Addiction and the Gut-Brain Axis

Addiction and the Gut-Brain Axis

Key points A poor gut microbiota can lead to a leaky gut and systemic inflammation. Inflammation affects the brain, causing depression, anxiety, and poor impulse control. This can lead to self-medication and multiple kinds of substance use disorders. It doesn’t have to be this…

How ultra-processed food harms the body and brain

How ultra-processed food harms the body and brain

Diets heavy in ultra-processed food are linked with increased morbidity and mortality, including increased risk for metabolic syndrome, obesity, and depression. Although many ultra-processed foods—soda, candy, energy bars, fruit-flavored yogurt, frozen pizza, and frozen meals—can satisfy cravings for sweet, fatty, salty foods, emerging research…

Lion’s mane mushroom: The exotic functional mushroom that boosts brain health and provides many other health benefits

Lion’s mane mushroom: The exotic functional mushroom that boosts brain health and provides many other health benefits

Several studies have added to the growing pile of evidence proving that lion’s mane mushroom can be very beneficial for people looking to boost brain health . Considered the world’s first “smart mushroom,” lion’s mane mushroom, also known by its scientific name Hericium erinceus,…

Breakthrough AI Uses Brain Scans to Predict Antidepressant Effectiveness in Just One Week

Breakthrough AI Uses Brain Scans to Predict Antidepressant Effectiveness in Just One Week

Researchers from Amsterdam UMC and Radboudumc have developed an AI algorithm capable of predicting the effectiveness of antidepressants within just a week of treatment initiation. This promising technique employs brain scans coupled with clinical information to rapidly determine whether sertraline—one of the most commonly…

5 Ways Mindfulness Rewires Your Brain and Improves Your Life

5 Ways Mindfulness Rewires Your Brain and Improves Your Life

David Gyung/Shutterstock Life is busy. Parenting , work, hobbies, friends, problems, and pressure fill each day with more items on our to-do list than we can accomplish. Who has time for mindfulness meditation ? But as these pressures erode sleep, increase anxiety , turn…

Study finds brain mechanism that may explain how physical exercise improves mood

Study finds brain mechanism that may explain how physical exercise improves mood

by Nanjing University School of Life Sciences Challenging movement can improve anxiety more effectively by recruiting the hypothalamic-cerebellar orexinergic circuit which more strongly activates the cerebello-amygdalar glutamatergic monosynaptic projections. Credit: Neuron (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.01.007 “Only exercise can remove all kinds of doubts,” Goethe said….

Neuroscientists just uncovered a fascinating link between sleep, memory, and breathing

In a groundbreaking study, researchers have discovered a significant link between breathing patterns during sleep and the brain’s ability to consolidate memories. This finding, published in Nature Communications , sheds light on how the simple act of breathing might play a pivotal role in…

Does the Brain Slow Down Our Aging Process?

Does the Brain Slow Down Our Aging Process?

Key points Inflammation plays a critical role in aging and age-related diseases. The immune system has mechanisms for resolving inflammation that are impaired in elderly individuals. The brain is capable of sending an antiinflammatory signal to inflamed tissues and disrupted with aging. It has…

Scientists link growth hormone to anxiety and fear memory through specific neuron group

Scientists link growth hormone to anxiety and fear memory through specific neuron group

Growth hormone (GH) acts on many tissues throughout the body, helping build bones and muscles, among other functions. It is also a powerful anxiolytic. A study conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil has produced a deeper understanding of…

Exploring fear engrams to shed light on physical manifestation of memory in the brain

Exploring fear engrams to shed light on physical manifestation of memory in the brain

In a world grappling with the complexities of mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD, new research from Boston University neuroscientist Dr. Steve Ramirez and collaborators offers a unique perspective. The study, recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience , delves into the…

7 Smart Strategies to Boost Your Brain Health in the New Year, According to a Cognitive Neuroscientist

7 Smart Strategies to Boost Your Brain Health in the New Year, According to a Cognitive Neuroscientist

Write these down. Hiroshi Watanabe/Getty Images Looking for actionable ways to stay sharp, maximize your natural brain power, improve mental health, and prevent cognitive decline? Of course you are. The good habits and healthy mindsets we adopt right now really can help protect and…

Guayusa tea and lion’s mane supplements could improve cognitive function

Guayusa tea and lion’s mane supplements could improve cognitive function

Supplements derived from the fungus known as as lion’s mane (pictured above) and guayusa tea could help improve mood and cognitive function. Image credit: Alex Ratson/Getty Images. Guayusa and lion’s mane are two natural dietary supplements that may have health benefits. Usually taken as…

Brain inflammation may drive mood changes in Alzheimer’s

Brain inflammation may drive mood changes in Alzheimer's

Illustration of microglial cells (in pink) interacting with neurons (in blue) Extreme mood changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease may be partially driven by brain inflammation , new research suggests. Historically, the prevailing theory for what causes Alzheimer’s disease was that a gradual buildup of…

Decoding anxiety: Study reveals brain’s role in behavioral inhibition risks

Decoding anxiety: Study reveals brain's role in behavioral inhibition risks

In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , a team of researchers in the United States used non-human primate anxious temperament models to investigate the molecular mechanisms and neural systems underlying behavioral inhibition in humans, which is…

Yale study exposes common chronic symptoms people experience after receiving COVID-19 vaccines

Yale study exposes common chronic symptoms people experience after receiving COVID-19 vaccines

Advertisement With all the focus on serious COVID-19 vaccine injuries and deaths, it is easy for less dramatic side effects to fly under the radar. However, many people who received these jabs are now contending with a host of chronic symptoms that affect their…

How smartphone addiction affects brain function and mental health

How smartphone addiction affects brain function and mental health

ISRAELI NEWS LIVE: Steven Ben-Nun interviewed by Mike Adams on Zionism, Palestine and Israel’s escalation Advertisement Smartphone addiction has now become a global issue, thanks to the popularity of social media platforms and mobile games. While smartphones can make life easier in many ways,…

A small molecule blocks aversive memory formation, providing a potential treatment target for depression

A small molecule blocks aversive memory formation, providing a potential treatment target for depression

The YM022-treated mice (diagram A, second from right) spent significantly more time in the social interaction zone (framed with a green line) than the control group when the aggressive mouse was placed in the acrylic cage. The findings indicate that the treated mice exhibited…

New study reveals potential link between oral contraceptives and riskier behaviors in women

New study reveals potential link between oral contraceptives and riskier behaviors in women

Advertisement A new study has revealed a potential link between oral contraceptive (OC) use and alterations in the brain structure of women that may influence emotions, anxiety, fear, decision-making and impulse control. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology , examined 139…

Study: RUNNING boosts mental health and helps treat depression

Study: RUNNING boosts mental health and helps treat depression

Advertisement For those experiencing anxiety and depression, lacing up their running shoes proves to be a better choice instead of taking drugs, according to a study. The May 15 study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that running as therapy for anxiety…

A Personalized Brain Implant Curbed a Woman’s OCD

A Personalized Brain Implant Curbed a Woman’s OCD

Amber Pearson has had a severe form of obsessive compulsive disorder since she was in high school. She would wash her hands so much they became raw and bled. Her bedtime routine easily took 45 minutes because it involved checking that all the doors…

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