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University of Helsinki

This shows a mom holding a baby at night.

·October 3, 2025·6 min read

When Mom Struggles to Bond, Babies Sleep Worse

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.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 3, 2025·3 min read

AI Links Early Life Risks to Behavioral Challenges at Age Five

A new study reveals that emotional and behavioral difficulties in five-year-old children can be predicted using prenatal and early-life risk factors, including maternal smoking, low birth weight, and lack of breastfeeding. Researchers used AI to analyze data from nearly 6,000 UK children, uncovering gender-specific vulnerabilities—boys were more impacted by smoking during pregnancy, while girls were more affected by early fussiness.

This shows two people and symbols representing weight loss and aging.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 29, 2025·4 min read

Long-Term Weight Loss in Midlife Tied to Lifespan Benefits

A long-term study of 23,000 adults from Finland and the UK has found that overweight individuals who lost just 6.5% of their body weight in early midlife and maintained the loss enjoyed significant health benefits over decades. The study, spanning 12 to 35 years, is one of the first to link modest, sustained weight loss with lower mortality outside the context of diabetes prevention.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 16, 2025·5 min read

Mental Health Disorders Linked to Lower Parenthood Rates

A large-scale study using Finnish national data has found that young adults diagnosed with mental disorders are significantly less likely to become parents by age 39. The most pronounced effect was seen in individuals with schizophrenia, while common disorders like depression and anxiety also reduced parenthood rates—especially among men.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·November 15, 2024·5 min read

How the Brain’s Recycling Changes with Age

New research uncovers how mitophagy, the cellular recycling of damaged mitochondria, changes dynamically in the aging mammalian brain. In memory-related cells, mitophagy rises in midlife but declines sharply in old age, while motor-related brain cells show increased mitophagy with age.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 24, 2024·5 min read

Tailoring Magnetic Stimulation for Depression

Researchers reveal how targeting transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could enhance treatment for depression. The study identified an electrophysiological marker that could predict TMS efficacy and guide personalized therapy. By optimizing the stimulation site and coil angle, treatment outcomes may improve. These findings offer hope for better, tailored TMS therapies in the future.

This shows the shadow of a teenage girl.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 23, 2024·5 min read

Teen Social Networks Influence Mental Health Disorder Spread

Researchers found that mental disorders can spread within school social networks. By analyzing data from over 700,000 Finnish ninth-graders, they discovered that having classmates with mental disorders increased the risk of being diagnosed with similar conditions later in life.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·May 16, 2024·4 min read

Singing Improves Language Skills in Stroke-Damaged Brains

Singing can improve language recovery in stroke patients by repairing the brain's language network. This positive effect is attributed to increased grey matter volume in language regions and improved connectivity within the network. The study suggests that singing can be a cost-effective addition to traditional rehabilitation methods.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·March 26, 2024·3 min read

Early Signs of Dementia Found in Middle Age

A new study reveals that Lewy body disease, a major neurodegenerative disorder second only to Alzheimer's, may start developing in individuals as early as middle age, well before symptoms manifest. Utilizing unique Finnish forensic autopsy data, the study found markers of the disease in 9% of individuals over 50 without any clinical diagnosis of Parkinson’s or Lewy body disease.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 29, 2023·5 min read

Personality and Attachment: Shaping the Pet-Owner Well-being Bond

A new study involving about 2,500 pet owners and 3,300 pets, has explored the dynamics of owner–pet attachment and its impact on mental wellbeing. The research, a first of its kind, considered both the personalities of pets and their owners, revealing how attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) relate to the mental wellbeing of both parties. Anxiously attached owners tend to have heightened needs for proximity, whereas avoidantly attached owners seek independence.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 1, 2023·5 min read

Mother’s Microbes Influence Fetal Brain and Gut Development

Researchers discovered the activity of genes in the fetal intestine, brain, and placenta is influenced by the microbes in the mother's body. In a study comparing normal mice with germ-free mice in sterile environments, significant differences were found in gene expressions associated with the immune system, nervous system, and pregnancy regulation.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 11, 2023·5 min read

Dopamine Tunes the Brain for Both Singing and Speech

Contrary to popular belief, speech and singing use overlapping brain circuits, primarily located in the left hemisphere. This discovery challenges the 50-year notion that the right hemisphere supports the singing ability in aphasia patients.