Brain Tips

08/21/2023

https://blog.braininstitute.ca/brain-health-and-wellness/take-care-of-your-brain-6-tips-for-mental-health/

Caring for your mental health is just as important as looking after your physical health. Perhaps now, during this time of uncertainty and social distancing, it’s more important than ever.

06/20/2022

Humans are unrivalled in the area of cognition. After all, no other species has sent probes to other planets, produced lifesaving vaccines or created poetry. How information is processed in the human brain to make this possible is a question that has drawn endless fascination, yet no definitive answers.

Human brains seem to be wired differently to those of chimps or macaques.

06/20/2022

The lost volume, on average, would be roughly equivalent to that of four ping pong balls, says Jeremy DeSilva, an anthropologist at Dartmouth College in the US. And according to an analysis of cranial fossils, which he and colleagues published last year, the shrinkage started just 3,000 years ago.

Our modern civilisation may be the most advanced to ever exist on Earth, but around 100 generations ago, our ancestors had brains that were larger than our own.

06/19/2022

“We examined if there were unique patterns of neural activity in brain networks that might be associated with emerging troubling, confusing, and frustrating feelings experienced by adolescents, particularly those who may be vulnerable to mental health disorders,” said Dr. Shan, Head of Neuroimaging Platform at the Thompson Institute.

Neuroimaging of a person's unique brain activity may help predict mental health problems during adolescence, a new study reports.

06/19/2022

This fruity optical illusion tells viewers if their eyes are in denial.

Japanese psychologist Akiyoshi Kitaoka went viral on Twitter in 2018 after posting a photo featuring a medley of strawberries laying on top of a custard tart — but four years later viewers still can’t decide what color they are.

The color of the strawberries that most onlookers can see in the picture of the fruit tart — red — is not their true hue in reality.

06/19/2022

When other strategies, such as medications, have failed to help a patient with their depression, rTMS is often used as a treatment. Antidepressants are thought to be ineffective for around 40% of those who have serious depression.

06/15/2022

Researchers found that the average human brain temperature is surprisingly hot.

06/15/2022

Neuroscientists uncovered an energy-saving mode in vision-system neurons that works at the cost of being able to see fine-grained details.

06/15/2022

Would you rather have love, or everything else?

06/13/2022

There are a lot of myths and misinformation about the brain that pass as brain “facts.”

This is somewhat understandable — the study of the human brain is one of the least explored areas in science.

Even experts agree that there is more that we don’t know about the brain than we currently do know.

These brain facts dispel many brain myths based on outdated knowledge. Learn how the brain works, for better (or worse). All facts cite original references.

06/13/2022

The average human brain weighs about three pounds, contains 80 to 90 billion neurons, and controls feelings, memories, sensations and movement. The complexities of the brain have been studied since ancient times, and much has been learned. But neuroscientific research continues to shed light on this amazing organ. Here are five interesting aspects of brain function.

It’s bigger, faster and more adaptable than most owners realize.

06/13/2022

Made up of billions of neurons (or nerve cells) that communicate in trillions of connections called synapses, your brain is one of the most complex and fascinating organs in your body. Keeping your brain healthy and active is vital. Discover just how powerful it is with these interesting facts.

How many nerve cells are in your brain? How fast do brain neurons travel? What causes brain freeze?