Summary: Toddlers who show strong pretend-play skills are far less likely to have emotional or behavioural problems once they reach primary school. A major longitudinal study of more than 1,400 Australian children identified this link, suggesting that imaginative play in early childhood supports long-term mental wellbeing. The research indicates that pretend play is more than … Read more

Summary: Toddlers who display strong pretend-play skills are far less likely to have emotional and behavioural problems when they reach primary school. A major longitudinal study of more than 1,400 Australian children identified a consistent link between early imaginative play and better mental health outcomes later in childhood. The research indicates that pretend play is … Read more

Summary: Living longer is valuable, but living well matters more. A new observational cohort study shows that cardiorespiratory fitness in midlife strongly influences “health span” — the number of years a person lives free from major chronic disease. Higher midlife fitness delays the onset of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, reducing years … Read more

Summary: Living longer is one thing; living well is another. A large new observational study shows that cardiorespiratory fitness in midlife is a major determinant of health span — the number of years a person lives free from major chronic illness. Researchers tracked more than 24,500 adults using treadmill-based fitness testing in midlife and linked … Read more

Summary: Recording the brain’s electrical “noise” has been possible for decades, but pinpointing which specific cell types are producing those signals has remained a major challenge. Researchers at Boston University have developed PhysMAP, a machine learning framework that distinguishes neuronal cell types from their unique electrophysiological signatures recorded in vivo. PhysMAP can identify cell types … Read more

Summary: Recording the brain’s electrical “noise” has long been possible, but determining which specific cells generate those signals has remained a major challenge. Researchers have developed PhysMAP, a machine learning framework that can distinguish neuron types from their unique electrical signatures. This approach enables identification of cell types implicated in psychiatric disorders directly from in … Read more

Summary: For more than a century, neurons were assumed to be the primary mediators of long-distance communication in the brain. New research from NYU Langone shows that astrocytes—star-shaped glial cells traditionally seen as support cells—form their own organized, long-range networks that connect specific brain regions and reshape with experience. Using a purpose-built tracer and whole-brain … Read more

Summary: For more than a century neurons have been considered the primary carriers of long-range communication in the brain. New research shows that astrocytes — star-shaped glial cells previously thought to serve mainly support roles — form their own structured, long-range networks that link specific brain regions and change with experience. Using a purpose-built tracer … Read more

Summary: For years, motor tics were primarily associated with dysfunction in the brain’s motor cortex, but the emotional and sensory features of Tourette syndrome remained poorly explained. A research team has now mapped a critical pathway linking movement regions to centers that process emotion and internal awareness, offering a biological explanation for the mix of … Read more

Summary: While motor tics have long been associated with dysfunction in the brain’s motor cortex, the emotional and sensory features of Tourette syndrome have been less well understood. A research team has now identified a neural pathway that links movement and emotion centers in the brain, offering a biological explanation for how motor dysfunction can … Read more