MentalHealthDaily

Friedreich Ataxia MRI Study Finds 3 Progression Subtypes

by GLOOM

Photoreal illustration of brain regions affected in Friedreich ataxia with overlay of MRI imaging modalities, conveying multi-pattern subtypes.

A 2026 longitudinal MRI preprint involving 54 people with Friedreich ataxia and 57 controls found 3 biologically interpretable progression subtypes: microstructure-dominant, macrostructure-dominant, and minimal/no progression.1 The clusters make biomarker heterogeneity visible at the research level, while the classifier remains too early to assign individual patients to treatment paths. Research Highlights 3 MRI progression subtypes emerged: …

Resting Brain Connectivity Predicts Fear Extinction Learning

by GLOOM

Photoreal illustration of brain network connections in the fear-extinction circuitry, with imagery linking amygdala and prefrontal regions.

A 2026 multimodal MRI analysis of 509 healthy adults found that fear acquisition, extinction learning, and renewal were not predicted by one generic “fear circuit” score: functional connectivity predicted acquisition, structural connectivity predicted extinction, and effective connectivity was the only renewal signal.1 The extinction result is the clinically interesting piece because exposure therapy depends on …

Inflammation Tracks White-Matter MRI in Aging Adults

by GLOOM

Chronic low-grade inflammation rises with age, and a growing body of work asks whether peripheral inflammatory markers in blood track subtle changes in brain white-matter microstructure on MRI. A 2026 preprint from the Healthy Minds for Life cohort by Mishra and colleagues at Johns Hopkins examined 457 dementia-free adults aged 50–79 and found that higher …

Brain Imaging Techniques (Neuroimaging)

by GLOOM

Brain imaging (neuroimaging) was invented in the 1880s by Angelo Mosso, who devised a technique referenced as the “human circulation balance.” This technique was able to assess how blood was redistributed throughout the brain as an individual experienced emotion and/or engaged in intellectual tasks. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that a newer, improved brain …