Psychology news

• New hope in the fight against pain: Analgesic drugs could be used to treat patients with neuropathic pain

  18-02-2015 20:51
  Drugs that selectively target the melatonin MT2 receptor represent a novel class of analgesic drugs that could be used to treat patients with neuropathic pain, an international study reports, for the first time.
  
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• How mindfulness can jumpstart our exercise routines

  18-02-2015 20:40 via well.blogs.nytimes.com
  Study shows that paying more attention to the experience of exercise itself, even the most reluctant of exercisers might begin to find pleasure in movement.
  
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• Teen brain scans reveal a key to weight loss

  18-02-2015 20:14
  
  MRI scans of teenagers who had successfully lost weight and kept it off show that they have higher levels of executive function -- the ability to process and prioritize competing interests. Executive function is a trait that can be improved, scientists say.
  
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• Autism genes activate during fetal brain development

  18-02-2015 20:13
  
  Mutations that cause autism in children are connected to a pathway that regulates brain development, scientists have found. The researchers studied a set of well-known autism mutations called copy number variants or CNVs. They investigated when and where the genes were expressed during brain development.
  
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• Put your phone away and be quiet in the theatre. Evolution demands it | Oliver Burkeman

  18-02-2015 19:15
  
  Few minor modern irritations seem to drive people so wild so reliably as talking, texting or chomping during films or other performancesLast Sunday night, during the New York City Ballet’s performance of Romeo and Juliet – right around the famous love scene in the orchard – someone several seats to my right opened and noisily began to consume a large packet of Twizzlers. Aficionados of Shakespeare and Prokofiev will be aware that this isn’t a standard element in the tragedy’s plot; if
  
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• Recovering attention after a stroke: Brain's right hemisphere may be more valuable

  18-02-2015 18:37
  The right hemisphere may assist a damaged left hemisphere recover visual attention after a stroke, new research suggests. "The results demonstrate that the tasks we do every day change how the brain pays attention to the world around us. By understanding how these changes occur in healthy individuals, we can focus on behaviors that are impaired in stroke patients and provide a focus for rehabilitation," one researcher noted.
  
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• A bodyguard for your ears: Scientists discover novel pain sensors in inner ear that warn of dangerously loud noise

  18-02-2015 18:30
  Our hearing has a secret bodyguard, a newly discovered connection from the cochlea to the brain that warns of intense incoming noise that causes tissue damage and hearing loss. Scientists believe it's the ear's novel pain system designed to protect it from dangerous noise. Because the ear doesn't have the nerve cells that normally detect pain, it needs its own alert system. The findings could usher new treatments for painful hearing conditions like tinnitus and hyperacusis.
  
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• Brain's iconic seat of speech goes silent when we actually talk

  18-02-2015 16:18
  
  The brain's speech area, named after 19th century French physician Pierre Paul Broca, shuts down when we talk out loud, according to a new study that challenges the long-held assumption that 'Broca's area' governs all aspects of speech production.
  
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• Nicotine metabolite amplifies action of the primary chemical messenger for learning, memory

  18-02-2015 16:18
  
  Nicotine's primary metabolite supports learning and memory by amplifying the action of a primary chemical messenger involved in both, researchers report. Nicotine has long been known to aid learning and memory, but it's also highly addictive with a host of side effects from nausea and vomiting to increasing blood pressure and heart rate. The side effects reflect nicotinic receptors' presence in other areas of the brain and body and explain why its therapeutic use has essentially been limited to
  
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• Is the flame retardant, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), a reproductive or developmental toxicant?

  18-02-2015 15:20
  
  Two studies examined the effects of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) at oral doses of 10,100 or 1000 mg/kg bw/day over the course of 2 generations on growth as well as behavioral, neurological and neuropathologic functions in offspring.
  
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• Want to get motivated? Try these miserable quotes | David Shariatmadari

  18-02-2015 14:57
  
  ‘Behavioural backlash’ means that pictures of whales and positive slogans can have unintended consequences. Here are some despairing alternatives
  Andy Murray’s personal motivational quotes were revealed this week when a journalist found a sheet of paper the tennis player had been checking during a match in Rotterdam. They included the eminently sensible “Be good to yourself,” “Try your best” and, more obscurely, “Be intense with your legs”. Het briefje van Andy Murray. pic.twi
  
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• Want to get motivated? Try these inspiring quotes

  18-02-2015 14:57
  
  ‘Behavioural backlash’ means that pictures of whales and positive slogans can have unintended consequences. Here are some miserabilist alternatives
  Andy Murray’s personal motivational quotes were revealed this week when a journalist found a sheet of paper the tennis player had been checking during a match in Rotterdam. They included the eminently sensible “Be good to yourself,” “Try your best” and, more obscurely, “Be intense with your legs”. Het briefje van Andy Murray. pic.tw
  
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• New growth factor indicates possible regenerative effects in Parkinson's disease

  18-02-2015 13:30
  
  Researchers have long sought treatments that can slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. Current treatments have for decades been only symptomatic in nature, supplying the neurotransmitter dopamine, which the dying nerve cells can no longer produce. Results from a recent clinical study offer hope that future therapies could take advantage of the brain's own protective mechanisms to limit neuronal cell death and restore dopamine production to natural levels. In the first time in humans, rese
  
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• Mulling the marijuana munchies: How the brain flips the hunger switch

  18-02-2015 13:27
  
  The 'munchies,' or that uncontrollable urge to eat after using marijuana, appear to be driven by neurons in the brain that are normally involved in suppressing appetite, according to a new study.
  
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• Workplace bullying a vicious circle

  18-02-2015 11:00
  Bullying at work grinds victims down and makes them an 'easy target' for further abuse according to new research from the University of East Anglia.
  
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• Nicotine metabolite amplifies action of the primary chemical messenger for learning and memory

  18-02-2015 11:00
  Nicotine's primary metabolite supports learning and memory by amplifying the action of a primary chemical messenger involved in both, researchers report.
  
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• Focusing on the success of others can make us selfish

  18-02-2015 11:00
  It is believed that the success of humans as a species depends to a large extent on our ability to cooperate in groups.
  
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• Study finds short-term psychological therapy reduces suicide attempts in at-risk soldiers

  18-02-2015 09:00
  Short-term cognitive behavioral therapy dramatically reduces suicide attempts among at-risk military personnel, according to findings from a research study that included investigators from The...
  
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• Review article provides evidence on the biological nature of gender identity

  18-02-2015 09:00
  Medical care of transgender patients, including surgical and hormonal treatment, has largely been met with resistance by physicians in favor of psychiatric treatment, owing to misconceptions that...
  
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• The science of teaching: Study finds brain processes that hold the key to understanding students

  18-02-2015 02:27
  How does the brain of a teacher work? New research has identified the parts of the brain involved in computing mistakes in other people's understanding, which is a key process in guiding students' learning.
  
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