In 2025, a review in PMC analyzed data from multiple studies, including the 2022 ABCD Study with 2,217 kids aged 9-10, using brain scans and behavior tests. It found excessive screen time, especially with reward-heavy games on devices like iPads, triggers dopamine overload, making kids crave instant gratification and struggle with everyday tasks. Kids with over 2 hours daily showed higher attention problems and depression scores, with brain scans revealing lower caudate nucleus activity (a reward area), hinting at addiction risks, and reduced prefrontal cortex function, linked to poor impulse control and increased aggression.

In 2025, Jingfeng Chen and a team from Chinese universities reviewed animal and human studies on how vitamin D and exercise together help keep brains healthy as people age. They looked at things like brain growth proteins, blood flow, and swelling in the brain, focusing on older adults with memory problems.

In 2025, Claudia Kimie Suemoto and a team from the University of São Paulo in Brazil studied 12,772 middle-aged adults (average age 52) over several years. They tracked intake of seven sweeteners like aspartame and saccharin in ultra-processed foods such as diet sodas and yogurts, using food surveys and cognitive tests for memory and thinking skills.

In 2025, Amy Amla Kartar and colleagues from the Colasanti Lab at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the UK studied how high-ventilation breathwork (HVB) with music affects the brain and emotions. They tested 42 participants during 20-30 minute sessions of cyclic breathing, followed by questionnaires on altered states of consciousness (ASCs) and scans for blood flow changes.

In 2015, J. R. Dalenberg and a team from Denmark conducted two field experiments with 30 students in dorm rooms. They tested ventilation by opening windows (low CO2: 660 ppm) or using a fan (low CO2: 835 ppm) vs. no ventilation (high CO2: 2,585 ppm or 2,395 ppm) for 1 week each. Sleep was tracked with wrist actigraphs, and next-day alertness via questionnaires and cognitive tests.

In 2025, Sandhya P Chakravartti and colleagues examined 75 young adults in a crossover trial. Sucralose (vs. sugar or water) spiked hypothalamic blood flow by 10-20%, boosted hunger by 15%, and strengthened brain connections for craving and sensing, potentially leading to overeating. Other studies (2022, 2023) showed sucralose alters gut bacteria, increasing glucose intolerance (10-15% worse in mice) and metabolic issues like inflammation.

In 2025, Aleksandra Skoczek-Rubińska and a team from Poznan University of Physical Education reviewed 13 studies from 2009-2025 on how vitamin D helps BDNF (a brain protein for nerve growth), mood, and thinking in adults. They looked at human and animal studies from big databases to see how vitamin D levels or supplements affect people’s brains and feelings.

In 2025, Lucas Santos and a team from Brazil studied Wistar rats fed a high-fat diet from weaning to mimic obesity. They split them into four groups: standard diet, standard diet with extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), high-fat diet, and high-fat diet with EVOO. They checked body weight, blood sugar, satiety, and brain inflammation markers in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus.

In a 2019 study from Michigan State University, researchers surveyed grass-finished beef from 12 US farms, analyzing fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins. Farms used all-grass diets, leading to an average omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 4.1, far better than typical grain-fed beef's 20:1 or higher.

In 2021, Yumeng Xie and a team from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University reviewed many studies on how exercise helps people with depression. They looked at different kinds of workouts like running, swimming, or yoga, and how they change brain chemicals, reduce swelling, and improve mood. Exercise works by boosting happy brain signals like serotonin and dopamine, growing new brain cells, and cutting down harmful stress.

In 2025, María D. Navarro-Hortal and her team from the University of Granada reviewed many studies on how honey helps with Alzheimer's disease, a brain problem that causes memory loss and confusion. They looked at honey's natural compounds like flavonoids and polyphenols, found in raw honey from bees, and how they fight harmful changes in the brain.

In 2025, Changhu Sun and a team from Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine looked at data from 2,207 older adults in the US from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2014). They created a score called the Dietary Index for Gut Microbiota to see how foods that help good gut bugs—like fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, yogurt, and fish—affect thinking skills.

In 2025, Xiangyan Zhou and a team from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China reviewed studies on how gut microbes affect depression. They explored the gut-brain axis, a two-way connection between your belly and brain, showing how gut bugs impact mood and mental health.

In 2025, Fajian Ren and a team from Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine reviewed how flavonoids from safflower, like chalcones and quercetin, work in the body. They looked at many studies on these compounds, found in safflower petals used in traditional medicine for blood flow and pain relief.

In 2025, Qin Yang and team conducted a randomized, single-blind, crossover trial with 55 healthy older adults to explore transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), a form of red light therapy using a 1064-nm laser on the left forehead. Using fNIRS, they measured brain connectivity and assessed working memory via the 3-back task before and after active or sham tPBM sessions.

In 2012, Makoto Bannai and team from Ajinomoto Co., Inc. tested 7 healthy men (average age 40.6) who slept 25% less than usual for three nights. They took 3 grams of glycine or a fake pill before bed, then rated sleepiness and fatigue using scales and questionnaires, and did computer tests for alertness and focus.

In 2025, T. Iwabe and team studied 17 healthy adults using slow-paced breathing (4-second inhale, 6-second exhale) versus normal breathing. They measured anxiety, brain activity, and heart rate variability before and after stressful images, using the STAI-S scale and EEG.

In 2023, Valentina Paz and team from University College London and Uruguay studied 35,080 adults from the UK Biobank. Using brain scans and self-reported nap habits, they explored links between napping frequency and brain volume, adjusting for age, sex, and lifestyle factors.

In 2025, Melody Ding and team from the University of Sydney analyzed 57 studies with over 160,000 people across multiple countries. They used data from wearable devices like pedometers to track daily steps, comparing health outcomes like death rates, heart disease, dementia, and depression against a baseline of 2,000 steps.

In 2025, Kuan-Hung Lin and team from Taipei Medical University studied 60 adults with frequent alcohol-related headaches. In a 4-week trial, half got 100 mg daily vitamin B1 (thiamine), while others received a placebo. They measured headache frequency, blood flow via ultrasound, and brain cell health through blood markers, adjusting for alcohol intake and age.