Talk about a gut-brain connection.
Scientists have long known about the link between our stomachs and our brains, warning that our diets and gut health have a large impact on mood and mental health.
And a study published Monday may have found a way to flush the brain fog and attention issues that accompany depression down the toilet.
Cognition issues are common with depression and mental disorders, including trouble with thinking, planning tasks, and both short- and long-term memory.
A team of researchers from the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford conducted a study looking at the effects of prucalopride, a prescription drug for constipation, on cognitive issues.
Those who took the laxative performed better and faster on cognitive tests to measure focus, attention span, planning, balancing multiple tasks, short- and long-term memory and emotional cognition tasks.
Fifty patients between 18 and 40 with a history of depressive episodes were recruited to take either a two-milligram dose of the laxative — the amount used for chronic constipation — or a placebo for seven to 10 days.
Both before and after taking the drug, participants took a variety of tests that included a working memory task, an auditory verbal learning and memory task and a task on attention and processing speed.
Prucalopride works by gently stimulating bowel movements, but it also activates a serotonin receptor in the gut and brain known as the fourth serotonin receptor, or 5HT4.
These receptors work both to increase gut motility and how fast the bowels empty, and are heavily involved with learning, memory, mood and anxiety.
According to researchers, the medication could help an often overlooked effect of depression.
“For many people, recovery from depression is incomplete because difficulties with memory and concentration persist,” senior author professor Susannah Murphy said in a press release.
“This study provides early evidence that 5HT4 receptor agonists could help restore aspects of cognitive function, opening an exciting new direction for treatment development,” she added.
This study follows previous research from 2024 that also showed 5HT4 receptor agonists used for constipation may also reduce the risk of depression in those with no history of the illness.
Another study found that experiencing depressive symptoms could lead to worsened memory and thinking skills when hitting middle age.
And what we eat can play a role in brain health, especially as we age.

June 16 (Reuters) – U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ordered an American passenger exposed to hantavirus on a cruise ship to remain in quarantine despite medical ‌advice and against her will, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The passenger, Angela Perryman, ‌47, was one of 18 Americans quarantined in the U.S. after Andes hantavirus cases were found aboard a cruise ship ​earlier this year. The group had initially been placed at a Nebraska quarantine unit.
A Department of Health and Human Services official told Reuters that midnight June 21 would mark the completion of the 42-day monitoring period.
Reuters was unable to reach Perryman at the facility by phone.
According to the official, the remaining passengers at ‌the quarantine unit will leave Nebraska ⁠on June 22. The 42-day period began following their return to the United States on May 10, the official added.
Eight U.S. residents who were on the ⁠hantavirus-hit MV Hondius returned to their home states following three weeks of monitoring at the National Quarantine Unit, the University of Nebraska Medical Center said earlier this month. Ten others remained under observation.
The Centers for Disease ​Control ​and Prevention (CDC) had requested that the individuals from the ​cruise ship remain at the quarantine unit ‌through May 31.
QUARANTINE TERMS AT ISSUE
The New York Times recently reported that some passengers were allowed to quarantine at home until June 22 — 42 days after arriving at the Nebraska facility — provided local health officials committed to having a law enforcement or community health worker monitor them.
The WHO recommends monitoring and quarantining high-risk contacts for 42 days after exposure.
Perryman wished to go to her home in Florida, ‌but the state refused to provide the monitoring, the ​Wall Street Journal and the Times reported.
The Times added that ​the CDC, in a quarantine hearing, said ​she should be able to return home for the remainder of the quarantine. ‌The Journal reported that a CDC medical review ​said the chances of ​her developing symptoms were decreasing with time.
Perryman told the Journal and the Times that a copy of an order from Kennedy was slipped under the door to her room informing her ​that she could not return ‌home.
Kennedy’s order said despite the doctor’s report, Perryman was reasonably believed to be infected with ​or exposed to the disease, according to the Journal.
