A 1967 publication titled “Mortality of Bereavement” discovered that bereaved relatives had a 7-fold increased risk of dying within the following year. Despite that the cause of death was undetermined, this is the first scientific evidence indicating that extreme sadness kills.

Coined in 1991, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy — or broken heart syndrome — mimic aspects of a heart attack such as shortness of breath, fainting, and chest pain. But, oddly, they have no blocked arteries. Instead, some parts of the heart stopped moving and other heart muscles try to compensate for this. This turns the heart into an irregular shape, like that of an octopus pot — hence, the name “Takotsubo” (‘Tako’ means octopus and ‘tsubo’ means pot in Japanese). This condition is reversible but can be fatal at times. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is triggered by intense emotions or stressful life events such as the death of a loved one and losing (or even winning) a lot of money. This is why “heartbroken” from sadness is a legitimate phenomenon.

Research advances further confirm that sadness, or more accurately emotional stress, destroy the heart in many ways. The mind-heart connection extends to far more than just the broken heart syndrome. Convincing epidemiological evidence ascertains that emotional pains can lead to heart diseases, the major killer worldwide, and this linkage is underpinned by biology.

The team behind the work suggest that eventually doctors might be able to grow blobs of brain tissue from a patient’s own cells in the lab and use them to repair brain injuries caused by stroke or trauma.

“This is incredibly exciting to me as a physician,” said Isaac Chen, a physician and assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study is the latest in the rapidly growing and ethically complex field of brain organoids. Scientists have shown that when cultivated in the right conditions, neurons begin to form tiny brain-like structures, allowing scientists to investigate developmental conditions such as autism and a wide range of basic neuroscience questions.

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐳𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞?

In 2021, Craig Gibbons was diagnosed with Lyme disease. His doctor prescribed him antibiotics, but the medication failed to eliminate one of his most debilitating symptoms: a lasting brain fog that made it difficult for him to focus or recall information.

So he went with a different approach: at-home brain stimulation.

Over the past few years, Gibbons had been experimenting with transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS, which delivers weak electrical currents to the brain through electrodes attached to the head.

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Anna Wexler, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, studies why and how people use brain stimulation at home. She’s found that people are using the devices to treat mental health disorders or to improve mental performance.

“Depression and anxiety are the top two indications for people,” Wexler said. “But other reasons people used it for were for enhancement, so to improve focus, to improve memory, things like that.”