The 2004 movie "Brainiac" is about the discovery of the ultimate feel-good drug, dubbed "Nirvana."

Unfortunately, it ends up turning those who take it into brain-devouring monsters. Talk about changing brainwaves.

A new study shows that going for nuts also changes your brainwaves, but for the better. It seems that nuts and peanuts (which are really legumes) strengthen brainwave frequencies that are associated with cognition, empathy, healing, learning, memory, recall, and other important brain functions.

The study published in the FASEB Journal found that pistachios got the biggest response from your brain's gamma waves, which build cognitive processing, information retention, learning, perception, and rapid eye movement during sleep.

Peanuts triggered the greatest delta-wave response; that’s associated with healthy immunity, healing, and deep sleep.

And all nuts are packed with flavonoids — potent polyphenols that are anti-inflammatory and help fight off cancers and heart disease. Those flavonoids support growth of new neurons and improve blood flow in the brain. Walnuts deliver the most.

In another new study, researchers followed more than 200,000 people for an average of 32 years and found that eating more nuts was tied to a lower risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart disease.

Walnuts came out on top again: Eating them two to three times a week was associated with a 19 percent lower risk of heart problems Peanuts and tree nuts other than walnuts also ranked high on the heart-protection list.