By Steven Reinberg
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- Children who were breast-fed exclusively for the first three months of life or longer scored nearly six points higher on IQ tests at the age of 6 than children who weren't breast-fed exclusively, a new study has found.

WEDNESDAY April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Regular physical exercise may help protect against mild cognitive impairment, according to a Mayo Clinic study.

People with mild cognitive impairment can handle everyday activities but often have trouble remembering details of conversations, events and upcoming appointments. Most, but not all, people with mild cognitive impairment experience a progressive decline in their cognitive abilities, and the underlying cause is usually Alzheimer's disease, according to background information in the study.

MONDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) -- Poor working memory, rather than low intelligence, could be the reason why some children are underachievers at school, says a British study.

Working memory is the ability to retain and manipulate information. An example would be doing math without the aid of pen and paper or a calculator. Students need working memory for a variety of school-related tasks, such as following teachers' instructions or remembering sentences they've been asked to write down.

By Randy Dotinga
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Older people whose health conditions put them at high risk for stroke are more likely to suffer from memory loss, even if they never actually have a stroke, new research shows.

The cause could be mini-strokes that people don't notice but that nonetheless contribute to the brain's deterioration. "Stroke risk factors really matter, and they matter even if you don't have a stroke," said study author George Howard, chairman of biostatistics at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Through a new technique that links a learning experience in mice to changes in the inner workings of neurons, U.S. researchers are gaining a better understanding of how memory works.