Neuronarrative

Musings on the complicated business of thinking

David DiSalvo

We May Be More Adaptive Than We Think

While stressful events throw us off our game, a recent study finds that our psychological immune system has the power to bounce back faster than previously thought.

Why We Often Fail to Reach Our Goals

If you're sitting at home, as many of us are, thinking through goals you've been wanting to achieve, take note of new research that explains why we often fail to get there.

Yes, Air Pollution Is Affecting Our Mental Health

A growing number of studies are pointing to a link between exposure to air pollution and mental health disorders across age groups.

Finding the Brain Circuits Behind Mood and Anxiety Disorders

The largest brain imaging study of its kind may have found the reason why people with anxiety and mood disorders so often feel unable to escape negative thoughts and emotions.

Is the Brain Wired to Give Up When A Reward Is Out of Reach?

Giving up feels like failure, but new research suggests that it's really just part of a necessary balancing act in the brain.

Study: Put Down Your Smartphone to Let Your Brain Recharge

Our smartphones exert an enormous mental energy drain and it's taking a toll on our performance. A new study reveals the reasons why and what we can do about it.

12 Ways to Change Your Health by Changing Your Mind

When it comes to improving health, changing your mindset can result in science-backed benefits if you can commit to the challenge of following through.

Could Stress Turn Our Gut Bacteria Against Us?

Findings from new research suggests that social stress alters both the composition and behavior of gut bacteria, leading to self-destructive changes in the body’s immune system.

Depression, Inflammation and Women's Mental Health

New research uncovers evidence of the link between inflammation and depression, and also sheds potential light on why women suffer from depression more frequently than men.

The 'Stress Vaccine' May Be Another Step Closer To Reality

The long-theorized 'stress vaccine' may have just taken a big step closer to becoming real, with the discovery of how dirt-dwelling bacteria disarm the fight-or-flight response.

The Purpose-Driven Life Could Also Be a Longer Life

New research suggests that a sense of purpose may boost longevity, but why?

Stress Eating Could Be Even Worse For Us Than We Think

For many of us, stress makes comfort food seem even more irresistible, but research is finding that satisfying the urge might do more harm than we think.

Understanding the Connection Between Sleep and Anxiety

New research is helping to explain crucial linkages between sleep and our mental health, especially the effects of sleep loss on anxiety.

Brain Stimulation Could be the Depression Treatment We Need

Brief brain stimulation sessions, just a handful of minutes each, are proving effective at treating the most difficult to treat cases of depression.

Why It Pays Brain Dividends to Stay Fit in Middle Age

Getting to the gym in middle age can pay brain-protecting dividends later, suggests recent research.

How Untreated Depression Changes the Brain Over Time

A first-of-its-kind study finds evidence of lasting biological changes in the brain for those suffering with depression for more than a decade.

It's True: The Creative Brain Is Wired Differently

The brains of creative people are wired differently than most, according to a new study.

Stress May Not Only Affect the Brains of the Stressed

Science just bolstered the wisdom that it’s never a good idea to bring your stress home with you.

Problem Solving Buffers the Brain Against Anxiety

When it comes to managing anxiety, science just lent more credibility to the advice to “stay busy.”

How The Brain Deals With The Deluge Of Unwanted Thoughts

New research shows what’s going on in the brain when those unwanted thoughts occur, and why some brains are better at controlling them than others.

How Breathing Calms Your Brain

A quick review of the latest science on breathing and the brain, and overall health, serves as a reminder that breathing deserves much closer attention.

Why Your Brain Wants to Take a Break in the Afternoon

We all know what it feels like when our brain goes offline in the middle of the afternoon. A new study helps explain what's going on when we just can't focus.

How Your Brain Makes You Think Expensive Wine Tastes Better

Is that $112 bottle of wine really that much better than the $12 bottle? Here's how your brain tricks you into thinking it must be so.

The Link Between Sugar And Depression: What You Should Know

The connection between excess sugar and depression is becoming increasingly clear.

Who Is Sleeping the Worst, Women or Men?

Women aren't sleeping well, according to recent research, and often the reason is sleeping right next to them.

Why A Lonely Cold Feels Even More Miserable

Catching a cold is a miserable experience no matter who you are, but new research shows how loneliness makes the symptoms even worse.

8 Reasons Why It's so Hard to Really Change Your Behavior

Whether the change involves diet, exercise, habits, dependencies or anything else, changing behavior is one of the hardest things any of us will ever try to do.

Sex Gives Your Brain a Boost

Good news: your brain benefits from staying sexually active. Recent research offers possible reasons why sex is a brain booster.

Six Science-Based Reasons Why Laughter Is the Best Medicine

Laughter is a potent drug with the contagious power of a virus that conveys a slew of benefits for the mind and body.

Here's Why Your Resolutions Can't Rely On Willpower Alone

What if the reason our New Years resolutions often fail has less to do with willpower and more with something we chronically ignore right from the start?

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