Psychology news

• Curious monkeys share our thirst for knowledge

  12-02-2015 21:46
  
  Monkeys are notoriously curious, and new research has quantified just how eager they are to gain new information, even if there are not immediate benefits. The findings offer insights into how a certain part of the brain shared by monkeys and humans plays a role in decision making, and perhaps even in some disorders and addictions in humans.
  
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• Spontaneous activity shapes neuron development

  12-02-2015 19:16
  A process previously thought to be mere background noise in the brain has been found to shape the growth of neurons as the brain develops, according to research.
  
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• Neural basis of 'being in the mood': Researchers discover neurons that combine social information with hormonal state in female mice

  12-02-2015 19:16
  
  What determines receptivity or rejection towards potential sexual partners? In a recent study of female mice, researchers recorded the activity of neurons in an area within the hypothalamus dedicated to socio-sexual behavior. The activity of the neurons was observed while the females interacted with males or with other females.
  
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• Dogs know that smile on your face

  12-02-2015 19:16
  
  Dogs can tell the difference between happy and angry human faces, according to a new study. The discovery represents the first solid evidence that an animal other than humans can discriminate between emotional expressions in another species, the researchers say.
  
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• Brain activity can predict increased fat intake following sleep deprivation

  12-02-2015 17:42
  Experts have warned for years that insufficient sleep can lead to weight gain. A new study found that not only do we consume more food following a night of total sleep deprivation, but we also we consume more fat and less carbohydrates and a region of the brain known as the salience network is what may lead us to eat more fat.
  
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• Fashion archive, 14 February 1985: Shame on you - fashion takes on erotic undertones

  12-02-2015 17:00
  
  14 February 1985: Brenda Polan charts the psychology behind the return of the male peacock, racing to scavenge granny’s abandoned diamanteFew days could be more apt than this one for writing about fashion’s sudden swerve towards sensuality. Sex has ever been one of the most powerful motives in dress but it is fashion, in response to society’s needs, which dictates which side of the display-versus-modesty conflict is dominant at one particular time and, should display be on top, which parti
  
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• Teacher Depression May Affect Child Learning

  12-02-2015 15:54 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Yahoo News - HealthThe more depressive symptoms third grade teachers had in a new study, the less progress in math their struggling students made during the school year. Teacher depression may be one of many factors that determine how well kids can learn, Carol McDonald Connor, a psychology professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, told Reuters Health. In the winter, the teachers used a 20-item questionnaire to rate their frequency of depressive symptoms...
  
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• Smoking Thins Vital Part of Brain, Say Researchers

  12-02-2015 15:54 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: ScienceDailyA major study shows new evidence that long-term smoking could cause thinning of the brain's cortex. The cortex is the outer layer of the brain in which critical cognitive functions such as memory, language and perception take place. Interestingly, the findings also suggest that stopping smoking helps to restore at least part of the cortex's thickness.
  
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• LGBT Adults Better Adjusted If They Were "Out" in School

  12-02-2015 15:54 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Yahoo News - HealthLesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have better self esteem and less depression as young adults if they were open about their sexual orientations as adolescents, a new study suggests. Attempts to hide sexual orientation are generally unsuccessful, and the result is more abuse and more depression, the authors say in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. What's needed, said Stephen Russell, the study’s lead author, are "supporting...
  
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• Germany Criticised for Forming Antisemitism Commission Without Jews

  12-02-2015 15:54 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianNew commission, created in wake of increase in antisemitic incidents in Germany, does not include a single Jewish person Leading Jewish groups have sharply criticized the German government for creating a new commission on antisemitism without including a single Jewish person. Julius Schoeps from the Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies called it “a unique scandal” that the Interior Ministry didn’t include any Jewish...
  
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• Does a Competent Leader Make a Good Friend?

  12-02-2015 15:54 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: ScienceDailyNew research shows that when we elect leaders and politicians we tend to prefer dominant-looking, masculine men, but when we are looking to make new friends we seek the opposite.
  
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• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Is Real and Has a New Name

  12-02-2015 15:54 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Google News - HealthSufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome have long complained about what they regard as a trivializing name for their condition. Now, they can claim two victories: it was renamed systemic exertion intolerance disease (SEID), and was proclaimed to be a real
  
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• Motorized cycling may prime brain for relearning after stroke

  12-02-2015 15:27
  Exercise on a motorized stationary bike appeared to give stroke patients an advantage in relearning everyday tasks and improving motor function of their arms. A motorized bike helps patients with limited mobility pedal and achieve a target aerobic heart rate.
  
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• Parents experience post-traumatic stress disorder after child's stroke

  12-02-2015 15:27
  Parents of children who had suffered a stroke showed signs of PTSD while children showed signs of anxiety. Parents' PTSD and children's anxiety could have a negative effect on the children's stroke recovery.
  
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• Cerebral palsy: It can be in your genes

  12-02-2015 15:24
  
  Medical researchers have made what they believe could be the biggest discovery into cerebral palsy in 20 years.
  
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• Rare genetic disease protects against bipolar disorder: UMMS researchers uncover genetic pathway that could lead to better treatments

  12-02-2015 11:00
  
  A team of scientists led by researchers at the UMass Medical School and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM) have identified what is likely a key genetic pathway underlying...
  
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• Psychotherapy of depression saves costs

  12-02-2015 11:00
  
  In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics a group of German investigators analyzes whether to treat depression with psychotherapy is worth the cost.
  
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• Mortality risk 'two times higher' in people with mental disorders

  12-02-2015 10:00
  People with mental health disorders have a mortality risk that is two times higher than that of the general population and those without such disorders, a new study finds.
  
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• LGBT teens who come out at school have better self-esteem, study finds

  12-02-2015 09:00
  
  Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adolescents who come out at school have higher self-esteem and lower levels of depression as young adults, compared to LGBT youth who don't disclose their...
  
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• Behavioral therapy effective against pica in children with autism spectrum disorder

  12-02-2015 09:00
  
  Unchecked, eating behavior can lead to medical complicationsIntensive behavioral intervention can be effective at eliminating pica, which is the repeated ingestion of inedible substances...
  
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• Optic nerve may help predict stroke patient death risk

  12-02-2015 00:30
  The diameter of the sheath that encases the optic nerve may help indicate which stroke patients are at highest risk of dying within six months. For every added millimeter of optic nerve sheath diameter, risk of death was four to six times higher.
  
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