Brain

Changes to one's hippocampus, the brain's memory centre, in response to prolonged pain could be an important factor for why some people develop depression in chronic pain, while others do not, according to a study. "Our findings suggest that the hippocampus acts as a control centre that helps the brain regulate emotional responses to long-term pain. Depression is not inevitable -- it depends on how this system responds over time," co-lead author Jianfeng Feng, professor of computer science at the UK's University of Warwick, said. The study, published in the journal Science, analysed brain scans from population cohorts, including data from the UK Biobank, and a rodent model. People living with chronic pain but without depression tended to show a slightly larger volume of and an increased activity in the hippocampus. The changes were accompanied by an improved performance in learning and memory tasks, suggesting that the brain may initially mount a compensatory response to persistent

Bacterial meningitis is well known as an acute, deadly illness. The World Health Organisation estimates about one in six infected people will die - even with prompt medical care

Is menopause only about hot flashes? Is HRT dangerous? Does brain fog mean dementia? In this episode of our fact-check series

Like many myths, the "age 25" idea is rooted in real scientific findings, but it's an oversimplification of a much longer and more complex process

When the Air Quality Index crosses 400, the air turns into a slow poison. You can’t see it. You can’t smell it. But every breath starts working against your body.

Adults showed no measurable decline in mental performance when fasting, but children and adolescents did worse on tests when they skipped meals

Studies increasingly find links between higher concentrations of certain pollutants and the prevalence of dementia

An impaired movement of the brain's cerebrospinal fluid, which helps remove waste, could explain how poor sleep and heart conditions can increase one's risk of dementia, according to a study. Other functions of the cerebrospinal fluid include cushioning the central nervous system from shocks and delivering nutrients. The colourless fluid is part of the glymphatic system. Researchers led by those at the UK's University of Cambridge said the glymphatic system is considered important for protecting one against varied common forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease in which proteins called amyloid clump up and form toxic 'plaques'. Dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder in which memory, speech and thought processes are steadily affected with age, and can eventually disrupt daily activities. The study, published in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, looked at whether a disorder of the brain's small blood vessels -- which affects .

Endless negative news may feel unavoidable, but doctors warn doomscrolling can rewire brain pathways, impair decision-making, and fuel anxiety in young professionals

Kerala is facing a sudden rise in cases of a rare and deadly brain infection caused by the so-called “brain-eating amoeba”, Naegleria fowleri.

The mother of a nine-year-old girl who died after contracting the so-called "brain-eating amoeba" says she is still struggling to comprehend the loss. "I cannot believe my daughter is gone," a sobbing mother said, adding that there was no clear information from health authorities on how the child became infected. The girl, hailing from Kozhikode, is among those who have succumbed in recent months to Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis, a rare but almost always fatal brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri. Kerala has been grappling with a rare but deadly disease that has claimed the lives of 19 people in recent months. The culprit is a microscopic parasite known as Naegleria fowleri, more commonly called the "brain-eating amoeba", which causes a condition known as Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis, or PAM. The infection is almost always fatal, killing more than 98 per cent of those who contract it. Over 70 cases have been reported in the state this year. The amoeba is found

According to Dr Girishkumar Soni of Lilavati Hospital, the amoeba infects a person when infected water enters the nostrils, commonly while swimming, diving, or nasally rinsing with unsterilised water

Research on changes of mind uses the concept of "metacognition" to explain when and how mind changes occur

From how the amoeba enters the body to expert advice on safety, here's what you should know to reduce your risk

While LLMs reduce cognitive load, a new study warns they may also hinder critical thinking and memory retention - raising concerns about their growing role in learning and cognitive development

A study has found that damage to the prefrontal cortex in the brain that helps with self-control and reasoning could intensify one's political feelings, while damage to brain structure 'amygdala', which is involved in emotional processing, could bring them down. Conducted on Vietnam War veterans, the study compared people who had very localised brain lesions (abnormal change or injury) with those who did not. Researchers have thus identified for the first time which brain networks regulate political passion. "While most people have not sustained brain injuries akin to those experienced by the veterans in the study, our findings tell us what neural circuits are at play for the population at large," senior author Jordan Grafman, a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Northwestern University, US, said. For the study, published in the journal Brain, the researchers analysed the behaviour of 124 male US military veterans with penetrating head trauma and 35 ...

The 79-year-old Lula was in stable condition and speaking and eating normally after the successful operation at Sirio-Libanes Hospital

The appellant alleged that a 'human brain reading machinery' had been obtained by certain individuals at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) and was being used to control his brain

Symptoms of long Covid, including fatigue and brain fog, have been linked to damage to the brainstem or the brain region, which acts as a "critical junction" between consciousness and all that is physically happening in the body, according to a study. The brainstem connects the spinal cord to two main parts of the brain -- cerebrum and cerebellum. Often dubbed as the 'control centre' of involuntary functions, the brainstem regulates basic life-sustaining activities such as breathing, heart rate and sleep, and located at the base of the brain. Symptoms of long Covid have been studied to persist in some patients for up to two years following initial infection. The previous studies have found prolonged inflammation to be one of the main drivers of long Covid. In this study, the researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, UK, looked at high resolution MRI brain scans of 30 patients, who had severe COVID-19 early in the pandemic, and found that the infection caused ...