Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
7 papers
This review looks at studies in humans and animals that link anxiety and stress with poorer cognitive flexibility — the ability to change strategies when rules or goals change. It describes evidence that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is central to flexible behavior, that anxiety or PFC disruptions are associated with…
Several brain-imaging studies found that people with long-term work-related burnout showed differences in brain structure and function compared with matched healthy adults. In groups where participants had worked more than about 60–70 hours per week for several years, researchers reported larger amygdala size, thinner medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) tissue, weaker…
Researchers studied 32-day-old juvenile rats that were allowed 30 minutes of rough-and-tumble play. Right after play, the rats showed higher levels of BDNF messenger RNA in the amygdala and dorsolateral frontal cortex, measured with in situ hybridization. The authors suggested this could mean play helps shape brain areas tied to…
This review paper brings together animal and human studies to explain how alcohol and stress hormones may change the prefrontal cortex and the body’s stress system as drinking moves from casual use toward dependence. The authors say alcohol raises stress hormones (glucocorticoids) right away, and repeated heavy use can produce…
This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study gave subanesthetic S‑ketamine to 24 healthy young people while recording fMRI and EEG at rest. After ketamine, fMRI showed less connectivity in the medial prefrontal cortex and more connectivity in left and right intraparietal (parietal) areas of the default mode network. EEG showed more…
Ketamine is a drug that blocks NMDA glutamate receptors and can produce symptoms like those of schizophrenia in healthy people. In this multicenter study the researchers compared resting-state brain scans after ketamine or placebo and looked at key brain networks, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and thalamic sub-nuclei. They found…
This review explains that smells reach the limbic brain very quickly and can change emotional and stress responses. It highlights evidence that certain essential oils — especially lavender, bergamot, and rose — can alter brain chemistry, lower stress hormones, and shift autonomic markers within minutes. Some studies reported cortisol drops…
