Brain

Insomnia linked to brain loss

Image : iStockphoto

Image : iStockphoto

Chronic and severely stressful situations, like those connected to depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, have been associated with smaller volumes in “stress sensitive” brain regions, such as the cingulate region of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory formation. A new study, published by Elsevier in Biological Psychiatry, suggests that chronic insomnia may be another condition associated with reduced cortical volume. [continue reading…]

Psychologists have many ways to get inside our heads: they can give us questionnaires, track our eyes, time how long we take to respond to cues and measure the blood flow to our brains. But how close can these methods get to the texture of our inner lives? In the New York Times article Taking Mental Snapshots to Plumb Our Inner Selves Russell T. Hurlburt, of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, explores inner life, and faces skeptics.
Source: New York Times