Chronic stress is a candidate mechanism for both depression and addiction risk. A 2026 mouse study found that 28 days of unpredictable chronic mild stress increased striatal dopamine D1 receptor binding by 22–48% across nearly every region examined, plus more selective D2 receptor increases — pointing to a stress-driven shift in reward signaling that may …
A 2026 mouse study linked cholestatic liver injury to smaller thalamic volume than control injury-free mice, broad thalamus gene-expression changes, and partial pathway rescue after systemic tumor necrosis factor neutralization. Research Highlights Thalamic volume decreased: bile duct ligation (BDL; a mouse model of obstructive cholestatic liver injury) reduced thalamic volume vs. sham surgery by magnetic …
A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials found no broad superiority for phase-based complex PTSD care across most outcomes. Affect dysregulation was the clearest exception, improving more when treatment was phase-based, multi-phase, and exposure-containing. Research Highlights Most therapy formats helped: across waitlist and treatment-as-usual comparisons, psychological interventions reduced PTSD symptoms (k = 9; …
A 68-person randomized trial in Indian healthcare workers found a narrow but useful pattern: combined yoga plus Bhagavad Gita teaching beat usual care immediately on GAD-7 anxiety scores (p = 0.009), while Gita teaching alone beat usual care at 45 days (p = 0.047).1 Yoga alone improved within its own arm, but it did not …
A 148-worker Swedish longitudinal study found that psychosocial work experience improved after hybrid work was implemented, with total Work Experience Measurement Scale scores rising from 71.2 to 74.3 and the clearest subgroup signal appearing in women: +4.3 points vs. -1.2 points in men.1 Research Highlights Work experience improved: total WEMS scores increased from 71.2 before …
A 2026 single-arm Survivors RESET study enrolled 20 Black female breast cancer survivors with obesity and elevated stress, then met its enrollment, retention, and adherence feasibility benchmarks while missing its stricter satisfaction benchmark by 5 percentage points.1 Weight fell by 2.4 kg and perceived stress fell by 6.9 PSS-10 points over 4 months, but without …
A 2026 mixed-methods study of 32 chronic non-cancer pain patients found the strongest satisfaction signal when prescribed cannabis-based medicines affected stress, sleep, coping, anxiety, appetite, and daily function — not pain intensity alone.1 Research Highlights 32 patients were interviewed: Pombeiro Stein et al. studied adults from a German pain clinic who had used physician-prescribed cannabis-based …