Psychology news

• Treating Parkinson's disease by solving the mysteries of movement

  28-01-2016 21:50
  Two secrets of one of the brain's most enigmatic regions have finally been revealed. In a pair of studies, scientists have discovered a specific neural circuit that controls walking, and they found that input to this circuit is disrupted in Parkinson's disease. The research reveals two potential new targets to treat movement disorders.
  
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• Scientists decode brain signals nearly at speed of perception

  28-01-2016 21:21
  Using electrodes implanted in the temporal lobes of awake patients, scientists have decoded brain signals at nearly the speed of perception. Further, analysis of patients' neural responses to two categories of visual stimuli -- images of faces and houses -- enabled the scientists to subsequently predict which images the patients were viewing, and when, with better than 95 percent accuracy.
  
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• How severe maternal inflammation can lead to autism-like behavior

  28-01-2016 21:21
  A group of researchers found that immune cells activated in the mother during severe inflammation produce an immune effector molecule called IL-17 that appears to interfere with brain development.
  
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• Study finds no proof of 'seasonal depression'

  28-01-2016 20:24 via health.usnews.com
  A new study cast doubts on the existence of seasonal depression -- a mood disorder linked to reduced sunlight in the winter months.
  
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• Synchronized brain waves in distant regions combine memories

  28-01-2016 19:34
  Humans have the remarkable ability to integrate information from multiple memories and infer indirect relationships. How does our brain support this important function? Neuroscientists have now shown that rhythmic brain waves, called theta oscillations, engage and synchronize the brain regions that support the integration of memories.
  
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• The brain communicates on several channels

  28-01-2016 19:32
  The human brain uses several frequency bands for the flow of information between lower and higher areas, report scientists, who have demonstrated that the visual cortex of human subjects uses different frequency channels depending on the direction in which information is being transported. These findings were only possible thanks to previous research with macaque monkeys. They might help to understand the cause of psychiatric illnesses in which the two channels appear to be mixed up.
  
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• Brain's 'amplifier' compensates for lost inner ear function

  28-01-2016 19:30
  Researchers have described, for the first time, the adult brain's ability to compensate for a near-complete loss of auditory nerve fibers that link the ear to the brain. The findings suggest that the brain's natural plasticity can compensate for inner ear damage to bring sound detection abilities back within normal limits; however, it does not recover speech intelligibility.
  
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• Victimized adolescents more at risk of thinking about suicide or attempting suicide at 15

  28-01-2016 16:00
  
  A study to be published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) reports that adolescents chronically victimized during at least two school years, are...
  
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• Innovations in mental health – Tech Weekly podcast

  28-01-2016 15:58
  
  How technology is being increasingly used to treat mental illnessFrom Fitbits that monitor the sleep patterns of patients with schizophrenia and apps that help you manage your mood to online therapy sessions, tech is increasingly being seen as a viable alternative to traditional health and wellbeing techniques. But is it too good to be true? What are the benefits, and what are the risks?Continue reading...
  
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• Calculating whiskers send precise information to the brain

  28-01-2016 15:46
  For rats, which use their whiskers to feel out their surroundings at night, clumps of nerve endings called mechanoreceptors located at the base of each whisker act as tiny calculators, new research demonstrates.
  
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• Growth factor in brain tied to slower mental decline

  28-01-2016 14:25
  Older people with higher amounts of a key protein in their brains also had slower decline in their memory and thinking abilities than people with lower amounts of protein from the gene called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, according to a study.
  
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• Gene study points towards therapies for common brain disorders

  28-01-2016 14:09
  Scientists have pinpointed the cells that are likely to trigger common brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and intellectual disabilities. The findings offer a roadmap for the development of new therapies to target the conditions.
  
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• Research shows that pedestrians feel safer in streets illuminated with white light

  28-01-2016 14:00
  
  This research, carried out by the University of Granada and published in Safety Science magazine, has analysed the pedestrians' perceived safety and well-being when walking by streets with...
  
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• Multiple sclerosis drug tied to rising JC virus antibody levels

  28-01-2016 13:43
  People who take the drug natalizumab for multiple sclerosis may have up to a 10 times greater risk of developing a risk biomarker for activity of a virus that can lead to an often fatal brain disease, according to a study.
  
