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Articles by Andy Hab
Stress Disrupts Cognitive Function Particularly in Those with Mental Health...
A new review shows that impact of acute stress on executive functions is worse in those with mental health conditions You've reported multiple times that stress disrupts cognitive function - isn't this standard knowledge now? Yes, indeed, it is widely-known that stress disrupts (that means reduces or blocks) cognitive functions. And this includes short-term memory, dealing with complexity, keeping on task, and decision making to name a few. The question is always to what degree and what functions?
Daily Brain Snack: Just One Week of Micro-Acts of Kindness Improves Wellbeing
Press enter or click to view image in full size You have a major focus on wellbeing with your SCOAP model don’t you? Yes, indeed SCOAP is a general model but focuses on “big-ticket” items and this research just out fascinated me because it focuses on small interventions. Micro interventions can have surprisingly large effects in multiple areas in life and business.
Daily Brain Snack: Multitasking is Multiple Skills
Press enter or click to view image in full size Haven’t you always said that the brain can’t multitask? Not quite — I’ve said that our brains can only single task on cognitive tasks. The brain can and does operate in parallel, but it very much depends on the task. Some obvious examples are we can walk and talk at the same time, we can breathe and read at the same time, etc. But as we raise the cognition and attention levels the less is able to be done and the more we focus on single tasks.
Weekly Review: Can AI be Funny, Moral Processing in Brain, Robots and Yawning, and Face Massage for Brain Detoxification
I’ll start this week with something that is still in the news every day, namely AI. I have written a number of articles on AI and how AI is encroaching on what has previously been seen as human only domains, and this week it is just such a domain, humour.
Weekly Review: Building Cognitive Maps, Your Social Brain, and on Being Ignored or Gossiped About
Today I’ll focus on some new research with a new way to think of brain regions — specifically the hippocampus which has now been shown to be important in functions that we do not normally associate with this region — namely action and social processes. When you go somewhere, especially when walking, your brain’s navigation system activates. More so, of course, if you’re not using any GPS device.
Research Hit: How Much Energy Does Thinking Use?
Doesn’t the brain use more energy than anything else in the body? Relative to its weight it does. The brain accounts for about 2% of an average person’s weight but accounts for about 20% of our energy usage. That’s a significant difference and shows how important the brain is for us human beings.
Weekly Roundup: How and Why the Mind Blanks, Adaptable Learning is Most Effective, How Memories Can Change Metabolism (and Burn Fat).
This week it’s a few key reviews: how and why the mind blanks, the key question of individual and social learning, and how to up-regulate your metabolism with memories! Mind Blanking Our brains generally operate by producing a constant stream of consciousness. As we sit quietly our brains are generally active and we experience low-level stream of thoughts. We may even experience this when we are meant to be focusing on tasks.
Weekly Roundup: Weight Training and Cognitive Decline, Which Distractions are Worse, Long-Term Impacts of Trauma, and the Positivity of Music and Art
It’s a bumper edition this Sunday starting with more research on physical activity on the brain and what stops us doing this, before looking at negative distractions, long-term impacts of traumatic experiences, and finishing off with how the brain gives us the chills when listening to music and how art gives meaning to life.
Research Hit: Brain Areas for Reasoning Identified
Surely this isn’t the first time we’ve identified brain areas for reasoning? This sound like the sort of thing that researchers would have been doing since the beginning of time? Indeed, there has been plenty of research into various cognitive functions and also reasoning but there is also surprisingly limited research on general reasoning. There are also multiple issues with previous research. Firstly, a lot of early research was in very small population groups.
Research Hit: The Different Impacts of Music at Work
Music at work can have positive, motivational, and negative impacts a new study shows Isn’t music motivating? Well, yes, music can be motivating, it can boost mood, and it can improve memory, and learning amongst other things So what is the problem with music at work? Well, first of all different music can have different impacts on different people — so it is not music in general but is it the music you need at the moment?
Research Hit: Low Self-Awareness Increases Emotional and Moral Brain Responses to Political Topics
Hasn’t there already been a lot of research on politically polarised brains? Yes, there has been plenty of research into decision making and politically polarised brains (some of which I have reported on). But this make some interesting connections between self-awareness, morality and brain activation patterns.