(Reporting by Sneha S K in ​Bengaluru; editing by Caroline Humer and Joyjeet Das)

Women All Over The Internet Are Worried This 1 Part Of Their Anatomy Can Disappear With Age, But Doctors Are Explaining What’s Actually Happening
A viral tweet claims that this part of the female anatomy can “go away,” so we consulted experts and put that statement to the test.
As someone who writes about sex and relationships, people usually assume that I have the most consistent, orgasmic sex life of all time.
And while my sex life has definitely had its highs, right now it’s reached a low. Worse than low. It’s non-existent, and it’s been that way for several months. Normally, I don’t mind having a dry spell for a while. That’s something that comes with the territory of being single.
However, I recently noticed a viral tweet currently circulating that almost made me rethink my somewhat involuntary period of abstinence. It said, “Did you know your clitoris is ‘use it or lose it’? Like deadass it can go away?!” The tweet has 6.5 million views, with over four hundred people in the comments expressing confusion and concern about whether the clit can actually “go away.”
@maskedhottiee / Via x.com
Channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw, I couldn’t help but wonder… will my clit eventually disappear from my lack of use?
So, I put my inquiry to the test by interviewing doctors, healthcare providers, and educators who specialize in human sexuality. The consensus? The clitoris doesn’t necessarily disappear, but many factors may change its size and sensitivity. Let’s get into it.
Suzette E. Johnson, MD, a Board-Certified OB-GYN and Menopause Certified Practitioner (MCP), explains that the clitoris doesn’t simply “go away,” but if someone experiences prolonged low estrogen, that may cause physical changes in the clitoris.
The clitoris is just one piece of the puzzle, though. Johnson says that low estrogen can trigger changes throughout the vulva, vagina, and urinary tract as well.
Here’s where things get a little tricky: Desire, arousal, and sensitivity are often lumped together, but they’re actually different parts of the sexual experience.
According to Soum Rakshit, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of MV.Health, desire is your interest in having sex, arousal is your body’s physical response to sexual stimulation, and sensitivity refers to how your nerves respond to touch.
So, if you’re noticing changes in your clitoral sensitivity or sex life in general, here’s what you can do moving forward to reconnect with sensation and pleasure.
“Some strategies here can include expanding what counts as arousal (for example, not just lubrication or orgasm, but any positive sensation or even lack of pain),” says Pavita Singh, EdD, MPH, an Adjunct Professor of Human Sexuality Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Dr. Singh also recommends slowing down, experimenting with different types of stimulation, and incorporating tools such as lubricants or vibrators if they enhance pleasure.
For some people, that may mean testing different styles of vibrators, adjusting pressure levels, or exploring areas of the body beyond the clitoris that may feel pleasurable.
“It is important to recognize that a lack of response doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of desire or pleasure,” Dr. Singh adds. “Relationships go through phases, and it is important to embrace those changes and invite exploration. Pleasure doesn’t disappear, but rather changes.”
Of course, the fact that experts can now offer this kind of guidance speaks to a larger shift in how we think about women’s sexual health.
“In my experience, discussions about sexual activity, arousal, and pleasure in cisgender women have become more common among health care professionals and patients,” says Elizabeth Abad, MD, a family medicine doctor. “Previously, these topics were rarely addressed, and it was widely accepted that cisgender women naturally lost interest in pleasure and arousal with age, particularly during and after menopause.”
Today, more people are questioning long-held assumptions about what is and isn’t a normal part of aging. Instead of quietly accepting changes in desire, arousal, or sensitivity, many are seeking answers on their own and finding a growing number of healthcare professionals willing to have those conversations.
Maybe that’s why questions like “Can my clit shrink or disappear?” have become so common in the first place. It’s less about fear and more about how people are paying closer attention to their bodies and feeling empowered to ask questions that previous generations were often discouraged from asking.
