Evidence-Based Supplement & Herb Guides

Delirium Screening: How Doctors Check for Sudden Confusion

Learn how delirium screening works, which bedside tools doctors use for sudden confusion, how screening differs from diagnosis, and what happens after a positive delirium screen.

Sudden confusion is different from long-standing forgetfulness. When a person becomes unusually disoriented, drowsy, agitated, suspicious, slow to respond, or unable to stay focused...

Dementia Screening: What Tests Doctors Use First

Learn which dementia screening tests doctors use first, including the Mini-Cog, MoCA, MMSE, and SLUMS, plus what abnormal results usually mean next.

When memory, thinking, language, judgment, or daily functioning changes, doctors usually begin with a focused clinical evaluation rather than a single “dementia test.” The...

Depression Screening: How Doctors Screen for Depression and Confirm a Diagnosis

Learn how doctors screen for depression, which questionnaires they use, what a positive screen means, and how clinicians confirm or rule out a depression diagnosis.

Depression screening is a structured way to notice symptoms that might otherwise stay hidden during a busy medical visit. It is often done in...

Depression vs Dementia: How Doctors Tell the Difference

Learn how doctors tell depression from dementia by comparing symptom patterns, timelines, cognitive testing, mood evaluation, and medical workups when both conditions can overlap.

Memory problems, poor concentration, slowed thinking, and withdrawal can come from depression, dementia, or both at the same time. That overlap can be frightening,...

Digital Biomarkers for Brain Health: Wearables, Apps, and Passive Monitoring

Learn what digital biomarkers for brain health really are, how wearables and passive monitoring work, what they can measure, and where the biggest clinical limits remain.

Wearables, smartphones, and health apps can now collect large amounts of information about sleep, movement, heart rate, speech, typing, activity patterns, and daily routines....

Dissociation Screening: How It Fits Into Trauma and PTSD Assessment

Learn what dissociation screening measures, how it differs from PTSD screening, which tools clinicians use, and how dissociative symptoms influence trauma assessment and next steps.

Dissociation can be one of the more confusing parts of a trauma or PTSD evaluation. A person may describe feeling unreal, watching events from...

Drug Use Screening: How Doctors Assess Substance Use Problems

Learn how doctors screen for drug use problems, which questionnaires and toxicology tests they use, how positive screens are interpreted, and when urgent evaluation is needed.

Drug use screening is a structured way for healthcare professionals to ask about substance use, identify possible risks, and decide whether a person needs...

Dyslexia Testing: How Children and Adults Are Assessed

Learn how dyslexia testing works for children and adults, including what gets assessed, who performs the evaluation, and what the results usually mean.

Dyslexia testing is a structured evaluation of reading, spelling, language, learning history, and related cognitive skills. It is used when a child, teen, or...

Eating Disorder Screening: How Doctors Test for Eating Disorders

Learn how doctors screen for eating disorders, which questionnaires and medical checks they use, how diagnosis is confirmed, and what happens after a positive screen.

Eating disorder screening is a way for clinicians to notice harmful eating patterns, body image distress, binge eating, purging, excessive exercise, or food avoidance...

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS): What It Screens For and What Scores Mean

Learn what the EPDS screens for, how Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores are usually interpreted, when results need faster follow-up, and why the tool is a screen, not a diagnosis.

The weeks and months around childbirth can bring major emotional, physical, hormonal, and practical changes. Some distress is expected, but persistent sadness, anxiety, guilt,...

EEG Test: What It Measures and When It Is Ordered

Learn what an EEG test measures, when doctors order routine, sleep-deprived, ambulatory, or continuous EEG, and what the results can and cannot show.

An EEG is a noninvasive test that records patterns of electrical activity from the brain. It is most often used when a clinician needs...

EMG and Nerve Conduction Studies: What They Measure and When They Are Ordered

Learn what EMG and nerve conduction studies measure, how they differ, when doctors order them, what the test feels like, and what the results can and cannot show.

EMG and nerve conduction studies are tests of the peripheral nerves, nerve roots, neuromuscular junction, and muscles. They are often ordered when symptoms such...

Epworth Sleepiness Scale: What It Measures and When Doctors Use It

Learn what the Epworth Sleepiness Scale measures, how ESS scoring works, when doctors use it, and what a high score may mean in sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and daytime sleepiness workups.

Feeling sleepy during the day is not the same as feeling tired, burned out, or mentally drained. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is a short...

Executive Function Testing: What It Measures and When It Is Used

Learn what executive function testing measures, which tests are commonly used, when clinicians order them, and what the results can and cannot tell you.

Executive function is the brain’s ability to organize behavior around goals. It helps you start tasks, stay focused, shift plans, manage impulses, remember what...

First-Episode Psychosis Evaluation: What Tests and Assessments Are Done

Learn what tests and assessments are done in a first-episode psychosis evaluation, including history, labs, toxicology, brain imaging, EEG, and safety assessment.

A first episode of psychosis can be frightening and confusing for the person experiencing it and for the people around them. Psychosis means a...

Frontotemporal Dementia Testing: How It Is Diagnosed

Learn how frontotemporal dementia is diagnosed through symptom patterns, family history, neuropsychological testing, MRI and PET imaging, biomarkers, genetics, and careful rule-out of lookalike conditions.

Frontotemporal dementia is usually diagnosed through a careful clinical workup, not by one stand-alone test. The process often starts because family members notice changes...

GAD-7 Anxiety Test: What Your Score Means

Learn what a GAD-7 anxiety score means, how the 0 to 21 scale works, what the common score ranges suggest, and what usually happens after screening.

The GAD-7 is a brief anxiety questionnaire often used in primary care, therapy, psychiatry, research, and online screening. It asks about seven common anxiety...

Genetic Counseling Before Brain or Dementia Testing: What to Expect

Learn what happens during genetic counseling before brain or dementia testing, who should consider it, which genes may be discussed, and how results can affect diagnosis and family decisions.

Genetic testing can feel different from other medical tests because the results may affect more than one person. A brain MRI, cognitive screen, or...

Genetic Testing for Brain and Mental Health Conditions: When It Is Useful

Learn when genetic testing for brain and mental health conditions is truly useful, where it helps most in dementia and neurodevelopmental disorders, and why routine psychiatric genetic testing is often limited.

Genetic testing can sometimes explain a lifelong developmental difference, clarify a rare neurological diagnosis, guide family counseling, or help a clinician choose safer medication...

Home Sleep Apnea Testing: Who It Is For and What It Can Detect

Learn who home sleep apnea testing is best for, what it can detect, what it can miss, and when an in-lab sleep study is the better choice.

A home sleep apnea test can make it easier to evaluate suspected obstructive sleep apnea without spending the night in a sleep laboratory. Instead...