Many people have done a Meyers Briggs personality test (or something similar) to confirm whether they're one of two extremes: introvert or extrovert. The difference is basic: introverts need alone time to recharge their energies, while extroverts thrive and feel energized being around others. But of course there's more to these simplistic categories; there are [...]
"Let food be thy medicine..." said Hippocrates. "Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," added Mary Poppins, centuries later. Flash forward to the present day, when a team of researchers discover the flavanols found in chocolate help turn back the clock on memory loss. Specifically, flavanols found in chocolate increase blood flow [...]
Vitamin D is a dual nutrient: it is both a vitamin and a hormone the human body can create from sun exposure. It is also vital for bone health and immunity and--according to new research--brain health. (Vancouverites especially should pay attention to these findings, considering the past few weeks' rainfall!) The findings of the study [...]
In this unusual study, researchers used MRI to measure how certain triggers (associations with dental pain vs. contemplating one's own mortality) could affect the human brain's affinity for understanding surrealistic artworks. The study, called Ceci n'est pas la mort: Evidence for the recruitment of self-reference from surrealistic art under mortality salience, was published in the [...]
MRI studies have previously been done on how expensive wine tastes better, because knowing you're consuming something that's got a higher price tag activates more pleasure centres in the brain. But could the same principle work for distributing placebo medication? According to a new MRI study, it can. The study, entitled Placebo effect of medication [...]
A new study published in the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) journal Radiology has reviewed and analyzed the contrasting abilities of MRI and CT scanning of the liver for cancer. The verdict is in: MRI is superior to CT for cancer diagnosis of the liver. And a victory for MRI is, as always, a positive [...]
Albert Einstein was five years old when he handled his father's compass and found himself awestruck by a powerful curiosity: what invisible forces of nature were responsible for the device's unerring ability to point northward? Many professionals report similar childhood experiences in which a new subject piqued their interest so urgently that their subsequent education [...]
Early detection of Alzheimer's or dementia is just as important as it is for any health malady: catching symptoms as early as possible means These findings were published Oct. 7 in Radiology in a study entitled Arterial Spin Labeling May Contribute to the Cognitive Deterioration in Healthy Elderly Individuals. The study found that individuals whose [...]
Osteoarthritis is so common (affecting 1 in 10 Canadians according to the Arthritis Society) that it has led many people to dismiss it as an inevitable part of the aging process. However, while the disease, which causes the cartilage of the joints to wear down, is not curable, it is possible to keep its severity [...]
"Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own," said Goethe. A bold statement, but there may be some truth to it: A new Swedish study has found that when learning a new language, certain areas of the brain literally grow. The study, entitled Growth of language-related brain areas after foreign language [...]