So, as Dr. Johnson previously confirmed, “This isn’t a ‘use it or lose it’ situation. It is about understanding what is changing in the body and knowing there are ways to support it.”
What do you think? Any other questions? Let us know in the comments below.

The head of Africa’s Centres for Disease ​Control and Prevention warned on ‌Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could be the ​worst ever, saying that ​currently tens of thousands of ⁠contacts of those ill ​with the disease had not ​been traced.
“If we don’t stop the outbreak very soon it will ​be worse than what ​we had in West Africa and eastern ‌DRC,” ⁠Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told a virtual meeting of African heads of ​state in ​Burundi.
He ⁠was referring to the outbreak that affected ​Guinea, Liberia and Sierra ​Leone ⁠in 2014-2016 that killed over 11,000 people and a ⁠less ​deadly 2018 outbreak ​in Congo.

Do you feel a sense of impending doom when your nipple is touched?
You’re not alone. And after conversation online drew attention to the phenomena, it now has a name: sad nipple syndrome.
It’s when the nipple gets brushed, by someone or something, and a wave of intense negative emotion washes over. Descriptions range from “the deepest pit in my stomach” to “deep and unexplainable overwhelming sadness and guilt” and even homesickness.
So why’s the nipple doing double duty as “the button of despair”? Three doctors spoke to The Post about what’s going on in the brain and body that might be responsible.
Sad nipples and D-MER
Sad nipple syndrome could be related to a well-known condition that affects women who are lactating.
“Some breastfeeding patients experience a sudden wave of sadness or despair right before their milk releases,” said Dr. Melissa Walsh, an OB-GYN and chief medical director at maternal health company SimpliFed. It’s “a condition called dysphoric milk ejection reflex, or D-MER.”
When milk releases, the brain triggers a surge of oxytocin, the hormone responsible for moving milk out of the breast.
Dopamine, known as a the body’s “feel-good” molecule, can drop sharply at the same moment. That dip in dopamine helps prolactin, the hormone that drives milk production, to increase.
“The nipple areola complex is one of the most neurologically dense structures on a woman’s body,” said Dr. Ari Hoschander, head plastic surgeon at Breast Reduction Surgeons of Long Island. “What [they’re] describing sounds like that dopamine drop hitting particularly hard.”
This can feel like a sudden wave of grief, guilt or dread, Walsh says, but will come on quickly and resolve just as fast as neurotransmitter levels restabilize.
This is a physiological reflex, not a psychological response, she emphasizes. It’s the brain responding to hormones released from a physical event, not a thought or memory. That’s what differentiates D-MER from postpartum depression or generalized anxiety, which are both persistent.
“Understanding that distinction matters enormously,” Walsh said. “A person who doesn’t know [D-MER is a hormonal reflex] may interpret it as a sign that something is deeply wrong with her. Awareness can be simultaneously therapeutic.”
What about women who aren’t breast feeding?
Women who aren’t and have never breastfed are reporting remarkably similar feelings.
“That question deserves a clinical answer, and right now, the research simply hasn’t caught up to what women are already telling us,” Walsh said.
One study shows that oxytocin surges when the nipple is stimulated, even in non-lactating women.
“This raises a biologically plausible — though as yet unstudied — question about whether the same dopamine mechanism may be at play in women who have never breastfed,” Walsh said.
It’s also possible, in non-lactating women, that this is a psychological phenomenon.
Dr. Loren Rourke, a board-certified breast cancer surgeon and author of Real Talk, Real Hope: Breast Cancer Your Way, believes “the root of this nipple trigger is more likely related to stress levels, past experiences, individual neurological sensitivity, and hormonal influences rather than a direct nipple/breast stimulation causation.”
Others have floated anxiety related to body image or exposure to violence could be related too.
If negative feelings are getting in the way of daily life, Rourke suggests looking into cognitive behavioral therapy. This type of psychotherapy identifies triggers, like nipple stimulations, and helps manage associated thoughts and feelings.