Evidence-Based Supplement & Herb Guides

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...

Hormone Testing for Mood Changes, Brain Fog, and Fatigue

Learn which hormone tests doctors use for mood changes, brain fog, and fatigue, including thyroid, testosterone, menopause-related testing, prolactin, cortisol, and common non-hormonal causes.

Mood changes, brain fog, and fatigue can feel deeply physical, emotional, and cognitive at the same time. Because hormones affect energy regulation, sleep, metabolism,...

How Doctors Evaluate Memory Loss, Forgetfulness, and Mental Confusion

Memory changes can be unsettling, especially when they affect conversations, work, driving, finances, medication use, or a person’s ability to manage daily life. Some...

How Doctors Rule Out Medical Causes of Depression, Anxiety, and Brain Fog

Depression, anxiety, and brain fog often feel psychological, but they can also be signs of a medical problem, a medication effect, poor sleep, substance...

How Doctors Test Trouble Concentrating: ADHD, Anxiety, Sleep Loss, or Something Else?

Learn how doctors evaluate trouble concentrating, separate ADHD from anxiety and sleep loss, and decide when screening tools, lab work, sleep testing, or neuropsychological testing are actually needed.

Trouble concentrating is one of those symptoms that can come from many directions. It may reflect ADHD, anxiety, depression, poor sleep, medication effects, substance...

How Long Neuropsychological Testing Takes and What to Expect

Learn how long neuropsychological testing usually takes, what happens before and during the appointment, which tasks are included, and when results and recommendations typically follow.

Neuropsychological testing is usually ordered when a clinician needs a detailed picture of how a person’s brain is working in everyday life. It may...

How Sleep Apnea Can Mimic ADHD, Depression, and Brain Fog

Learn how sleep apnea can imitate ADHD, depression, and brain fog, which symptoms overlap most, and when sleep testing may reveal the real cause.

Sleep apnea is often thought of as a snoring problem, but its daytime effects can look much more like a brain or mental health...

How to Prepare for Neuropsychological Testing

A neuropsychological evaluation can feel intimidating because it is longer and more detailed than a typical office visit. The goal, however, is not to...

How to Read Cognitive Test Scores: MoCA, MMSE, and Mini-Cog Explained

Cognitive screening scores can be useful, but they are easy to overread. A number on the MoCA, MMSE, or Mini-Cog is not the same...

How to Read Mental Health Test Results: What Common Scores Mean

Learn how to read mental health test results, including common score ranges for depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar, and substance screens, what cutoff scores mean, and when results need follow-up.

Mental health test results can be useful, but they are easy to overread. A number on a depression, anxiety, trauma, alcohol, or mood questionnaire...

How to Read Neuropsychological Test Results: What the Scores Mean

Learn how to read neuropsychological test results, understand percentiles and standard scores, and see what low, average, and impaired findings really mean in a full report.

Neuropsychological test results can feel overwhelming because they combine numbers, clinical language, comparisons with other people, and conclusions about thinking skills that affect real...

ImPACT Test: What It Measures in Concussion Assessment

Learn what the ImPACT test measures in concussion assessment, how baseline and post-injury scores are used, what the results mean, and why the test should never be used alone.

A concussion can affect thinking speed, memory, reaction time, symptoms, balance, vision, sleep, mood, and tolerance for school or work. Because those changes are...

Insomnia Screening: How Doctors Evaluate Chronic Sleep Problems

Learn how doctors screen chronic insomnia, which questionnaires and sleep diaries they use, when sleep studies are needed, and what happens after an insomnia evaluation.

Ongoing trouble sleeping can affect far more than nighttime comfort. It can change concentration, mood, memory, pain tolerance, energy, and safety during driving or...

IQ Testing vs Neuropsychological Testing: What Is the Difference?

Learn the real difference between IQ testing and neuropsychological testing, what each measures, when clinicians use them, and how to choose the right evaluation.

IQ testing and neuropsychological testing both measure aspects of thinking, but they are not the same kind of evaluation. An IQ test estimates general...

Iron and Ferritin Testing for Fatigue, Brain Fog, and Restless Legs

Learn what iron and ferritin tests can reveal about fatigue, brain fog, and restless legs, how to interpret common results, and when low ferritin may matter even without anemia.

Fatigue, mental sluggishness, poor concentration, and restless legs can have many causes, but low iron is one of the more practical ones to check...