Brain

COVID-19 may have been viewed and treated primarily as a respiratory illness, but it is more sinister and pervasive in its impact on the human body as it may affect the brain thereby accelerate or trigger neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, according to a doctor. Describing the pandemic as 'a beast with a thousand heads', Dr Yatish Agarwal, senior professor, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, says the effect of the COVID-19 extends far beyond the nose, throat, and lungs and may infect the brain, the most vital bodily organ. Vast clinical studies reveal that neurological complications occur in 36-84 per cent of COVID-19 patients. Strangely, many people who experience neurologic symptoms that linger after the disease are less than 50 years old and were healthy prior to the infection, he points out in an exclusive article for Manorama Yearbook 2023. Panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder and depression can occur among

Research suggests that the virus may gain access to the brain via the forebrain's olfactory bulb, which is important for the processing of smell

The VA-Boston University-Concussion Legacy Foundation Brain Bank in Boston houses 850 human brains

The study noted that the new AI system can predict the probability of the patient dying within 30-days with accuracy of 80-85 per cent

Research has shown that the electrical activity of the neocortex of the brain changes, when we focus our attention

The brain also seems to be able to be tricked into experiencing pain relief: Study

The human brain helps avoid sick people, says a new study

Researchers from Princeton University in the US have found a novel method to characterise and compare the brain dynamics of individual people

The fall in dopamine levels makes the older adults less attracted to sweets

The brain anticipates all of the new situations that it may encounter in a lifetime by creating a special kind of neural network

Scans showed the top quartile of active individuals proved to have substantially more grey matter, compared with their peers, which is related to brain health

Use your brain or else you could lose it, caution doctors. The author finds out what it takes to keep the mind healthy and the memory strong