Psychology news

• Antiviral compound may protect brain from pathogens, West Nile virus, study shows

  15-05-2015 20:13
  An antiviral compound may protect the brain from invading pathogens, researchers have found. Studying West Nile virus infection in mice, scientists showed that interferon-lambda tightens the blood-brain barrier, making it harder for the virus to invade the brain.
  
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• Smaller volumes in certain regions of the brain could lead to increased likelihood of drug addiction

  15-05-2015 19:48
  Individual differences in brain structure could help to determine the risk for future drug addiction, new research suggests. The study found that occasional users who subsequently increased their drug use compared with those who did not, showed brain structural differences when they started using drugs.
  
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• Omega-3: Intervention for childhood behavioral problems?

  15-05-2015 19:48
  Omega-3, a fatty acid commonly found in fish oil, may have long-term neurodevelopmental effects that ultimately reduce antisocial and aggressive behavior problems in children, a new study suggests.
  
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• Those Who Believe in Pure Evil Favor Harsher Criminal Punishments

  15-05-2015 19:46 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: ScienceDailyPeople who believe in pure evil are more likely support sentences such as life in prison without parole and the death penalty for criminals, a psychology study finds. The researchers added that it's likely that life experience more than religion that influences a belief in pure evil.
  
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• Pets on Prozac: Drug Treatment Can Help Anxious Dogs

  15-05-2015 19:46 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: ScienceDailyDogs who suffer with separation anxiety become more optimistic when taking the animal equivalent of Prozac during behavioral treatment, according to the results of an innovative new study. Canine separation-related problems -- also described as separation anxiety or separation distress -- are among the most common behavioural complaints of dog owners. But the issue of using psychoactive medication to help pets with behavioural problems is a...
  
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• ACLU Wants U.S. Government to Combat Sexism in Hollywood

  15-05-2015 19:46 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Time MagazineThe American Civil Liberties Union is targeting sexism in Hollywood, and it wants the government to step in and help.
  
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• Is stress bad for your health?

  15-05-2015 16:00
  
  Is there something amiss with our assumption that stress equals misery, while a stress-free life is bliss?Stress is one of those words that can mean so many things, it risks meaning nothing at all. If I told you my day was “very stressful” because I had too many places to be, you’d think me no more than slightly melodramatic. But if you were the sole survivor when a tourist bus plunged into a mountain gorge, you might reasonably describe the following years as “very stressful”, too. W
  
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• Perspective-taking difficulties diminished when autistic and psychosis tendencies balance

  15-05-2015 15:00
  Researchers at the University of Birmingham have shed new light on the relationship between autistic tendencies and psychosis proneness in neurotypical adults.
  
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• Epilepsy has been found to reduce the generation of new neurons

  15-05-2015 14:34
  The mission of neural stem cells located in the hippocampus, one of the main regions of the brain, is to generate new neurons during the adult life of mammals, and their function is to participate in certain types of learning and responses to anxiety and stress. New research has discovered that hippocampal neural stem cells in the case of epilepsy stop generating new neurons and are turned into reactive astrocytes, a cell type that promotes inflammation and alters communication between neurons.
  
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• Researchers discover new ways to shut down signals involved in brain diseases

  15-05-2015 14:33
  A research team has found new ways to block a pathway that may be responsible for several brain disorders, which could open the door to developing better treatments. Their work is focused on the protein NOS-1, which generates nitric oxide, a chemical signal that is linked to neurological disorders from neurodegeneration, stroke and chronic pain sensitivity to anxiety and depressive disorders.
  
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• Yoga and chronic pain have opposite effects on brain gray matter

  15-05-2015 14:32
  Chronic pain is known to cause brain anatomy changes and impairments, but yoga can be an important tool for preventing or even reversing the effects of chronic pain on the brain, according to a new study.
  
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• Geneticists clock genetic differences between 'larks' and 'owls'

  15-05-2015 14:00
  New study from University of Leicester uncovers clues for 'morningness' and 'eveningness' Researchers identify fly strains that exhibit morning- and evening-like behaviour.
  
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• Who should pay the price?

  15-05-2015 11:00
  Social dilemmas, in which an individual profits from selfishness, unless the whole group chooses the selfish option, have long provided an academic challenge.
  
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• 'The Dress': studies offer insight as to why we are unable to agree on its color

  15-05-2015 10:00
  The picture of 'The Dress' confused the world back in February. While some of us say it is blue and black, others see it as white and gold. Now, three new studies investigate why.
  
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• Scientists look at 'The Dress' and answer the color conundrum

  15-05-2015 10:00
  The photo of 'The Dress' confused the world back in February and became an internet meme. While some of us say it is blue and black, others see it as white and gold. Find out why.
  
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• Science attempts to answer the color conundrum of 'The Dress'

  15-05-2015 10:00
  The picture of 'The Dress' confused the world back in February. While some of us say it is blue and black, others see it as white and gold. Now, three new studies investigate why.
  
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• Wearing red can make you appear angry and dominant

  15-05-2015 09:00
  Red is a warning color in nature -- and can affect perceptions in human social groups, tooMen who wear red clothes send out a signal that they are angry and aggressive, in much the same way as if...
  
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• Rethinking the rebound: Unexpected effects of rejection

  15-05-2015 09:00
  It's portrayed in movies again and again - a character gets rejected by someone attractive and then falls willingly into the arms of someone perhaps less attractive.
  
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• Psychotic hallucinations, delusions rarely precede violence

  15-05-2015 09:00
  Study challenges media-fueled stereotype of homicidal mayhemMass shootings at the hands of unhinged loners - such as those in Aurora, Colorado; Santa Barbara, California, and Newtown, Connecticut...
  
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• We’re happy and we know it, and now the research shows it

  15-05-2015 06:07
  If you have a spring in your step and a smile on your face, you’re in good company. Americans are generally a pretty happy bunch, according to a new study that aims to further our collective understanding of happiness and its root causes. With age comes happiness. Beginning with 30- to 34-year-olds, every age group gets progressively happier than the general population, peaking among those aged 65 and older.
  
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