IntroductionProblematic social media use (PSMU) has become a growing research topic due to its potential psychological and cognitive consequences. However, little research has examined its relationship with everyday memory functioning, particularly specific forms of memory.MethodsA sample of 943 Spanish young adults aged 18 -35 completed validated measures of PSMU, everyday memory failures, prospective memory lapses and retrospective memory lapses. Non-parametric analyses, group comparisons and mediation analyses with bootstrap resampling were conducted.ResultsHigher PSMU was associated with more frequent everyday memory failures and with greater prospective and retrospective lapses. Everyday memory failures mediated a substantial proportion of the association between PSMU and both prospective and retrospective lapses. Participants meeting the proposed clinical cutoff for PSMU reported poorer memory functioning than those below this threshold.DiscussionThese findings suggest that PSMU is associated with greater subjective memory difficulties in daily life, highlighting the relevance of everyday memory failures as a potential explanatory mechanism linking problematic social media use with prospective and retrospective memory problems.
Affect before diagnosis: applying affective neuroscience to psychiatry
Jaak Panksepp spent nearly five decades mapping the primary-process affective systems of the mammalian brain across different species, producing a framework of considerable empirical power that is functionally invisible within psychiatry. Psychiatry has not built upon that literature in human contexts. Consequently, Affect has never occupied the foundational place in psychiatry that the evidence warrants. This paper attempts to close that gap and assembles twelve converging lines of evidence for subcortical primacy of Affect, including evidence not previously synthesized for this purpose: pseudobulbar affect, gelastic and dacrystic epilepsy, double dissociation of volitional and emotional facial expression, affective blindsight, and neonatal emotional behavior. The evidence shows that Affect is generated subcortically, the cortex modulates rather than creates it, and when cortical regulation is removed or impaired, affective states persist or intensify. From this evidence, personality is best understood as an individual’s position in a configuration space defined by subcortical Affect generation parameters and cortical regulatory capacity, with psychopathology occurring when signal intensity chronically exceeds or overwhelms regulatory capacity. This framework generates a specific clinical prediction: conditions that co-occur with personality pathology at rates incompatible with independent etiology are expressions of the same affective architecture through different conditioned channels, not independent diseases. Evidence confirms this directly: when personality pathology improves, its comorbid conditions decline substantially; when it does not, they persist. Further, the affective-regulatory framework transforms the clinical encounter by replacing a character verdict with a neurobiologically grounded account in which regulatory capacity is buildable and recovery is construction rather than correction.
Comparison of the therapeutic effects of open psychiatric wards for patients with depression: a meta-analysis
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate and compare the differences in treatment outcomes between open and closed psychiatric wards for hospitalized patients with depression, and to provide evidence-based support for optimizing psychiatric ward management models.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, and VIP Database were searched for relevant literature published from inception to December 20, 2025. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the therapeutic effects of open versus closed psychiatric wards in hospitalized patients with depression were included. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.ResultsA total of 9 RCTs were included. The meta-analysis showed that the open psychiatric ward group achieved better outcomes than the closed psychiatric ward group in depression symptom scores, with statistically significant differences in both the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) score [MD = −3.81, 95% CI (−4.22, −3.40)] and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) score [MD = −0.99, 95% CI (−1.18, −0.81)] (both P < 0.01). In terms of treatment adherence, the open ward group was higher than the closed psychiatric ward group [RR = 1.23, 95% CI (1.04, 1.47), P = 0.02]. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in clinical response rate [RR = 1.09, 95% CI (0.92, 1.29), P = 0.32]. Neither Egger’s regression test nor Begg’s rank correlation test indicated significant publication bias.ConclusionCompared with closed psychiatric wards, open psychiatric wards may help improve depressive symptoms and increase treatment adherence among hospitalized patients with depression; however, their effect on clinical response rate remains unclear. Future high-quality, multicenter studies are needed to further verify the efficacy and safety of open psychiatric wards.
