by Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown A fly hasn’t eaten for an entire day, and it’s starving. It finds a pile of edible gelatinous goo and begins eating, when a green light appears, and the food, which was far from delicious a moment ago, becomes irresistibly sweet. The fly, excited by the sudden improvement, eats...
Tag: <span>Mental Health</span>
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New therapy promotes vascular repair following stroke
by University of Zurich Following a stroke, antibodies that inhibit the signaling molecule Nogo-A can help repair blood vessels in the affected brain regions. This also promotes the regaining of motor functions, researchers at the University of Zurich have shown in a mouse model. The study opens up new avenues for treatment. Each year, around 16,000 people in Switzerland and 15 million people worldwide...
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Is your child depressed or suicidal? Here are the warning signs
by Len Canter Each year 4,600 young people between the ages of 10 and 24 take their own lives, and 157,000 are treated in emergency departments for self-inflicted injuries, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A recent survey of high school students revealed that 16% have seriously considered suicide; 13% had...
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Mr. Rogers Had a Simple Set of Rules for Talking to Children
The TV legend possessed an extraordinary understanding of how kids make sense of language. For the millions of adults who grew up watching him on public television, Fred Rogers represents the most important human values: respect, compassion, kindness, integrity, humility. On Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the show that he created 50 years ago and starred in, he was the epitome...
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Your nose knows when it comes to stronger memories
by New York University Memories are stronger when the original experiences are accompanied by unpleasant odors, a team of researchers has found. The study broadens our understanding of what can drive Pavlovian responses and points to how negative experiences influence our ability to recall past events. “These results demonstrate that bad smells are capable of producing memory enhancements in both adolescents...
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Sleeping Habits Can Have Effect On Alzheimer’s Progression Later In Life
In a new study, researchers found that a person’s sleeping habits can predict the accumulation of Alzheimer’s pathology protein in the brain later in life. A team from the University of California, Berkeley linked decrease in slow oscillations and sleep spindle synchronization on electroencephalogram (EEG) to higher tau. Meanwhile, reduced slow-wave-activity amplitude was associated with...
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Moving more and sitting less is good for the mind as well as the body
by Bernard Paquito, The Conversation Physical activity has long been associated with better mental health. What’s not well understood, however, is whether too much activity can negatively impact psychological well-being. As a researcher on physical activity and mental health, I often hear people say, “The more active I am, the better I feel.” That suggests more physical activity is always needed to increase psychological well-being. However,...
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How the online world is affecting the human brain
By Lauren Sharkey Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson Technology has impacted human activities monumentally. Now, scientists want to know if human brains are being affected too. The internet has been around for less than 3 decades, but the technology has already had an immense impact on the way humanity functions. This is apparent to us all...
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Memories form ‘barrier’ to letting go of objects for people who hoard
by University of Bath New research conducted at the University of Bath has demonstrated important differences in how people with and without hoarding problems discard objects and the role their memories play. It was already known that hoarding behaviour is driven by a strong emotional connection with objects. But the new experimental findings, published online in the journal Behavior Therapy, show that for people who hoard this connection may...
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Night owls can ‘retrain’ their body clocks to improve mental well-being and performance
by University of Birmingham A simple tweak to the sleeping patterns of ‘night owls’ – people with extreme late sleeping and waking habits—could lead to significant improvements in sleep/wake timings, improved performance in the mornings, better eating habits and a decrease in depression and stress. New international research by the Universities of Birmingham and Surrey in the UK, and...