Psychology news

• Brain activity map reveals how infant vision develops

  29-09-2015 21:06
  Visual functions start to develop soon after birth and continue maturing over time as infants gain experience with the world. However, direct evidence of how this maturation process unfolds in the brain has been lacking. A new study provides a direct window into the maturation of vision-related areas of the cortex in the first weeks of life, showing that the visual brain of 7-week-old babies is surprisingly mature.
  
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• The brain perceives motion the same way through both vision and touch

  29-09-2015 20:28
  The brain uses similar computations to calculate the direction and speed of objects in motion whether they are perceived visually or through the sense of touch, scientists report.
  
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• Obama, Putin and Castro at UN: what world leaders' body language tells us

  29-09-2015 20:27
  
  The gestures of the US and Russian presidents told stories that clashed as much as their words, a body-language expert explains in an analysis of their behaviorThe United Nations general assembly gives us a rare chance to see world leaders speak from the same podium – and sometimes interact with one another, too.Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and Raúl Castro have all spoken from the stage this week – and the US president has publicly shaken hands with his Russian and Cuban count
  
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• Scientists to bypass brain damage by re-encoding memories

  29-09-2015 20:25
  Researchers are testing a prosthesis that translates short-term memories into longer-term ones, with the potential to bypass damaged portions of the brain.
  
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• Tools for illuminating brain function make their own light

  29-09-2015 18:54
  Researchers have developed tools that could allow neuroscientists to put aside the fiber optic cable, and use a glowing protein from coral as the light source instead. A variant on the optogenetics technique gives neuroscientists the choice of activating neurons with light or an externally supplied chemical.
  
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• It will take more than smartphones to stop boarding school children being damaged

  29-09-2015 18:03
  
  A new claim that modern technology means boarding pupils no longer feel cut off from their parents ignores the deep and lasting effects of institutionalised abandonmentTwo things are infinite, suggested Einstein: the universe and mankind’s stupidity. Should we survive as a species, we will surely look back with horror on how we sanctioned the abandonment of children in boarding schools. We may wish we had outlawed publicity stunts such as an article in the Telegraph this week celebrating t
  
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• Shopping addiction measurement scale developed

  29-09-2015 18:00
  
  Do you know someone who is addicted to shopping? A group of researchers at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bergen (UiB) have developed a new and unique method to measure shopping...
  
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• New research about shopping addiction

  29-09-2015 18:00
  
  Addicted to shopping? A group of researchers at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bergen (UiB) have developed a new and unique method to measure shopping addiction: The Bergen Shopping...
  
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• Reducing our own pain is also reducing empathy for pain in others

  29-09-2015 17:19
  The ability to feel the pain of others is based on neurobiological processes which underlie pain experience in oneself. Using innovative methods, an international research team could show that a reduction of self-experienced pain leads to a reduction in empathy for pain in others as well. The researchers assumed that this effect is underpinned by endogenous opioids.
  
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• Brain FM: Purkinje cells sing different tunes

  29-09-2015 17:19
  Researchers demonstrate that nerve cells found in the cerebellum send out electrical signals in either a constant hum or in sudden bursts. Which of the two tunes they choose depends on the voltage at their cell surface and on inputs from a specific region of the brain under certain conditions.
  
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• How spirituality impacts mental health

  29-09-2015 17:02
  
  Studies have found that devout people have fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as a better ability to cope with stress.
  
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• Hazing, #piggate and other secret rites: the psychology of extreme group rituals

  29-09-2015 16:01
  
  As the UK reacts to allegations about David Cameron in his youth, the US grapples with tragic results of brutal initiation ceremonies – practices with strong ties to class structure and demonstrations of masculinity, experts sayWhere were you when #piggate broke? Did you squeal with laughter and disbelief? Did you shamefully recall some embarrassing youthful memories of your own?Public reaction to Lord Ashcroft’s claims about David Cameron has ranged from shrieks to mere shrugs, but
  
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• Don't fear! News from the field of fear and anxiety research

  29-09-2015 16:00
  
  The targeted modulation of gene activity and cellular signaling pathways could provide a new approach to the treatment of fear and anxiety states according to the recent findings of a project...
  
