Neuronarrative

Musings on the complicated business of thinking

David DiSalvo

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, finds a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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?

Why Drinking When You're Stressed Is Risky Business

Here’s something to keep in mind as the holidays unfold: If you drink alcohol when you’re stressed, you may be flipping a switch that makes heavier drinking all the more likely.

This Is How We Make Our Worst Decisions

The brain is an energy hog that uses 15-20% of the body’s circulating blood glucose each day, and that energy isn't insignificant when it comes to making sound decisions.

How to Create Your Way to Better Stress Management

A new study offers compelling evidence that adults seeking stress relief, no matter how artistically gifted or experienced, should stop making excuses and start making art.

Study: Engaging With Social Media Can Drain Your Brain

The retweet has become a major social currency of our time. It seems harmless to share whatever grabs our attention, but is that really the case?

Why We Hate Not Knowing for Sure

We evolved to respond to uncertainty for good reasons, and that response is still strong with us even if the reasons have changed. Uncertainty is stressful like nothing else.

How Your Size Affects How You Experience the World

Obesity isn’t just unhealthy, it also creates a perceptual obstacle that limits physical activity.

How Sleep Apnea Causes Biochemical Havoc in Your Brain

For the one in 15 adults suffering sleep apnea, every night is a journey into treacherous territory. Now a study shows more precisely what the condition is doing in the brain.

Your Brain's Inner Supervisor Is An Uncertainty Solver

The brain does some remarkable things when we aren’t paying attention. Consider how you engage tasks throughout the day. When you wake up in the morning, a script starts playing that runs you through task after task from the moment you step out of bed to the moment you get into your car on the way to work. And you don't really have to think through any of it.

Why You Trust Your Friends Even When They're Ripping You Off

Your brain wants to trust. We’re wired for social connection—not just casual meet and greets, but genuine connection—and trust is what makes it work. But that same drive to trust, essential though it is, also makes us natural born suckers.

The Curious Connection Between Distraction and Impulsivity

Science is steadily uncovering a link between handicapped working memory resources and handicapped impulse control, with all its unfortunate shortcomings.

Why Jobs That Make You Think Are Good Brain Medicine

Adding to an already robust catalog of research showing that thinking-related challenges are like exercise for the brain, the latest study shows that jobs involving high levels of “executive, verbal and fluid” tasks enhance memory and thinking abilities for years to come.

Your Brain Never Stops Playing the Confidence Game

We seem to be equipped with a way to detect the level of confidence embedded in others’ voices, and even a loud tone—if lacking the confidence intangible—isn’t likely to cause much more than irritation.

Simple Life Hacks to Lose Weight and Improve Your Health

Much of the self-improvement industry is focused on ways to cattle prod our willpower into healthier habits. Behavioral psychologists, on the other hand, have conducted a wealth of research showing that skillful hacks to our homes and offices can produce results that tweaks to willpower, however forceful, rarely make stick.

Why Stress Can Make You Do Some Unusual Things

Researchers have shown that not only does stress predispose us to wanting pleasure, it makes our desire for it drastically out of proportion to our enjoyment. The reward never reaches the level of our want.

Why Happy People Often Seem Tone Deaf To Negative Emotions

A new study finds that feeling positive doesn’t make you any better at empathy than others, and in some ways it’s a handicap.

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