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If your mom had to run through the name of everyone in the family, including the dog, before hitting yours, it’s probably because you’re all in a mental folder labeled “loved ones.” The findings of the scientific study were published in the journal Memory & Cognition.

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Scientists are finally beginning to understand proprioception, a sense that tells us where our body is in space. Much of what they’ve learned comes from a study of two girls with a rare genetic disorder. That study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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A functional MRI study of 17 people who have been blind since birth found that areas of the brain usually devoted to visual information become active when a blind person is solving math problems. The study was published in the journal PNAS.

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Synapses in human neurons. Heather de Rivera, McCarroll lab

Genetic analysis, involving nearly 65,000 people, finds a surprising risk factor for schizophrenia — a variation in an immune molecule best known for its role in containing infection. The findings, published in the journal Nature, also support the emerging idea that schizophrenia is a disease of synaptic pruning, and could lead to new approaches to treating this devastating illness.

Read more at ChildrensHospital.org

A new map based on brain scan data collected by the Human Connectome Project. The data revealed 97 new regions, bringing the total to 180. Matthew F. Glasser, David C. Van Essen.

In what many experts are calling a milestone in neuroscience, researchers published a spectacular new map of the brain in the journal Nature, detailing nearly 100 previously unknown regions — an unprecedented glimpse into the machinery of the human mind.

Read more at NYTimes.com

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Users of an app developed by the University of Michigan to help with jet lag entered information on their time zone and sleep patterns that helped academics with their work. But is the approach valid? The analysis of the data was published in the journal Science Advances, but critics worry that using data generated via smartphones might not be a representative sample.

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While still experimental, deep brain stimulation with implanted electrodes is being tested as a way to ease dementia in patients with Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions. Could it work? Recent studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Neurosurgery, and Molecular Psychiatry suggest it just might.

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Guillain-Barre syndrome can render healthy people temporarily paralyzed. It’s something you’re likely to hear more about as Zika continues to spread, because exposure to pathogens like Zika can set that stage for the syndrome. And for those who get it, it is one wild ride.

Hear the stories of two men who struggled to recover from it at NPR.org and read more about the syndrome at ninds.gov.

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Hundreds of thousands of people suffer brain injuries each year. Sometimes the damage is caused by something that seems innocuous, like a stumble or a bump on the head. When should you see a doctor?

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A recent study published in the journal Neurology found eighteen months after a concussion or other traumatic brain injury, two-thirds of the patients were still sleepy during the day. And most were unaware of their symptoms.

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No wonder we don’t feel rested after a first night in a new place: Half of our brain has stayed alert while the other half enjoyed deeper sleep, a study published in Current Biology finds. We really have been half-asleep.

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If you have an Internet connection, you’ve probably read at least one story in the past couple of days claiming that science has shown that dogs hate being hugged. Those at The Washington Post’s Speaking of Science squeeze the life out of this misleading science coverage.

Read more at WashingtonPost.com.

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The Food and Drug Administration has issued sweeping new rules that tighten its control over e-cigarettes, banning their sale to minors. The agency is also expanding its regulation of tobacco.

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Teenage brains are more susceptible to drug abuse, but it’s often hard to find treatment. It’s even harder to find evidence-based treatment designed for youth. But that’s starting to change.

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Roughly 2.5 million Americans are addicted to heroin and opioids like Oxycontin. Researchers say addiction takes over the brain’s limbic reward system, impairing decision making, judgment and recovery.

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Young adults who watch at least three hours of TV a day might end up with less cognitive function by middle age, a study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry finds. That’s especially true if they’re sedentary couch potatoes.

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A mouse’s brain clears out toxins during periods of deep sleep — including toxins that form sticky plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Could the same hold true for people?

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By assessing the strength of certain connections in the brain with an MRI test, researchers report in the journal Nature Neuroscience that they were often able to tell whether children and adolescents had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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Dr. Bennet Omalu’s discovery of a new degenerative brain disease among football players inspired a movie-and the wrath of the NFL.

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To make foods irresistible, the food industry has added sweetness in unexpected places — like bread and pasta sauce. That’s helped shape our cravings but may also be coming back to bite the industry.

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Recent research published in the journal PNAS hints at how the human brain is uniquely able to recognize and enjoy music. Timing in your brain is nearly everything.

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Everyone has a set of genes that keeps the body on a 24-hour rhythm. As we get older, though, the main clock can malfunction, a study published in the journal PNAS finds. Researchers say a backup clock may try to compensate.

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Successful people get more sleep than you might expect. Are their sleep patterns giving them a leg-up on the average American?

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What if you could never get a good night’s rest? Researchers are investigating whether sleep deprivation can keep people trapped in poverty.

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Young adults who watch at least three hours of TV a day might end up with less cognitive function by middle age, a study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry finds. That’s especially true if they’re sedentary couch potatoes.

Read more at NPR.org.

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Brain cells that track our location also can track time and distance, a new study published in the journal Neuron finds. This could explain how the brain uses place and time to organize memories throughout our lives.

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Fear campaigns can motivate people to quit smoking or eat less. But fearmongering can go too far. When is scaring for health’s sake acceptable, and when is it distasteful?

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By collecting data on guests who visit a haunted house in Pittsburgh, scientists are trying to learn a little bit about what scares us, and why some people enjoy this sensation enough to seek it out.