Research Hit: AI Can Now Give Therapy
Can AI really give therapy? Well, apparently, yes. Tell me more! Well this study was a clinical trial of what is known as Therabot which has been in development in Nicholas Jacobson’s AI and Mental Health Lab at Dartmouth since 2019.
Research Hit: Any Exercise at any Age Improves Brain Function
Is there really such a thing as a meta-meta analysis? Well, normally we would call this an umbrella review when all the data in a given research field is reviewed. For those of you who are not scientists or involved in academia: first there are studies that aim to study something in a structured way. This gives us one datapoint — and may not mean much and this will depend on how it was conducted and the size of the study, etc, etc.
Weekly Roundup: Stress in Sales People, Learning Quickly or Slowly, How We Remember Words, and How We “Sing” Words
This week’s roundup starts with a topic that is close to my research heart, wellbeing in the workplace but of a subgroup that many probably assume are more resilient than other folk in business — sale people. From that I review other research into the brain and learning and language. Read on… Emotional Labour in Sales When we think of sales people we may tend to think of financially driven folk who can take a “no” and are persistent and resilient.
Research Hit: Low Confidence Boosts Performance
Do you mean people with low confidence in general or low confidence on the task at hand? Well, I suppose it could be both, but this research published at the end of last year is quite insightful into feedback, negative feedback, and subsequent learning and hence performance. This is relevant for education, the workplace, and society in general.
Research Hit: Language Skills Predict Longevity
What, surely other factors are more important than language skills for living longer?! Yes, I’ve reported on multiple other factors that impact longevity with the usual suspects, and some not so usual, topping the list. In fact this could also have been formulated that “intelligence boosts longevity”. Really?! Please explain… Well, there is some research that links intelligence, IQ levels, to longevity. There could be multiple reasons for this.
Weekly Roundup: Stress in Sales People, Learning Quickly or Slowly, How We Remember Words, and How We “Sing” Words
This week’s roundup starts with a topic that is close to my research heart, wellbeing in the workplace but of subgroup that many probably assume are more resilient than other folk in business — sale people. From that I review other research into the brain and learning and language. Read on… Emotional Labour in Sales When we think of sales people we may tend to think of financially-driven folk who can take a “no” and are persistent and resilient.
Research Hit: Debating Skills Help in Climbing the Leadership Ladder
I suppose debating is a key communication skills in business in general? Yes, but it is rarely trained — but funnily enough many good schools in England when I grew up had debating clubs — for the sole purpose of refining debating skills. It was considered good back then as a key skill for precisely leadership roles whether in business or politics. And what was this research? This research out of MIT by Jackson Lu et al.
Weekly Roundup: Nature Lowers Pain in the Brain, Parenthood Keeps the Brain Young, Changing Positive Memories, and more on the Social Brain
There’s been some interesting research hitting the journals this week on the brain and various interactions in the real world. I start with one on how nature can fundamentally change brain processing of pain, fascinating. Then onto one that shows that parenthood can keep the brain young! This may be counterintuitive — considering the stress that parenthood can subject us to (I know — been there, done that).
Research Hit: Well-Being Boosts Academic Success
You always say a healthy brain is a high-performing brain! Yes, I do, it is actually quite obvious. In these pages I have reported multiple times on how various health measures impact cognitive performance, which includes learning in academic contexts. What does this research add to this? Well, the research I often share looks at specific contexts or interventions such as sleep and nutrition with various cognitive performance measures such as memory or attention.
Research Hit: How Your Brain Feels Others’ Pain
You mean empathy, right? Yes, this is the true meaning of empathy feeling with another person — feeling with another person whether physical or emotionally. But here it is feeling someone else’s physical pain. I recently watched the European Athletics Indoor Championship and there were a number of situations when I really felt with the athletes. One was a British female athlete, Amber Anning, a top 400m runner who was disqualified for overstepping the inside line on her track.
