News & Headlines

A study led by FifPro has found female footballers suffering from concussion on at least three occasions performed "significantly worse" in tasks requiring attention.

Beyond its monsters and 1980s nostalgia, Stranger Things resonates because it tells stories of struggles familiar to young people: trauma that lingers, identity that wavers, and friendships that buffer against fear.

And by turning inner struggles into visible monsters, Stranger Things can provide a lens to discuss trauma, identity and resilience.

Here are some of Stranger Things’ insights into adolescent development and mental health – and how adults can use the show to talk to teenagers about their own mental health.

• Evangeline Lilly says much of her brain is “functioning at a decreased capacity” after her traumatic brain injury last year.
• Lilly suffered a concussion when she fell after fainting and hit her head on a boulder at a beach.

Scientists have found that memories are not static records but dynamic processes that change the brain’s wiring each time they are recalled.

Based on this research, neuroscientist Steve Ramirez’s hope is that his work will inform noninvasive therapies for conditions such as PTSD, depression and dementia.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is common among veterans, with 10% of men and nearly 20% of women reporting having symptoms at some point in their lives. But could exposure to more arts programming be the needed prescription for those who have served our country? Stephanie Sy reports for our look at the intersection of art and health, part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

The BRAVE program has graduated 61 patients since February 2024. The three-week outpatient program, which is the first of its kind in the Midwest, is tailored to the needs of each patient.

Tens of thousands of Afghans have resettled in the U.S. after aiding the American military in Afghanistan. They can struggle with assimilation and mental health issues. Many Afghan refugees have confronted an uphill battle in adapting to life in the U.S., feeling estranged from their home country and as though they don’t have the support or tools necessary to thrive in their new one, experts and Afghan veterans now living in the U.S. tell TIME.

A newly discovered biological signal in the blood could help health care teams and researchers better understand how children respond to brain injuries at the cellular level, according to our research in the Journal of Neurotrauma.

In the future, this information could help clinicians identify children who need more tailored follow-up care after a traumatic brain injury.

About a quarter of U.S. service members and veterans who start psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) quit before they finish treatment, according to a recent study, with experts pushing for more effective long-term approaches to sustain mental health treatments.

One Washington-based Indigenous organization wants to close a nation-wide research gap on how many Native women sustain brain injuries during domestic and sexual abuse.

“We have many people who have experienced incredible head trauma that was never diagnosed,” Urban Indian Health Institute Director Abigail Echo-Hawk said. “They were never able to see a physician or they never got a screening for potential traumatic brain injury.”

“When I went to go look and find the most compelling and recent data on traumatic brain injury within Indian Country and with Indigenous peoples, I couldn't find anything specific,” she told SPR News.

As the saying goes, “Never underestimate the power of fitness,” and Erica Liermann is a prime example of that message. 

After being diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, she searched for some type of healthy outlet to overcome her depression. Working out became her core therapy, and these days, far removed from the Baghdad desert, she’s helping others through fitness.