THE LATEST RESEARCH
New findings about the brain, behavior and mental health—with the evidence and limits in view.
TL;DR: In female rats, a single concussion-type head hit or a brief strangulation weakened a brain-cell signal linked to memory a week later. Getting both injuries together was no worse than getting one. Key Findings 51 female rats, 4 groups: No injury, head h…
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TL;DR: A person with severe inherited retina disease saw a wide blue glow each time a weak, humming magnetic field was aimed near the eyes, but nothing when it was aimed at the back of the head or switched off. It's a single-person experiment that points to su…
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TL;DR: A review of 10 years of research found no consistent evidence that radio waves from cell phones or phone towers harm children or pregnancies. Some studies did find links to sleep, behavior or birth size, but most relied on self-reported phone use and co…
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TL;DR: In 20 healthy young adults, one session of LiuZiJue, a Chinese breathing practice done with six spoken sounds, was followed by faster answers on a color-word test, compared with sitting quietly with eyes closed. Accuracy didn't change, and the speed-up…
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TL;DR: In 21 stroke survivors with swallowing problems, one acupuncture session at a point under the chin was linked to more activity in movement and touch areas on the healthy side of the brain, compared with 29 healthy adults. There was no fake-needle compar…
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TL;DR: In diabetic rats, giving the antidepressant nortriptyline together with tramadol or ibuprofen eased pain behavior at much lower doses than each drug alone. The combinations worked better together than their separate effects would predict, but this was a…
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TL;DR: Mice given a stress hormone daily for 5 days before a frightening experience didn't show the usual rise in fear the next day, while mice given a single dose just beforehand did. The finding hints that long-term stress before trauma may change how fear m…
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TL;DR: Among 411 people hospitalized for strokes caused by blocked tiny brain arteries, nearly 4 in 10 needed early rehab. Adding MRI brain-damage scores and blood tests to routine bedside information didn't predict who needed it any better. Key Findings 411 p…
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TL;DR: In a reanalysis of a small trial, 15 healthy adults who practiced slow, paced breathing with a heart-rate app for 8 weeks showed shifts in how some brain areas influence each other, compared with 17 who played phone games. The findings are a preprint, a…
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TL;DR: In 205 children with moderate to severe sleep apnea, two features on a side X-ray of the face, the jaw angle and the position of a small neck bone, were linked to how bad their apnea was, but together they explained only about 12% of the difference betw…
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