Weekly Roundup: Noise in Decision-Making, Diet and Memory, Creativity and Academic Performance, the Benefits of Groups Arts
I am just writing the chapter on decision making in the Handbook of your Brain in Business and the concept of noise is a section that I have been writing on. Noise is the concept that many of our decisions are noisy i.e. they vary. If you are given the same decision multiple times, even close together you may give different responses. I wrote about this in the teenage brain last week.
Weekly Review: Nasal Spray for Brain Recovery, Teenager Decision-Making, When We Regret Decisions, and Junk Food Has Immediate Impacts on the Brain
I was interested to read a report of a pre-clinical trial showing that a nasal spray could be effective for helping with traumatic brain injury. I know I have regularly reported on various body-brain interactions, such as the gut-brain axis, but this intrigued me. I have also suffered numerous concussions though my sporting career so have a morbid fascination with mild traumatic brain injuries. Nasal Spray for Traumatic Brian Injuries?
Research Hit: When Your Brain Stills Wants Dessert
Are you talking about when we have just eaten a hearty meal and even though we are feeling full, we still feel like dessert? Precisely, and I confess, I have a real sweet tooth. I can always find place for dessert, or biscuits (cookies for you Americans), and in pretty substantial quantities. And is this controlled in the brain or stomach? Well, in theory the stomach sends signals to the brain which should release various transmitters which communicate satiety.
Research Hit: New Insights Into How The Brain Balances Risk and Reward
You have written before on the brain and decision-making abilities — doesn’t the orbitofrontal cortex balance risk and reward? Yes, this is a key area in the brain’s prefrontal cortex for decision making and for balancing alternatives, particularly emotional ones. As you know I am currently writing my next chapter on the decisive brain and exploring this in much more detail.
Research Hit: Stress Changes Brain’s Sound Responses
Isn’t stress a whole brain response? Well, yes, kind of. That it alters multiple pathways is well-known and researched. But all brain responses change multiple pathways and understanding these, what precisely and how they are triggered is important. And this research adds another little twist to the stress brain response. Also of note is that this is in chronic stress situations not acute short-term stress. So, what changed to sound?
Research Hit: The Rise (or not) of Artificial Moral Advisors
What we have artificial moral advisors?! Well they’re not here yet but are ready to go. Is that a good idea? It could be a fantastic idea — as I write this the US government has cut its aid funding which has been estimated to have saved 25 million lives since its inception. Having a neutral non-biased view of this could save millions of future lives and allowing us humans (or here, US Americans) to fulfil our (their) moral duty.
Research Hit: Discovery of Brain Mechanism for Overcoming Fear
Fear extinction sounds great — is this really possible? Well, yes we have all experienced this in many ways. We are all born with some natural fears such as from loud noises and fast approaching objects — these are “hard-wired”. However, with time and experience we can, and do, overcome these, at least in some circumstances. Think of the joy people experience with loud fireworks, not fear (in contrast to many dogs), or of a baseball batter hitting a fast moving object coming almost directly at them.
Weekly Roundup: AI as Good as Therapists, Breathing to Lower Anxiety, Stress and Memory Formation, and New Cells Discovered for Object Recognition
This week is another week when there seems so much to write about that someone who is so indecisiveness as I am had problems deciding what to write. But as AI is still hot on everyone’s lips and seemingly advancing in leaps and bounds, let’s start with how AI seems to beat therapists…in some measures that is.
Research Hit: Your Brain on Flexible Decision-Making
What do you mean change a decision in the same context? Well there are many situations whereby we actually have multiple options and may decide to go for an alternative behaviour. An example is that of a footballer taking a penalty. The obvious behaviour is to kick the ball into one of the corners as far away from the goalkeeper as possible. But, for example, a footballer may decide to kick the ball straight ahead pre-empting the dive the goalkeeper inevitably makes.
Research Hit: Dopamine and Aggression
New research shows that dopamine promotes aggressiveness — in male novice fighters only — in mice that is. I thought dopamine was linked to reward — such as the now well-known dopamine hit of social media? Yes, that is the simplistic view but as I keep saying: everything in the brain is always way more complex and nuanced than popular posts suggest. I do, by the way, review dopamine briefly here.
