Many of us believe that we are great drinkers and that alcohol does not affect us as much. People who are able to drink without showing any sign of inebriation are known as social drinkers. In short, they are not addicted to alcohol but will not turn down the opportunity to have a good time! While it may seem like it doesn’t affect you, new studies suggest that it is just an illusion, even if you have high tolerance, alcohol affects your cognitive and motor functions more than you think.

The study reveals the below implications and techniques:

• Researchers used a new MRI technique to precisely measure brain electrical activity.
• By comparing brain scans before and after drinking, scientists identified specific areas affected by alcohol and how much brain activity slowed down.
• Participants were chosen to be regular social drinkers without alcohol addiction, ensuring the study focused on the effects of alcohol alone.
• MRI technology provided reliable data on brain activity changes caused by alcohol consumption.

How does the brain react to alcohol?

Think of it as the foundation for your brain's performance. When brain conductivity is high, information flows smoothly, and that helps your brain in rapid processing and response. On the other hand, low conductivity can hinder cognitive function, leading to slower thinking, impaired memory, and difficulties with coordination.

A study conducted at the Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW Science unveiled a startling connection between alcohol consumption and brain conductivity.

What is the connection between alcohol consumption and brain activity?

While many people brush off the effects of alcohol as temporary changes in behaviour, the reality is much more complex. Beyond the obvious impacts on coordination and judgment, alcohol significantly alters brain function. Alcohol dramatically slowed down brain activity, especially in areas responsible for decision-making, planning, and physical coordination. This decline was so significant that it resembled the brain changes seen in normal ageing. This means even one drink could temporarily accelerate the ageing process of your brain.

Alcohol and Brain activity: What does the study Imply?

The implications of this research are far-reaching. It provides compelling evidence that alcohol consumption has a direct and measurable impact on brain function. The discovery that alcohol can significantly reduce brain conductivity opens new avenues for understanding the neurocognitive effects of alcohol abuse and dependence. While you may not feel like alcohol is affecting you and you have a high tolerance, it most definitely changes and affects your decision-making abilities and impulse control.

Furthermore, the MRI technique employed in the study could be a valuable tool for assessing the impact of other substances on the brain and for developing interventions to mitigate alcohol-related brain damage.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at changing childhood vaccine recommendations, including moving toward separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into individual shots.

The executive order, titled “Delivering Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations for Americans,” has sparked debate over how childhood vaccines should be administered and whether combination vaccines should instead be given separately.

Amid criticism of the move, HealthandMe spoke to public health experts to understand whether splitting the MMR vaccine offers any proven health benefit and what it could mean for children and vaccination coverage.

What Does Splitting MMR Mean?

Dr. Sabine Kapasi, Global Health Strategist and a UN Advisor, told HealthandMe that combination vaccines are more than a matter of convenience.

“Combination vaccines are not simply a matter of convenience. They can reduce the number of injections and healthcare visits required, support timely vaccination and help health systems reach children who may otherwise be missed,” she said.

“The more fragmented the pathway becomes, the more important it is to understand its impact on uptake, completion and equity,” Dr. Sabine added.

Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, former President of IMA Cochin and Convener of the Research Cell, Kerala, also highlighted the practical disadvantage of requiring parents to make additional clinic visits when vaccines that can be administered together are separated.

Is Splitting MMR Healthier?

There is currently no adequate scientific validation for the argument that giving the MMR components separately is inherently healthier, according to Dr. Rajeev.

“The argument that splitting the shots is a healthier option does not have adequate scientific validation, because the body’s immune system routinely encounters numerous antigens simultaneously and effectively in everyday life,” he told HealthandMe.

Dr. Sabine emphasized that any change to childhood immunization policy should be based on evidence rather than simply altering an established schedule.

“Any change to childhood immunization policy should therefore be grounded in transparent evidence, rigorous safety and effectiveness assessment, and real-world data on vaccination coverage and completion,” she added.

Could More Vaccine Visits Increase Hesitancy?

Separating combination vaccines could make vaccination more cumbersome for families by requiring additional visits.

Dr. Sabine said vaccination programs operate within different health systems, meaning even small changes in scheduling can have implications for access, logistics, costs and continuity of care.

“The priority should remain consistent: designing immunization systems that are evidence-led, accessible and resilient enough to protect children across populations—not simply changing the schedule for the sake of changing it,” she said.

In a post on X US Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician, also criticized the executive order and warned that breaking up combination vaccines could mean children need more shots to receive the same protection.

“It will increase hesitancy and make children less safe,” he said, urging parents to discuss vaccination decisions with their child’s pediatrician.

Former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said European countries do not routinely split the MMR vaccine into three separate shots. “No European country splits the MMR vaccine as 3 separate shots,” he said in a post on X.

He added that Russia and Tajikistan were historical partial exceptions but have since moved to full MMR vaccination.

Are There Any Potential Advantages?

Dr. Rajeev said one potential advantage of the new approach is the separation of vaccines into essential and optional categories.

He said this could give parents greater clarity about which vaccines are considered the highest priority and potentially help address some forms of vaccine hesitancy. The expert also pointed to US policy around childhood COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, saying that making these vaccines a shared decision between doctors and parents could be viewed as a progressive step.

For years, people living with Long COVID have described a strange combination of symptoms: severe fatigue, brain fog, memory problems, slowed thinking and a loss of motivation. Researchers may have found an important clue behind at least some of these brain symptoms.

