Barbie’s hot pink dreamhouse: the brain and colour

In the blockbuster Barbie movie, almost everything in Barbie’s world is a bright pink colour. But what would it be like to actually live in a place that was almost monochromatic—just one colour? It would be bad for the brain, say neuroscientists. Our brains would become desensitized to colour—and the perception of colour is an […]

The connection of inflammation to depression

Major depressive disorders are a major problem—and not everyone finds relief from currently available medications. Those medications most often target brain chemicals (like serotonin), based on the belief that the depressed brain does not regulate those chemicals appropriately. But for many people, the medications might be taking the wrong approach: recent research suggests that for […]

Do children grow out of Learning Disorders?

When your child is diagnosed with a learning disorder, it is natural to worry. What will their future look like? How will this affect their ability to get into a good school? Could they grow out of it? Although learning disorders are lifelong, they can become much easier to manage as kids get older and […]

14 foods that build better brain health

The next time you’re at the supermarket, fill your grocery cart with some brain-boosting foods. Find our top choices that taste great and can protect your cognitive function. Hint: Watermelon and walnuts made the list! Learn more here, on BrainHQ

Mental strain and a tired brain

Many of us have felt a sense of mental exhaustion after working hard on a difficult task. A new study suggests that might be because when people work on cognitively challenging tasks, their brains express more glutamate than when doing easier work. An excess of glutamate can disrupt brain function, so the brain requires rest […]

Mapping Memory

Scientists in Australia have created a new map of brain connections to the hippocampus—a structure that enables us to create memories. This is the most detailed map of this type ever created, and it held a few surprises—including more connections between the hippocampus and the brain’s visual processing centres than the researchers expected. All details […]

ADHD and Drug Abuse

An increased risk of substance dependence is one of the long-term repercussions of ADHD, as is well known. Kids with ADHD are really two to three times more prone to take drugs than kids in the general population, according to a study. All about ADHD and drug abuse just below. This association is not surprising, […]

The brain’s response to petting a dog

A new study shows that petting a dog increases brain activity in the frontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with social and emotional responses, among other things. Other than providing a scientific confirmation to dog lovers that petting a dog is pretty great, why does this research matter? Find out here, on CNN […]

A Clue to Super-Aging

Why do some people retain great cognitive function well past 80, when many others experience some level of cognitive decline? The answer isn’t totally clear, but scientists have recently discovered one possible factor: these “super-agers” have larger neurons in the areas of the brain responsible for memory. Whether they were born that way, or the […]