Psychology news

• Brain’s GPS depends on visual landmarks to triangulate location, researchers find

  17-12-2015 21:18
  Researchers have found that space-mapping neurons -- the GPS system in the brain -- have a strong dependence on what is being looked at when triangulating location, a finding that resolves a neurological mystery that has vexed scientists for more than four decades.
  
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• Scientists manipulate consciousness in rats

  17-12-2015 21:17
  Scientists showed that they could alter brain activity of rats and either wake them up or put them in an unconscious state by changing the firing rates of neurons in the central thalamus, a region known to regulate arousal.
  
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• Using network science to help pinpoint source of seizures

  17-12-2015 21:16
  The ability to reliably pinpoint the anatomical source of epileptic seizures, different for each patient, remains elusive. New research looks at networks of electrical activity in the brain just prior to the onset of a seizure by studying the recordings of 88 seizures from 22 patients.
  
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• Scientists identify mechanisms to reduce epileptic seizures following TBI

  17-12-2015 20:35
  Halting production of new neurons in the brain following traumatic brain injury can help reduce resulting epileptic seizures, cognitive decline, and impaired memory, researchers report.
  
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• Identification tags define neural circuits

  17-12-2015 20:33
  Biologists have identified a network of proteins that guides neural synapse formation in Drosophila brains. They discovered that proteins from two different molecular subfamilies bind together selectively. This binding can cause neurons that express Dpr proteins to form connections with neurons that express the corresponding DIP protein, playing an important role in directing the development of the neuromuscular and visual systems in growing Drosophila.
  
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• How opioids cause dangerous breathing problems

  17-12-2015 19:05
  Researchers on a quest to make opioid drugs less lethal have discovered a window of opportunity: a tiny channel in the brain where opioids interfere with the breathing mechanism. They found that mice without this channel kept breathing normally with an opioid overdose -- a discovery that may result in new therapies to stop accidental deaths from prescription painkillers.
  
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• How fly brain reroutes odor information to produce flexible behavior

  17-12-2015 19:04
  Taking advantage of the simple architecture of the fruit fly brain, scientists examined how the molecule dopamine acts like an operator at a switchboard, changing the flow of information. Their work helps explain why the same stimulus can lead to different responses, and quite likely has parallels in the human brain.
  
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• Early childhood depression alters brain development

  17-12-2015 18:00
  
  The brains of children who suffer clinical depression as preschoolers develop abnormally, compared with the brains of preschoolers unaffected by the disorder, according to new research at...
  
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• Beyond early adversity: A multidimensional approach linking early experiences to successful aging

  17-12-2015 18:00
  
  Adverse childhood experiences such as poverty, abuse and neglect have been linked to poor mental and physical health outcomes in adulthood.
  
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• 'Smart fat cells' cross blood-brain barrier to catch early brain tumors

  17-12-2015 17:25
  An MRI contrast agent that can pass through the blood-brain barrier will allow doctors to detect deadly brain tumors called gliomas earlier, say researchers. This ability opens the door to make this fatal cancer treatable.
  
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• Multiple-dose, targeted radiation more effective for treating pituitary tumors, research shows

  17-12-2015 17:14
  Multiple small doses of highly focused radiation therapy is safer and more effective than a single larger dose of radiation at destroying pituitary gland tumors, new research has demonstrated.
  
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• Learning from your mistakes: Not in the case of brain damage

  17-12-2015 14:23
  Do people learn from their mistakes? This question is often a subject of discussion at rehabilitation centers. For people with memory problems preventing mistakes is a better learning strategy. New research has now demonstrated that ‘errorless learning’ also works with people with non-congenital brain damage.
  
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• How brain architecture leads to abstract thought

  17-12-2015 14:00
  
  Using 20 years of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from tens of thousands of brain imaging experiments, computational neuroscientists Hava Siegelmann and a postdoctoral colleague...
  
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• Why do chronically lonely teens stay lonely?

  17-12-2015 13:00
  
  For chronically lonely adolescents, even the rare invitation to a social event is likely to be met with suspicion: "It's not that I'm worthy, I just got lucky," they'll tell themselves.
  
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• UTSA professor's new study explores the mind of a cyberterrorist

  17-12-2015 13:00
  
  A new study by Max Kilger, director of Data Analytics Programs at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) College of Business, is delving into an aspect of cybersecurity rarely explored before...
  
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• Christmas advertisers pluck too hard on the heartstrings

  17-12-2015 12:00
  
  Emotion presented subtly in ads works far better than ramming it down your throatMid-December, and the great Christmas ad-fest is winding down. By which I mean if you haven’t already made and aired your festive mega-commercial you’ve pretty much missed the boat. But do these ads really achieve anything? Sure, they get noticed, and certainly comments about them get plastered all over the blogosphere, but do they actually generate any additional business? The great British public&rsquo
  
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• Lacking in Christmas spirit? Your brain might be to blame

  17-12-2015 09:00
  
  Researchers say they have identified a brain network for Christmas spirit, comprising of five separate regions. This information may aid treatment for 'bah humbug' syndrome.
  
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• Boost your productivity: Pros and cons of to-do and got-done lists

  17-12-2015 06:21 via today.com
  
  Research shows that both lists aren't for everyone, and may even be counterproductive for some.
  
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• 'Homing' treatment could aid recovery for brain damaged patients

  17-12-2015 05:13
  Scientists believe they may have found a way to aid recovery and minimize the risk of life-threatening infections in patients with traumatic brain injuries.   
  
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