Effectiveness of Threshold-Level Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Modulating Psychoemotional States

BrainPatch is proud to announce the publication of a new peer-reviewed clinical study titled “Effectiveness of Threshold-Level Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Modulating Psychoemotional States” in the journal Clinical and Preventive Medicine (2026, Issue 2)

MRI-guided TMS reduces amygdala threat responses and improves PTSD symptoms

A randomized, blinded Emory trial found two weeks of MRI-guided low-frequency TMS reduced right amygdala threat responses and produced clinically meaningful PTSD symptom relief in 74% of treated participants, with benefits lasting at least six months.

Pulsed taVNS elicits pupil dilation only with earlobe sham and short pulses, study finds

A Psychophysiology study (Apr 2026) finds pulsed taVNS produces pupil dilation in intermixed trials only with short (1.0 s) pulses and an earlobe sham; using a scapha sham or timing pulses to exhalation removed the effect, challenging a vagal-afferent mechanism.

Trump signs order to speed review of psychedelics, including ibogaine

President Trump has signed an order to accelerate federal review of psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, a substance backed by some veterans but linked to dangerous heart risks.

brainjo raises €2M to advance VR adjunct for pediatric ADHD therapy

Regensburg startup brainjo raised €2 million in a seed round led by HTGF to fund clinical trials and regulatory work for a VR-based DiGA aimed at children with ADHD, developed with MEDICE Health Family and targeting approval in 2028.

Tomsk Polytechnic University develops magnetoelectric nanoparticles for non‑invasive brain stimulation

Tomsk Polytechnic University researchers report sub‑30 nm magnetoelectric nanoparticles (manganese ferrite core, barium titanate shell) that, in lab tests, tripled neuronal calcium influx and activated 20% more cells; the team says particles are biocompatible at therapeutic concentrations and that in vivo studies are next.

FDA clears Cala kIQ Plus wearable for Parkinson’s hand tremor

The FDA has cleared Cala Health’s Cala kIQ Plus, a wrist‑worn TAPS neurostimulation device for hand tremor in Parkinson’s and essential tremor; company data from 78 patients will be presented at AAN 2026.

Mobia Medical markets Vivistim paired VNS system for chronic ischemic stroke

Mobia Medical markets the FDA-approved Vivistim Paired VNS System, an implanted vagus nerve stimulator the company says improves upper-limb function in chronic ischemic stroke survivors. The firm describes the device as delivering stimulation paired with movement to promote neuroplasticity.

Year-long aerobic exercise cut long-term cortisol in randomized trial, but most heart‑and‑brain markers were unchanged

A randomized year-long trial of 130 adults found 150 minutes/week of aerobic exercise reduced hair cortisol, a multi-month marker of systemic stress, while cholesterol, inflammation, vascular measures and MRI stress responses showed no clear change.

Implantable BCI enables rapid typing for two people with paralysis

Mass General Brigham and Brown researchers report an implantable intracortical BCI that let two BrainGate trial participants—one with ALS and one with a cervical spinal cord injury—type up to ~22 words per minute with a 1.6% word error rate after brief calibration.

Israeli team shows low‑frequency DBS of globus pallidus externus reverses schizophrenia‑like inflexibility in monkeys

A study published in Nature Communications shows 13 Hz deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus externus improved error‑driven behavioral flexibility in two monkeys with PCP‑induced schizophrenia‑like deficits. The work identifies a basal‑ganglia circuit linked to a core symptom but is limited to a small animal model.

Spinal stimulator designed to be rigid for insertion then soften inside the body

Pohang University researchers published a spinal implant that remains rigid for insertion then softens in minutes using a water‑soluble layer; liquid metal conductors kept signals stable in rat tests that lowered blood pressure and recorded sensory responses.

UC Irvine-led team demonstrates brain-controlled exoskeleton walking with direct cortical leg sensation

A UC Irvine-led team reported a bidirectional brain-computer interface that allowed a participant to control an Ekso GT exoskeleton and perceive artificial leg sensations via direct cortical stimulation, with step-count accuracy near 93%. The prototype runs on a compact embedded platform and the authors describe a path toward fully implantable systems.

OPM directs FEHB carriers to favor prevention and non‑drug care for 2027; seeks monthly claims data

OPM told federal health insurers to emphasize prevention, non‑pharmaceutical care and digital therapeutics for plan year 2027, and asked carriers for monthly claims reports that could include identifiable data. The move follows sharp premium increases in 2026 and has drawn privacy concerns from employee groups.

Study reveals how bacteria 'selflessly' share DNA through GTAs

A new study provides fresh insight into gene transfer agents (GTAs), virus-like particles bacteria use to move DNA between cells, and clarifies how GTAs can spread genes — including those tied to antibiotic resistance.

