Previous studies have shown that being bilingual may delay dementia, but for the first time, a Canadian study has used brain scans to offer additional proof of bilingualism’s protective effects on the brain. Research conducted up to this point has compared older people that speak either one or two languages to gauge the age at [...]

I’ve recently noticed several studies related the effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution on brain function and longevity. The research shows that air pollution may harm the brain and affect cognitive processes negatively. One study looked at people over the age of 51 and found that those who lived in areas with a [...]

In the past week, you may have seen a few news headlines that talked about the idea that Alzheimer’s disease may be contagious. I’ve seen headlines like  ”Alzheimer’s Disease Contagious Like Mad Cow,” “Some Cases of Alzheimer’s May Be Transmitted,” and “Can You ‘Catch’ Alzheimer’s Disease?” Those all sound pretty scary, like something out of a [...]

In the excellent blog The Frontal Cortex, Jonah Lehrer offers his take on a couple of recent studies about how a person’s reaction to mistakes, and subsequent feedback about the mistakes, affect the learning process. The findings might interest you, especially if you are a parent with school-aged children. One recent study focused on why [...]