Head Injuries in Adults Linked to Dementia
Summary: A large-scale Canadian study has found that older adults who sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBI) face a significantly higher risk of developing dementia, needing home care, or being admitted to long-term care. Researchers found that TBIs, most commonly caused by falls, increase dementia risk by up to 69% in the first five years following […]
Why It’s Time to Retire the Body Mass Index
Summary: A growing number of researchers are calling for the end of BMI as a measure of health, arguing it’s outdated, misleading, and rooted in discrimination. The metric, a simple weight-to-height ratio, fails to account for fat distribution, muscle mass, age, or ethnicity—yet it still influences medical decisions and public perception. A new study urges […]
Do You Get Déjà Vu? Memory Glitches Make Time Feel Repeated
Summary: Déjà vu—the eerie feeling that a new moment has happened before—has puzzled scientists and philosophers for centuries. Neuroscientists now believe it’s a normal brain glitch tied to how memory and perception interact. Studies show that brief electrical discharges in the temporal lobe and hippocampus can evoke this sensation, similar to what occurs in mild […]
Misophonia Might Be a Brain Regulation Disorder
Summary: A new study shows that misophonia, strong negative reactions to certain sounds, is closely linked to cognitive and emotional inflexibility. Participants with high misophonia severity struggled to shift between emotional tasks and reported rigid thinking in daily life. The condition was also strongly associated with rumination, or repetitive negative thinking, which may drive or […]
How Growing Up Changes the Way We Hear, and Feel, Music
Summary: Our music preferences evolve across life — from youthful exploration to nostalgic reflection. A large-scale analysis of 40,000 users’ streaming data over 15 years revealed that young listeners engage broadly with new and popular music, while adults settle into more personal and emotionally rooted tastes. With age, nostalgia becomes a dominant force, shaping listening […]
Born to Connect: Newborn Brain Already Wired for Social Awareness
Summary: A new study reveals that the brain’s social perception pathway—a network that processes faces, gaze, and speech—is already active at birth or shortly thereafter. Using advanced imaging data, researchers showed that newborns exhibit robust connectivity in regions responsible for visual and social processing. Infants with stronger early connectivity paid greater attention to faces at […]
Sugar Chains in the Brain: New Pathway Behind Depression Found
Summary: Scientists have discovered that depression can be driven by abnormal sugar modifications on proteins in the brain, offering a new molecular pathway for understanding the disorder. Chronic stress was shown to reduce sialylation—a stabilizing sugar process—in the prefrontal cortex, impairing neural circuit stability and triggering depressive symptoms. Manipulating the enzyme St3gal1 revealed its central […]
Glioblastoma Found to Erode Skull and Hijack Immune System
Summary: Glioblastoma, the most lethal brain cancer, doesn’t just damage the brain—it erodes the skull and disrupts the immune system by reshaping marrow inside the skull. Researchers discovered that tumors increase skull-to-brain channels, allowing waves of inflammatory immune cells to flow to the cancer site, fueling its growth. Tests in mice and patients revealed skull […]
Motherhood Flips Brain Switch That Triggers Aggression
Summary: Researchers discovered that female mice gain access to aggression after giving birth through a brain circuit usually dormant in non-pregnant females. The same neurons drive aggression in males but only switch on in mothers, activated by oxytocin and prolactin. Silencing these neurons stopped mothers from defending against cage intruders. The findings highlight how the […]
When Mom Struggles to Bond, Babies Sleep Worse
Summary: A large Finnish study has found that mothers who struggle to bond with their infants are more likely to have children with sleep problems that persist into toddlerhood. Difficulties in bonding at eight months were linked to sleep disruptions, including frequent awakenings and trouble falling asleep, even at age two. Fathers’ bonding challenges did […]