Brain/Neuroscience
Should we be treating Alzheimer’s by targeting the gut before brain symptoms even appear?
[M]isfolded protein build-up in the gut could contribute to the development of Alzheimer's-like symptoms in mice. This could suggest a ...
To this man, numbers look like scrambled “spaghetti” but his brain works fine. What’s going on?
RFS is the first patient with an inability to see numbers. "He sees something … a scramble of lines and ...
Why are left-handed people excluded from brain research?
About 10 percent of people prefer to use their left hand for everyday activities, like writing, a percentage that's remained ...
Mystery inflammation syndrome connected to COVID-19 in children results in brain damage
[Children with COVID-19] can suffer everything from headaches to muscle weakness, along with visible signs of damage to the brain ...
Lithium comeback: The use of the ‘penicillin of psychiatry’ to treat bipolar disorder is resurging
A quick literature search for lithium therapy reveals a multitude of recent articles on its superior efficacy in the treatment ...
Why aren’t there more medical and mental health treatments for male infertility?
Although men are just as likely as women to have fertility problems, ads for fertility treatment typically feature women holding ...
What is the slippery notion of ‘consciousness’?
As humans, we know we [are conscious] but haven't a clue how it arises. It's a facet of intelligent life ...
Human hibernation? Brain ‘snooze button’ could help astronauts survive long-term space travel
The mechanisms that control torpor and other hypothermic states—in which body temperatures drop below 37 degrees Celsius—are largely unknown. Two ...
How probiotics can relieve depression symptoms
Probiotics either taken by themselves or when combined with prebiotics, may help to ease depression, suggests a review of the ...
Which depression treatment is right for you? AI could provide answers
Currently, depression is diagnosed by a survey — commonly, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) — which quantifies the severity ...
‘Mind blindness’ makes it hard to remember the past and picture the future
[R]ecent studies have found that 2% to 5% of people will see nothing at all [when they try to imagine ...
Brain stimulation could help you get stronger, faster
[Halo Neuroscience CEO Brett Wingeier] said that they make a headset which stimulates your brain to help you get better, ...
Viewpoint: Should autism be treated as an illness that should be cured?
“Many of the greatest artists, actors, musicians, scientists, and entrepreneurs of all time were and are autistic. We all serve ...
Does our perception of the world reflect reality? Solving the problem of consciousness
When I see red, it’s the most religious experience. Seeing red just results from photons of a certain frequency hitting ...
Why do some scents trigger powerful memories?
Anecdotally, many of us have had experiences where a certain smell—perhaps chlorine, fresh baked cookies, or the salty beach air—floods ...
American teens lose access to mental health care at 18 – with disastrous results
Age 18 is a particularly difficult time for a person to drop out of — or lose access to — ...
Disturbing hallucinations and psychosis mysteriously plague some coronavirus patients
Nightmarish visions... plagued [Kim] Victory during her hospitalization this spring for severe respiratory failure caused by the coronavirus. They made ...
Mindfulness relieves labor pain, improves postnatal recovery
Research has shown that even under extreme circumstances, like during childbirth, we can (and should) practice mindfulness. Of course, it ...
Eliminating Parkinson’s may eventually be possible with a ‘stunning’ single treatment
[Researchers found] a new therapeutic approach for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Just a single treatment to inhibit [the ...
Symphony of scents: Why do flowers smell different from rotting fish?
In the deep recesses of the nose are millions of sensory neurons that, along with our eyes and ears, help ...
The lonelier you are, the more disconnected your self-image
Before going in an fMRI scanner, participants were asked to name and rank five people whom they are closest to ...
Motivation complex: What explains that extra burst of energy as we near completing a goal or task?
Whatever it is you’re striving to achieve, science shows you’re likely to push harder the closer you feel to the ...
Unlocking the ‘deepest secrets of our brains as we grow and age’
Just as our human relationships and connections can nudge, push, or dramatically shift societal values and consequences, the connections between ...
Sniff test: How our sense of smell appears to signal whether an unresponsive patient might recover consciousness
Even with more recent technologies, such as brain imaging, the rate of misdiagnosis in DOC [disorders of consciousness] patients could ...
Searching for Parkinson’s game changer: No cure in sight but stem cells, other advances hold promise
A flurry of recent advances offer the promise of new avenues for treating patients with Parkinson’s disease, one of our ...
Podcast: Cannabis and psychedelic drugs slowly gain acceptance as revolutionary ways to treat trauma
People who have been taking antidepressants for several years sometimes hit a wall, a point when that treatment no longer ...
Viewpoint: Blacks raise questions about racial stereotyping of autism diagnoses and therapies
Part of the reason people are quick to stereotype me is that there is no research on middle-aged black women ...
Ancient African savanna was like a ‘chess board’, broadening the minds of early humans as they hunted for prey
Northwestern University researchers recently discovered that complex landscapes—dotted with trees, bushes, boulders and knolls—might have helped land-dwelling animals evolve higher ...