A new study published in eBioMedicine found that people with Long COVID had 16% to 20% lower markers of dopamine nerve endings in key regions of the brain, with the average reduction of around 18%.

The findings suggest that the brain's dopamine system may be affected long after the initial COVID-19 infection has passed.

What Are The Study's Findings?

Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the University of Toronto used PET brain scans to examine 24 adults with Long COVID and 24 healthy, age-matched individuals.

They focused on VMAT2, a protein found in nerve terminals that release dopamine. VMAT2 stores and packages dopamine inside nerve cells. Lower VMAT2 on the scans indicated reduced dopamine nerve-terminal density. However, it does not prove that dopamine neurons have permanently died.

The reductions appeared across three important regions of the striatum, which is involved in motivation, movement and thinking. Lower dopamine markers in the ventral striatum were associated with reduced motivation. Changes in the putamen were linked with slower movement, while changes in the caudate were associated with memory difficulties.

Also read: Can Long COVID Be Prevented Before It Starts? Study Suggests Early Paxlovid May Help

The Dopamine Factor

When dopamine production is disrupted, people can experience problems that go far beyond mood swings or low motivation.

The changes were also detected in people who had been living with Long COVID for as long as 4.6 years. This could help explain why some Long COVID patients report that even simple tasks feel unusually difficult or that they struggle to find the motivation to do things they previously enjoyed.

Long COVID is already known to involve a wide range of neurological symptoms, including fatigue, headaches, cognitive problems, anxiety and depression.

A 2026 review in Nature Reviews Neurology noted that approximately 6% of people who have experienced acute COVID-19 may develop this post-COVID condition.

Also read: Are Women More Likely To Experience More Severe Neurological Symptoms Of Long COVID Than Men? New Study Finds

Scope Of Treatment

The study does not mean that people with Long COVID have Parkinson's disease, nor does it establish that dopamine loss causes all Long COVID symptoms. The researchers also acknowledge that the study was small and that the findings show an association rather than proving cause and effect.

Still researchers say that the findings suggest that medications which enhance dopamine function, including dopamine precursors and drugs that reduce dopamine breakdown, could be investigated as potential treatments. They plan to launch a clinical trial targeting dopamine function in people with Long COVID.

More About Long COVID

Long COVID is a debilitating condition that can persist for months or even years after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Long COVID is an infection-associated chronic condition marked by fatigue, cognitive impairment, exercise intolerance, and multisystem dysfunction.

It has affected an estimated 400 million people worldwide and continues to have significant health, social, and economic consequences. Despite the ongoing risk, prevention strategies have received relatively little attention.

Dry or burning eyes are often brushed aside as side effect of ageing. But new research suggests that for postmenopausal women, the problem may be more than just eye irritation.

A recent study in Post Reproductive Health found that postmenopausal women had more severe signs of dry eye disease (DED) than both younger women and men in the same age range.

Researchers say the condition is caused largely by tear-film instability and dysfunction of the meibomian glands, the tiny glands in the eyelids that produce the oily layer of tears.

The study included 319 participants: 102 postmenopausal women, 105 age-matched men and 112 younger healthy women.

Researchers assessed symptoms, tear production, tear-film stability, damage to the eye surface and meibomian gland function.

Postmenopausal women had the highest rate of severe dry eye, affecting 24.5%, compared with 16.2% of age-matched men and 18.8% of younger women.

They also had higher scores for dry-eye symptoms, more straining of the of the ocular-surface, shorter tear-break-up time and greater meibomian gland dysfunction. 20.6% of postmenopausal women reported burning.

Effect Of Menopause On Eye Health

Also read: Experimental Menopause Drug Shows Promise Mid-Stage Trial, Reduces Hot Flashes By 83%

The connection between eyes and menopause lies in the significant hormonal changes women face as they enter menopause.

The ocular surface, lacrimal glands and meibomian glands are affected by sex hormones, including oestrogen and androgens. When hormone levels change during and after menopause, these tissues may also function differently.

One of the important consequences of menopausal hormonal shifts is the disruption of the tear film. The tear film is like a thin protective coating over the eye. It contains an oily outer layer that slows evaporation. The meibomian glands produce this oil.

When these glands do not work properly, tears can evaporate too quickly. Doctors call this condition evaporative dry eye.

Dry Eye Does Not Mean The Eyes Have Stopped Producing Tears

Also read: Post-Menopausal Women Face A Higher Risk Of Fatty Liver Disease: How Falling Oestrogen Levels Impact Liver Health

Dry eye does not necessarily mean the eyes have stopped producing tears. In many postmenopausal women, the tears may not remain stable on the eye for a long time.

As the oily layer becomes impaired, tears evaporate faster. This can increase tear concentration, trigger inflammation and damage the ocular surface, creating a cycle of dryness and irritation.

Hormonal changes during menopause may contribute to this process, although researchers are still working to understand exactly how individual hormones influence dry eye.

A 2026 review also highlights increasing evidence that hormonal changes may interact with immune and inflammatory pathways on the ocular surface, rather than simply reducing tear production.

What Symptoms Should Postmenopausal Women Watch For?

Persistent burning, itching, grittiness, redness, light sensitivity, watery eyes or fluctuating vision can all occur with dry eye disease.

The latest study also found that clinical signs of disease were more severe in postmenopausal women even though symptom scores did not always differ significantly from other groups. This finding makes eye examinations particularly important during and after menopause.

The researchers concluded that recognising these differences could improve diagnosis and help doctors better understand the hormonal contribution to dry eye disease.