Summary: Synchronizing vagus nerve stimulation with natural body rhythms, such as the heartbeat and breathing, significantly improves its effectiveness. This “electric pill” technique uses ear-mounted electrodes to stimulate the vagus nerve, targeting chronic conditions like pain and inflammation.Researchers found that stimulation during heart contraction (systole) and inhalation phases produced the...

Summary: New research highlights a functional hierarchy in the brain’s processing of space and time. In posterior areas, like the occipital cortex, space and time are tightly linked and processed by the same neurons.In anterior regions, such as the frontal cortex, space and time are processed independently, with distinct neural...

Summary: Delayed rapid eye movement (REM) sleep may be an early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers found that participants with delayed REM sleep had higher levels of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which supports memory.Delayed REM sleep disrupts memory consolidation and increases...

Summary: Elevated opioid neurotransmission in the brain may underlie appetite loss and emotional symptoms in anorexia nervosa. Compared to healthy controls, patients with anorexia had increased opioidergic tone, which regulates appetite, pleasure, and mood.Despite severe malnutrition, glucose uptake in the brains of anorexia patients remained comparable to controls, suggesting the...

Summary: New research suggests that mood swings in bipolar disorder are regulated by two clocks: the body’s 24-hour circadian rhythm and a dopamine-based clock that influences alertness. When these clocks align at specific intervals, they may trigger shifts between mania and depression.Researchers demonstrated this in mice by activating the dopamine...