MentalHealthDaily

Chord Progressions and Eye Contact Boost Brain Synchrony in 20 Dyads

by GLOOM

Editorial card showing two people listening to music while neural synchrony lines connect across a dark social-neuroscience scene.

A 2026 fNIRS hyperscanning study involving 20 dyads found that structured chord progressions paired with live eye contact increased activity in social-brain regions and produced partner-specific neural synchrony more than scrambled-note control music.1 The result supports a plausible mechanism for music-supported connection, but it does not prove that chord progressions treat loneliness or replace clinical …

LIFU vs. rTMS for Stroke Recovery: Same 2-Week Endpoint, Larger FMA Gains

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for LIFU vs. rTMS in post-stroke motor recovery.

A 2026 secondary randomized-trial analysis found that low-intensity focused ultrasound and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation reached statistically similar 2-week post-treatment motor scores after subacute stroke, even though LIFU produced larger median Fugl–Meyer Assessment gains than rTMS: 7 vs. 2 upper-limb points and 3 vs. 1 lower-limb points.1 LIFU therefore carries the recovery-dynamics signal in this …