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• Our brain's secrets to success?

  29-09-2015 15:28
  We owe our success -- both as a species and as individuals -- to features of our brain that are just now beginning to be understood. One new study suggests how our primate brain's outer mantle, or cortex, was able to expand as much as 1,000-fold through evolution. Another links personal success -- such as high education and income levels and life satisfaction -- to increased chatter between key brain areas when we're not doing anything in particular.
  
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• Chimpanzee personality linked to anatomy of brain structures

  29-09-2015 15:27
  Chimpanzees' personality traits are linked to the anatomy of specific brain structures, according to researchers. The researchers studied 107 chimpanzees' brains using magnetic resonance image (MRI) scans and also assessed each chimpanzee's personality by using a 41-item personality questionnaire. They found chimpanzees who were rated as higher for the personality traits of openness and extraversion had greater gray-matter volumes in the anterior cingulate cortex in both hemispheres of the brain
  
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• Judge Steven Leifman to Address Clubhouse International Gathering on “Mental Illness: Urgent Moral Crisis of Our Time”

  29-09-2015 14:00 via pr.com
  Clubhouse International, a pioneering organization that has created a successful model to help those suffering from mental illness reclaim their lives and realize their potential through work and the support of a caring community, will welcome Judge Steven Leifman as the featured speaker at a private gathering of mental health advocates at 6:00pm on Wednesday September 30th at Scandinavia House in New York City.Judge [PR.com]
  
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• Hopes of improved brain implants

  29-09-2015 13:04
  Neurons thrive and grow in a new type of nanowire material developed by researchers. In time, the results might improve both neural and retinal implants, and reduce the risk of them losing their effectiveness over time, which is currently a problem.
  
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• Disruption of brain-blood barrier might influence progression of Alzheimer’s

  29-09-2015 13:02
  More and more data from preclinical and clinical studies strengthen the hypothesis that immune system-mediated actions contribute to and drive pathogenesis in Alzheimer’s disease. New insights suggest that A? indeed induces a strong inflammatory response, thereby destroying an important but often neglected brain barrier, called the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier. Disruption of this blood-CSF barrier disturbs brain homeostasis and might negatively affect disease progression. Striki
  
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• Ringing Ears and Chronic Pain Share Unexpected Link

  29-09-2015 12:09 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Yahoo News - ScienceIn the review, the authors proposed that tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, and chronic pain are the result of similar changes in two regions of the brain. These regions — the nucleus accumbens and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex — are both in the front of the brain, and may act as "gatekeepers" for sensory stimuli such as noise and pain, the researchers said. "It's a very clever system," said Josef Rauschecker, a professor of physiology...
  
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• Obama: Religious Freedom No Excuse to Deny Rights to Others

  29-09-2015 12:09 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsIn remarks to LGBT community, President Obama seemingly refers to Kentucky clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses citing her religious beliefs.
  
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• Men More Likely to Be Seen As "Creative Thinkers"

  29-09-2015 12:09 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: ScienceDailyPeople tend to associate the ability to think creatively with stereotypical masculine qualities, according to new research. The findings suggest that the work and achievements of men tend to be evaluated as more creative than similar work and achievements produced by women.
  
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• "Genius Grant" Winners Include Author on U.S. Racial Divide, Sociologist

  29-09-2015 12:01 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsA tap dancer who has spent her life demanding respect for an overlooked art form. A writer at the center of the national conversation about race. A sociologist who lived in a trailer park to study evictions.
  
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• Early exposure to tobacco as a cause of behavioral problems in children

  29-09-2015 12:00
  
  Researchers from Inserm and Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC), in collaboration with the university hospitals of 6 French cities, have analysed data on pre- and postnatal exposure to tobacco...
  
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• Study finds childhood stress impacts adult health

  29-09-2015 10:00
  
  A 45-year study of nearly 7,000 people born in a single week in Great Britain in 1958 found psychological distress in childhood -- even when conditions improved in adulthood -- was associated with...
  
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• Particular brain connections linked to positive human traits

  29-09-2015 10:00
  
  Those with classically positive lifestyles and behaviors had different brain connections to those with classically negative onesThere is a strong correspondence between a particular set of...
  
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