Psychology news

• Video Game Research Shows Promise for Autism

  21-01-2016 21:55
  Xavier has big brown eyes and freckles to match. He is a take-charge kid with sandy blonde hair and boundless energy. Xavier is also on the autism spectrum, diagnosed when he was 3½. Today, Xavier is visiting UW-Madison, where Brittany Travers is studying kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to learn more about how helping kids improve their motor skills may have a positive impact on their symptoms.
  
  Read more

• Neuroscientists develop new tools to safely trace brain circuits

  21-01-2016 19:03
  Scientists have developed a new viral tool that dramatically expands scientists' ability to probe the activity and circuitry of brain cells, or neurons, in the mouse brain. These findings highlight an innovative feat of molecular engineering that allows the creation of a more complete map of the brain's cellular circuits and will help researchers on their way toward unraveling the mysteries of the brain.
  
  Read more

• Why mistakes slow us down, but not necessarily for the better

  21-01-2016 19:00
  Taking more time to make decisions after a mistake arises from a mixture of adaptive neural mechanisms that improve the accuracy and maladaptive mechanisms that reduce it, neuroscientists have found. Their study also potentially offers insights into afflictions that impair judgments, such as Alzheimer's Disease and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
  
  Read more

• Filling in the gaps in our visual perception

  21-01-2016 18:18
  A new study sheds light on how the brain fills in the gaps of how we visually perceive the world around us.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Chronic stress, anxiety can damage the brain, increase risk of major psychiatric disorders

  21-01-2016 18:18
  People need to find ways to reduce chronic stress and anxiety in their lives or they may be at increased risk for developing depression and even dementia, a new scientific review paper warns.
  
  Read more

• Diagnosing depression before it starts

  21-01-2016 18:16
  Brain scans may identify children who are vulnerable to depression, before symptoms appear, new research indicates. In a new study, the researchers found distinctive brain differences in children known to be at high risk because of family history of depression. The finding suggests that this type of scan could be used to identify children whose risk was previously unknown, allowing them to undergo treatment before developing depression.
  
  Read more

• Computer modeling provides insight into cellular-level effects of schizophrenia risk genes

  21-01-2016 18:00
  
  Numerous genetic variants associated with risk for schizophrenia have been identified. However, little is known about how these genes have their effects in the brain.
  
  Read more

• Sexual trauma raises suicide risk among veterans

  21-01-2016 16:56 via foxnews.com
  
  Men and women veterans who experienced sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment while serving in the military are at heightened risk of suicide, according to a recent U.S. study.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Testosterone influences regulation of emotions in psychopath's brain

  21-01-2016 16:09
  Psychopaths exhibit reduced control over their emotional actions, brain research has demonstrated. Researchers have now discovered that the quantity of testosterone a person produces influences the parts of the brain responsible for regulating emotions. The findings provide starting points for the treatment of psychopaths, say the authors of a new report.
  
  Read more

• Was musical memory the secret to Brian Wilson's genius?

  21-01-2016 15:44
  
  The Beach Boys film Love and Mercy portrays Brian Wilson as experiencing music playing constantly in his head. A growing body of research suggests that this rare phenomenon might have been behind his creative talentThere’s a memorable scene in the Beach Boys film Love & Mercy, where the band are on a plane and Brian Wilson has a panic attack. Later on, Brian is back at home, recounting the experience to his brothers, and he says: “Before it happened, there was music in my head &n
  
  Read more

• Brain study reveals mindfulness could help prevent obesity in children

  21-01-2016 15:23
  Mindfulness, described as paying attention on purpose and being in the present moment with acceptance, could be an effective way to help children avoid obesity. New research suggests that the balance in brain networks in children who are obese is different compared to healthy-weight children, making them more prone to over-eating.
  
  Read more

• Childhood trauma associated with worse impulse control in adulthood, U-M study finds

  21-01-2016 15:00
  
  Abuse or neglect associated with worse executive function in adults, whether or not they have bipolar disorder.
  
  Read more

• Close to 40 percent of formerly suicidal Canadians subsequently achieve complete mental health

  21-01-2016 13:00
  
  Close to 40% (38%) of formerly suicidal Canadians have reached a state of complete mental health, not only being free of symptoms of mental illness, suicidal thoughts or substance abuse in the...
  
  Read more

• Learning a second language may depend on the strength of brain's connections

  21-01-2016 02:25
  Learning a second language is easier for some adults than others, and innate differences in how the various parts of the brain "talk" to one another may help explain why.
  
  Read more

• Engineered neural networks show hope for axonal repair with minimal disruption to brain tissue

  21-01-2016 02:13
  Lab-grown neural networks have the ability to replace lost axonal tracks in the brains of patients with severe head injuries, strokes or neurodegenerative diseases and can be safely delivered with minimal disruption to brain tissue, according to new research.
  
  Read more

• Memory capacity of brain is 10 times more than previously thought

  21-01-2016 02:12
  The brain's memory capacity is in the petabyte range, as much as entire Web, new research indicates. The new work answers a longstanding question as to how the brain is so energy efficient and could help engineers build computers that are incredibly powerful but also conserve energy.
  
  Read more

Follow @PsychologyUKnws on Twitter!