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Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Learning disability

In the United States and Canada, the term learning disability is used to refer to psychological and neurological conditions that affect a person's communicative capacities and potential to be taught effectively. The term includes such conditions as dysgraphia (writing disorder), dyslexia (reading disorder), dyscalculia (mathematics disorder) and developmental aphasia. In the United Kingdom, the term learning disability is used more generally to refer to developmental disability. Someone with a learning disability does not necessarily have low or high intelligence, nor any innate inability to learn. It just means this individual has an impairment to their ability due to a processing disorder, such as auditory processing or visual processing, that is detrimental to learning from traditional teaching methods. Learning disabilities are usually identified by school psychologists through testing of intelligence, academics and processes of learning.

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Mind & Brain News

October 11, 2025

Scientists identified two types of brain cells, neurons and microglia, that are altered in people with depression. Through genomic mapping of post-mortem brain tissue, they found major differences in gene activity affecting mood and inflammation. ...
Scientists have pinpointed Y1 receptor neurons in the brain that can override chronic pain signals when survival instincts like hunger or fear take precedence. Acting like a neural switchboard, these cells balance pain with other biological needs. ...
Scientists at Skoltech developed a new mathematical model of memory that explores how information is encoded and stored. Their analysis suggests that memory works best in a seven-dimensional conceptual space — equivalent to having seven senses. ...
Researchers have designed a peptide that prevents the deadly misfolding of alpha-synuclein, the protein behind Parkinson’s and some dementias. In lab and animal tests, it stabilized the protein and ...
Scientists have discovered that DMT, a natural compound found in plants and even the human brain, can dramatically reduce brain damage caused by stroke. The psychoactive molecule, long known for its hallucinogenic effects, restored the blood-brain ...
Researchers in Japan have pinpointed a biological cause of Long COVID brain fog using advanced PET brain imaging. They discovered widespread increases in AMPA receptor density linked to cognitive ...
Addiction often isn’t about chasing pleasure—it’s about escaping pain. Researchers at Scripps Research have discovered that a tiny brain region called the paraventricular nucleus of the ...
A University of New Mexico scientist is revealing what might be one of the most overlooked causes of dementia — damage in the brain’s tiny blood vessels. Dr. Elaine Bearer has created a new way to classify these changes, showing that many people ...
A new study shows glioblastoma isn’t confined to the brain—it erodes the skull and hijacks the immune system within skull marrow. The cancer opens channels that let inflammatory cells enter the brain, fueling its deadly progression. Even drugs ...
Stanford scientists found that aging disrupts the brain’s internal navigation system in mice, mirroring spatial memory decline in humans. Older mice struggled to recall familiar locations, while a few “super-agers” retained youthful brain ...
Researchers from Leeds found that overeating is driven more by what people believe about food than by its actual ingredients or level of processing. Foods perceived as fatty, sweet, or highly processed were more likely to trigger indulgence. ...
Scientists discovered that lifelong social support can slow biological aging. Using DNA-based “epigenetic clocks,” they found that people with richer, more sustained relationships showed younger biological profiles and lower inflammation. The ...

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updated 12:56 pm ET