Sexual function in women with complex PTSD: a comparative study
BackgroundPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with impaired sexual functioning in women, but the effects of complex PTSD (CPTSD) remain unclear. This study tested three hypotheses: (1) women with CPTSD would report lower overall sexual function than women with PTSD and trauma-exposed controls; (2) the pain domain would show the largest group differences; and (3) CPTSD symptom severity would be negatively associated with sexual function, while PTSD symptom severity would not.MethodsA cross-sectional study included 386 Mexican female university students (18–55 years) who completed the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), and Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). Group differences were assessed using ANOVA with post-hoc comparisons. Multivariable linear regressions examined whether CPTSD severity predicted sexual function independently of PTSD severity and age. A sensitivity analysis excluded women aged 45 and older.ResultsFSFI total scores differed significantly across groups (F = 3.52, p = 0.031). Women with CPTSD reported lower overall sexual function (M = 26.56, SD = 6.41) than trauma-exposed controls (M = 28.86, SD = 5.03; p = 0.047). In the pain domain, women with CPTSD reported greater sexual pain than controls (F = 6.35, p = 0.002). Multivariable regressions showed that CPTSD severity predicted lower FSFI total scores (β = -0.22, p < 0.001), independent of age and PTSD severity (adjusted R2 = 0.028). For sexual pain, the bivariate association with CPTSD (rho = -0.16, p < 0.01) did not persist after adjusting for age; age was the only significant predictor (β = 0.02, p = 0.007). Sensitivity analyses yielded unchanged results.ConclusionsCPTSD severity is associated with poorer overall sexual function, independent of age and PTSD severity. However, the association with sexual pain did not persist after accounting for age. Clinical and research implications are discussed.
Logotherapy techniques to unlock resilience among Ukrainian refugees: a pre-post quasi-experimental design
The ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war has triggered a significant refugee crisis, resulting in widespread trauma, displacement, and mental health challenges among affected populations. This study aimed to explore the potential usefulness of logotherapy, a meaning-centered therapy, in addressing the mental health needs of Ukrainian refugees. The research was conducted in a naturalistic scenario of a group of 20 Ukrainian refugees residing in Europe who received a tailored logotherapy or meaning-centered psychological support, compared with controls who did not. Meaning-oriented techniques, namely, Socratic Dialogue, Modification of Attitude, Paradoxical Intention, and Dereflection were used during the intervention. Participants were assessed in a pre-post quasi-experimental design using validated self-report measures for anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), and general health (General Health Questionnaire-12). The improvements were clearly observed as reductions in their self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms after the meaning-centeres psychological support. Overall, these preliminary findings indicate that logotherapy may be a promising and feasible approach to psychological support for refugee populations. However, given its pilot nature and quasi-experimental design, causal conclusions cannot be drawn, and further research using larger, randomized, and methodologically rigorous designs is warranted to examine long-term effects and broader applicability.
The Hong Kong Genome Project is a flagship initiative for precision medicine in Chinese populations
Nature Medicine, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04421-7
The Hong Kong Genome Project established a genome sequencing database that provides improved diagnoses for patients and more efficient, population-tailored carrier status screening. Actionable pharmacogenomic variants were identified in almost all participants, informing drug prescriptions. This work establishes a genomic resource and a transferable model for equitable precision medicine in underrepresented populations worldwide.
Efficacy and target engagement of dopamine agonist pramipexole for anhedonic depression: a randomized placebo-controlled trial
Nature Medicine, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04465-9
Pramipexole, in patients with major depressive disorder, dysthymia or bipolar depression, reduced Snaith−Hamilton Pleasure Scale scores significantly compared to placebo.
General-purpose large language models outperform specialized clinical AI tools on medical benchmarks
Nature Medicine, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04431-5
In an independent evaluation, frontier large language models outperformed specialized clinical artificial intelligence tools on medical knowledge, clinician alignment and real-world clinical queries.
Striatal pathways dissociably control action counting and goal-directed steering
Nature Neuroscience, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41593-026-02330-z
Striatal direct and indirect pathways jointly control how many actions are performed during counting, and how animals move toward specific goals. These pathways implement a push–pull controller for discrete action counting as well as continuous movement control.
Chile offers new data on food warning label efficacy
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So much news today that I didn’t have space to write an item about hot tubs as a breeding ground for Legionnaires’ disease. Here’s the CDC report, if you’re curious.