Do long, dark winter nights get you down? For those affected with the form of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the winter can be a difficult time. The National Health Service of the UK estimates that 7% of Britons are affected by SAD, and U.S. estimates hover between 4% and 6%. According to Mayo [...]

I recently read about a study that had some good news in it for me–researchers recently found that people, especially men, who actively watch or participate in sports and cultural activities are happier and healthier than those who stay at home. As an avid participant in athletics (softball, basketball, and golf), watcher of sports (season [...]

A few days ago, we hosted a Q&A session on Facebook about brain plasticity and brain fitness with Posit Science founder Dr. Michael Merzenich. For those who missed the discussion and prefer to read it in transcript form, I’ve re-posted it here. Question: I would love to know what Dr. Merzenich thinks about brain plasticity [...]

Sometimes I wonder how anyone living hundreds of years ago survived into adulthood. My daughter wouldn’t have–she has had a couple of terrible illnesses that in an earlier era would have been untreatable. It wouldn’t take much: things as simple as an ear infection, a deep cut, or even being very near-sighted would have been [...]

Last week I wrote about some very healthy, happy centenarians and talked about a recent study on people aged 100+ that found some commonalities across those living long and well. Today I saw that Dr. Mark Lachs has just come out with a new book called Treat Me, Not My Age which purports to give [...]

It’s common wisdom that women become emotionally unhinged when it’s their “time of the month,” right? Supposedly, we get weepy, angry, and just generally difficult whenever our periods come along. Is it true? For some women, sure, at least on occasion. Others aren’t as affected. This emotional instability has long been associated with hormonal changes [...]

“No man is an island,” John Donne famously wrote.  In recent years, neuroscientists have caught up with the wisdom of the 17th century poet in recognizing how important–in fact, essential–it is for us to stay connected and engaged with other people. Countless studies have shown maintaining rich, meaningful relationships and social interaction is a key [...]

A new study has untangled the connection between depression and dementia, providing clear evidence that depression is a risk factor for dementia. Prior to this finding, it was unclear to researchers whether depression increased the risk of developing dementia or if dementia led to increased depression. Researchers screened nearly 1,000 participants and found 125 who [...]

For many years scientists have been able to stimulate certain brain regions to treat various disorders, including depression and Parkinson’s disease.  This treatment method is often imprecise and over-stimulation of the brain can have damaging effects.  A recent study of deep brain stimulation therapy in patients with Parkinson’s disease found that patients with the brain [...]

Recently Dr. Jerri Edwards of the University of South Florida published a paper showing that older adults who cease driving have higher mortality rates.1 You might think this can be easily explained by the fact that unhealthy people are more likely to cease driving. However, Dr. Edwards used an analytical method to take into account [...]