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Antidepressants Did Not Shift Facial Emotion Recognition in Depression

MHD featured image for antidepressant maintenance and facial emotion recognition in recurrent depression.

A 2026 ANTLER mechanistic analysis found no evidence that maintaining antidepressants preserved a happier facial-emotion recognition pattern compared with placebo substitution at 12 weeks (adjusted mean difference 0.23, 95% CI −0.5 to 1.0, p = 0.5) or 52 weeks (0.29, 95% CI −0.5 to 1.2, p = 0.5). Research Highlights No 12-week maintenance advantage: discontinuation …

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Ayahuasca Reversed Chronic Stress Markers in Zebrafish Model

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A zebrafish experiment found that one 1-hour ayahuasca exposure reversed several effects of 14 days of unpredictable chronic stress: impaired sociability, anxiety-like behavior, stress-related hyperlocomotion, elevated cortisol, and reduced whole-brain BDNF.1 The result is mechanistic animal evidence, not a clinical trial of ayahuasca for human depression or anxiety. Research Highlights 14 days of chronic stress …

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Teen Trauma Depression: fMRI Predicted Response at 82%

A 2026 adolescent depression study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to test whether childhood trauma leaves a measurable network signature in the depressed teen brain. The researchers found disrupted default-mode network hubs in teenagers with major depressive disorder and childhood trauma, and baseline functional-connectome patterns predicted treatment response with 82% accuracy.1 Research Highlights Large …

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Lower Uric Acid Predicted Depression in Prodromal Parkinson’s Disease

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A 5-year PPMI cohort analysis found that lower serum uric acid independently predicted incident depression in prodromal Parkinson’s disease (HR = 0.776; 95% CI 0.619-0.974; P = 0.029).1 The signal sits beside a lower-p-value non-motor symptom predictor: higher MDS-UPDRS Part I scores also predicted depression (HR = 1.177; 95% CI 1.093-1.267; P < 0.001). Research ...

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Mild COVID Cognition Improved After Alpha/Delta and Omicron

A 2026 longitudinal study found reassuring cognitive trajectories after mild-to-moderate COVID-19: Alpha/Delta and Omicron groups both improved by follow-up, and neither group showed persistent neuropsychological test deficits vs. population norms. Psychiatric symptoms and fatigue were also broadly similar across variants.1 Research Highlights 55 adults were assessed: 27 were infected during the Alpha/Delta era and 28 …

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Geriatric Depression in Nepal: 43.9% in 945 Older Adults

A 2026 community survey of 945 older adults in Nepal's Far-Western Sudurpaschim Province found geriatric depression in 43.9% of participants and a strong inverse link between depression scores and quality of life. The clearest adjusted predictors were age 75 or older and hill-region residence, while income and sex weakened after multivariable adjustment.1 Research Highlights Depression …

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