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• Electric patch holds promise for treating PTSD

  28-01-2016 13:43
  A new treatment has shown benefits for reducing the symptoms associated with chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and associated depression, a team of psychiatrists has found. For Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation, individuals wear an unobtrusive patch on their forehead while they sleep. Following treatment, the severity of participants' PTSD symptoms dropped by an average of more than 30 percent, and the severity of their depression dropped by an average of more than 50 percent.
  
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• Antidepressants in pregnancy do not raise congenital heart risk for baby

  28-01-2016 12:00
  
  New study adds to the debate on whether antidepressants in pregnancy raise risk of congenital heart defects in babies by concluding they do not; other factors are likely culprits.
  
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• How much does money matter to you? Take the test

  28-01-2016 10:26
  
  Whether we’re born rich or poor, our lives are shaped by our unconscious beliefs about money. What are your ‘money scripts’, and what do they reveal about your attitude to earning, spending, saving and borrowing?In good times or bad, money is the number one source of stress in our lives. Money disagreements are the primary reason for divorce in the early years of marriage, and money is a common area of conflict for couples and families.Financial strain has been associated with
  
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• Children at 'double the risk of aggression, suicide' with antidepressant use

  28-01-2016 10:00
  
  Serious risks of common antidepressant medications prescribed for children have been underplayed by drug companies, increasing the danger of suicide and aggression.
  
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• Neural Network Built Using Plastic Memristors

  28-01-2016 09:18 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: ScienceDailyA group of scientists has created a neural network based on polymeric memristors -- devices that can potentially be used to build fundamentally new computers. These developments will primarily help in creating technologies for machine vision, hearing, and other machine sensory systems, and also for intelligent control systems in various fields of applications, including autonomous robots.
  
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• 1 in 4 in UK Have Seen Racial Hate Crime This Year, Survey Finds

  28-01-2016 09:18 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianA quarter of the British public have witnessed racial hate crime in the last year, according to research released to mark Holocaust Memorial Day as the millions who fell victim to genocide are commemorated.
  
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• Genetic study provides first-ever insight into biological origin of schizophrenia

  28-01-2016 09:00
  
  A landmark study, based on genetic analysis of nearly 65,000 people, has revealed that a person's risk of schizophrenia is increased if they inherit specific variants in a gene related to "synaptic...
  
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• Why "Big Pharma" Isn't Searching for the Next Prozac

  28-01-2016 06:27 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianPharma giants have cut research on psychiatric medicine by 70% in 10 years, so where will the next ‘wonder drug’ come from? When the last major wave of “blockbuster” psychiatric drugs such as Prozac arrived on the market in the late 1980s and 90s, they ushered in a new era in the treatment of depression. With fewer serious side effects than their predecessors and aggressively marketed as a new class of “wonder drug”, they were...
  
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• Common Antidepressant Could Put Children at Greater Risk of Suicide

  28-01-2016 06:27 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianResearchers recommended minimal use of antidepressants in children, adolescents, and young adults Children who are prescribed a common antidepressant could be at a higher risk of suicide and aggressive behaviour, it has been claimed. Researchers said that children and adolescents have a doubled risk of aggression and suicide when taking selective serotonin and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor drugs to combat depression. Continue...
  
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• Can Smartphone Drug Trials Improve Medical Care?

  28-01-2016 06:23 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianA new clinical trial is attempting to track how participants suffering from depression respond to mental health apps. Researchers and drug companies are paying close attention It was the second week of March 2015 and, as happens this time every year, downtown Austin, Texas, was overrun with conference goers glued to their smartphones. Adam Gazzaley , Daphne Bavelier and Eddie Martucci were seated in a fourth floor lounge at the W Austin Hotel....
  
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• Obama Honors 4 Who Protected Jews During Holocaust

  28-01-2016 06:16 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Yahoo News - Top HeadlinesAs he honored four people on Wednesday for risking their lives to protect Jews, President Barack Obama warned that antisemitism is on the rise and that an attack on any faith is an attack on all faiths.
  
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