Mental Health, Brain | featured news

Would you go to the gym or pick up those free weights to prevent memory loss, sharpen your thinking, and protect you from dementia and Alzheimer's? New evidence suggests exercise is the best way to take care of your brain.

Everyone knows stress can cause headaches and sleepless nights. But a new study suggests it can actually shrink your brain.

If you want your memory to stay strong, you probably already know what to avoid -- excessive alcohol, beating your head on things, getting any older. What you probably didn't know is that there are other, lesser known everyday threats that may be slowly turning you into that guy from 'Memento.'

Brain specialists say that dementia may not be inevitable and that making lifestyle changes earlier in life can lessen the chances of it.

One reason optimists retain a positive outlook on life despite all evidence to the contrary has been discovered, say researchers. A study, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggests the brain is very good at processing good news about the future. However, in some people, anything negative is practically ignored - with them retaining a positive world view.

In some cases, Alzheimer's disease may in fact be the result of an infection, and may be even be transmissible, a new study in mice suggests.

Scientists are closing in on a long-sought goal: A blood test to screen people for Alzheimer's disease. An experimental test did a good job of indicating how much of the telltale Alzheimer's plaque lurks in people's brains, Australian researchers reported Wednesday. If the test proves accurate in larger studies, it could offer a way to check people having memory problems to see who needs more definitive testing for the disease.

Brain games can help with abstract reasoning months after the training, but they work only for those who really need and enjoy the exercises, a study says. Training a child to hold a whole cluster of items in his or her memory for even a short time may feel like trying to hold a wave on the sand.

Brain scans that detect early warning signs of Alzheimer's may be available in the United States as soon as this year.

If you have a brain aneurysm, drinking coffee, having sex or even getting angry may boost the risk of it rupturing, a new study suggests.