Here are some interesting articles I found on the web recently:
How to rewire your brain
If you want to learn what it takes to rewire your brain, here's a short video
Are male and female brain different?
A meta-analysis moves the needle in the direction of a "No!" Other than size, the differences between male and female brains are trivial.
Some upsides to imposter syndrome
Many of us, especially women, suffer from imposter syndrome. But, sufferers are better collaborators who work well with colleagues; they are more empathetic, better listeners, and ask better questions; when looking for a job, they are rated as "more interpersonally effective by hiring managers than their non-imposter peers – they chose to ask more engaging questions and provided more appealing answers."
Research reveals that "those doubts are normal and even healthy. Instead of holding us back, they can propel us forward."
Harsh parenting leads to smaller brain size.
"Repeatedly getting angry, hitting, shaking or yelling at children is linked with smaller brain structures in adolescence" and may set them up for anxiety and depression later in life. This is "similar to what we see in victims of serious acts of abuse." Harsh parenting is common and is often seen as socially acceptable around the world. In this study, "these children were constantly subjected to harsh parenting practices between the ages of 2 and 9."
Sugar in adolescence impairs learning and memory in adulthood
Daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages during adolescence has been found to impair performance on a learning and memory task during adulthood in rodents. Rodents are a well-accepted and often-used model of human behaviour.