Insellar raises €400,000 to develop BCI for treatment‑resistant depression

Berlin startup Insellar has secured €400,000 in pre‑seed funding from IBB Ventures and angels to develop a patent‑protected brain‑computer interface for treatment‑resistant depression and to build a functional prototype ahead of preclinical validation.

Monkeys steer a 3D virtual forest using an implanted intracortical BCI

A Science Advances paper shows three rhesus monkeys using an implanted intracortical BCI to steer avatars through a stereoscopic virtual forest. The decoder drew signals from M1, PMd and PMv and ran without retraining across multiple navigation tasks.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: clinicians outline causes, diagnosis and daily management

Two Indian clinicians outlined the neurological features, diagnostic approach and day-to-day management of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, stressing clinical assessment, pacing and multidisciplinary follow-up.

Abstract at 2026 CSM: GVS and differential spinal excitability measured with soleus H‑reflex

Sabarish Hariharan Narayanan submitted an abstract to the 2026 Combined Sections Meeting on how galvanic vestibular stimulation affects spinal network excitability measured via the soleus H‑reflex; the program listing includes only the title, with no data provided.

A breakthrough for severe depression: MUSC Health delivers relief in days, not months

MUSC Health began offering SAINT (Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy) in 2024, providing an accelerated TMS protocol that MUSC reports produces ~80% remission by day five and a mean time to remission of 2.6 days for treatment-resistant depression.

25-year scientometric study maps global research on vagus nerve stimulation in psychiatry

A 25-year scientometric analysis charts global publication and citation patterns for vagus nerve stimulation in psychiatric research, highlighting where academic attention and research output have concentrated over the past quarter-century.

High-density EEG and hybrid frequency–phase–space encoding push noninvasive visual BCI to 551 bpm peak

A March 26, 2026 paper in Cyborg and Bionic Systems reports a visual SSVEP BCI that averaged 472.7 bits/min online and hit a 551.4 bpm individual peak using hybrid frequency–phase–space encoding and a 66-parieto‑occipital high-density EEG setup.

Review maps how biophysical models and surrogate digital twins can speed neuroprosthetic design and tuning

A review synthesizes modeling work across DBS, spinal cord, vagus and peripheral nerve interfaces and recommends combining high-fidelity biophysical simulations with fast surrogate 'digital twin' models to speed device design and personalized stimulation. The authors call for more in vivo validation, standardized reporting, and open-source pipelines to bridge lab models and clinical programming.

What It’s Like to Live With an Experimental Brain Implant

Recipients of experimental brain implants report restored speech and robotic control but highlight practical limits: wired lab systems, decoder recalibration, surgical risks and short trial windows.

ESSI positions parasympathetic activation as core treatment for endometriosis and pelvic pain

Endometriosis Surgical Specialists International (ESSI) argues parasympathetic activation should be integrated into standard care for endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain and related GI symptoms, recommending a tailored menu from breathing and pelvic-floor therapy to tVNS and gut-directed CBT.

Martial arts shifts to data-driven training to extend competitive longevity

Coaches and consultants say martial arts gyms and elite fighters are adopting HRV monitoring, biometric tracking and periodized training to prioritize technical repetition and extend competitive careers, increasing demand for specialized rehab and legal services.

Tab wearable: web app and backend capture transcripts; Raspberry Pi prototype failed to connect

Tab's developers published a working Next.js app and Supabase backend that store Whisper transcripts, but their Raspberry Pi Zero W prototype could not maintain a Wi‑Fi connection; the team used a Python recorder to validate transcripts and chat queries.

University of Kent’s Parkinson’s Centre outlines programme on non‑drug interventions including taVNS, tDCS and EEG

The University of Kent’s Parkinson’s Centre for Integrated Therapy has published an overview of its research programme, emphasising non‑drug approaches such as taVNS, GVS, tDCS, exercise, EEG and sleep measures and supporting student and commercial studies.

Pupil responses during n‑back show high test–retest reliability, authors report

A 2026 Scientific Reports paper by Bényei and Pajkossy finds pupil dilations during n‑back scale with memory load and show substantial test–retest reliability, with methods and preprocessing details for standardising pupillometry.

Disgust and sadness widen pupils while anger narrows them, study finds

A Biological Psychology study found that self-reported disgust and sadness dilate pupils while anger leads to pupil constriction; results come from two lab experiments with 98 and 102 participants who rated five emotions after audio or image stimuli.

Yatharth Hospital opens Delhi NCR's first Advanced Brain Stimulation Centre in Faridabad

Yatharth Super Speciality Hospital in Faridabad opened a dedicated Advanced Brain Stimulation Centre offering TMS and other non-invasive neuromodulation therapies for neurological and psychiatric conditions. The hospital describes the centre as an outpatient service aimed at patients who have not responded to medication.

