Summary: A bold, interdisciplinary research programme called Quantum Emotions will investigate how intense human feelings distort the way we store and order memories. Combining psychology, cognitive neuroscience and mathematical tools adapted from quantum theory, the team aims to explain why some emotionally charged moments remain vividly precise while others suffer temporal distortion and fall out … Read more

Summary: A pioneering public health study presents a comprehensive, multidisciplinary map of the interlinked crises of sleep problems, anxiety, and depression in young adults. Moving beyond single-cause explanations, the research identifies 29 biological, psychological, and social factors and shows how they interact to form self-reinforcing cycles that maintain poor mental health. By synthesizing expert consensus, … Read more

Summary: Researchers have created the first objective, real-time method to detect alcohol-induced blackouts while a person is actively drinking. This approach addresses a major public health challenge: until now, blackouts were usually identified only the next day—after injuries, arrests, or overdoses may already have occurred. Using a simple, time-delayed memory task, investigators linked immediate cognitive … Read more

Summary: A neurogenetics study from Niigata University shows that APOE ε4 — a genetic variant best known for increasing Alzheimer’s disease risk — also strongly influences how pathology spreads in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The research demonstrates that ALS comprises biologically distinct subtypes whose progression is shaped in part by a patient’s genetic profile. Using … Read more

Summary: New neuroimmunology research identifies a cellular mechanism that helps explain why exercise improves neurological symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS). The study shows that irisin, a hormone released by muscles during physical activity, has a direct and potent neuroprotective effect in the central nervous system, protecting neurons from inflammation-driven degeneration. Using an established mouse model … Read more

Summary: The timing and structural organization of handwriting can serve as an objective, non-invasive biomarker for cognitive decline. Researchers in Portugal used a digital inking pen and tablet to detect subtle motor fluctuations that standard pen-and-paper tests miss, showing that complex dictation tasks strain working memory and executive functions and reveal fragmentation and uncoordinated handwriting … Read more

Summary: Researchers have developed a streamlined, emoji-based screening tool that objectively measures social development in preschool children. The new digital framework uses nine targeted questions and an intuitive emoji Likert scale to give early childhood educators a fast, reliable way to identify social skill delays in children aged three to five. By replacing lengthy, technical … Read more

Summary: A recent longitudinal study provides the first direct evidence that parental disapproval — especially maternal disapproval — can reliably disrupt children’s friendships. Tracking 394 public-school students over two school years, researchers measured how mothers’ negative opinions and explicit prohibitions shaped the course of close peer relationships. The findings show that mothers can be remarkably … Read more

Summary: A precision functional genomics study has mapped when and how a major schizophrenia-associated gene acts in developing human brain cells. Researchers focused on ZNF804A, one of the earliest schizophrenia risk genes identified from human genomic studies, and found that its peak activity occurs during a critical early developmental window. The team used CRISPR-Cas9 gene … Read more

Summary: A large longitudinal cohort study found a strong association between quitting smoking and a lower risk of developing dementia. While the research does not establish causation, the data show that people who quit smoking had a 16% lower dementia risk than those who continued smoking. Over time, the risk for former smokers steadily declined … Read more