Brenda Patoine
Brenda Patoine is a freelance science writer, reporter, and blogger who has been covering neuroscience research for more than 30 years. Her specialty is translating complex scientific findings into writings for the general public that address the question of “what does this mean to me?” She has interviewed hundreds of leading neuroscientists over three decades, including six Nobel Laureates. She founded ScienceWRITE Medical Communications in 1989 and holds a degree in journalism from St. Michael’s College. Other areas of interest are holistic wellness, science and spirituality, and bhakti yoga. Brenda lives in Burlington, VT, with her cat Shakti.
Misinformation Epidemic Raises Stakes for Solutions
Can cognitive-training tools equip people to resist fake news? Are top-down measures necessary? Neuroscientists help sort out what could work.
Can Social Prescriptions Improve Cognitive and Mental Health?
Social connectedness gains ground as a formal strategy for reducing health burdens.
Could Music Therapy Ease the World’s Dementia Crisis?
A new wave of research aims to move beyond anecdotal evidence. If it proves significantly beneficial and easily “dispensable,” the savings in terms of well-being and of monetary costs would be immense.
Who is Left Behind in the Movement to Normalize Marijuana?
In the rush to cash in on cannabis, some vulnerable populations—including people in marginalized groups and all children—may pay a steep price.
The Great Telemedicine Experiment
Covid precautions have led to a massive increase in treatment from screens and phones. Is it worsening health disparities—and changing medicine permanently?
Migraine: The Road to New Targeted Drugs
Research from four labs in different parts of the world led to a major breakthrough—and the 2021 Brain PrizeThe 2021 Brain Prize went to four individuals whose independent research led to useful treatments for a disorder affecting a billion people.
Your Brain on Food
Science is increasingly unpacking the ways that diet influences cognitive function and emotional well-being. Growing evidence suggests that the right diet may in fact mitigate some of the ill effects of stress on the brain, while the wrong diet may worsen the effects.
Ready to Read?
Neuroimaging confirms the key role of white matter in reading ability, but the translation to the classroom lags. Where does the research stand?
Pandemic Brain: Parsing the Mental Health Toll
Many experts have sounded the alarm for an approaching tsunami of psychological maladies that could sink an already overburdened mental healthcare system.
Neuroscience Adapts to the Covid World
The impact has been sudden and unprecedented, shifting brain science research priorities, and sending shock waves through academia and the global research community.