Psychology news

• Brain circuitry for positive vs. negative memories discovered in mice

  29-04-2015 19:29
  
  Neuroscientists have discovered brain circuitry for encoding positive and negative learned associations in mice. After finding that two circuits showed opposite activity following fear and reward learning, the researchers proved that this divergent activity causes either avoidance or reward-driven behaviors. They used cutting-edge optical-genetic tools to pinpoint these mechanisms critical to survival, which are also implicated in mental illness.
  
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• Your brain on drugs: Functional differences in brain communication in cocaine users

  29-04-2015 17:32
  The brain function of people addicted to cocaine is different from that of people who are not addicted, and is often linked to highly impulsive behavior, according to a new scientific study.
  
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• Brain-injured patients need therapies based on cognitive neuroscience

  29-04-2015 17:32
  
  Patients with traumatic brain injuries are not benefiting from recent advances in cognitive neuroscience research -- and they should be, scientists report. Now, cognitive neuroscientists have identified dozens of brain networks, each of which engages a specific set of brain structures to perform particular tasks. This information, researchers say, should factor into the therapies that these patients receive.
  
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• Can cheap wine taste great? Brain imaging and marketing placebo effects

  29-04-2015 16:48
  When consumers taste cheap wine and rate it highly because they believe it is expensive, is it because prejudice has blinded them to the actual taste, or has prejudice actually changed their brain function, causing them to experience the cheap wine in the same physical way as the expensive wine? Research has shown that preconceived beliefs may create a placebo effect so strong that the actual chemistry of the brain changes.
  
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• Cytokine may play major role in multiple sclerosis

  29-04-2015 16:10
  Multiple sclerosis (MS) is caused by immune cells that activate a cascade of chemicals in the brain, attacking and degrading the insulation that keeps neuronal signals moving. These chemicals, called cytokines, drive the inflammation in the brain, attracting more immune cells, and causing the debilitating disease marked by loss of neurological function. Researchers have now discovered the role of a major cytokine in multiple sclerosis that could be a target for new therapy against the disease.
  
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• Brain tumor patients should be screened for depression

  29-04-2015 15:01
  Because depression in brain cancer patients is a common but often overlooked condition, oncologists should regularly screen tumor patients for depression, according to a new article. The authors also propose that more studies be completed to explore the efficacy of anti-depression treatments, as well as the value of depression biomarkers for future brain tumor research.
  
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• The biggest story in the world podcast: Episode 6, Psychology

  29-04-2015 12:43
  
  Now it's time for the team to face the biggest challenge so far. Why do we find it so hard to care about climate change? Continue reading...
  
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• Episode 6: Psychology

  29-04-2015 12:43
  
  Now it's time for the team to face the biggest challenge so far. Why do we find it so hard to care about climate change? Continue reading...
  
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• The Katie Hopkins effect: why widespread anger is so common | Dean Burnett

  29-04-2015 12:38
  
  If being outraged and offended is such an unpleasant experience, why is it so common? And why do so many people jump at the chance to experience it?It’s awful isn’t it? I can’t believe anyone would do or say such a thing, and in public! Disgusting. Despicable. How can they live with themselves? It makes you want to just pull the plug on humanity and start again. Maybe give the cuttlefish a chance this time?For the record, the previous paragraph doesn’t actually refer to anything specific
  
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• Outrage us: why Widespread anger is so common | Dean Burnett

  29-04-2015 12:38
  
  Thanks to the prevalence of social networks, there’s not a day that goes by lately without someone or something that ends up incurring the wrath of large numbers of people. But if being outraged and offended is such an unpleasant experience, why is it so common? And why do so many people jump at the chance to experience it? It’s awful isn’t it? I can’t believe anyone would do or say such a thing, and in public! Disgusting. Despicable. How can they live with themselves? It makes you want
  
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• A new psychotherapy for panic when standard treatments fail

  29-04-2015 12:00
  A controlled trial published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics reports on a new treatment modality for patients who do not response to standard therapy for panic.
  
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• Telemedicine may change mental health

  29-04-2015 11:00
  A report in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by a group of German investigators outlines the importance of telemedicine in mental health.
  
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• How to short circuit hunger

  29-04-2015 11:00
  Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows that it's no fun to feel hungry. In fact, the drive to tame gnawing hunger pangs can sabotage even the best-intentioned dieter.
  
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• Bullying leads to depression and suicidal thoughts in teens

  29-04-2015 10:00
  Victimized teens more likely to carry weapons to schoolHigh school students subjected to bullying and other forms of harassment are more likely to report being seriously depressed, consider...
  
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• Youths who survive self-poisoning continue to be at risk of suicide for years

  29-04-2015 09:00
  Study finds half of suicides among those who deliberately poisoned themselves occurred more than three years after initial episodeTeenagers who are hospitalized after intentionally poisoning...
  
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• The power of best friends

  29-04-2015 09:00
  Study finds that inclusive classrooms don't necessarily increase friendships for children with disabilitiesDropping off a child at kindergarten for the first time can be one of the most memorable...
  
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• Study of 1,200 students finds obesity link with bullying

  29-04-2015 09:00
  Feelings of being unsafe at school are linked to levels of overweight and obesity in a new study, with victimization exacerbating the problem.
  
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• School bullying linked with obesity risk

  29-04-2015 09:00
  Feelings of being unsafe at school are linked to levels of overweight and obesity in a new study, with victimization exacerbating the problem.
  
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• Orphaned boys as vulnerable to abuse as girls

  29-04-2015 09:00
  Orphaned children in low- and middle-income countries face a high risk of trauma, with physical and sexual abuse being by far the most prevalent traumatic events.
  
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• Mental health effects of bullying worse than effects of abuse by adults

  29-04-2015 04:19 via forbes.com
  
  According to a new study, those bullied by peers often suffer even worse long-term mental health outcomes than those maltreated by adults early in life.
  
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• Girls diagnosed with autism later than boys, study finds

  29-04-2015 04:19 via foxnews.com
  
  A new study proves that in addition to being diagnosed less, girls are also diagnosed at a later age than boys.
  
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• Cocaine changes brains makes relapse more common in addicts

  29-04-2015 01:05
  Cocaine use causes ‘profound changes’ in the brain that lead to an increased risk of relapse due to stress, according to new research that identifies a molecular mechanism in the reward centre of the brain that influences how recovering cocaine addicts might relapse after stressful events. Importantly, the study identifies a potential mechanism for protecting against such relapses with treatment.
  
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• Cocaine changes brain, makes relapse more common in addicts

  29-04-2015 01:05
  Cocaine use causes 'profound changes' in the brain that lead to an increased risk of relapse due to stress, according to new research that identifies a molecular mechanism in the reward centre of the brain that influences how recovering cocaine addicts might relapse after stressful events. Importantly, the study identifies a potential mechanism for protecting against such relapses with treatment.
  
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