Psychology news

• Is risk-taking behavior contagious?

  05-04-2016 23:57
  Why do we sometimes decide to take risks and other times choose to play it safe? In a new study, researchers explored the neural mechanisms of one possible explanation: a contagion effect.
  
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• Blueberries may offer benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder

  05-04-2016 23:56
  In a series of studies conducted in rats, researchers have found that eating blueberries could help to reduce the genetic and biochemical drivers behind depression and suicidal tendencies associated with PTSD.
  
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• Parkinson's disease meds increase risk of compulsive gambling, shopping, binge eating

  05-04-2016 22:13
  Drugs commonly prescribed to treat Parkinson's disease are linked to impulse control disorders such as pathological gambling, compulsive buying, hypersexuality and binge eating in some patients, warn researchers.
  
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• Mindfulness-based eating awareness helps adolescents eat healthier foods, be more active

  05-04-2016 18:00
  
  Some of the simplest, safest lessons to help adolescents combat obesity may be raising their awareness of what they are eating and whether they are even hungry, researchers say.
  
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• Choir singing may boost cancer patients' health, well-being

  05-04-2016 18:00
  
  Singing in a choir for just 1 hour was found to increase immune system activity among cancer patients, suggesting choir singing may be a simple treatment aid for the disease.
  
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• Rhythm of oscillations in cerebral cortex, key to understanding Down syndrome

  05-04-2016 17:46
  A first-ever identification has been made of the alterations in the neuronal circuit that impact cerebral cortex physiology, and that could be the cause of cognitive deficits in Down Syndrome. The study explains how a gene linked to Down Syndrome is associated with altered oscillations in the cerebral cortex, the region responsible for our capacity for reasoning, language and social behavior.
  
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• Indiana University-led researchers identify objective predictors of suicidality in women

  05-04-2016 17:00
  
  Researchers have identified blood-based biomarkers and developed questionnaire-based apps that may help clinicians identify which of their female patients being treated for psychiatric disorders...
  
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• Neuroscientists working to test brain training claims

  05-04-2016 16:55
  The draw is huge: Play video games and get smarter. For the past decade, various groups have claimed that their programs do everything from staving off neurodegenerative disease to enhancing education and improving daily functioning. Absent from many of these claims has been neuroscientific evidence. Cognitive neuroscientists are now rigorously testing the potential benefits of such 'brain training' tools. New work is showing promising results.
  
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• Invading the brain to understand, repair cognition

  05-04-2016 16:55
  People are using brain-machine interfaces to restore motor function in ways never before possible - through limb prosthetics and exoskletons. Technologies to repair cognition have been more elusive. That's rapidly changing with tools -- from fully implantable brain devices to neuron-eavesdropping grids atop the brain -- to directly probe the mind. These technologies are mapping new understandings of cognition and advancing efforts to improve memory in patients with cognitive deficits.
  
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• Threat of climate change found to be key psychological and emotional stressor

  05-04-2016 15:42
  Climate change is a significant threat to the health of Americans, creating unprecedented health problems in areas where they might not have previously occurred, according to a report released April 4 by the White House.
  
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• Broken hearts are real

  05-04-2016 15:38 via today.com
  
  Researchers say the risk of a heart incident is the worst about a week to two after an unexpected loss, and stays at least a little bit high for a year.
  
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• Altered circadian rhythm worsens Parkinson's disease, researchers show

  05-04-2016 15:31
  Chronic lack of sleep and irregular sleep-wake cycles may be risk factors of Parkinson's disease, new work suggests. In an animal model, the researchers show that disturbances in circadian rhythm that exist before Parkinson's onset dramatically worsen motor and learning deficits brought on by the disease.
  
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• Insomnia linked to damage in brain communication networks

  05-04-2016 15:30
  Using a sophisticated MRI technique, researchers have found abnormalities in the brain's white matter tracts in patients with insomnia, according to a new study.
  
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• Touching robots can arouse humans, study finds

  05-04-2016 11:00
  
  Researchers discover that touching the areas where a robot’s genitals or buttocks would be provokes a physiological response in humansCalifornian researchers have established that an intimate caress of a humanoid robot can produce a physiological response in a human.They challenged volunteers with a robotic creature less than two feet high that possessed eyes, ears, torso, legs, arms and a voice – and a chat-up line rich in come-hither invitations. “Sometimes I’ll ask you
  
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• Film to help families prevent LGBT youth suicides

  05-04-2016 06:19 via foxnews.com
  
  When families reject their lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) children, it dramatically increases the youths' risk for suicide.
  
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• Testing time at schools: Is there a better way?

  05-04-2016 06:18 via cnn.com
  
  Performance-based assessments in lieu of standardized tests are used in some parts of U.S.
  
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• Kids' grades can suffer when mom or dad is depressed

  05-04-2016 06:17 via npr.org
  
  Children with a depressed parent do worse in school than peers, study finds.
  
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