WHAT IS THE HIPPOCAMPUS?

The hippocampus is a small but powerful region of the brain that plays a major role in memory, learning, and emotional regulation. In fact, the hippocampus isn’t a single structure. Rather, it’s a pair of thumb-sized structures located on the inside of the temporal lobes.

These are very special brain structures, because they house stem cells that can help produce new hippocampal cells under the right circumstances.

Research has suggested we can produce up to 700 new cells a day if we put the brain in a nourishing environment—meaning consuming good nutrition, taking omega-3 fatty acids, and getting adequate oxygen and blood flow to the brain. Findings in a 2025 study that used AI machine learning confirms that the human brain can indeed create new cells in the hippocampus.

WHAT CAUSES SHRINKAGE IN THE BRAIN’S MEMORY CENTERS?

1. Untreated Depression

Other than clouding your mood, long-term depression can trigger real, measurable changes in your brain, especially in areas critical to emotional balance and memory.

Research shows that people with untreated major depressive disorder often have a smaller hippocampus than those without depression. This helps explain the strong link between depression and memory problems.

When you’re depressed for a long time, your brain is repeatedly exposed to elevated levels of cortisol (the body’s primary stress hormone). Over time, this hormonal imbalance can damage brain cells, shrink the hippocampus, and interfere with the growth of new neurons.

The longer it goes untreated, the more damage may occur. That said, you can protect and restore your brain health through timely brain-based treatment designed to reduce shrinkage and support recovery.

2. Chronic Stress

If you’ve been dealing with ongoing stress, your brain is most likely flooded with cortisol. When elevated for long periods, the stress hormone can weaken the connections between your brain cells, reducing function in the hippocampus.

The way stress and brain function interact is deeper than most people realize. Chronic stress doesn’t just affect how you feel; it physically changes how your brain works and impacts your memory. It’s a slow, silent process that often goes unnoticed until it starts to impact your focus, memory, or emotional stability.

One study highlights that even moderate, persistent stress such as work burnout or relationship tension can cause forgetfulness, mood swings, and brain fog. That’s why managing stress through simple daily practices like deep breathing and mindfulness is key to protecting and restoring your brain’s memory center.

3. Poor sleep

Sleep might just be the most underrated brain healer out there. While you sleep, your brain sorts through memories, calms emotional noise, and does a bit of internal clean-up that you don’t even notice.

According to research, when you consistently cut short your sleep, especially getting fewer than six hours a night, your brain’s memory centers can begin to suffer.

This isn’t always obvious at first, but the effects tend to build quietly over time. Chronic lack of adequate sleep leads to memory loss, mood instability, and the gradual reduction of hippocampal volume over time.

You need to make consistent, restful sleep a priority. This isn’t only to boost your energy but also to protect and strengthen your brain. 

Press Play to See What Stress and Bad Habits Can do to Your Brain

In this video, Dr. Daniel Amen shares his first SPECT brain scan from when he was 37 years old and living in a high-stress environment. He shows how stress and some unhealthy habits can impact the brain, and how seeing his brain made him develop what he calls brain envy.

Click the link below to tune in:

SOCIAL CHALLENGES IN NEURODIVERGENT ADULTS

Thanks to emerging research, we know that neurodivergent brains are simply wired differently. The American Psychiatric Association notes that neurodivergence can describe multiple conditions, including:

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
• Tourette syndrome
• Dyslexia
• Dyspraxia
• Dysphonia
• Synesthesia
• Other behavioral and neurobiological differences

In addition, these can be complex disorders. For example, brain-imaging research at Amen Clinics shows there are seven types of ADHD, also known as attention deficit disorder (ADD), as well as eight to 10 suspected factors influencing ASD (which can be categorized into high and low activity patterns).

Related: Getting Treatment for 7 Types of ADHD eBook

Each type and each individual has their own brain patterns and symptoms. However, neurodivergence in general can affect relationships in multiple ways.

ADHD Social Challenges

ADHD can create problems with attention, focus, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Resulting behavior issues can disrupt social development and peer interactions.

Procrastination, disorganization, and lack of follow-through can also frustrate friends, workmates, and partners. Here are some additional ways ADHD can negatively impact relationships:

• Sensitivity to touch
• Moodiness or easily becoming frustrated
• Tendency to create problems
• Restlessness or anxiety
• Speaking without thinking

Because of these issues, the ADHD experts at Amen Clinics say that ADHD and relationship conflict often go together.

