Psychology news

• Method for mapping neuron clusters developed

  26-02-2015 19:20
  A method for identifying clusters of neurons that work in concert to guide the behavior has been developed by researchers. Their findings address a long-standing mystery about the organization of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) -- one of the most recently evolved parts of the primate brain that underlies complex cognitive functions.
  
  Read more

• Intermediary neuron acts as synaptic cloaking device

  26-02-2015 19:20
  
  A specific type of neuron might be thwarting researchers' efforts at mapping the connectome by temporarily cloaking the synapses that link a wide field of neurons, report scientists. The researchers found that somatostatin cells send out a signal -- much like a cloaking device - that silences neighboring neurons, making the synapses invisible to researchers. By doing this, somatostatin neurons can change the way the brain functions, heightening some perceptual pathways and silencing others.
  
  Read more

• Neurons that help predict what another individual will do identified

  26-02-2015 19:20
  
  Investigators have discovered two groups of neurons that play key roles in social interactions between primates -- one that is activated when deciding whether to cooperate with another individual and another group involved in predicting what the other will do.
  
  Read more

• Protein pathway involved in brain tumor stem cell growth identified

  26-02-2015 18:24
  Glioblastomas are a highly aggressive type of brain tumor, with few effective treatment options. Researchers are one step closer to understanding glioblastoma development following the identification of a key protein signaling pathway involved in brain tumor stem cell growth and survival. Brain tumor stem cells are believed to play an important role in glioblastoma development and may be possible therapeutic targets.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Beliefs can regulate effects of nicotine on the human brain

  26-02-2015 17:03
  
  Scientists have discovered that beliefs can regulate the effects of nicotine on the human brain. Two identical cigarettes led to a new discovery. Study participants inhaled nicotine, yet they showed significantly different brain activity. Why the difference? Some subjects were told their cigarettes were nicotine free. This goes beyond he placebo effect, researchers say.
  
  Read more

• Twin study lends new insights into link between back pain and depression

  26-02-2015 17:03
  Genetic factors help to explain the commonly found association between low back pain and depression, suggests a large study of twins. Genetic factors affecting both conditions may be involved in the association between back pain and depression, according to the report.
  
  Read more

• Optogenetic stimulation of the brain to control pain demonstrated in study

  26-02-2015 16:16
  
  New research reveals for the first time how a small area of the brain can be optically stimulated to control pain. Researchers found that by using specific frequency of light to modulate a very small region of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex, or ACC, they could considerably lessen pain in laboratory mice.
  
  Read more

• One brain area, two planning strategies

  26-02-2015 14:48
  
  Ready to strike, the spear fisherman holds his spear above the water surface. He aims at the fish. But he is misled by the view: Due to the refraction of light on the surface, he does not see the actual location of the fish. How must his brain now plan the arm movement? Do the brain cells (neurons) reflect the position where the fish was spotted, in other words, the visual target? Or do they plan the physical target, which is the actual direction in which the arm and spear should move in order t
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Astrology should never have any role to play in healthcare | Pete Etchells

  26-02-2015 14:19
  
  Tory MP David Tredinnick seems to believe that astrology could inform and improve UK healthcare. This view is misguided and potentially dangerousIf you’re a rational, sensible human being who doesn’t know who David Tredinnick is, then you’re about to get very upset. Tredinnick is the Conservative MP for Bosworth, and a member of the Commons health, and science and technology committees. He also genuinely believes that the position of the sun, moon and planets when you were born has a profo
  
  Read more

• Astrology definitely shouldn’t have any role to play in healthcare | Pete Etchells

  26-02-2015 14:19
  
  Tory MP David Tredinnick seems to believe that astrology could inform and improve UK healthcare. This view is misguided and potentially dangerousIf you’re a rational, sensible human being who doesn’t know who David Tredinnick is, then you’re about to get very upset. Tredinnick is the Conservative MP for Bosworth, and a member of the Commons health, and science and technology committees. He also genuinely believes that the position of the sun, moon and planets when you were born has a profo
  
  Read more

• 24 hour news amnesia - how the public swiftly forgets murderers and their victims

  26-02-2015 11:00
  Almost eight out of ten people cannot recall the names of the UK's most notorious serial killers, paedophiles or their victims, despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of these cases over the past...
  
  Read more

• Stanford Trained Revolutionary Psychiatrists Discuss Taking Psychiatry Out of the Stone Ages

  26-02-2015 09:00 via pr.com
  From Stanford University and Silicon Valley, the birthplace of innovation, Dr. Sonia Parikh and Dr. Vidushi Savant introduce "Savant Care, Inc." The Savant Care team has expertise in treating the entire spectrum of mental illness through an integrative approach to psychological well-being -- via medications, psychotherapy and alternative treatments. Most psychiatric care of today does not look much different [PR.com]
  
  Read more

• Speaking freely

  26-02-2015 09:00
  Two UCSB studies shed light on stuttering treatment and a neurological deficit potentially linked to the disorderDSI-based 3-D modeling resolves the triple crossing within the white matter of...
  
  Read more

• Study maps extroversion types in the brain's anatomy

  26-02-2015 03:01
  
  Scientists have mapped the similarities and the differences in the brain between the two different kinds of extroverts: 'Agentic' go-getters and 'affiliative' people persons.
  
  Read more

Follow @PsychologyUKnws on Twitter!