Psychology news

• Can yoga help those experiencing depression, anxiety or PTSD?

  09-03-2016 20:00
  Across the country, health and human service providers have shown a growing interest in using yoga as an option for treating people who experience mental health problems. But a recent study has found that while there are some promising benefits to using yoga, there isn't yet enough evidence to support the practice as a standalone solution for improving mental health and well-being.
  
  Read more

• Maternal bacterial infections trigger abnormal proliferation of neurons in fetal brain

  09-03-2016 19:01
  Scientists have identified a mechanism that might explain the link between maternal infections during pregnancy and cognitive problems in children. These findings may impact clinical care, they say.
  
  Read more

• Want a younger brain? Stay in school -- and take the stairs

  09-03-2016 18:55
  A new study shows that the more flights of stairs a person climbs, and the more years of school a person completes, the 'younger' their brain physically appears.
  
  Read more

• Is educational neuroscience a waste of money?

  09-03-2016 18:48
  Educational neuroscience has little to offer schools or children's education, according to new research. The paper points out that understanding the role of different structures of the brain does not actually help improve teaching or assessing how children progress in a classroom setting.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Friends with health benefits: how your pals could boost well-being

  09-03-2016 17:00
  
  The potential health benefits of romantic relationships are well documented, but are friendships good for us, too? Many studies suggest so. We take a closer look.
  
  Read more

• Drinkers tend to jump the gun

  09-03-2016 16:00
  
  Why do we make bad choices? In particular, why do we rush into decisions? In humans, the tendency to show poor behavioral control is one of the hallmarks of people prone to alcohol use disorders.
  
  Read more

• Quebeckers' sexual tastes and interests: A new study debunks preconceived notions

  09-03-2016 15:00
  
  Are the sexual interests and behaviors of Quebeckers abnormal? According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), sexual interests fall into two...
  
  Read more

• Tortoise and the hare of spinal neuronal circuits

  09-03-2016 14:34
  Changes in one circuit of nerves, but not another, in the spinal cord depend on how quickly muscles must move to complete a task, according to results of a new study. The results could influence physical therapy routines for patients struggling to control their bodies after a stroke or spine injury.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Stress pushes cells to die when gatekeeper of calcium use in mitochondria is dysfunctional

  09-03-2016 14:28
  Malfunctioning mitochondria -- the power plants in cells -- are behind the damage caused by strokes, heart attacks, and neurodegenerative diseases, but little has been known about how to stop these reactors from melting down, destroying cells and tissue.
  
  Read more

• A step toward reducing brain damage after stroke

  09-03-2016 14:27
  After suffering a stroke, about three-fourths of patients exhibit some disability. The extent of a patient's symptoms depends on the degree and location of brain tissue damage following the stroke event. Researchers now show that by using a tailored small molecule to turn off the production of a key neuromodulator in the brain, they can dramatically reduce brain damage in stroke models in rats.
  
  Read more

• Being socially active may boost late-life satisfaction and ease decline

  09-03-2016 12:00
  
  Despite health problems, being socially active and having social goals - but not family goals - appears to ease the decline in well-being that people often experience late in life.
  
  Read more

• People in their 60s uniquely benefit from giving advice despite fewer chances to offer it

  09-03-2016 11:00
  
  A new study reveals that individuals in their 60s who give advice to a broad range of people tend to see their lives as especially meaningful.
  
  Read more

• Do video games make children violent? Nobody knows – and this is why

  09-03-2016 10:00
  
  The sorry state of research into one of the world’s biggest entertainment industries is leaving us in the darkIn 1976, the driving simulation Death Race was removed from an Illinois amusement park. There had, according to a news story at the time, been complaints that it encouraged players to run over pedestrians to score points. Through a series of subsequent newspaper reports, the US National Safety Council labelled the game “gross” and motoring groups demanded its removal fr
  
  Read more

• Social media mimics the intimacy we yearn for – but fails to deliver | Chibundu Onuzo

  09-03-2016 09:30
  
  While Facebook, Twitter and the rest make billions from our hardwired cravings for human contact, the deep bonds that truly nourish can only be found offlineWhen I joined Facebook, I said I’d never join Twitter. Its users either posted the dull minutiae of their lives (Just ate a bowl of pasta #Yum) or they were pseudo-gurus who typed pithy banalities in 140 characters of textspeak (Do wot u do. Bcos no1 else is u). Related: South African woman faces criminal charges over racist tweetsRela
  
  Read more

• Being overweight or short could hinder life prospects

  09-03-2016 09:00
  
  People who are overweight or shorter in height are more likely than normal-weight or taller peers to have a poorer socioeconomic status, a new study reveals.
  
  Read more

Follow @PsychologyUKnws on Twitter!