Psychology news

• Missing links in the consciousness debate | Letters

  29-01-2015 20:29
  
  Reading Oliver Burkeman (The I in mind, 21 January) I was surprised to discover that many scientists deny there’s such a thing as consciousness. They should read Mary Midgley’s Are You an Illusion?, I thought. I liked Philip Goff’s response (Letters, 29 January), but now I wonder, why do academics interested in consciousness seemingly ignore David Bohm, of whom Einstein spoke as his intellectual successor? Bohm was a 20th-century American physicist who lived and worked in England. The Dala
  
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• Walking on ice takes more than brains: 'Mini-brain' in spinal cord aids in balance

  29-01-2015 19:28
  
  Scientists have discovered how a "mini-brain" in the spinal cord aids in balance. Much of the balancing act that our bodies perform when faced with a task such as walking on an icy surface happens unconsciously, thanks to a cluster of neurons in our spinal cord that function as a "mini-brain" to integrate sensory information and make the necessary adjustments to our muscles so that we don't slip and fall, researchers report.
  
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• Infants create new knowledge while sleeping

  29-01-2015 18:55
  
  There is no rest for a baby's brain -- not even in sleep. While infants sleep they are reprocessing what they have learned. Researchers have discovered that babies of the age from nine to 16 months remember the names of objects better if they had a short nap.
  
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• Study on dopamine neurons could instruct research into mobility and neurological disorders

  29-01-2015 18:55
  
  For the first time, researchers have shown when and why dopamine releasing cells in the forebrain are activated. The team has examined transparent hatchling zebrafish to gain new insights into the working of neurons in areas of the brain that are normally difficult to access. As a result, they have discovered for the first time both when and why the particular cells in the brain that affect movement are active.
  
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• Brain circuit that controls compulsive overeating and sugar addiction discovered

  29-01-2015 18:54
  
  Compulsive overeating and sugar addiction are major threats to human health, but potential treatments face the risk of impairing normal feeding behaviors that are crucial for survival. A new study reveals a reward-related neural circuit that specifically controls compulsive sugar consumption in mice without preventing feeding necessary for survival, providing a novel target for the safe and effective treatment of compulsive overeating in humans.
  
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• New deep-brain imaging reveals separate functions for nearly identical neurons

  29-01-2015 18:54
  
  New deep-brain imaging shows activity of individual, genetically similar neurons to particular behaviors of mice. Scientists watched as one neuron was activated when a mouse searched for food while a nearly identical neuron next to it remained inactive until the mouse began eating.
  
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• Obesity, diabetes symptoms in mice improved by reversing brain inflammation

  29-01-2015 16:43
  Using an antioxidant to reverse inflammation in the brain caused by a high-fat diet greatly improves symptoms related to obesity and type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. The research suggests that butein and other natural compounds that block inflammation in the brain should be vigorously investigated as novel anti-diabetic treatments, he says.
  
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• Novel eye-tracking technology detects concussions, head injury severity

  29-01-2015 16:40
  
  New research could move the medical community one step closer toward effectively detecting concussion and quantifying its severity. Neuroscientists and concussion experts present a unique, simple and objective diagnostic tool for concussion that can be utilized in the emergency room or, one day, on the sidelines at sporting events. The study utilized a novel eye-tracking device to effectively measure the severity of concussion or brain injury in patients presenting to emergency departments follo
  
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• Seeing Selves As Overweight May Be Self-Fulfilling Prophecy for Some Teens

  29-01-2015 15:51 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: ScienceDailyTeens who mistakenly perceive themselves as overweight are actually at greater risk of obesity as adults, according to research findings.
  
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• Playing with Puzzles, Blocks May Build Children's Spatial Skills

  29-01-2015 15:51 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: ScienceDailyPlay may seem like fun and games, but new research shows that specific kinds of play are actually associated with development of particular cognitive skills. Data from an American nationally representative study show that children who play frequently with puzzles, blocks, and board games tend to have better spatial reasoning ability. Being able to reason about space, and how to manipulate objects in space, is a critical part of everyday life,...
  
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• NFL Players Who Started Young Show More Thinking Problems

  29-01-2015 15:51 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: U.S. News and World ReportA study published in the journal Neurology says NFL veterans who started playing tackle football before the age of 12 are more likely to have cognitive difficulties after their careers.
  