Research Hit: Poor Sleep Impedes Brain Control
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 2 min read · -- You’ve written previously on how sleep is important for just about everything, haven’t you? Yes, indeed. Sleep is the time when the brain processes the day’s inputs, consolidates memories, works though emotions, clears up DNA damage, and detoxifies the brain, so it’s pretty important! This research recently published looks specifically at sleep quality and intrusive memories.
Research Hit: New Insights into the Intelligent Brain
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 3 min read · -- Aren’t you currently writing on the high-performing brain? Yes, in my Handbook of the Brain in Business I break down the concept of the high-performing brain — and high performance is not just to do with intelligence. Even so this research, just out, is fascinating as it gives us the most detailed insight into the intelligent brain yet.
Weekly Roundup: Athletes Have Better Working Memory, How Naps Improve brain Performance, Gaming can Improve Performance in the Workplace, and New Insights Into Our Social Brain | by Andy Hab | Mar, 2025 | Medium
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 6 min read · -- I have just finished writing the first part of my Handbook of the Brain in Business and in the section on the high-performing brain I also explore some aspects related to sports performance and cognitive performance. Athletes have better working memory This piece of research supports the evidence I listed, namely that athletes tend to perform better across all domains. Here Chenxiao Wu et al.
Research Hit: Your Ability to Reprocess Brain Cells in Middle Age Determines Brain Health in Age
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 3 min read · -- Are you saying that our brain reprocess our brain cells? Technically not our brain cells, but there is a process known as mitophagy which cleans out and repairs damaged mitochondria (the powerhouses of our cells and home to our DNA): all metabolic process can lead to damage of mitochondria and your body has cellular processes that recycles and repairs cells. If this is not repaired a cell, brain cell here, can become dysfunctional and die.
Weekly Roundup: Your Brain Watching a Movie, Your Brain’s Behavioural Catalogue, Learning Skills, Shocking Research Into Memory Formation
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 8 min read · -- This week the usual bunch of fascinating research into the brain from watching movies, to engaging in behaviours, to memory refreshing. I’ve also been working hard on the opening chapter of The Handbook of Your Brain in Business. What Happens in Your Brain While You Watch a Movie?
Research Hit: When Human-AI Teams Thrive…Or Don’t
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 3 min read · -- This could be interesting — AI is meant to complement human ability so I presume we have good news here? Well, yes and no. If we read individual studies we can find evidence for one or other side of an argument or opinion. I have written on various aspects of AI and performance on different topics. It’s a mixed bag at the moment.
Research Hit: Magnetic Brain Stimulation Improves Depression Rapidly
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 2 min read · -- Can we stimulate the brain with magnets? Yes, indeed we can. This is quite an old technique (known as transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS) whereby strong magnetic fields can be applied to the brain, and selectively to brain regions, to either activate or suppress activity depending on the strength of the magnetic field. It has long been used in research and more recently for therapeutic purposes. I didn’t know that — when is it used?
Research Hit: Brain Endurance Training For Elite Athletes and Healthy Aging
Andy Hab · Follow 3 min read · -- 238550600 | ©Martinmark | Dreamstime.com What, “brain endurance training” is a thing? Yes, and, interestingly, this was not developed to help the aging population or to improve cognitive skills in general such as many cognitive games are. You know the type of thing, apps with different types of cognitive and memory tasks. Yes, I have various apps — but how is this used in elite athletes, first of all? Yes, this is interesting.
Weekly Roundup: How Your Brain Tries to Combat Fatigue, Growing New Brain Cells, Manipulating Brain Waves During Sleep, Boosting Motivation
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 5 min read · -- When I scour the web and various research sites for these roundups I sometimes come across other older research that is fascinating and this is the case this week wen I will not start off with a recent piece of research but an older one on how the brain responds to fatigue during intense cognitive activity. Your Brain Tries to Compensate Neural Fatigue This was only a small study with 16 participants but nevertheless fascinating.
Research Hit: New Insights into the Social Brain
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 3 min read · -- Don’t tell me this research is in lab animals? Yes it is. But this is the interesting bit, it’s in spiny mice. In what type of mice? Spiny mice live in arid environments in Africa. But their behaviour makes them particularly suitable for research into the social brain. Other rodents that have been used extensively for research are not as suitable because they may not live in social groups.
