Perfusion Network Changes

MHD featured image for NeuroMark SPECT schizophrenia perfusion-network research.

A 2026 medRxiv preprint built a reusable NeuroMark SPECT template from 2 large independent component analysis rounds, then applied it to 137 schizophrenia patients and 76 controls; after false-discovery-rate correction, 23 of 68 perfusion components differed between groups.1 Those data support infrastructure for comparing SPECT perfusion networks across datasets, with standalone schizophrenia diagnosis left outside …

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Awake Mouse Brain Motion Was Driven by Abdominal Coupling, Not Heartbeat

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A 2026 Nature Neuroscience study found that awake mouse brain motion was driven mainly by locomotion-linked abdominal muscle activity, not by respiration or cardiac rhythm; the researchers mapped displacement vectors at 134 cortical sites in 24 mice and modeled how that motion could push fluid out of brain tissue.1 The result sharpens the body-brain mechanics …

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Multiple System Atrophy nOH: 41.7% Diagnosed, 40.0% Suspicious

MHD featured image for multiple system atrophy nOH burden and blood pressure screening.

A 259-person multiple system atrophy survey found diagnosed neurogenic orthostatic hypotension in 41.7% of respondents, while another 40.0% had upright symptoms suspicious for nOH without a diagnosis and 21.2% reported never having upright blood pressure measured.1 The operational problem is simple: in MSA, low blood pressure on standing can be disabling, missed, and still undertreated …

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Alzheimer’s Blood Biomarker Models Lose Rule-Out Power Across Cohorts

Editorial card showing Alzheimer's blood biomarker model transfer across cohorts with PET scan and blood assay imagery.

A 2026 ADNI/A4 validation study found that Alzheimer’s plasma-biomarker machine-learning models still ranked amyloid PET status well across cohorts, but the practical rule-out number moved hard: negative predictive value fell from 0.831 inside ADNI to 0.644 when the ADNI-trained model was applied to A4.1 Research Highlights 1,707-person ADNI/A4 test: researchers trained amyloid PET prediction models …

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Seletracetam for Seizure Rescue: Non-Benzodiazepine Alternative Revisited

MHD featured image for seletracetam as a possible non-benzodiazepine seizure rescue therapy.

A 2026 CNS Drugs review argues that seletracetam, an abandoned second-generation racetam antiseizure drug, may be unusually well suited for seizure rescue: early oral studies involved 171 participants, photosensitivity responses occurred in 32 of 36 exposures, and one intranasal named-patient use reduced reading-induced spike rate from 3.1/min to 1.6/min without sedation. Research Highlights Rescue-therapy rationale: …

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