Health
What is ‘brain rot’? The science behind what too much scrolling does to our brains
Oxford University Press has chosen “brain rot” as its word of the year.
The word is defined as “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.”
Some experts believe that constant, endless scrolling of social media and other online content is doing exactly that – rotting our brains.
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Behavioral neuroscientist Dr. Kyra Bobinet, author of “Unstoppable Brain,” told Fox News Digital that there is a growing awareness of brain rot and its consequences.
Oxford University Press choosing “brain rot” as the word of the year is “pinpointing the issues,” according to one expert. (iStock)
“It’s in the zeitgeist that people have difficulty with their attention span. They feel brain foggy, they [have] less concentration … They can’t do deep work,” said California-based Bobinet.
“And then there’s also this epidemic of loneliness that has been kind of sitting on the heels of this, because we can’t really focus on anything, including relationship-building.”
Stuck in a scroll
A certain part of the brain, called the habenula, is responsible for getting stuck in endless scrolling, according to Bobinet.
The habenula is a central part of the brain that’s involved in various important functions, including motivation and decision-making. But when activated, this area can also “kill our motivation to try,” she noted.
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“It’s the heart of when you know you should be doing something, and you do this other thing instead, like ‘doom-scrolling,’” she said.
“This is the area of our brain that when it’s on, we feel depressed. We feel out of control, we feel impulsive, we feel addicted,” one neurologist said about the habenula. (iStock)
Scrolling on social media is also a way to “disassociate” and give the brain a rest after a long day, Bobinet said. This is an “avoidance behavior,” which the habenula controls.
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“Anytime you’re avoiding something, you know this area of the brain is on,” she said.
This is how social media addictions can form, Bobinet warned, as this part of the brain can make it “very painful” to stop scrolling.
“There’s this epidemic of loneliness that has been kind of sitting on the heels of this, because we can’t really focus on anything, including relationship-building,” one expert said. (iStock)
This can result in a “dangerous” loss of motivation, the neuroscientist warned.
“We all need motivation to live our lives and to feel proud of ourselves and to feel confident and to get what we want,” she told Fox News Digital.
How to avoid brain rot
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for avoiding brain rot, according to Bobinet.
The key is learning what works best for the individual, she said, which involves “tweaking and tinkering and adjusting as you go,” she said.
“Humans are very resilient,” she added. “Once we know the truth about our bodies, then we can do something about it.”
Scrolling on social media is a way to “disassociate” and give the brain a rest after a long day, which is an “avoidance behavior,” one neuroscientist said. (iStock)
Dr. Don Grant, national adviser of healthy device management at Newport Healthcare in Los Angeles, called out device makers and content producers for keeping users hooked to their devices.
“They’re very clever, these creators who created these algorithms and also leverage our limbic system – the same [way] the people who created slot machines did,” he told Fox News Digital. “Pull the handle … You never know what you’re going to get.”
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Grant said he’s concerned about “the death of some things,” including imagination.
“We don’t have to imagine anything anymore,” he said. “We pick up our devices every time. I’m worried about memory. I’m worried about education.”
Grant said he often hears from kids that they spend eight hours on any given night scrolling and watching videos, which “disrupts their sleep hygiene.”
One expert said he often hears from kids that they spend eight hours on any given night scrolling and watching videos, which “disrupts their sleep hygiene.” (iStock)
“And I say, ‘OK, can you tell me one video you remember?’ I have yet to have one kid really be able to remember anything they saw.”
“Our brain matter is diminishing, our memories are diminishing [and] our attention spans are diminishing,” Grant warned.
“I’m worried about memory. I’m worried about education.”
The expert offered some tips to avoid getting stuck in a “doom scroll” of “endless, bottomless” content, especially for children.
Since the internet is “archived forever,” Grant noted that “FOMO,” or fear of missing out, is not a valid reason to stay online.
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“Maybe phone a friend or FaceTime your grandma for the holidays,” he suggested.
Grant also urges people to be more strategic about spending time online, splitting it up into 80% “meaningful, legitimate” content and 20% entertainment.
One expert urges people to be more strategic about spending time online, splitting it up into 80% “meaningful, legitimate” content and 20% entertainment. (iStock)
“For digital hygiene and well-being, you can set limits, you can block access,” said Grant. “Set tech-free times and zones in your home, especially for families.”
“Get outside, move a muscle … play memory games, intellectually challenging or educational games.”
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The expert also encourages people to ask themselves a few questions after scrolling to help gauge the quality of time spent.
These might include: “Could you tell me how much time you were online? Did you spend more time than you wanted to? Did you feel better?”
Grant added, “There’s a perceived danger of virtual life and how we’re using our free time – at the end of it, are you really feeling good about yourself?”
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The keto diet may help individuals with anorexia nervosa, new research from UC San Diego School of Medicine suggests.
The small study, published in the journal Nature, enrolled 22 women between 18 and 45 years old who had a history of anorexia nervosa and a BMI (body mass index) above 17.5.
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder involving food restriction and low body weight, the researchers describe. This is often followed by body dissatisfaction, an intense fear of eating, and a preoccupation with body shape and size even after weight restoration.
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The participants followed a ketogenic therapy plan for 14 weeks, aiming for a diet consisting of 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbohydrates, according to a press release.
The participants followed a ketogenic therapy plan for 14 weeks, aiming for a diet consisting of 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbohydrates. (iStock)
The goal was to maintain weight while inducing nutritional ketosis — a metabolic state in which the body produces and uses ketones for energy because carbohydrate intake is low enough to shift metabolism toward fat burning.
The researchers monitored the participants via ketone testing, weekly weight checks, symptom questionnaires, and nutritional and psychiatric support.
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Among the remaining 18 participants, eating disorder symptoms reportedly improved in several areas, including restraint, depression scores, and concern with eating, shape and weight.
Overall scores on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) also improved, with 72% of participants scoring in the recovered or normal range.
Eating disorder symptoms reportedly improved in several areas, according to the study findings. (iStock)
The participants’ body weight did not change significantly, and no BMI fell below 17.5, according to the results.
Those who continued to follow ketogenic therapy three months after the intervention had slightly better EDE-Q scores.
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The study authors concluded that ketogenic dietary therapy is “well-tolerated” and demonstrated “potential efficacy” in reducing anorexia nervosa symptoms in adults who are mildly underweight or weight-restored.
Although the study was “sufficiently powered,” the authors noted that the small sample size of predominantly White females limits the scope of the findings.
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“Future research should replicate these findings in more diverse populations and incorporate objective assessments of brain function, such as metabolic PET imaging, to assess brain glucose metabolism,” they wrote.
Those who continued to follow ketogenic therapy three months after the intervention had slightly better scores on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire. (iStock)
Lead study author Guido Frank, MD, professor of psychiatry at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, who has studied and treated anorexia patients for more than 25 years, launched this study to broaden treatment options for this high-risk population.
Frank wrote in a statement that new approaches to anorexia nervosa are “urgently” needed.
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“Our work with ketogenic therapy looks beyond standard therapies and potentially at the underlying physiology of the disorder,” he went on.
“Growing evidence links anorexia nervosa to neurometabolic dysfunction, and we are hopeful that direct metabolic intervention can regulate neural function and address the psychological symptoms patients experience.”
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A new injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
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After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
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According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
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“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
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The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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