Your brain fights addiction with physical exercise

You know that exercise is good for your body, but your brain? Exercise seems to invigorate neurochemicals such as dopamine and serotonin that sense and reinforce pleasure. Depression, anxiety and stress increase risk of alcoholism, smoking or drug abuse. Exercise acts as a mild antidepressant and relieves stress, lowering the risks of addiction. Dr. Nora [...]

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Jamming. No inhibitions, just creativity.

When a musician is jamming, what’s going on in his or her brain? Apparently an enormous number of creative ideas that will never be repeated, according to a surgeon that studies the brains of jazz musicians. This is from a recent interview in the Baltimore Sun with Dr. Charles Limb, a Johns Hopkins surgeon. A [...]

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Lies, repeated often enough, become truths

Unfortunately, this is a fact of life. Political life too. Recall the Swift Boat campaign. When we hear the same information over and over again, true or not, we often end up believing it’s true. That’s the conclusion from authors Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt who wrote (take a deep breath): “Welcome to Your Brain: [...]

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Urgency over post-traumatic stress disorder

There’s another under-reported side effect of war. With many veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones, there’s a rising urgency to find more effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder triggered by exposure to traumatic events. Symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks and panic attacks. Using dramatic brain images, a [...]

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This stem cell stuff really works

It may be possible to treat neurological disorders with stems cells. For the first time, researchers have programmed embryonic stem cells to become nerve cells when they are transplanted into the brain. This is an important step in treatment for neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research [...]

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