I’m excited to be starting my “new school year” as a blogger here on Healthland — and what better way to begin than with news about boosting your ability to learn, using neuroscience! One of the hottest articles flying around the Web today is Benedict Carey’s great New York Times science story headlined “Forget What You Know …
Brain
Was the JetBlue slide incident caused by head injury?
Many explanations have been offered for JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater’s meltdown and dramatic emergency slide exit on Monday—from “air rage” to suggestions of a relapse into alcoholism. But none of the media coverage has noted what could be the most obvious and chilling reason for his bizarre behavior: at the beginning of …
Menstrual pain can re-shape the brain
It’s a common gag that women don’t think quite the same they get their period. But according to neuroscientists in Taiwan, in some women menstruation may change the very structure of the brain.
In an MRI study of 32 women who suffer menstrual cramps and 32 similar women without pain — with members of the two groups matched on age and …
Active youth linked to lower risk for cognitive decline
A new study analyzing physical activity at different phases of life for more than 9,000 elderly women finds that routine exercise at any age was associated with a reduced risk for cognitive decline or dementia, but that regular physical activity during teenage years was most strongly linked to a lower risk for mental deterioration later
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Alzheimer’s: new methods for diagnosis, preserving memory?
In the ongoing effort to better understand, diagnose, treat and hopefully one day even prevent the devastating mental decline of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers are taking a broad range of approaches — and some are even finding clues in unlikely places. As the New York Times reports, a new technique that combines a dye and brain scan
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10 Risk Factors Linked to 90% of Strokes
Analyzing data on 6,000 people — half of whom suffered a stroke, and half of had not — from 22 countries around the globe, researchers from Canada’s McMaster University identified 10 common risk factors, including smoking, high blood pressure and belly fat, associated with 9 out of 10 strokes. The results of the INTERSTROKE study, as
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The brain science behind why we care what others think
A team of researchers from University College London and Aarhus University in Denmark may have uncovered some clues to help explain why we care what other people think — and why some people care more than others. The research, published in the journal Current Biology, suggests that the area of our brains associated with reward is more
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For many soldiers, mental trauma lingers at home
Roughly one in ten soldiers returning from Iraq faces ongoing struggles due to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and other conditions, according to a new study published in the June issue of the Archives of Psychiatry. In the study, a team of researchers led by Dr. Jeffrey L. Thomas, chief of military psychiatry at the
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A link between belly fat and dementia risk
Having excess belly fat in middle-age may increase the risk for dementia later in life, according to results of a new study published this week in the Annals of Neurology. In an analysis of 733 middle-aged men and women, researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine found that not only was higher body mass index (BMI)
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Timing is critical for stroke victims
When it comes to successfully minimizing physical — and subsequent mental and emotional — damage caused by stroke, timing is of the essence. Yet, according to new research published this week in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association too often patients suffering a stroke or their loved ones may wait too long to call 911
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Spouses of dementia patients at higher risk themselves
Compared with other aging married individuals whose husbands or wives do not suffer from dementia, those whose spouses are diagnosed with the condition are six times more likely to develop dementia themselves, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Researchers suggest that the stress
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NIH says science is lacking for Alzheimer’s prevention
A new report fro the National Institutes of Health suggests that, currently, there is not enough rigorous scientific evidence to suggest any surefire ways of preventing Alzheimer’s disease. While small studies have suggested that everything from crossword puzzles to routine exercise can help stave off cognitive decline, the national
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Can antidepressants have heart benefits?
While the overall benefits of antidepressants for certain patients continue to be debated, new research being presented this week at a meeting of the American Physiological Society in Anaheim, California indicates that …