Dancer with ALS pilots mixed‑reality avatar on Amsterdam stage via EEG

Breanna Olson, who has ALS, used an EEG headset from Dentsu Lab and NTT to control a mixed‑reality avatar live on stage in Amsterdam in December. The Waves of Will project tests non‑invasive brain–computer control to restore personal expression for people with motor‑degenerative conditions.

Three-day rTMS course improved sleep and reduced frontal overactivity in adults with acute influenza, study reports

A Translational Psychiatry study found that adding a three-day course of rTMS to standard care improved sleep duration and efficiency and reduced frontal hyperactivity in adults (18–40) with acute influenza; IgM and neutrophils correlated with sleep impairment. The trial was nonrandomized (n=55) and limited to younger adults.

Maybury and Jagannathan on sleep: memory precision, fly models and at‑home sensors

In a Gates Cambridge Conversations interview, Julia Maybury and Sri Jagannathan described their sleep research, covering human memory precision, fruit‑fly neural mapping, and trade‑offs between lab EEG and at‑home wearables.

TaVNS randomized trial launched to test perioperative anxiety reduction in laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery

Jiangsu Cancer Hospital is recruiting 120 patients into a double‑blind RCT (ChiCTR2500112808) testing two sessions of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (TaVNS) versus sham to reduce perioperative anxiety in laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery; primary outcome is HADS‑A measured days 1–3 and at three months.

Open dataset links hourly symptom diaries with bilateral wrist accelerometry from 66 Parkinson’s patients

A University of Cologne–Charité team published an open dataset of hourly symptom diaries matched to bilateral wrist accelerometry from 66 Parkinson’s patients (393.8 days of concurrent data). The files, metadata and example Matlab scripts are available on OSF.

Colorado performs its first implanted brain–computer interface surgery at UCHealth

UCHealth and CU Anschutz performed Colorado’s first implanted brain–computer interface surgery, implanting a device in higher‑level brain areas to restore motor and sensory function and collect long‑term data on cognition and movement.

Men's Journal names Somnee Smart Sleep Headband its top active sleep tracker after hands-on testing

Men’s Journal tested sleep wearables and named the Somnee Smart Sleep Headband its top active sleep tracker on Apr 7, 2026, citing EEG-based tracking and pre‑bed neurostimulation but noting comfort and data‑reliability issues.

MIT.nano adds 16 startups to START.nano in 2025, expanding its hard‑tech cohort

MIT.nano enrolled 16 startups into its START.nano program in 2025, expanding the accelerator to more than 32 companies. The cohort spans health, semiconductors, quantum hardware and includes Cahira Technologies, a developer of nonsurgical neural implants.

AlphaRise neurofeedback game aims to help people with MS manage fatigue

A poster at Cedars-Sinai’s vMed described AlphaRise, a 2D EEG-based neurofeedback game for people with MS that classifies five brain states, runs 5-minute sessions, and includes a Compassionate Mode to accommodate fatigue.

China team publishes longitudinal DBS–fMRI dataset linking treatment response to a motor network in Parkinson’s

A Beijing team published a longitudinal DBS–fMRI dataset from 14 Parkinson’s patients in Nature Neuroscience and found that clinical response correlated with normalization of the somato‑cognitive action network (SCAN). The authors released the data for other researchers and link SCAN changes to potential personalized DBS strategies.

Carmella Ryan leads EEG study of emotional memory at Slippery Rock

Slippery Rock junior Carmella Ryan and instructor Shannon McKnight are launching an EEG study of emotional memory that measures the late-positive potential; Ryan narrowed 2,200 words to 120 and the team is recruiting adult participants.

UT Southwestern symposium: VR used to train surgeons, ease patient pain and support rehab

UT Southwestern’s 28th Capra Symposium showcased clinical uses of virtual reality in surgical training, pain and anxiety reduction, and rehabilitation, and reported pilot data showing >5% peak-VO2 gains in lower-fit participants during immersive exercise tests.

electroCore enrolls first eight patients in gammaCore nVNS PTSD study

electroCore reported April 7, 2026 that the first eight patients have enrolled in an investigator-led study of its gammaCore non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation device for PTSD; the trial will enroll up to 40 adults and assess CAPS-5 change after 12 weeks.

Burgenland startup Mindset Technologies announces system to monitor pilots' cognitive load

Mindset Technologies, founded in 2024 in Burgenland, announced on 7 April 2026 its Enhanced Pilot Performance System (EPPS), a wearable neurotech device that measures pilots' cognitive load in real time. The company said it won a Defence Conference hackathon and was supported by the Wirtschaftsagentur Burgenland incubator.

