The prevailing idea that as we age our brains turn to mush needs a tune-up. We can prevent or slow the rate of decline through exercise, diet, and a little brain research.

Science proves that men are influenced to risky action by images of scantily-clad women. In other news, the sky is blue!

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but what makes the smell memorable? Would a rose still be sweet if it was paired with a negative experience? Read more to find out.

A new study out of Australia finds that depressed women are more likely to be engaging in sex and sexual activity than their mentally well counterparts. So why aren’t they happy?

Recent research found that socializing could be just as important for the brain as completing more high-minded, intellectual tasks. Read why, then go out with your friends and discuss.

I will admit this blog is a bit selfish in motivation. This has been one of those weeks where the most consistent part of my job has been the number of interruptions. Not only am I trying to juggle about six or eight different tasks there has also been a plethora of personal issues going on. I used to think I was a Zen master when it came to concentration. But this week has challenged that perception; I started feeling like the interruptions were winning. So today I took a few minutes to see if there may be any suggestions in the literature on how to maintain concentration.

A Tokyo-based company offers “heartache leave” after a bad break-up with a partner. Crazy HR staff or appropriate paid time off? New research into using brain imaging techniques show that the areas regulating social and physical pain overlap- meaning experiencing one can lead to feeling the other.

Researchers found a gene variation for rumination.

The general goal of the marketing of products as better, more effective or higher quality is to get us to buy them. However, to what extent do these marketing efforts actually alter our experience to fit our expectations? Does the belief that price and quality are related actually cause people to like things that cost more.. more?

It doesn’t take the proverbial rocket scientist to reach the conclusion that men and women walk differently. The greater pelvic obliquity and less vertical center of mass displacement in women compared with men has long been mentioned as a reason why some men are so distinctly uncool, even rude, staring, etc. as they are wont to do when women walk by.

Results of a new study may help scientists learn how to pinpoint the stress response in humans- helping those coping poorly to increase their resilience.

File this one under extremely obscure cocktail party chatter. Lower body fat, a not so pleasant euphemism for curvy hips, correlates highly with the amount of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid. These fatty acids are being increasingly shown to be essential for brain development. And they may play a large role in how children’s brain develop in the early years.

You may have noticed that Neuroscience seems to be a hot topic these days in the popular press. Neurochemistry is a hot topic across the spectrum of human interest. Whether you’re worried about how to deal with depression, anxiety, weight-loss, cigarette smoking, impending Alzheimer’s, the effects of the modern environment on your children’s brains, or how to attract a mate… the neuroscience industry appears to be working on an answer.

Spending as little as ten minutes talking to others may help improve your memory and intellect. Sound like an infomercial created by teenagers? No, no- it’s real research! Turns out social interaction can provide the same mental-boosting benefits as reading or doing a daily crossword puzzle.