News and Stories
Explore the latest breakthroughs and developments from the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health.
CBH Director Charles Hillman Installed as Inaugural Manganaro Distinguished Professor
CBH Director Charles Hillman has been officially installed as the inaugural Michele and Anthony Manganaro Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University, one of the university's highest faculty honors. Recognized for his decades of research on how physical activity and lifestyle behaviors shape brain health and cognition, Hillman was celebrated at a ceremony at Northeastern's EXP research complex, with President Joseph E. Aoun and the Manganaro family in attendance.
Feel like your brain is a little sluggish? Try 10 minutes of exercise.
New research co-authored by CBH Director Charles Hillman shows that just 10 minutes of moderate exercise before class can meaningfully improve executive function in college students — sharpening focus, problem-solving, and learning. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that movement and brain health are deeply connected, and that the benefits don't require intense effort to kick in.
How the brain reacts to live music
New Northeastern research by Psyche Louis and her team ay MIND lab finds that our brainwaves sync more strongly with live music than recordings, revealing the neuroscience behind why a concert feels so different.
Can AI help predict how you might be feeling next week?
Can emotions be forecasted like the weather?
Joshua Curtiss is using machine learning to predict how people might feel and what that could mean for personalized mental health care.
Does an infant’s body fat relate to cognitive and motor development?
What if a baby's body composition, not just their weight, holds the key to early cognitive and motor development? Lauren Raine's new research suggests it might.
Career Panel: Transitioning to Industry
Interested in exploring career paths beyond academia?
How does social media affect adolescent mental health? This researcher wants to find out
Alexandra Rodman wants to understand why “75% of all mental health diagnoses occur during the adolescent years.” What makes us, as humans, so vulnerable to social stressors in the years following puberty?
Northeastern University professor bridges neuroscience and music to understand and improve the brain
We, as humans, like listening to music—well, those of us without musical anhedonia, a neurological condition that prevents people from enjoying the art form. But music can actually have a positive physical impact on our well-being, one that runs even deeper than that feeling you got when Ariana Grande dropped her latest album.
Could brain scans of children predict teenage mental illness?
Scans of brain activity in seven-year-olds are helping Northeastern researchers predict symptoms of depression, anxiety, and attentional problems in teenagers.