Psychology news

• Study of former NFL players reveals specifics of concussive brain damage

  26-01-2015 19:51
  Results of a small study of nine men provide further evidence for potential long-term neurological risk to football players who sustain repeated concussions and support calls for better player protections.
  
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• Brain white matter changes seen in children who experience neglect

  26-01-2015 18:46
  Experiencing neglect in childhood was associated with alterations in brain white matter in a study of abandoned children in Romania who experienced social, emotional, linguistic and cognitive impoverishment while living in institutions compared with children who were placed in high-quality foster care or those who had never been in institutional care, according to the results of a clinical trial.
  
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• Autism genes randomly mutated

  26-01-2015 18:20 via today.com
  
  A new genetic study shows even siblings with autism often have very different DNA mutations from one another.
  
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• Learning from animal friendships

  26-01-2015 18:17 via nytimes.com
  Studying cross-species relationships can give insight into the factors that go into normal relationships.
  
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• Brain study sheds light on how children with autism process social play

  26-01-2015 17:24
  Brain scans confirm significant differences in play behavior, brain activation patterns and stress levels in children with autism spectrum disorder as compared with typically developing children, new research demonstrates.
  
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• Cochlear implant users can hear, feel the beat in music

  26-01-2015 17:24
  People who use cochlear implants for profound hearing loss do respond to certain aspects of music, contrary to common beliefs and limited scientific research, says a research team. The scientists say exposure to the beat in music, such as drums, can improve the emotional and social quality-of-life of cochlear implant users and may even help improve their understanding and use of spoken language.
  
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• Sounds of silence: Brain activity analysis informs researchers on how vocalization works

  26-01-2015 17:23
  
  Refined techniques in brain activity analysis in zebra finches yields interesting results about how vocalization works. The research showed that by silencing of neurons in the arcopallium, a region in the brain known to be responsible for song generation, that zebra finch songs would become erratic and incomplete. It also demonstrated how precise this neuronal suppression method can be in determining the function of very small groups of neurons.
  
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• In infants, pain from vaccinations shows up in brain activity

  26-01-2015 17:21
  
  Infants show distinct, consistent patterns of brain activity in response to painful vaccinations, new research shows.
  
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• Rationing ravens to merciful monkeys: can animals be altruistic?

  26-01-2015 16:07
  
  Is there a conscious generosity in how ravens or bats share food, or monkeys or elephants save others, or is it simply the selfish instinct of group survival?Bernd Heinrich was on a hike through the woods of New England when he observed something which would go on to change our perception of animal psychology.A group of ravens had gathered to feed on a dead moose. But rather than choosing to keep the bounty for themselves, they were making a strange call, one which seemed to be deliberately attr
  
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• Interventions to reduce work-family conflict 'improve sleep'

  26-01-2015 16:00
  A new study has shown that reducing conflict between work and family responsibilities led to an improvement in sleep duration and quality.
  
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• Why we have to get smart about artificial intelligence

  26-01-2015 15:00
  
  Joanna Goodman looks at the promises and pitfalls of AI as we face the real possibility of ‘thinking’ machines capable of making decisions that affect humansAI might be a threat to humans but not for the reasons you thinkHumans have long been fascinated by the concept of artificial intelligence, but it is only relatively recently that technology has advanced sufficiently to make it reality. In 2014 we saw a computer pass the Turing test – its responses in a series of text conversations con
  
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• Testosterone helps bind antidepressants in brain

  26-01-2015 14:38
  Female sex hormones have a strong effect on the psyche. This has been confirmed by numerous scientific studies and by phenomena such as the "baby blues", a bout of low mood following childbirth, or recurrent mood swings that occur prior to menstruation. However the male sex hormone testosterone also affects our mood and emotions, as well as our libido - and in a positive way.
  
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• Sundance 2015 review: The Experimenter – Peter Sarsgaard will make you a monster

  26-01-2015 13:23
  
  Sarsgaard stars in this smart and unsettling exploration of Stanley Milgram’s questionable experiment testing people’s allegiance to malevolent authority, and potentially exposing the dark heart of mankindWhen Peter Sarsgaard’s Stanley Milgram walks down a grayish-blue hallway and makes a reference to the Holocaust, an elephant suddenly appears a few paces behind him. The unanswered questions of Nazism are always “in the room” with Milgram, no surprise for a child of Jewish refugees wh
  
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• Are You a Perfectionist? Is That a Bad Thing?

  26-01-2015 13:00 via counsellingresource.com
  
  Are you one of those folks who always has to have things done right? Do you hate the very thought of failure and are you always striving to achieve? Do you set the most lofty goals and find yourself driven to succeed? If you are one of those folks some call "perfectionistic," is it necessarily a bad thing?Tags: neurosis, relationships, relaxation, self-esteem, work-life
  
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• Humorous complaining: funny online reviews get lots of attention but do they get results?

  26-01-2015 11:00
  
  Unless you're just looking to entertain your fellow online shoppers, you may want to think twice about writing that funny Amazon or Yelp review.
  
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• Negative tweets 'may indicate a higher risk of heart disease'

  26-01-2015 10:00
  People who post positive updates on social media platform Twitter may be at lower risk of heart disease than those who post negative tweets, according to new research.
  
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• Why should adolescents with psychological symptoms be asked about hallucinations?

  26-01-2015 09:00
  
  Visual distortions and hallucinations related to an elevated risk of psychosis are linked to self-destructive thought processes among adolescents with psychological symptoms, tells the recent study...
  
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