Summary: A long-term analysis found that exposure to flame retardants and pesticides accounted for most childhood intellectual disability cases linked to chemical exposure from 2001–2016, even as lead and mercury-related impacts declined. Source: NYU Overview A study from NYU Grossman School of Medicine shows that adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes from early-life exposure to lead and mercury … Read more

Summary: Daily training with a mindfulness app produces lasting improvements in extinction learning and reduces threat-related arousal. Source: University of Southern Denmark Overview: Mindfulness training has repeatedly been shown to reduce negative emotions in both healthy people and those with psychological disorders. Clinical studies report benefits for anxiety, depression, stress, and trauma-related conditions, but the … Read more

Leisure Activities May Lower Dementia Risk, Meta-Analysis Shows Summary: Older adults who spend free time on intellectually stimulating pursuits — such as reading, writing, or doing crafts — have a notably lower risk of developing dementia. Regular physical activity and social engagement with family or friends were also associated with reduced dementia risk in this … Read more

Summary: Severe memory loss at the scale of today’s dementia epidemic appears to have been extremely rare in ancient Greece and Rome. A new analysis of classical texts suggests that Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias may be largely products of modern environments and lifestyles. A detailed review of Greek and Roman medical and literary sources … Read more

Summary: New research demonstrates that resident stem cells in the spinal cord can be stimulated to produce large numbers of oligodendrocytes, offering a promising approach to repair after spinal cord injury. Source: Karolinska Institutet Spinal cord injury often causes lasting functional deficits. In a recent study published in the journal Science, researchers at Karolinska Institutet … Read more

Summary: Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, report that artificial intelligence systems can process auditory signals in ways that closely resemble how the human brain encodes speech. By recording brain activity with scalp electrodes while people listened to a single syllable and comparing those responses to signals from an unsupervised AI trained on English, … Read more

Summary: After intense, prolonged stress, people’s sense of normalcy can rebound within weeks, new research finds. Source: University of Maryland The coronavirus pandemic introduced widespread uncertainty and new daily pressures—from sudden shifts to working at home to managing children’s remote learning. Despite that upheaval, many people managed to regain a feeling of normalcy more quickly … Read more

Summary: A new study shows that artificial intelligence can reliably estimate a child’s future risk of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) years before a clinical diagnosis is typically made. By mining subtle patterns in routine electronic health records (EHRs) collected from birth through early childhood, the AI detects combinations of developmental, behavioral, and clinical markers that … Read more

If you are a parent or caregiver worried that your child might have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), obtaining a timely diagnosis is crucial—early intervention often leads to the best long-term outcomes. “As many studies have shown, early intervention is critical for the best outcomes in children with autism, and many believe the earlier the better,” … Read more

Summary: New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst reveals how the amygdala contributes to prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex by activating inhibitory neurons in the mouse brain stem. These findings clarify a key sensorimotor gating circuit and may help guide development of therapies for schizophrenia, OCD, PTSD, and other conditions marked … Read more