| At long last, with increasing vaccinations against COVID-19, more and more people are able to go out into the world. That includes those who worried for their health—and perhaps did not work for the past year. What can folks do to prepare for the next working stage of their life, from a brain perspective? Our co-founder Dr. Michael Merzenich has some recommendations. |
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 Best regards, Jeff Zimman
Co-founder
Posit Science |
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| | | Hate Some Sounds? Here’s Why “Misophonia” is the feeling some people get when they respond very negatively to certain sounds, such as chewing or breathing. At its worst, it can be a very intense reaction that is difficult for the person to endure. This may sound extreme—but research suggests that between 6 and 20% of people experience some degree of it. A new study shows that in the brains of people with misophonia, the auditory cortex is miscommunicating with other parts of the brain. Learn more. |
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Aspirin May Combat Cognitive Effects of Pollution Research has shown that air pollution can accelerate cognitive decline and increase the risk of dementia. But a recent study shows that men taking NSAIDs (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin) reduced that risk. The study, while impressive, was not definitive—but certainly merits more research. Learn more. |
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The “Glue of Cognition” A new study using precise, cutting-edge technology has followed what happens in the brain from the origins of a thought to its conclusion. The study confirmed that the prefrontal cortex is the “orchestrator,” directing activity and managing the outcome. Learn more. |
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Is Your Phone Making You Better—or Worse—at Multitasking? Using a smartphone often means switching between focuses: from a work email, to a social media post, to a personal message. Earlier studies suggested that this cognitive load was actually bad: that all this switching made you more distracted. New research suggests the answer is more complicated. Learn more. |
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Is Your Memory Reliable? Lately, scientific studies have exposed how poor eyewitness accounts can be, calling into question how reliable our memories for an event really are. And studies show that in some ways, our memories are very weak. But a recent study showed that our memories (for a few days, at least) may be stronger than previously thought. Learn more. |
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News from BrainHQ Coming soon to the web version of BrainHQ: new ways to track your progress! We'll be launching a feature that makes it easy to see what you accomplished in a training session—from the stars you earned to your "best moments" to the levels you completed. These are similar to what is already available in the iOS app. Get a sneak peek in this blog post! |
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A Tattoo on My Brain: A Neurologist’s Personal Battle Against Alzheimer’s Disease (2021) By Daniel Gibbs
In more than 25 years of practice, neurologist Daniel Gibbs had seen many people with Alzheimer’s. And then, he started to notice signs that he might be headed in that direction—and knew he had genetic markers that predisposed him for the disease. In this rare account—written by a knowledgeable person in the early stages of Alzheimer’s—Dr. Gibbs paints a hopeful picture of the path forward for this devastating disease. Read more or buy. |
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