Category Archives: Brain Function

Today marks the beginning of National Epilepsy Week and your friends at Bel Marra have taken the time to round up much of the information you need to get you up to speed on this neurological condition. Seizures can be scary and confusing, so it’s best to stay informed. We also have information on cataracts, ...click here to read more

Dementia awareness week begins today and aims to spread awareness of dementia symptoms to those who may not be apprised of this often-age-related memory loss condition. There are many stages of dementia that sufferers go through, and it can be beneficial to know them when suspecting the condition in someone you know. We at Bel ...click here to read more

Just go with your gut… What does your gut feeling tell you?… Do you have the guts to do it?… In all these cases, when we mention “guts” we usually imply intuition or, as in the latter example, courage. When we’re making a cool-headed decision, we’re using our logic and reason—in other words, our brain ...click here to read more

Suffering from Alzheimer’s or other kinds of dementia can be a disorienting and anxious experience. But according to a new study, personalized music made these symptoms easier to cope with. Medications such as antipsychotic and antianxiety drugs were less relied on, leading to discontinuation, as these patients were significantly less likely to engage in disruptive ...click here to read more

Heart disease caused nearly 25 percent of all deaths in 2008—that’s one in every four deaths. It’s the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States and costs the country over 100 billion dollars in health care services, medications, and lost productivity every year. Heart disease is a broad term ...click here to read more

Having a disabling disease can making living very difficult, especially when the source of the disability is not well understood. Some diseases come in the form of your body attacking itself. This type of disease is called an autoimmune disorder, and multiple sclerosis (MS) is a result. MS is thought to occur due to the ...click here to read more

There is no question that men and women have many similarities, but there are also many differences in the way they think and operate. This may even extend down to the cellular level, as a new study has found that a region of the brain that is involved in managing stress, heart rate, and even ...click here to read more

Eating more than you have to is a common problem today. Food is readily available, can be bought for next to nothing, and comes in enormous quantities. Much of the workforce is also shifting to sedentarism, being bound to a desk, creating an obesity epidemic. It is estimated that more than two-thirds of adults are ...click here to read more

Depression can take a huge toll on a person’s life. It differs from occasional sadness as it is persistent, preventing you from experiencing enjoyment at all times. Chronic cases of depression can even manifest as physical symptoms such as frequent back pain or constant headaches. While anti-depressive medication can be an effective treatment, there are ...click here to read more

Experiencing an exceptionally traumatic event can lead to mental health issues. It can result in flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety that affects the quality of life of the individual and their overall well-being. The most serious of the trauma-inducing mental disorder is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can last for months or even years after ...click here to read more

There is nothing worse than not getting any sleep. Everything feels more irritating, people become harder to tolerate, and it can be hard to do the most basic of tasks. This is further demonstrated by new research from Boston Children’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), which shows that chronic sleep loss increases ...click here to read more

Memory loss is a common symptom of old age and is typically inescapable. For centuries, researchers and scientists have been attempting to find ways to improve our mental capacity and help retain all of our memories and experiences. While there are methods out there to maintain our cognitive ability throughout our lives, new research at ...click here to read more

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive nervous system disease that destroys nerve cells, leading to severe disability. This disease is also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the famous baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS. It is not known exactly what causes the disease, but what we do know is that it ...click here to read more

Watching your children grow up and leave the house to start their own lives and have children of their own is an exceptionally rewarding time. To see them change from being children to adults not only means that you’ve succeeded as a parent, but unfortunately, it means that they will become busy with their own ...click here to read more