Frontiers perspective warns of risks from long-term, unsupervised tDCS use

A Frontiers Perspective accepted 6 April 2026 warns that long-term and unsupervised use of tDCS lacks systematic safety data and urges researchers, regulators and vendors to adopt safeguards and materiovigilance.

AI eye‑tracking and emotion recognition to improve attention in children with autism

Matrouh University researchers describe an AI system combining eye‑tracking and emotion recognition to monitor and adapt attention during storytelling for children with autism. The published excerpt lists authors and approach but does not include outcome or sample data.

Connectome Health Raises $2M Pre-seed to Build Longitudinal Cognitive Monitoring Platform

Zurich NeuroTech startup Connectome Health raised $2 million pre-seed to build a longitudinal platform that creates personalised cognitive baselines, applying methods from Imperial College London’s LUCID study and linking neural signals to sleep and activity.

Finnish neurotech Audicin raises $1.9M to expand app, headband and SDK

Finnish neurotech Audicin raised $1.9M, taking its total to about $3M, to expand its audio-based app, sleep headband and a lightweight SDK for embedding nervous-system regulation into other platforms.

Neurotechnology Explained: How EEG, BCI, DBS, and Modern Neurotech Work

TRICEPS trial recruits ~270 UK stroke patients to test ear-based vagus nerve stimulation with physiotherapy

The UK TRICEPS trial is recruiting roughly 270 stroke patients across 19 centres to test daily ear-based vagus nerve stimulation combined with physiotherapy; researchers say evidence for external VNS is promising but still incomplete and larger trials are underway.

Meta-analysis reports shared resting‑state brain‑activity alterations across psychiatric disorders

A new meta-analysis synthesizes resting‑state fMRI studies to identify shared spontaneous brain‑activity alterations across psychiatric diagnoses and highlights candidate transdiagnostic targets for follow‑up work.

Epia Neuro launches implanted BCI and grip-assist system for stroke survivors

Epia Neuro announced an implanted read/write BCI platform for stroke survivors that pairs a skull-mounted device with AI and a grip-assist prosthetic; first-in-human demonstrations are planned for later in 2026 at Lenox Hill Hospital.

New wearable detects fatigue using AI and advanced sensors

Developers unveiled a wearable that they say uses machine learning and advanced sensors to generate a real-time fatigue score. Public validation data and regulatory status were not disclosed, so independent review is still needed.

Chinese BCI startup StairMed closes $72.8M financing led by Alibaba

Shanghai-based StairMed closed RMB 500 million (~$72.8M) in a round led by Alibaba with participation from Tencent and other investors, bringing the company’s funding to over RMB 1.1 billion in the past year and targeting mid-2026 large-scale clinical development.

Fenfluramine reduces hard-to-treat seizures in three girls with Rett syndrome

A small retrospective case series in Epilepsy & Behavior reports that fenfluramine reduced seizures in three of four girls with MECP2-related Rett syndrome, with two families also reporting functional and communication gains; authors call for larger controlled trials.

Rewiring the Future: ETSU maps circuits that may curb autonomic dysreflexia

ETSU researchers led by Matthew Zahner say they are using chemogenetics and viral microinjections to map circuits that control autonomic function after spinal cord injury and report that targeted locus coeruleus stimulation can inhibit stress responses and lower blood pressure, according to an ETSU profile.

Conference urges nerve‑centric view of endometriosis and flags vagus‑nerve approaches

At this year’s Endometriosis Foundation of America conference, clinicians pushed a nerve‑centric model for endometriosis pain and spotlighted the vagus nerve and vagus‑nerve stimulation as potential therapeutic avenues, while urging better presurgical mapping and complete excision.

Parkinson's patient shows improvement after DBS at KGMU

A 50-year-old Parkinson's patient with a nearly 25-year disease history showed clinical improvement after deep brain stimulation at King George's Medical University on March 25; the surgery involved KGMU neurosurgeons and visiting experts from NIMHANS.

Former Bloomfield Hills teacher regains function after deep brain stimulation for essential tremor

Retired Bloomfield Hills teacher Mark Honeyman had his three‑year‑old deep brain stimulation implant replaced at Henry Ford Health after receiving DBS for essential tremor in 2022. The surgery and replacement restored daily function and inspired a short documentary, "Still Honeyman."

Technical description outlines ultrasound-guided bilateral hydrodissection of cervical sympathetic chain and vagus nerves

A new technical description lays out an ultrasound-guided, bilateral simultaneous hydrodissection technique targeting the cervical sympathetic chain and vagus nerves, with anatomical mapping and stepwise sonographic guidance. The report is procedural and does not include clinical outcomes.