We all know that getting enough sleep promotes healthy brain function and optimal cognitive performance. Most sources recommend getting approximately 8 hours of sleep per night, but the amount of sleep it takes for you to feel refreshed should be individualized. Someone who is training for a marathon will generally need more sleep (over 8 …
Despite the fact that pharmaceutical companies continue to promote the concept of “chemical imbalances” as the root cause of depression, this is a vast oversimplification of an infinitely more complex condition. While a chemical imbalance may be one of the primary contributing factors to a person’s depression, what causes the chemicals (neurotransmitters) to become imbalanced …
It seems as though society is on the verge of ushering in a new generation of treatment modalities for depression and other psychiatric conditions. While most people turn to pharmaceutical drugs for major depressive disorder, approximately 1 out of 3 people fail to get sufficient symptomatic relief. To make matters worse, many end up trying …
Perhaps you’ve heard of the fictional story “Flowers for Algernon” about a laboratory mouse named Algernon. The mouse undergoes a nootropic-esque surgical procedure that dramatically amplifies his intelligence. The experiment is deemed so successful, that scientists decide to test the procedure in a human character named Charlie Gordon. Prior to the artificial enhancement of Charlie’s …
While people will always be in search of specific diets to help them lose weight, in recent years there is an increasing interest in how certain foods affect the human brain. It is estimated that there are currently over 5 million individuals in the United States that have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and dietary …
It appears as though the pharmaceutical juggernaut Eli Lilly is facing major legal backlash for failure to disclose discontinuation effects associated with their medication Cymbalta (Duloxetine). Cymbalta is an SNRI antidepressant that was approved in August 2004 for the treatment of major depression. A woman named Claudia Herrera has been making news headlines because she …
Oxaloacetate (or Oxaloacetic Acid) is an organic compound that is involved in many neurophysiological processes within your body. It plays a key role in functions such as: amino acid synthesis, citric acid cycle, fatty acid synthesis, gluconeogenesis, glyoxylate cycle, and the urea cycle. For example, oxaloacetate is considered an intermediate in the Kreb’s cycle prior …