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Scientists are uncovering clues to what might be unfolding in the relationship between the brain and immune system in those who suffer from long-term repercussions of stress. New research details those connections, specifically that an abundance of white blood cells in the spleen could be sending messages to the brain that result in behavioral changes [...]
Paul Enck, a medical psychologist at the University of Tübingen, Germany, agrees. He suggests a method that he calls “placebo-controlled dose reduction”. For example: when someone is prescribed a suitable drug, after two or three weeks of taking it regularly they could switch to a pack in which their pills are interspersed with identical placebos. [...]
iStockphoto A new study out today in the journal Nature Communications shows that cells normally associated with protecting the brain from infection and injury also play an important role in rewiring the connections between nerve cells. While this discovery sheds new light on the mechanics of neuroplasticity, it could also help explain diseases like autism [...]
ktsimage/iStockphoto About eight percent of our DNA is viral in origin: remnants of ancient battles between infectious viruses and our ancestors. These so-called endogenous viruses are often perceived as a mere oddity with no clear biological significance. But a new study by scientists at the University of Utah School of Medicine shows that [...]
Shutterstock You have fewer synapses in your brain now than a 2-year-old. That may sound like an insult, but it’s a scientific fact. We’re all born with heads full of lonely, isolated neurons. But as our baby brains are inundated with sensory information over the first two years of life, those neurons rapidly [...]
eruditefeline.wordpress.com, 20th Century Fox Film Corp The association between cats and lunacy is a common one in pop culture. Think of James Bond’s villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Number 1) and his cat, or Inspector Gadget’s Doctor Claw and M.A.D. Cat; or think of Dr. Eleanor Abernathy, the Crazy Cat Lady from The Simpsons. Is it somehow [...]
A new study has found that binge drinking in young, healthy adults significantly disrupts the immune system. For the study, researcher Majid Afshar, M.D., M.S.C.R., now at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, had volunteers drink four or five shots of vodka, then took blood samples to measure their immune systems. The researchers found [...]
A growing body of research on conditions from bipolar disorder to schizophrenia to depression is starting to suggest a tighter link than was previously realized between ailments of the mind and body. Activation of the immune system seems to play a crucial role in both."We just didn't understand how much of a role the immune [...]
Losing your virginity and double standards for men and women: Girlfriend October 2013 Melinda Tankard Reist The article ‘Like a Virgin’, in the October issue of Girlfriend, argues, quite rightly, that there is a double standard when it comes to men losing their virginity and women losing theirs. “It’s time we stopped talking like virginity [...]
Feeling lonely? New research suggests you might want to reach out. Not only is loneliness an unpleasant condition, it can harm the body's immune system. The new study, presented Saturday (Jan. 19) here at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, reveals that people who are lonely experience more reactivation of [...]
