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Big Mystery About the Little Brain
With all the stunning advances in neuroscience it may come as a surprise that a major part of the brain is a mystery to scientists. It is not a small oversight. This peculiar brain lobe contains ¾ of all the brain’s neurons! Astonishingly, its cellular structure is unlike anywhere else in the brain. The neurons…
Read MoreWhy the ‘Havana Syndrome’ happened
I was invited to write a commentary, “Why the Havana Syndrome Happened,” which was just published in the International Journal of Social Psychiatry. This syndrome refers to brain injury allegedly caused by a clandestine energy beam weapon employed by unknown agents who are hostile to the United States and its allies. The saga began…
Read MoreHow Early Trauma Can Pass Through Generations
Is it possible that psychological trauma that your grandparents suffered long before you were born could have been passed down through generations to reappear as mental health issues that afflict you? New experimental research by a team of investigators in Canada and Italy suggests the answer is yes. Mental health problems can be a legacy…
Read MoreWhy Your Tongue Sticks Out When You Thread a Needle
Ever wonder why your tongue sticks out when you thread a needle? To find out why (and understand rock singer Joe Cocker’s wild gesticulations), see my article in Quanta Magazine One day, while threading a needle to sew a button, I noticed that my tongue was sticking out. The same thing happened later, as…
Read MoreCOVID-19 School Closures Harmed Children’s Mental Health
There has been much conjecture about possible detrimental long-term consequences of school closures on young children and adolescents, but now a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports provides convincing evidence that the mental health of school children was impaired by school closures during the pandemic. The study surveyed 907 adolescents and their parents in…
Read MoreWhy the Brain and Body are Cross Wired
Someone who suffers a stroke in their left cerebral hemisphere will lose control over the right side of their body. Every doctor relies upon this well-known fact in performing neurological exams, but when I asked my doctor last week why this should be, all I got was a shoulder shrug. So I asked Professor Catherine…
Read MoreSurvivor Guilt
It is a perplexing human response: Survivors are frequently stricken with profound guilt if they were in the company of others who were not so fortunate during a traumatic event. This can happen when there is no rational basis for feelings of failure; indeed, even those who respond heroically and saved others’ lives are frequently…
Read MoreRhythmic Electrical Brain Stimulation Improves Memory in Elderly People
On Monday, Neuroscientists at Boston University published a new approach to improve memory in elderly people. “This is an entirely different approach,” Robert Reinhart, who led the study, said in a press conference announcing the findings. The method uses specific frequencies of weak electrical current applied to the scalp at appropriate spots to target brain circuits…
Read MoreBrainwaves Reveal IQ
What intelligence is and how to measure it are thorny questions. If the brain’s information processing power could be measured directly with medical instruments, then the problematic assumptions, cultural biases, and pitfalls of IQ tests could be avoided. Moreover, direct measurement of the brain’s information processing power could reveal how specific brain circuits boost intelligence…
Read MoreBrain Cartilage–Together with microglia cause pain after nerve injury
Everyone knows about bone cartilage, but fewer people are aware of “brain cartilage.” The cartilage-like substance is composed of long chains of sugar molecules attached to a protein matrix, smeared over the surface of many types of brain cells. When examined under a microscope the substance looks like a wet fishnet clinging to neurons, inspiring…
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