In recent years, schools cut back on arts and physical education to make way for more instructional time. All that work and no play may be making Jack and Jill, well, dull. But new research shows that exercise can make the brain sharper. The study demonstrated that a prolonged regimen of aerobic and resistance exercises … Read more
Middle-aged and older adults with insomnia disorder may face increased odds of developing subjective memory decline compared with their peers who have only a few or no insomnia symptoms, an analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging suggests. “Since sleep is important for memory consolidation and other cognitive functions, disrupted sleep is likely to … Read more
The passage of time felt altered for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from difficulty keeping track of the days of the week to feeling that the hours either crawled by or sped up, new research suggests. Results showed the sense of present focus, blurring weekdays and weekends together, and uncertainly about the future … Read more
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) for 20 minutes over 4 consecutive days can improve both short- and long-term memory for at least 1 month in older adults, new research suggests. The effects were “moderate to large and the overwhelming majority of participants, 85% to 90%, experienced the memory benefit,” study investigator Robert Reinhart, PhD, Cognitive … Read more
We tend to think a good night’s sleep should be uninterrupted, but surprising new research from the University of Copenhagen suggests just the opposite: Brief awakenings may be a sign you’ve slipped well. The study, done on mice, found that the stress transmitter noradrenaline wakes up the brain many times a night. These “microarousals” were … Read more
Amy Costa Poor objective sleep efficiency may contribute to older adults overestimating their cognitive abilities, preliminary findings from a pilot study of objective and subjective cognitive measures have shown. The pilot study underscored the important role of objective sleep measures to better understand discrepancies when patients’ own reports of everyday cognitive function don’t align with … Read more
Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. The covered study in this summary was published on medRxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed. Key Takeaway Patients with post-COVID syndrome have a long-term cognitive impairment that can last for more than 3 months and can … Read more
Long-term cannabis use is linked to hippocampal atrophy and poorer cognitive function in midlife — known risk factors for dementia. A large prospective, longitudinal study showed long-term cannabis users had an intelligence quotient (IQ) decline from age 18 to midlife (mean 5.5 IQ points), poorer learning and processing speed compared to childhood, and self-reported memory … Read more
According to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 3 million people have already fled from Ukraine. As of March 18, around 200,000 of these refugees had fled to Germany, according to information from that country’s police force. They are escaping from bombs, tanks, and the destroyed infrastructure of their … Read more
Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Even mild cases of COVID-19 are associated with brain changes including decreased gray matter, an overall reduction in brain volume, and cognitive decline, a new imaging study shows. In the first study to use magnetic resonance brain imaging, before and after … Read more