Related: How Can ADHD Affect Your Love Life and Relationships?

AUTISM Social Challenges

Autism is associated with deficiencies in social and communication skills, as well as limited and repetitive behaviors and interests. In many cases, ASD is accompanied by developmental disabilities, including intellectual and language impairments.

Some of these symptoms can make relationships more challenging. This includes difficulties with nonverbal communication, like understanding social cues and reading facial expressions. It may also be difficult for those with autism to engage in or initiate communication with others.

However, a study published in Autism established that, when communicating with other autistic people, they possessed “the skills to share information well with one another and experience good rapport.”

But in mixed groups (which included non-autistic people), there was less information shared, as well as less rapport. This may suggest an ability to communicate better in situations where they are (or feel) more understood.

Another study, published in a 2025 issue of Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, evaluated social cognition in both autism and ADHD. Its author explained that those with autism tend to have different performance on social cognition tests versus neurotypical subjects.

The study notes that this difference in social cognition relates to implicit processing (automatic cognitive processes) in those with autism. But those with ADHD—who tend to achieve “intermediate” performance on social cognition tests—are more affected by difficulties with their executive functioning.

Fortunately, interventions like appropriate medication for ADHD and social skills building for those with autism have been shown to improve social performance. It also seems to improve with age.

5 RELATIONSHIP TIPS FOR NEURODIVERSE ADULTS

In recent years, neurodiversity advocates have pointed out that rather than seeing these traits as “wrong,” they can simply be considered different. Therefore, both partners in a neurodivergent relationship should hone their interpersonal skills with their different needs in mind.

Here are some relationship strategies for neurodiverse individuals. Further below, you’ll learn how to help support a neurodivergent partner.

1. Care for your brain.

All partners—not just neurodivergent individuals—will benefit from taking steps toward creating a healthier brain. And so will their relationships. Some easy tips to maximize brain health include: 

• Consume adequate nutrients (modified for your particular condition, if needed, such as an ADD-friendly diet or an elimination diet for autism)
• Increase blood flow to the brain, reduce stress, and boost mood with deep breathing and physical activity, such as yoga
• Avoid excessive screen time (too much exposure has been linked with symptoms of both autism and ADD)

2. Prioritize together time.

Those with conditions like ADHD and autism benefit from establishing routines. Setting aside specific times to spend with your partner can reduce anxiety, help with schedule management, and create needed structure.

3. Share your story when it feels safe.

One of the best communication tips for neurodiverse individuals is to share your story. Only you can decide what and when to disclose with partners when it comes to your health, including any mental health challenges you face.

But, when you feel safe doing so, sharing your story with a friend or romantic partner allows them to better support you.

4. Make a movement date.

Exercise is imperative for everyone, but it can be especially helpful for neurodivergent individuals. Schedule time with your partner to go for a walk, run, or bike ride. You’ll both benefit from a shared, health-boosting activity—and become closer in the process.

5. Practice extra caution around sexual activity.

A 2023 systematic review found that those with ADHD and autism are prone to “poorer psychosexual functioning…including a lack of satisfaction in their sexual relationships, sexual dysfunction, risky sexual behaviors, and victimization.” These issues appear to be more prominent among females.

Researchers advise dialogue between clinicians and their neurodivergent patients about these potential pitfalls. Therefore, you may want to discuss with your doctor topics such as sexuality, risky behaviors, and adopting safe sexual health practices to prevent negative outcomes.

SUPPORTING YOUR NEURODIVERGENT PARTNER

Learning more about your partner’s type of neurodiversity is a great start in understanding them better. And, because each individual is unique, opening a nonjudgmental dialogue is also crucial. Taking turns sharing and listening will help establish empathy on both sides.

There are also general steps you can take according to your partner’s condition. For example, the brain health experts and mental health professionals at Amen Clinics have found that the following tactics may help an autistic partner feel safer in a relationship:

• Understand and be patient with their preferences
• When speaking, allow extra time for them to process the information
• Make instructions simple and clear
• Be open to all forms of communication, in addition to verbal
• Keep in mind that behavior is a legitimate way of communicating

Meanwhile, the experts at Amen Clinics recommend the following ways to support those with ADHD:

• Avoid “overhelping” your partner—instead, support their independence
• Practice patience
• Adjust your expectations, but establish responsibilities for each partner
• Create and maintain healthy boundaries
• Practice your own self-care

Finally, remember that different types of neurodivergence can overlap. For example, one 2019 review found that autism and ADHD co-occurred in 21% of subjects. And these conditions can also coincide with mental health issues, like depression and anxiety.

