Psychology news

• Genetics, environment impact familial depression

  20-01-2016 20:30
  Building on a 30-year, three-generation study of depressed individuals, their children and offspring, a new study provides a better understanding of the familial risk for depression and the role neuroplasticity might have in increasing the risk of developing depression.
  
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• Emotion-processing networks disrupted in sufferers of depression

  20-01-2016 20:30
  Regions of the brain that normally work together to process emotion become decoupled in people who experience multiple episodes of depression, neuroscientists report. The findings may help identify which patients will benefit from longterm antidepressant treatment to prevent the recurrence of depressive episodes.
  
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• Like air traffic, information flows through neuron 'hubs' in the brain

  20-01-2016 20:29
  70 percent of all information within cortical regions in the brain passes through only 20 percent of its regions' neurons, report researchers. The scientists report these high-traffic "hub neurons" could play a role in understanding brain health since this sort of highly efficient network -- in which a small number of neurons are more essential to brain function -- is also more vulnerable to disruption. That's because relatively small breakages can cause the whole system to "go down."
  
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• No evidence of seasonal differences in depressive symptoms

  20-01-2016 18:28
  A large-scale survey of US adults provides no evidence that levels of depressive symptoms vary from season to season, according to new research. The findings are inconsistent with the notion of seasonal depression as a commonly occurring disorder.
  
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• It's mom who sees troubles for teens with food allergies

  20-01-2016 18:01
  Mothers of teens with food allergies are more likely than the kids themselves to report that the youth have emotional and behavioral problems, a new study concludes.
  
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• Depression experts question effectiveness of stress hormone drug

  20-01-2016 17:56
  Pioneering research by mood disorder experts has questioned the effectiveness of metyrapone, a drug suggested to treat depression.
  
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• New knowledge on why patients with type 2 diabetes present smelling problems

  20-01-2016 17:37
  In a study in type 2 diabetic rats, researchers have identified alterations in specific nerve cells that are important for odor identification. The findings might explain why type 2 diabetic patients often experience smelling problems and potentially open up a new research field to develop preventive therapies against neurodegenerative diseases in type 2 diabetic patients.
  
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• Increased diabetes risk associated with youth antipsychotic treatment, rare

  20-01-2016 17:00
  
  A review of medical literature suggests antipsychotic treatment in youth was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, although the condition appeared to be rare with small absolute...
  
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• How are all those screens changing kids' behavior?

  20-01-2016 16:48 via cnn.com
  
  More research is needed to know how the frequency or quality of our technology use is changing basic human interactions and behaviors.
  
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• Rapastinel (GLYX-13) shown to improve ketamine or PCP-induced cognitive impairment in mice

  20-01-2016 16:00
  
  Allergan plc, a leading global pharmaceutical company, announced that new data on the investigational medication rapastinel (GLYX-13) and its lack of impairment on cognitive function were published...
  
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• Research on worms reveals how the brain compensates for sensory loss and points to its early evolutionary roots

  20-01-2016 15:26
  A new study has revealed that the brain’s compensatory mechanism (known as cross-modal plasticity) -- when some senses are enhanced following the loss of other sensory input -- is a basic feature that also exists in less complex nervous systems. The study has also exposed the way the mechanism works in the brain through an inter-sensory signaling system.
  
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• Why your brain makes you slip up when anxious

  20-01-2016 15:17
  Neuroscientists have identified the brain network system that causes us to stumble and stall just when we least want to. Previous research has shown that people tend to exert more force when they know they are being watched. For example, pianists unconsciously press keys harder when they play in front of an audience compared to when playing alone. The new research explores why.
  
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• Depression of either parent during pregnancy linked to premature birth

  20-01-2016 15:17
  Depression in both expectant mothers and fathers increases the risk of premature birth, finds a new study.
  
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• Study reveals why your brain makes you slip up when anxious

  20-01-2016 15:00
  
  As musicians, figure skaters and anyone who takes a driving test will know, the anxiety of being watched can have a disastrous effect on your performance.
  
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• Soldiers with PTSD more 'tuned' to angry faces because of over-connected brain circuits

  20-01-2016 15:00
  
  Understanding the brain's responses to angry faces could help diagnosis.Soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more 'tuned' to perceive threatening facial expressions than...
  
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• Social anxiety is highly heritable but is affected by environment

  20-01-2016 15:00
  
  Genes play a crucial role over time although environmental factors matter most in the short term, according to a major study into social anxiety and avoidant personality disorders from the...
  
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• Anxiety can impact people's walking direction

  20-01-2016 14:00
  
  People experiencing anxiety and inhibition have more activity in the right side of the brain, causing them to walk in a leftward trajectory.
  
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• People with dementia gain from learning self-management skills

  20-01-2016 10:00
  
  People with early-stage dementia benefit when they are empowered to manage their own condition, a study led by researchers at the University of Exeter has found.
  
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• Why don’t I appreciate what I have? You asked Google – here’s the answer | Annalisa Barbieri

  20-01-2016 09:00
  
  Every day millions of internet users ask Google some of life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queriesWell, why don’t you, you ungrateful wretch?Appreciation seems such a half-hearted emotion, the sort of declaration you’d expect to see on a barrel-scraping greeting card: “I appreciate you.” Which would be a good card to send, when that’s the best that can be said. Appreciation is the anaemic, weakling cousin t
  
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• Resting brain chatter predicts ability to learn second language

  20-01-2016 09:00
  
  If you are planning on learning a second language, the connectivity of your brain at rest might predict how easy, or how difficult, you find it.
  
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• Most restaurants serve oversized, high-calorie meals

  20-01-2016 09:00
  
  More than 90% of meals from 123 restaurants assessed in a new study were served in oversized quantities that exceeded the recommended calorie intake, researchers found.
  
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• Mind-blowing: how your thoughts control your work-life satisfaction

  20-01-2016 08:18
  
  Are you a glass half full, glass half empty or glass shaken all around type of person? Improve your wellbeing by understanding your state of mind
  Over the years businesses have cottoned on to the fact that healthy employees are more productive and creative in the workplace. Cycle to work schemes, office gyms and healthy food options in staff canteens have more than your wellbeing in mind. However, the latest techniques to boost your productivity require minimal investment and no organisational o
  
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• Heightened Ability to Imagine Odors Linked to Higher Body Weight

  20-01-2016 06:39 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: ScienceDailyThe ability to vividly imagine the smell of popcorn, freshly baked cookies and even non-food odors is greater in obese adults, new research suggests. Vivid mental imagery is a key factor in stimulating and maintaining food cravings, which can be induced by the thought, smell and sight of food, say authors of a new report on the work.
  
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• How face-to-face still beats Facebook

  20-01-2016 03:30
  The social brain hypothesis, that friendship groups are consistently sized as a consequence of cognitive limits, is not trumped by the opportunity to 'friend' an unlimited number of people on social media, new media suggests.
  
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• Breasts put girls off sport - new research

  20-01-2016 02:00
  
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• How vestibular system influences navigation

  20-01-2016 00:11
  The first direct evidence showing how the vestibular system's horizontal canals play a key role in sensing our direction in the environment has been uncovered by scientists.
  
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