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Transcendental Meditation has dramatic benefits for those with PTSD
  • A month of practicing Transcendental Meditation daily resulted in 80% of military veterans with PTSD having their symptoms reduced to below the clinical level.

A pilot study involving 41 military veterans and 5 active-duty soldiers diagnosed with clinical levels of PTSD has found that one month of transcendental meditation produced dramatic benefits, with 37 (80%) having their symptoms reduced to below the clinical level, and 40 having a clinically sig
Sleep helps process traumatic experiences
  • A finding that sleeping after watching a trauma event reduced emotional distress and traumatic memories is intriguing in light of the theory that PTSD occurs through a failure of contextual processing.

A laboratory study has found that sleeping after watching a trauma event reduced emotional distress and memories related to traumatic events. The laboratory study involved 65 women being shown a neutral and a traumatic video.
Individual cognitive processing therapy had better PTSD improvement
  • A large randomized study has found that cognitive processing therapy works better when administered on an individual basis, but that regardless, it is only successful about half the time.

A randomized clinical trial of 268 active-duty personnel seeking treatment for PTSD has found that individual sessions of cognitive processing therapy were twice as effective as group sessions.
Brain changes seen in veterans with PTSD after mindfulness training
  • A small study found mindfulness training had an observable effect on the brains of PTSD sufferers.

A pilot study involving 23 military veterans with PTSD found that those who received mindfulness training showed reduced PTSD symptoms, and brain changes that suggest a greater ability to shift and control attention.
Is PTSD a failure of context processing?
  • A new theory suggests a single dysfunction, in the processing of context, could underlie the multiple symptoms and characteristics of PTSD.

An interesting new theory for PTSD suggests that the root of the problem lies in context processing problems.
Size of hippocampus associated with PTSD therapy benefits
  • Size of that key memory region, the hippocampus, appears to be not simply a risk factor for PTSD, but also key to whether sufferers will respond positively to exposure therapy.

Following previous research showing that having a smaller

Menstruation doesn't change how your brain works
  • A largish study for its type indicates that hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle have no impact on working memory, multitasking ability, or cognitive bias.

A study involving 88 women, some of whom had endocrinological disorders, has found that, while some hormones were associated with changes across one menstrual cycle in some of the women taking part, these effects didn't repeat in the following cycle.
Chemo-brain: prevalence, why it happens, and how to help
  • The largest study to date of chemo-brain shows that 45% of women with breast cancer report it's a substantial problem for months after chemotherapy.
  • A rat study suggests an effect of chemotherapy on dopamine and serotonin may be partly responsible.
  • Better cognitive function, and improved mood, are linked to frequent moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise among breast cancer survivors.
  • A new cognitive-behavioral treatment program has been trialed with positive results.

Chemo-brain common among women with breast cancer
Concrete thinking may reduce the power of traumatic memories
  • Focusing on concrete details when experiencing a traumatic event may, oddly enough, protect you more from the power of those memories, than if you tried to distance yourself from what you are experiencing.

Can you help protect yourself from the memory of traumatic events? A new study suggests that, by concentrating on concrete details as you live through the event, you can reduce the number of intrusive memories later experienced.
Diabetes & MCI linked in middle age

A large study has found that mild cognitive impairment occurred twice as often in older adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

A German study involving 1,936 older adults (50+) has found that mild cognitive impairment (

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