Understanding Neurodivergence

Science ⏱ 5 min

A Brainstem "Attention Filter" and ADHD: What the Mouse Study Really Shows

A viral post says researchers found a brainstem attention filter that may explain ADHD. The study is real and published in Nature Communications. But it was done in mice, and it contains no one with ADHD.

Sep 25, 2026 Read more →

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Science ⏱ 6 min

When Do Autism and Schizophrenia Begin? A Study of 1,000 Brains Points to the Months Before Birth

A University of Exeter team mapped the chemical switches on DNA in nearly 1,000 human brains, from six weeks after conception to 108 years. Most of the change happens before birth, and the genes linked to autism and schizophrenia are right in the middle of it. What that means, and what it does not.

Sep 20, 2026 Read more →

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The Gut-Brain Serotonin Highway: How Your Intestines Talk to Your Brain via the Vagus Nerve

A 2025 review maps out how gut-produced serotonin reaches the brain through the vagus nerve, a real biological reason gut health, mood and neurodivergence often show up together.

Aug 14, 2026 Read more →

ADHD Is Real: What Brain Imaging and Genetics Actually Show

A viral post lists four kinds of evidence that ADHD is a real, biological condition. We checked each claim against the actual studies - here is what holds up.

Aug 07, 2026 Read more →

ADHD and Autism Show No Evidence of Accelerated Brain Aging, New Study Finds

A large 2026 neuroimaging study in PLOS Medicine compared nine neurological and psychiatric conditions. The result: neither ADHD nor autism showed premature brain aging.

Jul 27, 2026 Read more →

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Copper and the Brain: What the Science Says (and Why Hair Mineral Tests Are Not the Answer)

Copper is genuinely important for brain chemistry, but hair tissue mineral analysis is not a validated way to test it. Here is what the actual research says about copper, mood, cognition and sleep.

Jul 24, 2026 Read more →

"Brain Fog Genetics": A Checklist of 15 Genes Across 6 Conditions. Here's What Actually Holds Up.

A viral genetics checklist links brain fog to celiac disease, lupus, POTS, inflammation, oxidative stress, and "detox genes" for mold toxins. One of these has solid evidence. Several are real conditions with unproven gene-to-symptom links. One is a red flag straight out of consumer-genetics marketing.

Jul 15, 2026 Read more →

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Are Autism and Schizophrenia "Byproducts" of Human Intelligence? Here's the Real Study.

A viral post claims autism and schizophrenia are natural byproducts of the genes that made human intelligence possible. There is a real 2024/2025 study behind this - but the researchers themselves are far more cautious than the post lets on, and one of its central claims doesn't hold up at all.

Jul 13, 2026 Read more →

Genetics and Serotonin Keep Showing Up in ADHD Content. Here's What's Actually Solid.

TPH1/TPH2, SLC6A4, HTR1/HTR2 - serotonin gene explainers are everywhere right now. Some of it is textbook-accurate. Some of it is one researcher's theory presented as settled fact. And serotonin isn't even ADHD's primary biology - here's where it actually matters.

Jul 10, 2026 Read more →

Children With ADHD Have More Parasitic and Infectious Diseases. Here's What That Actually Means.

A 2022 study found children with ADHD had higher rates of intestinal parasites, and a large Israeli cohort of 50,000+ children found more infections overall. Real findings - but not proof that parasites cause ADHD, and definitely not a reason to try deworming as treatment.

Jul 09, 2026 Read more →

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