PTSD symptom scores fell by about half among 94 US servicemembers who completed a 4-week program of EEG-guided magnetic brain stimulation, according to a 2026 chart review. The program had no control group, so the study cannot show how much of that drop came from the treatment itself.1 Research Highlights PTSD scores dropped 48%: average …
A virtual reality (VR) headset and a simple hand massage from a companion both eased pain and anxiety during emergency room stitches, compared with usual care alone, in a 2026 randomized trial involving 87 adults in Iran.1 Research Highlights 3 arms: 90 adults with cuts needing sutures were randomized to usual care, usual care plus …
Among 296 Norwegian university students, believing worry is uncontrollable and dangerous was strongly linked to neuroticism: the tendency to feel anxious, sad, irritable and easily stressed. This link remained after accounting for the other 4 major personality traits in a 2026 study.1 An exploratory model drew an arrow from worry beliefs to neuroticism, but the …
Researchers aimed repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), which uses magnetic pulses to stimulate brain cells, at a spot chosen from each person’s own brain scan. In a small Columbia University pilot, 6 of 11 adults with treatment-resistant depression ended with low depression scores that met the trial’s remission threshold.1 Research Highlights Symptoms improved at the …
New Brazilian Psychiatric Association guidelines put cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) first for bulimia and binge-eating disorder. When medication is needed, they recommend fluoxetine as an add-on for bulimia and lisdexamfetamine as the first-choice drug for binge-eating disorder. For anorexia, no single therapy has proven best, and drugs play only a small supporting role.1 Research Highlights …
University students who used an AI chatbot for 12 weeks ended with anxiety scores about 2 points lower than students in weekly group therapy, in a randomized trial of 977 students in Israel.1 The gap was still there 3 months later. But it came less from the chatbot users improving a lot than from anxiety …
A 2026 meta-analysis of 11 reports from small randomized trials found that virtual reality (VR) training modestly improved thinking-test scores in people with Alzheimer’s dementia (standardized effect 0.44), but it did not produce a clear benefit for everyday functioning, quality of life, or mood.1 The studies were small, several had design problems, and the researchers …