Psychology news

• Dinner for one – now that’s my kind of date | Nell Frizzell

  13-04-2016 20:50
  
  Solo dining is a singular joy. Alone, you can eat what you want, when you want, as fast as you wantI was recently joined on a bench in O’Connell Street, Dublin, by a man in a sludge-green coat and wide-brimmed hat who methodically pulled out, wiped and pocketed his false teeth, before bending down to the large plastic bag at his feet and pulling out a yoghurt. He turned to me, smiled, and then asked: “Would you ever find me a spoon?”These things don’t happen so easily whe
  
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• Device allows paralyzed man to swipe credit card, perform other movements

  13-04-2016 20:01
  New research is enabling a quadriplegic Ohio man to regain his ability to pick up objects, stir liquids and even play video games -- using his own thoughts.
  
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• Are humans the new supercomputer?

  13-04-2016 19:58
  Online computer games allow gamers to solve a class of problems in quantum physics that cannot be easily solved by algorithms alone. Citizen science games have already proved successful in advancing scientific endeavours, but had not previously been applied to quantum physics. A Danish team of scientists find, that players succeed where purely numerical optimization fails, and they present a new optimization method based on the observed player strategies that outperforms prominent, established n
  
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• How LSD can make us lose our sense of self

  13-04-2016 19:56
  When people take the psychedelic drug LSD, they sometimes feel as though the boundary that separates them from the rest of the world has dissolved. Now, the first functional magnetic resonance images of people's brains while on LSD help to explain this phenomenon known as 'ego dissolution.'
  
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• Read my lips: what your voice reveals about you

  13-04-2016 19:06
  
  From gender transition to asylum seeker applications, how you talk can mask or betray your true self. A new exhibition goes beyond class and geography to examine why the way we speak matters
  The word ‘egophony’ is what the doctor calls it when you’re having a stethoscope put to your chest, to check your breathing. So it’s being used as a metaphor for diagnosing who you are, where you’re from.” Chris Chapman’s work is one of a number of remarkable explora
  
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• How creepy are you? Take the test!

  13-04-2016 18:46
  
  Researchers have undertaken the first empirical study of creepiness. From eye contact, to clothes, to clowns – take the quiz to find out if you’re a creepDo you have trouble making friends, or finding romance? Do you sometimes get the feeling that people find you a bit off, in a way they can’t explain? Are you sometimes asked to leave retail premises before you get a chance to explain why you need that much bleach?A new study has undertaken the first ever “empirical study
  
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• How does LSD dissolve one's sense of self? fMRI scans reveal answer

  13-04-2016 18:00
  
  fMRI scans have shown what happens in the brain when a person takes the psychedelic drug LSD, and researchers suggest a use for such substances in future neurological research.
  
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• What causes déjà vu?

  13-04-2016 17:35
  You walk into a room and suddenly your brain goes fuzzy with an overwhelming wave of familiarity--although this is a totally new experience. Like something out of a sci-fi plot, it almost seems as if you've walked into the future. A new study shines a spotlight on this situation, known as déjà vu.
  
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• Could a brain 'growth chart' spot attention problems early? New study suggests so

  13-04-2016 17:32
  New research suggests that it might be possible to create a growth chart of brain networks that could identify early signs of attention difficulties and, potentially, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
  
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• Gene defect may point to solution for Alzheimer's

  13-04-2016 17:12
  New research has discovered that one protein, called PITRM1, which is found in mitochondria, otherwise known as the powerhouses of the cell, may be involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease.
  
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• Using brain connectivity growth charting in youth to identify attention problems

  13-04-2016 17:00
  
  Pediatricians routinely use growth charts to measure patients' height, weight and head circumference to look for abnormalities.
  
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• In-vitro reproduction of long-lasting effects of stress on memory

  13-04-2016 16:42
  A group of researchers succeeded in reproduction of the same phenomenon as memory consolidation by using organotypic slice cultures of the cerebral cortex and revealed that stress interfered with memory consolidation. As cultures can be maintained for a long period, it is possible to examine long-term effects. This group's achievement will be useful for developing therapeutic methods for and preventive measures against stress-induced memory defects.
  
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• Nearly winning is more rewarding in gamblings addicts

  13-04-2016 14:43
  Pathological gamblers have a stronger brain reaction to so-called near-miss events: losing events that come very close to a win. Neuroscientists show this in fMRI scans of twenty-two pathological gamblers and just as many healthy controls.
  
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• Our employment status affects our morals around money

  13-04-2016 14:00
  
  According to a pioneering, quantitative study by the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country published by the PNAS, becoming unemployed changes people's morals around the distribution of money.
  
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• Early treatment for post-traumatic stress accelerates recovery but does not sustain it

  13-04-2016 13:00
  
  Three-year mark shows little difference between treated and untreated individuals.
  
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• Prevalence of homosexuality in men is stable throughout time since many carry the genes

  13-04-2016 12:00
  
  Around half of all heterosexual men and women potentially carry so-called homosexuality genes that are passed on from one generation to the next.
  
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• Nearly winning is more rewarding in pathological gamblers

  13-04-2016 12:00
  
  Pathological gamblers have a stronger brain reaction to so-called near-miss events: losing events that come very close to a win.
  
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• Treating anxiety, depression can help global economy

  13-04-2016 06:17 via cnn.com
  
  For every U.S. dollar invested in treating depression and anxiety, there was a $4 return in better health and ability to work, according to a new WHO-led study.
  
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• Over-the-counter drug may reverse chronic vision damage caused by multiple sclerosis

  13-04-2016 03:11
  A common antihistamine used to treat symptoms of allergies and the common cold, called clemastine fumarate, partially reversed damage to the visual system in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a preliminary study.
  
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