OPTIMIZING NEURODIVERGENT ADULT RELATIONSHIPS

Regardless of the symptoms or condition(s) present, neurodivergent relationships can be optimized by employing many of the same tactics that promote health in all relationships.

When both partners cultivate care, open communication, and empathy, they will enjoy plentiful rewards—and minimize misunderstandings—as they deepen their bond.

JENNA’S STORY: WHEN ANTIDEPRESSANTS BACKFIRE

Let’s take a look at a real-world example. Jenna is a college athlete whose depression diagnosis masked bipolar disorder.

As a college freshman, Jenna was a competitive track and field athlete who loved spending her days in her running shoes. By the time she reached her sophomore year, however, things had changed. She was filled with sadness, felt like she had no energy, and had lost interest in training.

When she mentioned it to her primary care doctor, she was diagnosed with depression and given a prescription for antidepressants.

The medication boosted her mood—a lot! She felt like she was on top of the world. It filled her with so much energy, she felt invincible and began training all day and staying up all night doing her homework.

She also became sexually aggressive, hitting on the other track athletes even though she had a steady boyfriend. She even came on to her coach multiple times, which didn’t go over well and ended up with her almost getting kicked off the team.

What went wrong?

Related: The Hidden Signs of Bipolar Disorder Even Doctors Can Miss

WHY BIPOLAR DISORDER IS SO OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED AS DEPRESSION

Jenna had been misdiagnosed with depression. In reality, she had a form of bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depressive disorder. People with bipolar disorder display dramatic swings in mood, energy, and activity levels, going from depressive episodes to manic episodes in a cyclical pattern.

The antidepressants Jenna took not only failed to work, but they were also making her worse by triggering a manic episode.

Jenna’s misdiagnosis and experience is not unique. In a study analysis on bipolar disorder misdiagnosis, researchers noted that BD gets mistaken as depression because it typically starts with a depressive episode, and a patient is diagnosed before a manic or hypomanic episode occurs.

Additionally, research has found that bipolar disorder in women tends to manifest with more depressive episodes, which may increase their risk of being misdiagnosed with depression.

Another reason why bipolar disorder misdiagnosis occurs has to do with how mania appears in the patient.

Bipolar disorder’s manic episodes are characterized by:

• Abnormally elevated mood
• Inflated self-esteem
• Decreased need for sleep
• Increase in goal-oriented activity
• Grandiose notions, ideas, or plans
• Increased talking or pressured speech
• Racing thoughts
• Inability to “turn off the mind”
• Poor-judgment leading to increased risk-taking behavior
• Hypersexuality or hyper-religiosity
• Excessive appetite
• Inappropriate social behavior
• Irritability or aggression
• Delusions or hallucinations

When mania symptoms are mild and less severe, it’s called hypomania. An individual who has hypomanic episodes may feel like they have better energy than usual and a brighter mood but not so much that they engage in risky behavior.

When asked about mania in a clinical setting, they may not perceive these periods of improved mood and energy as manic.

Press Play to Learn the Early Signs of Bipolar Disorder

In this video, Amen Clinics psychiatrist Dr. Jay Faber discusses mood swings, sleep changes, and energy levels that might indicate bipolar disorder.

Click below to tune in.

THE RISKS OF UNRESTRAINED ANGER

Uncontrolled anger is detrimental in so many ways, negatively affecting relationships, physical health, and mental well-being.

• Ruinous for relationships: Having a short temper harms romantic connections, family dynamics, friendships, and work relationships.
  
  
• Higher risk of heart disease: A study in the journal Circulation found that people who are prone to anger have twice the risk of coronary heart disease than those who aren’t as angry.
  
  
• Increased risk of stroke: People are at three times the risk of having a stroke in the two hours following an angry outburst, based on research.
  
  
• Weakened immune system function: Anger also dampens the immune system, according to a study from Spanish scientists.
  
  
• Decreased lung function: Higher levels of hostility are associated with greater declines in lung function, according to research.
  
