https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Some mornings when you wake up, your head is fuzzy, your body is heavy, and you don't feel rested. It felt like you were dreaming all night. But did all that dreaming actually wear you out? Let's look at what the science says. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-vivid.html Wed, 27 May 2026 08:20:01 EDT news699087842 Social media is saturated with menopause solutions: powders for brain fog, gummies for sleep or capsules promising hormonal balance. Supplements such as magnesium, lion's mane, creatine and collagen are being marketed as must-haves for perimenopause and menopause. But how much of this is actually grounded in science? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-supplements-menopause-evidence.html Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:00:07 EDT news696164582 As a researcher investigating how electric brain stimulation can improve people's powers of recollection, I'm often asked how memory works—and what we can do to use it more effectively. Happily, decades of research have given us some clear answers to both questions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-memory-effectively.html Sat, 18 Apr 2026 14:30:03 EDT news695295515 Though many studies approach the developmental disorder Rett syndrome as a single condition arising from general loss of function in the gene MECP2, a new study by neuroscientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT shows that two different mutations of the gene caused many distinct abnormalities in lab cultures. Moreover, correcting key differences made by each mutation required different treatments. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-rett-syndrome-highlights-potential-personalized.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:40:01 EDT news695403841 Animal behavior reflects a complex interplay between an animal's brain and its sensory surroundings. Only rarely have scientists been able to discern how actions emerge from this interaction. A new study in Nature Neuroscience by researchers in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT offers one example by revealing how circuits of neurons within C. elegans nematode worms respond to odors and generate movement as they pursue smells they like and evade ones they don't. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-nematodes-scientists-brains-behaviors.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 05:00:01 EDT news694973941 Hormone therapy is widely used to treat menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats. But scientists have long debated whether it affects dementia risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-hormone-therapy-dementia-menopause-treatment.html Sat, 21 Mar 2026 15:00:03 EDT news692877026 A simple, digital intervention that includes mentally playing Tetris can dramatically reduce intrusive memories of trauma in a month, even to the point of being symptom-free after six months, new research has found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-tetris-gameplay-treatment-traumatic-flashbacks.html Thu, 19 Feb 2026 07:42:28 EST news690709206 Every day, our brains transform quick impressions, flashes of inspiration, and painful moments into enduring memories that underpin our sense of self and inform how we navigate the world. But how does the brain decide which bits of information are worth keeping—and how long to hold on? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-brain-reveals-sequentially-molecular-timers.html Wed, 26 Nov 2025 11:00:23 EST news683303101 The largest study of its kind has found menopause is not associated with an increased risk of disability in women with multiple sclerosis (MS). Until now, the impact of reduced sex hormones on women with MS had only been the subject of small studies, some with conflicting results. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-multiple-sclerosis-worsen-menopause-symptoms.html Mon, 29 Sep 2025 13:31:04 EDT news678371461 Hot flashes, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, urinary incontinence and joint pain: these are just some of the more than 100 symptoms associated with the menopause, a natural process that all women go through when they stop ovulating and menstruating, typically between the ages of 45 and 55. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-comprehensive-action-workplace-menopause.html Mon, 26 May 2025 14:40:03 EDT news667488727 Have you ever been stuck on a problem, puzzling over something for what felt like ages without getting anywhere, but then suddenly the answer came to you like a bolt from the blue? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-brain-scans-reveal-mind-insight.html Wed, 14 May 2025 17:20:03 EDT news666462001 Women who exhibit more menopausal symptoms are more likely to later have poorer cognitive function and mild behavioral impairments—both markers of dementia. That is the conclusion of a study of 896 postmenopausal females published in PLOS One by Zahinoor Ismail of the University of Calgary, Canada, and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-menopause-symptoms-future-memory-neuropsychiatric.html Wed, 05 Mar 2025 14:00:09 EST news660390061 Artificial intelligence might be able to more quickly and affordably identify menopausal women who are having problems with memory or cognition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-01-ai-memory-issues-cognitive-decline.html Fri, 17 Jan 2025 11:00:04 EST news656334001 Resembling a seahorse, as its name implies from the Greek words "hippos" (horse) and "kampus" (sea monster), the hippocampus is a brain region crucial for memory formation. But until recently, scientists have not been able to link memory formation to distinct molecular signals. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-11-scientists-deep-memory-hippocampus.html Wed, 20 Nov 2024 09:38:05 EST news651317881 Researchers from Kyushu University have uncovered new variations to a traditional illusion, based on how we perceive the motion of flashing lights. Published on May 21 in i-Perception, the findings show that when three light flashes are presented in rapid succession in our side vision, our brain tends to perceive them in a straight line, with the second flash around the midpoint, no matter the actual location of the second flash. This research, which earned the journal's Early Career Best Paper Prize this year, offers new perspectives on perceptual errors and eyewitness testimony reliability. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-visual-rabbit-illusion.html Tue, 11 Jun 2024 10:41:50 EDT news637321293 Fear and addiction exert significant influence within society. Managing them is often challenging, as they are driven by intricate neuronal circuits in our brains. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms is crucial to intervene when these processes malfunction. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-02-fracture-technique-neuronal-insights-medial.html Wed, 14 Feb 2024 10:22:40 EST news627128557 During even the most routine visits, physicians listen to sounds inside their patients' bodies—air moving in and out of the lungs, heart beats and even digested food progressing through the long gastrointestinal tract. These sounds provide valuable information about a person's health. And when these sounds subtly change or downright stop, it can signal a serious problem that warrants time-sensitive intervention. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-11-first-of-their-kind-wearables-capture-body-health.html Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news619347668 Cancer treatment is riddled with pros and cons, trade-offs. During October, breast cancer awareness month, the spotlight shines on endocrine therapy or "hormonal therapy." The drug, Tamoxifen, and others like it that shut down estrogen, are well-known in this category among breast cancer survivors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-10-qa-hot-vaginal-dryness-endocrine.html Wed, 18 Oct 2023 13:42:05 EDT news616855322 Because figuring out what is new and what is familiar in what we see is such a critically important ability for prioritizing our attention, neuroscientists have spent decades trying to figure out how our brains are typically so good at it. Along the way they've made key observations that seem outright contradictory, but a new study shows that the mystifying measures are really two sides of the same coin, paving the way for a long-sought understanding of "visual recognition memory" (VRM). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-09-contradiction-advances-visual-recognition-memory.html Wed, 27 Sep 2023 10:39:35 EDT news615029968 As if hot flashes alone weren't bad enough for women going through the menopause transition, a new study suggests that, especially when they occur during sleep, hot flashes may be early indicators of a woman's increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). And, the more hot flashes, the greater the disease risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-09-hot-early-indicator-alzheimer-disease.html Wed, 27 Sep 2023 06:34:38 EDT news615015273 Hot flashes have long been known to be linked to a number of adverse health effects. Emerging data suggests an association between them and cardiovascular disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-09-hot-linked-factors-cardiovascular-disease.html Wed, 27 Sep 2023 06:34:11 EDT news615015247 Findings from a new study suggest that taking a probiotic could help prevent the decline in memory and thinking that can accompany aging. This research may pave the way for new, non-invasive treatments that leverage the gut microbiome to mitigate cognitive decline in the aging population. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-probiotics-age-related-cognitive-decline.html Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:20:01 EDT news609408068 Women often talk about the struggles they face feeling pinched between family and work obligations. As a result, many have trouble getting enough quality sleep, managing stress and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. These issues are very near and dear to the heart of Notre Dame's Jessica Payne, professor of psychology and director of the Sleep, Stress and Memory (SAM) Lab, whose research focuses on how sleep and stress influence psychological function, well-being and human memory. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-qa-expert-stress-memory-women.html Thu, 23 Mar 2023 09:41:05 EDT news598783262 Menopause and the years before it may make you feel like you're losing your mind. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-mood-memory-minding-mental-toll.html Wed, 21 Dec 2022 16:10:02 EST news590859295 A new study, published by the North American Menopause Society in the journal Menopause, found that a diet intervention is about as effective (88%) as hormone replacement therapy (70–90%) for reducing menopausal hot flashes, without the associated health risks. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-10-foods-hot-menopause.html Wed, 19 Oct 2022 13:56:41 EDT news585406600 A new MIT study finds that Alzheimer's disease disrupts at least one form of visual memory by degrading a newly identified circuit that connects the vision processing centers of each brain hemisphere. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08-alzheimer-degrades-cells-hemispheres-visual.html Fri, 19 Aug 2022 12:50:04 EDT news580132201 A new study from Tel Aviv University proposes a new learning method for people with autism that may accelerate the learning process and even significantly improve capabilities in terms of visual perception. According to the researchers, improving the perceptual capacity of people with autism is often a challenge, which usually requires long and tedious training alongside additional learning challenges that characterizes autism, such as the ability to generalize learning to new situations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08-method-people-autism-visual-perception.html Mon, 01 Aug 2022 10:54:59 EDT news578570095 An international team of researchers has found that injecting older mice with cerebrospinal fluid from younger mice can lead to an improvement in memory. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes a technique to remove small amounts of cerebrospinal fluid from young mice and inject it into the brain of an older mouse without causing damage. Miriam Zawadzki and Maria Lehtine with Boston Children's Hospital have published a News & Views piece in the same journal issue outlining the work done by the team in this new effort. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-mouse-cerebrospinal-fluid-young-memory.html Thu, 12 May 2022 09:20:01 EDT news571564978 A new study by scientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT provides the most comprehensive and rigorous evidence yet that the mammalian brain stores a single memory across a widely distributed, functionally connected complex spanning many brain regions, rather than in just one or even a few places. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-memory-brain-regions.html Mon, 11 Apr 2022 08:22:53 EDT news568884166 The first time I reached past the sheer horror of the concept of death and wondered what the experience of dying may be like, I was about 15. I had just discovered gruesome aspects of the French revolution and how heads were neatly cut off the body by a Guillotine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-death-conscious-life-eyes.html Fri, 04 Mar 2022 09:39:26 EST news565609163