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• It Really Does Get Better for Many LGBT and Questioning Youth

  29-01-2015 15:51 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Yahoo News - HealthIn a multi-year study of LGBTQ youth, researchers found that being the victim of bullying and other abuse was linked to psychological distress, but both distress and victimization decreased as the adolescents grew up. “I think we should be very happy that it does get better, but I think it’s important not to forget victimization is important and happens very early,” said Michelle Birkett, the study’s lead author. LGBT youth are at...
  
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• "Expensive" Placebo Beats "Cheap" One in Parkinson's Disease

  29-01-2015 15:51 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Yahoo News - ScienceWhen patients with Parkinson's disease received an injection described as an effective drug costing $1,500 per dose, their motor function improved significantly more than when they got one supposedly costing $100, scientists reported on Wednesday. The research, said an editorial in the journal Neurology, which published it, "takes the study of placebo effect to a new dimension." More and more studies have documented the power of placebos, in...
  
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• Concentrating on Word Sounds Helps Reading Instruction and Intervention

  29-01-2015 15:51 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: ScienceDailyA neuroimaging study by psychologist suggests that phonics shouldn't be overlooked in favor of a whole-language technique, a finding that could help improve treatment and diagnosis of common reading disorders.
  
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• Artificial Intelligence Won't "End Human Race," Says Microsoft Expert

  29-01-2015 15:51 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianMicrosoft research chief admits that AI will pose legal, ethical and psychological issues as it becomes more sophisticated The head of Microsoft’s research division has dismissed fears that artificial intelligence could pose a threat to the survival of the human race. Eric Horvitz believed that humans would not “lose control of certain kinds of intelligences”, adding: “In the end we’ll be able to get incredible benefits from machine...
  
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• No direct link found between rising inequality and reduced trust

  29-01-2015 11:00
  
  Does rising economic inequality causes trust to fall in society and thus endanger social cohesion? Recent academic research appears to support this notion.
  
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• Cancer fear and discomforting thoughts impact colorectal cancer screening uptake

  29-01-2015 11:00
  
  Men and women who worry about cancer are more likely to want to get screened for colon cancer, but feeling uncomfortable at the thought of cancer makes them less likely to actually go for the test...
  
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• Intracranial stimulation proved efficient in the recovery of learning and memory in rats

  29-01-2015 10:00
  
  The research, published in Behavioral Brain Research, was conducted by Pilar Segura and Ignacio Morgado (coordinators), Laura Aldavert and Marc Ramoneda, psychobiologists of the Institute of...
  
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• Psychopaths' brains unable to fully process punishment

  29-01-2015 09:00
  Using MRI scans, researchers have revealed multiple abnormalities in the brains of psychopaths that could hinder their ability to learn from being punished.
  
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• Majority of homeless adults with mental illness have high rates of cognitive deficits

  29-01-2015 09:00
  
  Study adds to understanding about why people may have difficulty accessing or keeping housingNearly three-quarters of homeless adults with mental illness in Canada show evidence of cognitive...
  
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• Early Alzheimer’s in parent exacts heavy toll on young adult children

  29-01-2015 05:39 via washingtonpost.com
  
  Some twentysomethings may find themselves thrown into the unfamiliar role of their parent’s caregiver.
  
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• Why teens are impulsive, addiction-prone and should protect their brains

  29-01-2015 05:38 via npr.org
  
  Research into how the human brain develops shows that a teenager's frontal lobe isn't fully insulated, so signals move slowly.
  
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• The Hard Problem review – Tom Stoppard tackles momentous ideas in rich new play

  29-01-2015 01:50
  
  Dorfman Theatre, London
  Playwright explores consciousness, morality and human behaviour in stimulating work that occasionally suffers from information overloadTom Stoppard famously uses drama to explore problems, and in his absorbing new play he tackles some pretty momentous ones.How does consciousness come about? Is our identity the product of what Francis Crick calls “a vast assembly of nerve cells”? And how much is human behaviour the product of egoism or altruism? Although there is almos
  
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• The Hard Problem review – Tom Stoppard tackles momentous ideas

  29-01-2015 01:50
  
  Dorfman Theatre, London
  Playwright explores consciousness, morality and human behaviour in stimulating work that occasionally suffers from information overloadTom Stoppard famously uses drama to explore problems, and in his absorbing new play he tackles some pretty momentous ones. Related: Tom Stoppard: playwright of ideas delivers a new Problem Related: Tom Stoppard's greatest stage hits – in pictures Related: Nicholas Hytner: 'No one's filling my shoes, I'm taking them with me' Continue r
  
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