Listen to the story at NPR.org.

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Infection and autoimmune activity result in inflammation. And psychiatric researchers now suspect that inflammation may play a role in some cases of depression and other mental illnesses.

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Having police, school nurses, drug users and family equipped with kits to reverse an overdose saves lives, doctors say. But reversing addiction requires follow-up care that many users aren’t getting.

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The Duponts in Louisiana loved their mutt Melvin so much they jumped at the chance to replicate him. Melvin is gone now, but he’s left behind two clones, Ken and Henry.

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With deaths from heroin and painkillers on the rise, more nurses at high schools and middle schools are prepared to intervene in the event of an overdose on school grounds.

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Late-night coffee, tea or cola does more than keep you up, scientists say. The amount of caffeine in a double espresso can delay the internal clock in cells throughout your body by about 40 minutes, according to a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

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Math anxiety is much like other fears, say scientists who scanned the brains of third-graders. Fortunately, new research published in the Journal of Neuroscience, indicates that one-on-one tutoring soothed the fear circuit in anxious kids’ brains and improved performance, too.

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A lack of sleep can increase the risk of traffic accidents, heart attacks, diabetes and maybe even Alzheimer’s disease, research suggests. Yet most people with sleep disorders don’t get treatment.

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The synthetic opioid fentanyl is used for surgery and to treat severe pain. Abuse has always been a problem. Now that it’s being used to cut heroin, the risk of overdose or death has soared.

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It’s been known for awhile that reading to a young child is associated with good outcomes, including language development and school success. But what remains unknown is the mechanism for these outcomes. A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, examines the unexpectedly complex interactions that happen in the brain when you put a small child on your lap and open a picture book.

Read more at NYTimes.com.

Ben Allen/WITF. Cris and Valerie Fiore hold one of their favorite pictures of their sons Anthony (with the dark hair) and Nick. Anthony died from a heroin overdose in May 2014 at the age of 24.

Federal law requires insurance firms to cover treatment for addiction as they do treatment for other diseases. But because addiction treatment is so different from treatment for other medical issues, it’s hard to figure out exactly what equal treatment looks like, and some families say that drug users aren’t getting the care they need.

Read more at NPR.org.

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Most studies of music’s ability to ease pain have been small. But an analysis pooling the best research, published Wednesday in the journal The Lancet, builds a strong case, doctors say that a dose of music reduces the need for painkillers.

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When he killed himself at 50, former NFL player Dave Duerson’s brain showed serious damage, likely from hits during his football career. His son now questions the gamble of playing the game.

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Last year the nation’s pediatricians said middle and high schoolers shouldn’t start school before 8:30 a.m., so they can get much-needed sleep. But almost all schools start before that, the CDC finds.

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Dozens of games and apps claim to improve your memory or make you smarter or reduce stress. But do they really? In October 2014, 75 scientists signed a letter to the brain training industry, criticizing companies for exaggerating claims and preying on the anxieties of customers. Now game developers say the next step is clinically valid poof of cognitive gains, and one developer (also a neuroscientist) is looking for the best proof he can get — FDA approval — and he’ll start with his game NeuroRacer which already has results published in the journal Nature.

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In a new study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a psychologist says there could be a simple way to make calorie-packed foods like French fries or ice cream seem unappealing, even a bit disgusting. Others are less sure.

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Reports from parents and a growing number of studies over the past 10 to 15 years suggest that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), especially more severe ASD, are prone to gastrointestinal disorders. In a new study in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Disease, researchers crunched three large databases to create what they believe is the largest study to date of the link between autism spectrum disorder and inflammatory bowel disease.

Read more at ChildrensHospital.org.

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The path from scientific discovery to media sound bite can be perilous, says commentator Tania Lombrozo, and it should be traversed with care. Take for example how the media is covering a recent paper published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease about the risks and benefits of coffee consumption.

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You are probably at least a little bit racist and sexist and homophobic. Most of us are. And before you get offended, try taking one of the popular Implicit Association Tests. They measure people’s unconscious prejudice. These tests find that most people trust men or women, white people over minorities, and straight people over queer people.

So, what are we to do? Scientists are working on ways to train our brains away from deeply held prejudices — including hacking your subconscious while you sleep. Yes, it sounds like a scam, but the results, published in the journal Science, show that it’s possible.

Read more at NPR.org.

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The drug derived from the venom of cone snails must be injected into the spinal column to get beyond a patient’s blood-brain barrier and bring relief. But scientists think they may have a workaround. The scientists explain how in the journal Scientific Reports.

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To the ranks of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami, researchers have added a sixth: “oleogustus,” or the taste for fat. But nutrition scientist Rick Mattes says it’s far from delicious. Found in rancid food, it’s often an unpleasant warning. The finding was announced in the journal Chemical Senses last month.

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The placebo effect is already known to be pretty bizarre, but a new study has ramped up the weirdness factor. Researchers have found that people can be trained to believe in a placebo so much, it still works even when they’re told it isn’t real medicine.

Read more at iflscience.com.

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Have you ever struggled to finish a level of Candy Crush or complete a Sudoku puzzle in the evening but breezed through it the following morning? The reason may please anyone who’s been told they spend too much time in bed asleep. A new study suggests that ‘sleeping on it’ can improve problem solving.

Read more at iflscience.com.