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Another study has come out showing the benefits of CPAP treatment for cognitive impairment caused by obstructive sleep apnea.

Comparison of 17 people with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with 15 age-matched controls has revealed that those with OSA had reduced gray matter in several brain regions, most particularly in the left

New studies show how sleep sculpts your memories, emphasizing what’s important and connecting it to other memories in your brain.

The role of sleep in consolidating memory is now well-established, but recent research suggests that sleep also reorganizes memories, picking out the emotional details and reconfiguring the memories to help you produce new and creative ideas.

A new study finds that gender and maternal assertiveness are factors in determining whether children with autistic symptoms are diagnosed with ASD.

No one is denying that boys are far more likely to be autistic than girls, but a new study has found that this perception of autism as a male disorder also means that girls are less likely to be diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) even when their symptoms are equally severe.

  • New findings add to evidence that the key to not becoming cognitively impaired in old age is vascular health.

More evidence that vascular disease plays a crucial role in age-related cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s comes from data from participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.

A 2-minute questionnaire does an excellent job of indicating older adults with cognitive impairment.

A simple new cognitive assessment tool with only 16 items appears potentially useful for identifying problems in thinking, learning and memory among older adults.

A largish clinical study of cognitively impaired older adults has found six months of DHA supplements improved visual and verbal learning, though not working memory.

There have been mixed findings about the benefits of DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid), but in a study involving 485 older adults (55+) with age-related cognitive impairment, those randomly assigned to take DHA for six months improved the score on a visuospatial learning and episodic memory test.

A new study adds to the evidence that our ability to focus on one thing and ignore irrelevant information gets worse with age, and that this may be a crucial factor in age-related cognitive impairment.

A study involving young (average age 22) and older adults (average age 77) showed participants pictures of overlapping faces and places (houses and buildings) and asked them to identify the gender of the person.

A very large cross-country comparison of U.S. and European countries reveals a correlation between lower average scores on a simple memory test and higher rates of retirement among 60-64 year olds.

Do retired people tend to perform more poorly on cognitive tests than working people because you’re more likely to retire if your mental skills are starting to decline, or because retirement dulls the brain?

Research with genetically engineered mice shows why the apoE4 gene is so strongly associated with Alzheimer’s, and points to strategies for countering its effects.

Carriers of the so-called ‘Alzheimer’s gene’ (apoE4) comprise 65% of all Alzheimer's cases. A new study helps us understand why that’s true.

Another study adds to evidence that the extent of the problems of repeated impact to the head in football have been under-estimated.

Monitoring of 11 football players at a high school in Indiana, who wore helmets equipped with sensors that recorded impart, has revealed the problem of head injuries is deeper than was thought.

Another small study supports earlier research suggesting that low testosterone is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s for older men.

A Chinese study involving 153 older men (55+; average age 72), of whom 47 had mild cognitive impairment, has found that 10 of those in the

A long-running study adds to the evidence that high levels of homocysteine increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and higher levels of vitamin B12 help to bring down these levels and reduce risk.

A seven-year study involving 271 Finns aged 65-79 has revealed that increases in the level of

Every moment a multitude of stimuli compete for our attention. Just how this competition is resolved, and how we control it, is not known. But a new study adds to our understanding.

Following on from earlier studies that found individual neurons were associated with very specific memories (such as a particular person), new research has shown that we can actually regulate the activity of specific neurons, increasing the firing rate of some while decreasing the rate of others

A very large long-running study has found smoking over two packs per day in middle age more than doubled the chances of developing dementia in later life.

Data from 21,123 people, surveyed between 1978 and 1985 when in their 50s and tracked for dementia from 1994 to 2008, has revealed that those who smoked more than two packs per day in middle age had more than twice the risk of developing dementia, both Alzheimer's and

Studies involving gentle electrical stimulation to the scalp confirm crucial brain regions and demonstrate improved learning for specific knowledge.

In a study involving 15 young adults, a very small electrical current delivered to the scalp above the right anterior

  • New research shows that many old bees, like many older humans, have trouble replacing out-of-date knowledge with new memories.

I love cognitive studies on bees. The whole notion that those teeny-tiny brains are capable of the navigation and communication feats bees demonstrate is so wonderful. Now a new study finds that, just like us, aging bees find it hard to remember the location of a new home.

A study with four brain-damaged people challenges the idea that the hippocampus is the hub of spatial and relational processing for short-term as well as long-term memory.

Because people with damage to their

  • Indications that talking provides mental stimulation that helps sharpen your brain are supported and explained by new evidence that particular types of conversation are beneficial.

Following on from earlier research suggesting that simply talking helps keep your mind sharp at all ages, a new study involving 192 undergraduates indicates that the type of talking makes a difference.

Two recent studies point to how those lacking one sense might acquire enhanced other senses, and what limits this ability.

An experiment with congenitally deaf cats has revealed how deaf or blind people might acquire other enhanced senses. The deaf cats showed only two specific enhanced visual abilities: visual localization in the peripheral field and visual motion detection.

Alcohol and marijuana abuse associated with specific cognitive impairments in adolescents, but more surprisingly family history of substance abuse can also have an effect.

A study involving 48 adolescents, of whom 19 had been diagnosed with substance abuse/dependence, and 14 had a family history of substance abuse but no history of personal use, has found that greater alcohol use was associated with a significant decrease in attention and executive function (which

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