Psychology news

• Remapping the damaged brain

  06-01-2015 23:12
  
  A time-dependent interplay between two brain regions that contributes to the recovery of motor function after focal brain damage, such as a stroke, has been identified by scientists. The research shows that when motor functions are remapped through rehabilitative training, brain regions relatively distant from a lesion are recruited during the initial stages and functional connections with regions near the lesion are strengthened during the latter stages.
  
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• Study pinpoints autism-linked protein for sculpting brain connections

  06-01-2015 23:12
  
  Shortly after birth, human brains expand rapidly with the experience of an entirely new world. During this period, neurons in the brain compete with one another to form lasting connections, called synapses. A new study provides a close-up of synapse refinement and identifies a protein that is crucial in this process. Disruptions in the protein, called hevin, have previously been linked to autism, depression and suicide.
  
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• U.S. Teens Have Same Firearm Access Regardless of Suicide Risk

  06-01-2015 20:17 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: Google News - HealthAmerican Live Wire US teens have same firearm access regardless of suicide risk Reuters (Reuters Health) - U.S. teens report easy access to firearms, even when they have mental health problems that put them at an increased risk of suicide, according to a new study. Overall, 41 percent of teens who reported being in a home with a firearm had ... U.S. teens have easy access to firearm even if they have history of mental illness Daily Mail all 21...
  
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• Transgender Woman Is Elected District Mayor in Indian State of Chhattisgarh

  06-01-2015 20:17 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The Guardian‘People have shown faith in me,’ says low-caste woman after victory in Raigarh months after historic court ruling on gender. A low-caste transgender woman in central India has become the country’s first to win civic polls and be declared mayor. Madhu Bai Kinnar won the municipal election in Raigarh in the central state of Chhattisgarh on Sunday, beating her rival from prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP)...
  
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• Serotonin Map of Brain Could Lead to Better Targeted Antidepressants

  06-01-2015 20:17 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianResearchers hope to discover how the activity of serotonin in the brain is involved in different mental illnesses. Research that aims to map the activity of serotonin in the brain could revolutionise the use of antidepressants and behavioural therapy for people with mental illnesses. The neurotransmitter serotonin has long been associated with mood, with drugs that boost the chemical in the brain helping to alleviate the symptoms of common...
  
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• In 2014, One in Seven Weddings in Paris Was Same-Sex

  06-01-2015 20:17 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The Age - World NewsHollande legislation sees 1,331 same-sex marriages in the French capital, but former president Sarkozy pledges to repeal the law if re-elected.
  
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• Florida Becomes 36th U.S. State to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

  06-01-2015 20:17 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Globe and Mail - WorldThe addition of Florida’s 19.9 million people means 70 per cent of Americans now live in states where gay marriage is legal.
  
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• Computer model explains how animals select actions with rewarding outcomes

  06-01-2015 20:07
  
  A computer model charting what happens in the brain when an action is chosen that leads to a reward has been developed by researchers. The model could provide new insights into the mechanisms behind motor disorders such as Parkinson's Disease. It may also shed light on conditions involving abnormal learning, such as addiction.
  
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• Study quantifies effect of depressive thoughts on memory

  06-01-2015 19:05
  For people with depressed mood, memory and concentration difficulties are often a day-to-day reality. While those with the disorder report that these cognitive problems are some of the most deeply troubling, previous studies have been unable to observe this phenomenon in a laboratory setting. In a new study, researchers are the first to substantiate these memory deficits.
  
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• International research effort gives neuroscientists better feeling about sense of touch

  06-01-2015 15:50
  Our sense of touch is one we often take for granted, until our leg falls asleep and we aren't able to stand, or when we experience acute pain. The sense of touch also has been taken for granted in neuroscience, where it's the sense scientists know the least about. For the first time, researchers have linked a group of neurons to a specific type of somatosensation, a finding that can open the door for a heightened understanding about our sense of touch.
  
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• New drug design enhances brain signaling by a factor of 1,000

  06-01-2015 15:17
  
  Chemical-biological research sheds light on important communication processes in the brain by means of new effective molecules that improve the starting point provided by nature by more than 1,000 times. In the long term, this new knowledge may lead to psychopharmacological drugs with fewer side effects, researchers say.
  
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• Bipolar disorder: New MRI imaging provides new picture, new insight

  06-01-2015 14:12
  
  Using a different type of MRI imaging, researchers have discovered previously unrecognized differences in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder. In particular, the study revealed differences in the white matter of patients' brains and in the cerebellum, an area of the brain not previously linked with the disorder.
  
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