Cognitive Function News and Research

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Cognition is a concept used in different ways by different disciplines, but is generally accepted to mean the process of thought. For example, in psychology and cognitive science it refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions.

Obesity drugs may help protect memory and cognitive abilities

Drugs used to treat obesity may also help protect the brain. In a review published in Science, researchers outline how a better understanding of these drugs' effects could lead to new treatments that protect memory and other important cognitive abilities.

6 Nov 2026

Caffeine intake rises among Korean adults as brewed coffee gains ground

An analysis of 48,991 Korean adults found that average daily caffeine intake from beverages increased between 2016 and 2024, while the odds of consuming at least 400 mg of caffeine on a single day rose by approximately 5% annually. Coffee remained the predominant caffeine source, with a shift from prepared coffee mixes toward brewed coffee and distinct consumption patterns across age groups and sexes.

4 Nov 2026

Good sleep protects brain health in people with cardiometabolic disease

People with type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke who sleep well have better cognitive function and greater brain volume than people with the same conditions who sleep poorly, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet.

4 Nov 2026

Heart disease and depression may affect brain aging in an unexpected way

A longitudinal study of 5,423 adults in England found that cardiovascular disease was associated with faster cognitive decline, with the strongest association observed among participants with consistently low depressive symptoms. Those with persistent moderate or high depressive symptoms generally experienced poorer cognitive performance and faster overall deterioration, despite showing a weaker additional association between cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.

3 Nov 2026

Study identifies molecular links between menopause and brain aging

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara, UC San Francisco and international collaborators are uncovering the cascade of molecular events that happen when women undergo menopause, a time of life marked by endocrine changes and symptoms like hot flashes, brain fog and sleep disturbances.

2 Nov 2026

Eating walnuts was linked to higher IgG levels, but what does that mean for health?

A two-year randomized trial involving 474 older adults found that daily consumption of 30–60 grams of walnuts was associated with 6% higher total serum IgG concentrations compared with a control diet, with an 11% difference observed among US participants. Walnut consumption did not significantly affect IgM, MDA-LDL or MDA-LDL-specific antibodies, and whether the modest IgG difference has meaningful cardiovascular benefits remains unknown.

1 Nov 2026

Testosterone shows no evidence of improving menopausal brain fog

Published in Reproduction and Fertility, the review examined five existing studies of women aged 41 to 65 to understand whether testosterone treatment improves thinking and memory in women during and after menopause.

30 Oct 2026

New metabolic score may help predict healthy aging and disease risk

Studies conducted in various countries indicate that approximately 60% of people over the age of 65 currently live with two or more chronic conditions simultaneously.

29 Oct 2026

Circadian desynchronization: The hidden cost of daylight saving time transitions

Turning the clocks back an hour each fall can feel like a gift: an extra hour of sleep. But the tradeoff is less daylight in the evening, and the annual switch continues to earn mixed reviews.

29 Oct 2026

Oxaloacetate supplement may help reduce chemo brain in breast cancer survivors

A new study led by researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that a nutritional supplement containing oxaloacetate, a molecule naturally found in the body that helps cells produce energy, may help improve cognitive function and reduce the fatigue experienced by some breast cancer survivors following treatment.

21 Oct 2026

Diverse social activities may help slow age-related cognitive decline

Diverse and sustained social activities may boost cognitive performance and slow the decline in brain health associated with aging, suggest the findings of a large international study, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

21 Oct 2026

Rice, fish and pickles: Is the traditional Japanese diet as healthy as we think?

A systematic review of 37 studies found that greater adherence to predefined Japanese-style dietary patterns was associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, based on pooled evidence from three cohort studies. However, health associations varied according to dietary composition, suggesting that traditional Japanese diet scores alone may not adequately distinguish the potential benefits and risks of different food combinations.

20 Oct 2026

Study links abnormal immature astroglia to lower fluid intelligence in older epilepsy patients

A new USC-led study links abnormal immature astroglia, star-shaped cells that support brain function, to lower fluid intelligence, or the ability to solve new problems, in older adults with epilepsy.

20 Oct 2026

Scientists restore memory-linked neuron function in Alzheimer's mice

Researchers were able to restore the function of neurons linked to cognitive function and information processing in mice that mimic key features of Alzheimer's disease, showing early promise for the development of a similar targeted therapy in humans.

15 Oct 2026

People who walk more each day tend to score better on several brain tests

Researchers analyzed 14 years of physical activity and blood pressure records from 3,093 US adults and found that higher daily step counts were associated with better performance on tests of attention, cognitive control, and reward-related decision-making. Higher systolic blood pressure was associated with poorer delay-discounting performance, but accounted for only 4.8% of its association with physical activity, while the single cognitive assessment prevented conclusions about causation or cognitive decline.

14 Oct 2026

Does extra protein protect aging muscle during fasting?

A randomized trial found that alternate-day fasting reduced weight in older men, while added protein and leucine did not prevent lean mass loss.

7 Oct 2026

Timing of brain surgery critical for certain Parkinson's patients

The timing of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery is a critical factor in preserving cognitive function for Parkinson's disease patients with a specific genetic mutation, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.

6 Oct 2026

Childhood family environments impact midlife cardiovascular and cognitive health

Doctoral dissertation research investigated how the family environment in childhood affects health in midlife.

30 Sep 2026

Swedish study links lower midlife cognitive scores to future strokes

Adults in their 60s who scored lower on tests of overall thinking ability, memory and how quickly they processed information were more likely to have a stroke years later, according to new research conducted in Sweden, published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

30 Sep 2026

What older adults do on screens may matter more than total screen time

Across 8,996 older adults in four cohorts, television viewing was associated with poorer global cognition, while computer use was associated with better cognitive performance, with the strongest positive associations at low-to-moderate levels of use. Mendelian randomization supported these opposing patterns and linked genetically predicted television viewing time to lower left insula volume, which accounted for an estimated 14.8% of its association with poorer cognitive performance.

29 Sep 2026