Dopamine neurons—the cells that drive reward and motivation while we're awake—become surprisingly active during nonrapid eye movement sleep right after we learn something new.

I’m going to give away one of my big writing secrets. When I’ve been stuck in a big narrative puzzle while writing a book, I’ve learned the trick is to clear my head and take a nap. I’ve never really ...

Last week's article discussed the connection between brain health and exercise/movement. I want to emphasize one more chapter from John Medinan’s book "Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and ...

Our brains have an extraordinary ability to adapt and learn, a process known as neuroplasticity. From navigating a new city to mastering a new skill, neuroplasticity allows us to reshape our neural ...

Essentially, the two channels of activity prevented the brain from saving new 'files' over old ones – also known as "catastrophic interference" – while maintaining the long-term memories. “It’s like ...

On the last Sunday in October, we will set our clocks back an hour, which may temporarily disrupt the sleep patterns of some people. Research at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland shows that sleep ...

One of sleep’s key functions is to stabilize and integrate new memories into our brain’s long-term memory systems, a process known as "consolidation." This idea is now widely accepted, though it ...