  
• Increased anxiety: Anger can worsen generalized anxiety disorder, based on findings from a study in Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
  
  
• Linked to other mental health issues: Anger is also recognized as a symptom that is associated with several other mental health conditions, including clinical depression, ADHD, personality disorders, and substance abuse.

Related: Intermittent Explosive Disorder: Symptoms and Treatment

THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF ANGER: UNDERSTANDING THE BRAIN’S ROLE IN AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR

Anger is a complex emotion that involves various regions of the brain, each contributing to how we experience and express this powerful feeling. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of anger can provide valuable insights into managing and mitigating its effects.​

Neurotransmitters and Hormones Influencing Anger

• Serotonin: Low levels of serotonin have been linked to increased aggression and impulsivity. This neurotransmitter helps regulate mood, and its deficiency can impair the ability to control emotional responses. ​
  
  
• Testosterone: Higher levels of testosterone have been associated with aggressive behavior. This hormone influences areas of the brain involved in regulating emotions and social behaviors. ​
  
  
• Cortisol: Known as the stress hormone, cortisol’s interaction with other hormones and neurotransmitters can affect aggression levels. Chronic stress leading to elevated cortisol may contribute to heightened anger responses. ​

Understanding the Brain’s Anger Circuitry

The interplay between these brain regions and chemicals forms a network that governs our experience of anger:

• Threat Detection: The amygdala rapidly assesses sensory information for potential threats, initiating an immediate emotional response.​
  
  
• Response Coordination: The hypothalamus activates the autonomic nervous system, leading to physiological changes that prepare the body for action.​
  
  
• Behavioral Regulation: The prefrontal cortex evaluates the appropriateness of the anger response, applying brakes when necessary to prevent undesirable actions.​
  
  
• Execution of Response: The periaqueductal gray integrates signals from the amygdala and hypothalamus to produce defensive behaviors.​
  

Having explored the neurobiological foundations of anger, it’s essential to recognize how these internal mechanisms interact with external factors, such as environmental stressors and personal experiences, in shaping our emotional responses.

WHAT BRAIN SCANS REVEAL ABOUT ANGER AND AGGRESSION

Anger issues can be a sign of trouble in the brain. In a study in the Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, the research team at Amen Clinics performed brain SPECT imaging studies on 40 individuals who had physically attacked another person or destroyed property as well as on 40 non-aggressive people as controls.

The SPECT scans of the people with aggressive behavior showed significant differences from the control group in several brain regions. These included:

• Decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex. Low activity in this area is associated with poor impulse control.
  
  
• Increased activity in the basal ganglia and limbic system. These patterns are often seen in people with anxiety and depression.
  
  
• Temporal lobes abnormalities. More than 70% of the aggressive people had abnormalities in the left temporal lobe region of the brain. The temporal lobes are involved in mood stability, memory, and learning.

Dysfunction here is associated with irritability, anger, and violent thoughts. Common causes of temporal lobe problems include genetics, head injuries, and exposure to toxins or infections.

Related: 7 Lessons from Murderers’ Brain Scans

6 ANGER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

The good news is you can control temper flare-ups even in the worst situations. The following six steps have proven to be helpful for many Amen Clinics patients.

1. Know and focus on your goals. If you want to have a kind, caring, loving relationship with your spouse or children, write it down on a piece of paper and look at it every day. Then always ask yourself, “Does my behavior get me what I want?”
   
   
2. Keep track of when you get angry. Write them down and learn as much about those times as possible. Know your vulnerable times, so you can learn from them and avoid them in the future.
   
   
3. 5 x 2 = 10. Whenever you start to react in an angry or irritated way, get control of your breathing. Even before we are consciously aware of being upset, our breathing starts to become faster and shallower, making it more likely we’ll lose control of our behavior.  Whenever you start feeling irritated, take a deep breath (5 seconds in, hold it for 2 seconds, then slowly breathe out for 5 seconds). Repeat that pattern 10 times. This will give you plenty of oxygen for your brain to make a thoughtful decision.

Press Play to Learn More About How to Calm Anger

In this video, Dr. Daniel Amen reveals why some people have what he call the Angry Dragon, one of the mental “dragons” that are constantly breathing fire on the emotional centers of the brain. Find out if you have this dragon, what causes it, what triggers it, and how to tame it.

Click below to tune in:

Video: 8 Ways to Soothe Anger