Weekly Roundup: The Brain’s Secrets to Exceptional Creativity, Can AI make you More Creative, and What does the Brain do at Rest
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 6 min read · -- This week let’s look at creativity and what AI can contribute to this — which is a lot, if you are not creative that is? What Does Exceptional Creativity Look Like in the Brain? There has been plenty of research into creative individuals and also brain scanning research but there are also a number of problems with this.
Research Hit: FOMO and Information Overload Increases Burnout and Decreases Mental Health
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 2 min read · -- So isn’t FOMO and information overload a contradiction? Yes, indeed these are kind of opposite: if you have too much information how can you miss out on information. But they could also be mutually influential in that if you have lots of information you are more sensitive to missing out on some information. So what did these researchers do? Elizabeth Marsh et al.
Weekly Roundup: Can Travel Slow Down the Brain’s Aging, Nature as a Prescription is Surprisingly Effective, Your Country Impacts your Brain Health, and Autonomy Boost Children and Teachers at School | by Andy Hab | Jan, 2025 | Medium
Member-only story Andy Hab · Follow 5 min read · -- This week a few topics related to aging as they sounded good to me — and my brain is aging so it is at least relevant to me — and surely to all of you subscribers and readers! Can Travel Slow Down Aging? This sounds almost too good to be true but is a serious, albeit only theoretical paper. So what is it with travel and ageing? This was a group of interdisciplinary researchers who looked at travel from the viewpoint of entropy.
Research Hit: Gaming Improves Mental Wellbeing!
Andy Hab · Follow 2 min read · -- Are you sure it improves mental wellbeing? Well, this is according to this large-scale study in Japan with over 97’000 survey responses. Another study I reported on previously found no link also — or only a link with pre-existing conditions. What is the Impact of Gaming on Teenage Mental Health? This is good news - or bad news whichever way you turn it! open.substack.com What are the caveats?
Research Hit: Classical Music Synchronises Brain Waves and Improves Depression and Stimulates Brain Growth
Andy Hab · Follow 3 min read · -- This reminds me of that Mozart phase in the 1990s! Yes, when a piece of research found that playing Mozart improved performance on IQ tests and everybody went crazy — such as playing Mozart to babies to increase IQ. It was later found that almost any type of music could increase IQ scores, particularly the music you like. It simply elevated mood and energy which leads to better cognitive processes. This research by Xin Lv et al.
Research Hit: Your Brain on Social Drinking
Andy Hab · Follow 3 min read · -- So does drinking alcohol generate different responses if in social settings? Yes, according to this research in fruit flies. Which is interesting. Sorry, but did you say fruit flies? Yes, I know it sounds strange. But fruit flies are actually also a social species and are commonly used in neuroscience research because they share about 75% of genes that cause human disease.
Research Hit: Mental Health Training Improves Performance of Managers
Andy Hab · Follow 2 min read · -- Isn’t this obvious, that mental health training should have multiple benefits? Yes, and no. Some studies, for example, into wellbeing programmes in business have shown limited impacts. But this was a large scale study and showed multiple benefits. Tell me more! Juliet Hassard et al. analysed data from the University of Warwick that has surveyed thousands of companies in the UK. This included data on mental health training for line managers.
Research Hit: Different Parts of Your Brain Take “Micro Naps” at Different Times
Andy Hab · Follow 3 min read · -- Are we talking of taking naps during the day? No, we’re actually talking about much smaller time limits — as in milliseconds. But the brain can’t sleep for milliseconds surely! Well, this is precisely what this piece of research has found out. This massive study out of the University of California by David Parkes at al.
Research Hit: How Your Brain Sets Priorities
Andy Hab · Follow 2 min read · -- First published on my Substack: https://leadingbrainsreview.substack.com/ Isn’t the hippocampus more responsible for memory and not setting priorities? Yes, that is true, but you have to recall a goal to be able to prioritise it. And this is what a team of researchers from the University of Geneva, here in Switzerland, and the Icahn School of Medicine, in New York explored.
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