Greater Social Engagement and Greater Gray Matter Microstructural Integrity in Brain Regions Relevant to Dementia

In recent years, research has been discovering that social engagement (SE), such as performing purposeful activities in life, meeting with friends and family, attending social gatherings, and engaging in recreational activities, can provide great benefits for the human aging process. More specifically, SE can help protect us against cognitive impairment, such as dementia, as we…

Can the Secretome of Mesenchymal Stem Cells be Used to Effectively Treat Alzheimer’s Disease?

Can the Secretome of Mesenchymal Stem Cells be Used to Effectively Treat Alzheimer’s Disease? Alzheimer’s disease is one of the many forms that dementia can come in and is the most prevalent form of dementia in the elderly population. Alzheimer’s results in clots formed in the brain due to a product known as beta-amyloid. Alzheimer’s…

Blood Pressure and Dementia: Are You at Risk?

Mental disorders. It seems like everyone knows someone who suffers from one affliction or another. Some worse than others, though one can attest that dementia associated with brain aging is one of the most painful afflictions to witness. Most frequently characterized by memory loss, personality changes and impaired mental reasoning. Resulting in suffering individuals completely…

The Role of Serotonin Transporters in Tourette Syndrome and OCD

Tourette Syndrome is a disorder characterized by repeating motor movements and/or verbal tics that are not easily suppressed. It is common for people with Tourette Syndrome to have additional conditions such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and anxiety disorder. The simultaneous presence of Tourette Syndrome and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) has been of interest…

The Connection Between GABA and Parkinson’s Disease

To understand Parkinson’s Disease, it is important to understand the brain and its function related to the disease. Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive disease of the Central Nervous System, progressive meaning that symptoms, such as slowness of movement (bradykinesia), stiffness and tremors, and more will progress and worsen overtime. When dopamine producing neurons in a…

Differences in the ADHD Brain

Have you ever done something without thinking of the consequences that come along with that action? Many individuals who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often impulsive, meaning that they do and say things without thinking. ADHD is the most common diagnosed disorder in children, affecting 3-7% worldwide. It is characterized by symptoms of…

Run Away From Depression

Depression affects many adolescence and young adults and is the main reason of disability worldwide. There have been many drugs created to help combat one’s depression, yet they all come with negative side effects (Chen et al., 2017). Current research is showing that running can be its own kind of therapeutic treatment for depression. Research…

Beginning to Understand Which Chemicals in the Brain Cause ADHD Symptoms (In Rats)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, more commonly known as ADHD, is a well-known mental disorder typically associated with overactive children. Although it is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder in children, it can also present in adolescents and even adults. ADHD is characterised by difficulties in paying attention or remaining still, racing thoughts, and impulsivity. Recognising…

Orexin gene transfer into the amygdala suppresses both spontaneous and emotion-induced cataplexy in orexin-knockout mice

Around 1 in 2000 people suffer from the sleep disorder narcolepsy. The word comes from narco, meaning numbness, and lepsy, meaning seizures. It is a life-long disorder characterized by daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis and fragmentation, vivid hallucinations during sleep transition, and cataplexy, which is the sudden loss of muscle tone while conscious often triggered by…

Loss of Dopaminergic Neurons and its Role in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is described as a neurodegenerative disease characterized by akinesia (loss or impairment of voluntary movement), rigidity, tremors and difficulty walking. The clinical symptoms are thought to be mainly caused by the dopaminergic (DA) neurodegeneration, with other neurotransmitters such as serotonin or acetylcholine being partially responsible as well. Neurodegeneration is the deterioration of…

Linking Perfusion Levels in the Brain to Symptom Severity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by impaired social functioning, over-sensitivity to stimuli, and fixation on objects and routines (Bear et al, 2016). These symptoms are associated with changes in activity in certain parts of the brain, in comparison with typically developing children. One way of measuring activity in any given area…

The Role of TWEAK/Fn14 Signalling in the MPTP-Model of Parkinson’s Disease

In 1985, the discovery of a neurotoxin called 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) changed the lives of six Californians. The young people were recreation drug users, who happened to purchase a synthetic form of heroin that, unfortunately, caused them all to simultaneously develop Parkinson’s disease (Palfreman, 2014). Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder that attacks the nervous system (specifically…