Making small lifestyle changes, such as improving diet, exercising, enjoying social activities, and reducing blood pressure, can reduce the risk of developing dementia in older people with certain risk factors.
Following deep anesthesia, consciousness and cognitive processes unfold over time. The prefrontal cortex is the first brain area to recover, with areas associated with reaction time and attention taking longer to return to pre-anesthesia states.
The anterior insular cortex appears to be a gate to conscious awareness, researchers conclude.
People with sleep apnea who were exposed to positive airway pressure therapy had a reduced risk of being diagnosed with dementia.
Meta-analysis reveals those who have visual impairments or are blind have a higher risk of mortality compared to peers with better vision. The study found mortality risk was 29% higher in those with mild visual impairment and rose to 89% higher for those with severe visual impairments.
Following exposure to visual stimuli, the neurons activated by the stimuli remain more active during subsequent sleep. Sleep is vital for these neurons to connect an emotional or fearful memory to a sensory event.
Irregular sleep patterns and inconsistent sleep-wake times increase the risk of bad moods and developing depression.
The prevalence of borderline personality disorder diagnosis was almost double in sexual minorities compared to heterosexuals. Researchers propose the higher numbers could be a result of the bias against sexual minorities of those diagnosing the disorder.
People who use cannabis as a form of pain management report sleeplessness, nausea, and changes in mood or behavior when they go a significant time without using the drug.
Researchers have identified a novel neural network in fruit flies that converts external stimuli of varying intensity into decisions about whether to act.
Glioblastoma brain cancer cells that are more resistant to radiation therapy have higher levels of purines. Reducing the level of purines made the cancer cells more sensitive to radiation.
Obesity risk in teens appears to be associated with stronger connectivity within and between regions of the brain implicated in determining the salience of stimuli. This may have implications for reward processing. Researchers report executive control efforts in the brain decrease when salience and reward-processing regions are engaged in teens with obesity.
