Caffeine hinders the brain’s recovery following sleep deprivation by suppressing cerebral grey matter response.
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These findings are from a study in @SciReports which explored whether daily use of caffeine could prevent or exacerbate the grey matter alterations induced by 5-day sleep restriction. 2/9 nature.com/articles/s4159…
May 31 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Healthier diets & lower waist-to-hip ratio are associated with better cognition & brain connectivity.
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These findings are from a study in @JAMANetworkOpen which aimed to ascertain how longitudinal changes in diet quality and waist to hip ratio (WHR) during midlife are associated with hippocampal connectivity and cognitive function in later life. 2/7 jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…
May 29 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
This is a neuroscientific model of a near-death experience.
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These findings are from a paper in @NatRevNeurol which discussed processes that underlie the rich conscious experience in near-death experiences (NDEs), addressing both the potential psychological mechanisms and neurophysiological changes. 2/11 nature.com/articles/s4158…
May 27 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Citrus fruit intake is associated with a lower risk of depression.
The gut-brain axis may be an evolutionary advance of the root-leaf axis in plants.
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These findings are from a paper in @jineuroscience which proposed morphological and functional similarities between (i) plant leaves and the human brain and (ii) plant roots and the human gastro-intestinal tract. 2/9 imrpress.com/journal/JIN/17…
May 23 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
"95% of serotonin is in the gut"
Many state that it's not relevant since it doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier
A new study found that deleting the serotonin reuptake transporter in the gut of mice produced significant antidepressant effects
Red light increases energy (ATP) production & reduces blood glucose levels.
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These findings are from a study in @jbiophotonics which aimed to test the hypothesis that increased ATP production due to photobiomodulation (PBM) will demand increased glucose consumption, and change plasma glucose levels. 2/10 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jb…
May 21 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
The first trial of creatine in Alzheimer's dementia was just published.
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These findings are from a study in @alzassociation which investigated the feasibility of 20 g/day creatine for 8 weeks in 20 people with Alzheimer's disease (AD). 2/8 alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tr…
May 20 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Our paper was just published in Brain Medicine.
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Ultra-processed foods now dominate the food supplies of high-income countries, with over 50% of energy intake coming from ultra-processed foods in the United States. 2/11
May 14 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
People with depression have an expanded brain network which predates symptom onset.
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Despite depression being the leading cause of health-related disability, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this disorder remain poorly understood from the perspective of neural network systems. 2/13
May 13 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Depression may rewire the gut-brain axis towards craving carbohydrates & disliking protein.
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These findings are from a study in @CambUP_Psych which analyzed how depression affects food preferences in a sample of 117 people (54 with depression & 63 healthy controls) via cue reactivity tasks. 2/9 cambridge.org/core/journals/…
May 11 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Cannabis smoking is linked with epigenome-wide disruptions which persist despite quitting.
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These findings are from a study in @BMC_series which conducted an epigenome-wide DNA methylation analysis that identified differential methylated positions (DMPs) associated with cannabis smoking. 2/8 bmcpulmmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…
May 10 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Adjunctive vitamin D preserves brain structural & functional connectivity in depression.
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These findings are from a study in @CambUP_Psych which investigated the effects of vitamin D supplementation on the brains of people with depression. 2/9 cambridge.org/core/journals/…
May 9 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
The largest summary of supplements for depression.
The geometry of the brain shapes its function more than connectivity.
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These findings are from a study in @Nature which aimed to determine a unified framework for how brain function emerges from a relatively stable anatomical scaffold. 2/11 nature.com/articles/s4158…
May 4 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Playing a video game increased brain hippocampal grey matter.
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These findings are from a study in @PLOSONE which tested the impact of 3D-platform video game training (i.e., Super Mario 64) on brain grey matter of older adults. 2/9 journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…
May 3 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
Higher physical activity is associated with lower brain amyloid burden - a key protein linked to Alzheimer’s dementia.
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These findings are from a study in @alzassociation which investigated midlife physical activity changes in relation to Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related pathologies. 2/11 alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10…
May 1 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
72 hours without your phone rewires neural pathways tied to impulse control and reward.
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These findings are from a study in @ELSpsychology which used a functional MRI (fMRI) to investigate the effects of smartphone restriction over 72 h in 25 young adult smartphone users. 2/8 sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Apr 29 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Exercise leads to the release of myokines, increasing neuron growth by 4x.
Light treatment had the same effect as an antidepressant - with earlier response and less side effects.
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These findings are from a study in @APA_Journals which compared the effectiveness of light therapy and an antidepressant for the treatment of seasonal affective disorder. 2/9 psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/aj…
Apr 26 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Severe exercise reversibly reduces brain myelin content.
Myelin lipids may act as glial energy reserves in extreme metabolic conditions.
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These findings are from a study in @NatMetabolism which used magnetic resonance imaging to study the impact of marathon running on brain structure in humans. 2/12 nature.com/articles/s4225…