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.
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 compared whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity in 21 people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), 18 people with panic disorder (PD), and 22 matched healthy controls. They used a new measure called scaled correlation to look for differences across the brain. GAD showed stronger connections between the hippocampus/parahippocampus and the fusiform…
A descriptive open-label observational study of ibogaine in people with opioid use disorder found the drug can produce clear but reversible heart and nervous-system side effects. Reported effects included QTc prolongation (a change in the heart’s electrical timing), slow heart rate (bradycardia), and severe problems with balance and coordination (ataxia).…
This 2023 hypothesis paper says cognitive reappraisal — changing how we interpret events to change our feelings — often works in labs or therapy but may not carry over to real life. The authors explain this by comparing reappraisal to extinction learning, which creates new, context-dependent memories instead of erasing…
This small experiment tested whether training people to use positive rumination during counselor-led expressive writing would help their mood and working memory. Nineteen undergraduates took part: 10 maladaptive ruminators had five weeks of the training and 9 were in a control group. After training, the trained group showed better psychological…
Researchers tested a new task that measures how people feel they caused rewards or losses. They studied 52 healthy adults and 20 adults with depression or anxiety in person, and 254 people online. Healthy people felt more personal control after wins than after losses. People with depression or anxiety showed…
