Summary: New research shows that keeping a consistent daily routine can lower physical pain and ease depressive symptoms, offering a straightforward approach to improve quality of life—especially for older adults who experience insomnia. Researchers examined survey data from older adults with and without insomnia to determine how regular behavioral and social rhythms affect health. The … Read more

Summary: A landmark randomized controlled trial carried out in low-resource neighborhoods of South Delhi, India, shows that a structured, home-based integrated intervention substantially improves growth, reduces anemia, enhances neurodevelopment, and lowers mortality among term small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. This trial enrolled 1,300 term SGA infants within 14 days of birth and followed them to 12 months … Read more

Summary: Topline results from the Phase 2 LiBBY clinical trial show that a targeted oral oil formulation combining cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produced rapid and sustained reductions in severe agitation in hospice-eligible people with advanced dementia. The multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated a novel digestible oil formulation (designated T2) in 120 hospice-eligible dementia … Read more

Summary: Researchers have shown that a targeted antioxidant therapy can overcome the neurodevelopmental deficits associated with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome by engaging alternative cellular pathways, without repairing the underlying chromosomal deletion. Using a validated mouse model of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome — the second most common chromosomal microdeletion in humans and a major genetic risk factor for … Read more

Summary: Intracranial recordings in humans reveal that sleep-dependent memory consolidation requires tightly coordinated activity among three brain regions—the orbitofrontal cortex, the thalamus, and the hippocampus. This coordinated cascade of slow oscillations, sleep spindles, and hippocampal ripples strengthens memory traces, while interictal epileptic spikes disrupt that timing and impair memory. Researchers used simultaneous intracranial recordings to … Read more

Summary: Engineers and neuroscientists have created a soft, battery-free fingertip patch that continuously measures levodopa levels in human sweat in real time, providing a noninvasive, wearable way to monitor Parkinson’s medication levels with lab-comparable accuracy. This wearable uses an engineered absorbent salt gel to harvest sweat from the fingertip’s dense network of sweat glands. Enzymes … Read more

Summary: A commentary argues that the United States is likely undercounting suicide deaths because many fatal drug overdoses are being classified as accidental or of undetermined intent. The authors recommend adopting a public‑health surveillance approach called Self‑Injury Mortality (SIM) that groups registered suicides with drug self‑intoxication deaths to better capture self‑directed fatal behaviors. Researchers note … Read more

Summary: A $3.3 million grant from the National Institute on Aging will fund a five-year UC Davis study led by Dr. Sarah Tomaszewski Farias and Dr. Rachel Whitmer. The research will enroll roughly 4,000 racially, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse adults aged 55 and older to determine how subjective cognitive complaints predict future Alzheimer’s disease and … Read more

Summary: New research shows that gut-to-brain signals carried by the vagus nerve are essential for forming memories—especially memories about where nutrient-rich food was found. The investigators demonstrate that eating caloric foods activates vagal signaling to the hippocampus, triggering increased release of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter important for spatial learning and memory encoding. The study also shows … Read more

Summary: A new study shows that whether a person’s eyes are open or closed completely reverses how alpha-band brain activity relates to mind wandering. The finding resolves long-standing contradictions in cognitive neuroscience about whether alpha oscillations (7–14 Hz) encourage or inhibit task-unrelated thoughts. Using electroencephalography (EEG) during auditory attention tasks, researchers found that increased alpha … Read more