Category: Brain and Nervous System
Light exercise can yield significant cognitive benefits, new research shows
Everyday physical activity, like going for a short walk or playing with the kids, may provide short-term benefits for cognitive health, equivalent to reversing four years of cognitive aging.
Wildfire smoke exposure linked to increased dementia risk
New research led by the University of Washington in Seattle has found that long-term to wildfire smoke exposure was associated with a significant increase in the odds that a person would be diagnosed with dementia.
Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including significant drops in IQ scores
Ziyad Al-Aly, Washington University in St. Louis From the very early days of the pandemic, brain fog emerged as a significant health condition that many experience after COVID-19. Brain fog is a colloquial term that describes a state of mental…
Brain-training games remain unproven, but research shows what sorts of activities do benefit cognitive functioning
The specific skills learned in these games often do not translate to more general, real-world applications. Whether brain games meet their end goal of lasting cognitive improvement across a number of areas is still highly debated among psychologists. To make such claims requires rigorous evidence that playing a specific game improves cognitive or brain performance.
Eight reasons why ADHD diagnoses are increasing
For a long time it was assumed that somewhere between 5 and 6% of children have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But the rates, in practice, are often higher. The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the prevalence at 11.4% in children in 2022.
The evolutionary benefits of being forgetful
Forgetting serves a functional purpose: Our brains are bombarded with information constantly. If we were to remember every detail, it would become increasingly difficult to retain the important information.
Brain waste-clearance system shown in people for first time
The scans showed cerebrospinal fluid flowing into the brain through distinct channels—along the perivascular spaces, the fluid-filled spaces that run alongside blood vessels in the brain. These findings match earlier imaging results seen in mice
Alzheimer’s disease may damage the brain in two phases
Allen Institute and UW School of Medicine brain mapping study uncovers which cell types may be harmed first.
Health News Headlines
Human-to-human bird flu transmission – Man dies of rabies – DASH diet – Senior moments – 23andME DNA up for sale
Delirium: this common and frightening syndrome looks like dementia, but comes on much faster
Delirium is a common complication of hospitalization can have a direct impact on patients’ illness and mortality rates. It is therefore extremely important to prevent it, or, failing that, to establish an early diagnosis in order to treat it correctly.
Health News Headlines
Washington to keep abortion pill stockpile – Free COVID tests – Brett Favre diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease
Mobile phones are not linked to brain cancer, according to a major review of 28 years of research
The possibility that mobile phones might cause cancer has been a long-standing concern. Mobile phones – and wireless tech more broadly – are a major part of our daily lives. So it’s been vital for science to address the safety of radio wave exposure from these devices.
Microplastics are in our brains. How worried should I be?
Sarah Hellewell, Curtin University; Anastazja Gorecki, University of Notre Dame Australia, and Charlotte Sofield, University of Notre Dame Australia Plastic is in our clothes, cars, mobile phones, water bottles and food containers. But recent research adds to growing concerns about…
Health News Headlines
Dementia drug debate – Should you take Paxlovid? – Free COVID tests coming – EEE in MA – Stem cell diabetes study
Being a ‘weekend warrior’ could be as good for brain health as exercising throughout the week, new study shows
The findings of a new study suggest “weekend warriors” – those who get most of their exercise on the weekend – may enjoy the same brain health and mental health benefits as those who exercise regularly throughout the week.