This post is about VNS after stroke and how VNS helps with recovery. VNS is short for vagal nerve stimulation. VNS is a form of bioelectric neuromodulation, a remarkable treatment for brain disorders. It’s been around for decades, but recent discoveries mean it no longer requires surgery. We’ve been using the noninvasive form of VNS…
Astonishing results from a huge meta-analysis of more than 1.5 million people revealed an association between energy drinks and suicide. This doesn’t mean energy drinks cause suicide, but it does tell us that there is a link between energy drink consumption and suicide. Let’s unpack the connection between energy drinks and suicide. Is it about…
Your Breathprint — The Signature Written in Air Every breath you take recruits a symphony of neurons whose unique wiring shapes the rhythm of your inhalations and exhalations. This isn’t random noise. It’s a living pattern — a breathprint — as distinctive to you as your fingerprint. Think of it as a neural conformation shaped…
For decades, neuroscience has shown that depression isn’t just a disorder of mood. Unquestionably, depression is also a disorder of brain structure and function. In particular, we know that depression can lead to shrinkage of the hippocampi in your brain. Now that’s an alarming piece of information! In fact, this is not a new finding.…
Neuroplasticity is critical to brain function. It’s so critical, that without it, you would die! Wow! That’s a surprising statement. Amazingly, it’s true. Neuroplasticity is all about how your brain forms new connections, how your brain rewires itself. And for any brain, that’s a core function. As pumping is to hearts, so forming new connections…
The Surprising Connection Between Wildfire Smoke and Brain Health: What You Need to Know Wildfires are getting worse. Look at what has happened in California, Greece, in Portugal. Of course, with global warming, you can be sure that there will be more devastating wildfires. Wildfires are not only ravaging the environment and endangering communities, but…
Neuroinflammation is swelling in the brain. It’s bad news. Swelling occurs in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Alternatively, diseases such as hypertension or diabetes lead to stroke, which in turn triggers neuroinflammation. Or bad luck strikes and someone suffers a traumatic brain injury, which leads to neuroinflammation. Neuroinflammation is a common…
The Classic Case of Misfolded Proteins Did you know that misfolded proteins cause Mad Cow Disease? Strictly speaking, people don’t get Mad Cow Disease. Instead, cows do! Duh! When people eat the meat of infected cows, then they get Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CKD), a kind of dementia. CKD is bad news and kills you quickly. Probably…
Misguided & Misguiding: Misfolded Proteins Proteostasis is the system our bodies use to keep proteins in functional balance. Normally, it works brilliantly. However, misfolded proteins arise when proteostasis goes wrong. This is more likely to happen the older you get. Now, you might think that misfolded proteins are not a big deal but you’d be…
Do antidepressants really work? Well, for some people with severe major depressive disorder there are some benefits. However, the less nuanced, and perhaps alarming, answer is no. Antidepressants do not work for the majority of people who use them. Do you suffer from depression? Even more to the point, do you use antidepressants? If so,…
