Being highly sensitive and having a high level of sensation-seeking may feel like living life with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake – but this paradox can be your greatest strength. When you accept and respect both sides, highly sensitive sensation seekers can truly thrive.
Look in a mirror. The face you see feels completely like your own. You rarely question it. But what if your brain could be convinced that another face also belongs to you?
Ramadan is a holy month in Islam, focused on introspection. A key part is fasting between sunrise and sunset. What effect does this have on the brain? Esther Aarts, scientist and research program leader in Nutrition & Cognition, explains.
New research reveals a surprising connection between gut bacteria and social fear
Scroll through any social media feed and you’ll find people sharing their highs and lows, sometimes openly, sometimes between the lines. For years, researchers have hoped that artificial intelligence (AI) could learn to recognize early signs of depression from our words. The idea is simple and powerful: if language carries emotional fingerprints, algorithms might one day detect distress before it becomes a crisis.
But what if these systems end up hearing some experiences more clearly than others?
It was only halfway through the twentieth century that autism was given a clear name and definition. Yet doctors at that time already noticed that some autistic children also had epileptic seizures. Today we know that this connection is no coincidence: autism and epilepsy have more in common than once thought.
Microplastics from everyday containers can harm not only the environment but also the human brain by triggering inflammation and disrupting cognitive and emotional functions. While complete avoidance is difficult, switching to reusable alternatives like glass or stainless steel can help reduce exposure and protect brain health.
In recent years, many cool techniques have been developed for brain research and for the treatment of all kinds of psychological and neurological disorders — such as focused ultrasound, deep brain stimulation, or laminar fMRI. Another brand-new method is neurofeedback, where you receive direct feedback about your brain activity and can thus create immediate connections between the inside and outside of your skull. This offers a new way to gain direction and control in your brain.
Many young people between 16 and 25 years suffer from psychological symptoms such as anxiety or sadness. Research shows that mindfulness training can have positive effects in adults with mental disorders such as depression, but the effect in youth remains understudied. In this article, we discuss whether mindfulness could possibly help young people become more resilient to mental illness.
It is time to rethink our approach to mental health treatment. As depression rates rise