Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany, have discovered that heart rate deceleration within the first 45 seconds of brain stimulation predicts treatment success in major depression up to six weeks later. The study of 75 patients found that monitoring cardiac responses during transcranial magnetic stimulation could help clinicians identify which patients will benefit most from treatment. Roberto Goya-Maldonado and colleagues at the University Medical Center Göttingen published these findings, demonstrating a potential biomarker for personalizing depression therapy.

Pioneering research finds training service dogs slows biological aging in women, especially veterans with combat experience. One of the most striking findings involved telomere length – a marker of cellular aging. Female veterans in a dog-training program showed increased telomere length while a control group saw declines, suggesting accelerated aging. Despite similar psychological improvements across both groups, including reduced PTSD symptoms and anxiety, only the dog-training group experienced measurable biological gains. The study reveals that emotional stress doesn’t always align with the body’s cellular stress response.