Step inside the Default Mode Network. Or breathe inside of it? Lose yourself in it? We’re not really sure yet. We’ve all been there – part way through a lecture, meeting, or workout you find yourself thinking about what to make for dinner, how to remodel your living room, what ever happened to your 4th […]
In a recent article I talked about magnetic fields stimulating the brain using a device call the ‘God Helmet’. I’m not going to open that can of worms again, but I did promise to delve into TMS and how it uses magnetic fields to stimulate the brain. TMS stands for transcranial magnetic stimulation – it […]
Researchers at the University of Zurich studied 191 adults over two years, using magnetic resonance imaging to assess each individual three times, tracking 450 anatomical features in the brain and they found that structural differences between participants were significant enough that they could identify an individual, based on the anatomy of their brain, with over 90% accuracy. […]
There has been some hype recently (see here, here, or here) about a helmet that has caused “mystical experiences” among individuals at a Dutch music festival. Sounds pretty cool, and a little unbelievable, that a helmet could cause such a reaction. What makes it even more unbelievable is it was just a skateboard helmet with […]
It’s an all too familiar struggle: cramming in a little more studying for your final tomorrow, working a double shift and getting home as the sun is rising, up all night with a baby that just won’t settle. Regardless the cause, I think it’s safe to say everyone has experienced at least one night in […]
Is love a marathon or a sprint? For your brain, it’s both. Most of us are familiar with the rush associated with ‘falling in love’. Sweaty palms, a racing heart, a little bit of a swoon every time your new love looks at you, and a tendency to overhaul the other things going on in […]
Yes. The answer is an unequivocal, irrefutable yes. We can see this in anecdotal personal experiences and in research. Let’s start with an anecdote and then we’ll explore some research and what it might mean for you on your own journey. In the past, I struggled with a bunch of different mental illness diagnoses. The […]
Researchers from the University of Buffalo have found that psychiatric drugs and their metabolized remnants are building up in the brains of fish species in the Great Lakes: Selective Uptake and Bioaccumulation of Antidepressants in Fish from Effluent-Impacted Niagara River Waste treatment facilities don’t remove chemicals like those found in psychiatric medications. This may sound harmless […]
If you saw Matt’s post last week on that Icelandic model for reducing drug use amongst youth–if you didn’t, read it here–you might be wondering: Why can’t we do that in North America? Well, one of the reasons is because the healthcare systems in the US and Canada are heavily invested in what’s known as the “disease model” […]
Can you predict whether a child will develop anxiety or depression based on a brain scan at birth? A study published this February in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry examined connections between the amygdalae and other areas of the brain to find correlations between those connections and possible symptoms of anxiety […]