Psychology news

• Researchers discover why stress leads to increased seizures in epilepsy patients

  14-06-2016 21:59
  For epilepsy patients, stress and anxiety can exacerbate their condition; increasing the frequency and severity of seizures. Until now, it was unclear why this happened and what could be done to prevent it. In a new study, researchers have shown that epilepsy actually changes the way the brain reacts to stress, and have used these findings to point to new drugs that may prevent stress-induced seizures.
  
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• Research reveals pain, pleasure of sad music

  14-06-2016 21:59
  Sad music can provide enjoyment, comfort or pain to different people, according to new research looking at the effects of melancholy songs on the emotions.
  
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• Senior moments explained: Older adults have weaker clutter control

  14-06-2016 21:57
  Older people struggle to remember important details because their brains can't resist the irrelevant 'stuff' they soak up subconsciously. As a result, they tend to be less confident in their memories, say researchers.
  
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• Sleepiness and fatigue linked to brain atrophy in cognitively normal elderly

  14-06-2016 19:36
  A new study found that normal older adults who experience excessive sleepiness during the day or significant fatigue may have more brain atrophy than expected for their age, particularly in areas of the brain that are more susceptible to aging and Alzheimer's disease.
  
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• How insights into human learning can foster smarter artificial intelligence

  14-06-2016 19:36
  Recent breakthroughs in creating artificial systems that outplay humans in a diverse array of challenging games have their roots in neural networks inspired by information processing in the brain. Scientists are working to explain in depth how humans and other animals learn.
  
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• Regenerating memory with neural stem cells

  14-06-2016 18:19
  Although brains -- even adult brains -- are far more malleable than we used to think, they are eventually subject to age-related illnesses, like dementia, and loss of cognitive function. Someday, though, we may actually be able to replace brain cells and restore memory.
  
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• Origin of a myth: The second trauma cure for amnesia

  14-06-2016 18:13
  A professor explains how scientists' limited and faulty understanding of the brain hundreds of years ago gave birth to the erroneous idea that amnesia induced by a blow to the head can be cured by a second 'conk.'
  
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• Scientists detect gray matter changes in brains of teenagers with type 2 diabetes

  14-06-2016 18:12
  Teenagers with type 2 diabetes have significant changes in total brain gray matter volume and in regions of gray matter involved in seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control.
  
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• Could less time in bed prevent chronic insomnia?

  14-06-2016 18:00
  
  New research suggests people with acute insomnia may be able to prevent it developing into chronic insomnia by spending less - not more - time in bed.
  
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• Marijuana, alcohol use may harm teens' mental health, academic outcomes

  14-06-2016 17:00
  
  New research finds that marijuana and alcohol use during middle and high school may lead to poorer academic outcomes and mental health problems.
  
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• Brain in a dish to learn more about Alzheimer's disease

  14-06-2016 16:04
  Researchers have found a way to replicate one of the earliest changes in Alzheimer's disease in a dish. This means that it should now be possible to find out a lot more about why it happens – and how to stop it.
  
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• Empathy for others' pain rooted in cognition rather than sensation

  14-06-2016 16:02
  The ability to understand and empathize with others' pain is grounded in cognitive neural processes rather than sensory ones, according to the results of a new study.
  
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• PET points to tau protein as leading culprit in Alzheimer's

  14-06-2016 14:34
  Alzheimer's is a devastating and incurable disease marked by beta-amyloid and tau protein aggregations in the brain, yet the direct relationship between these proteins and neurodegeneration has remained a mystery. New molecular imaging research is revealing how tau, rather than amyloid-deposition, may be more directly instigating neuronal dysfunction.
  
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• New equation reveals how other people's fortunes affect our happiness

  14-06-2016 14:31
  A new equation, showing how our happiness depends not only on what happens to us but also how this compares to other people, has been developed by researchers. The team developed an equation to predict happiness in 2014, highlighting the importance of expectations, and the new updated equation also takes into account other people's fortunes.
  
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• Which prisoners get involved in the illicit economy in prisons?

  14-06-2016 09:00
  
  Prisoners who are susceptible to the influence of others and who have low levels of assertiveness and willpower are most likely to get involved in the pervasive illicit economy in prisons.
  
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• Are Hispanics less likely to get diagnosed with ADHD in the US?

  14-06-2016 09:00
  
  Despite concerns that children are being overly drugged for behaviour, there are data to suggest that some kids aren’t getting the care they actually needLuis barrels into my office wearing his Scooby Doo backpack and goes right for the train set. He’s six years old, from Guatemala. His jeans often are freshly ironed, and his mother follows with her eyes down, shyly entering the room. Twenty-four years-old, she is soft-spoken and speaks Spanish in a strong rural accent. She is not he
  
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• U.S. Urges United Nations to Unite for Gay Rights

  14-06-2016 08:15 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: Reuters - US NewsThe United States appealed on Monday for the United Nations to unite to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, not just express outrage over a massacre in a Florida nightclub on Sunday in which 49 people were killed. Being gay is a crime in at least 74 countries, the U.N. has said.
  
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• Sleep App Scrambles Thoughts to Foil Worries

  14-06-2016 08:15 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: Psych CentralDr. Luc Beaudoin, an adjunct professor in cognitive science and education at Simon Fraser University in Canada created the mySleepButton® app two years ago. It uses what he calls a “cognitive shuffle,” or Serial Diverse Imagining (SDI), a method that essentially “scrambles” one’s thoughts and keeps the mind off issues that may prevent sleep.
  
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• New Sleep Guidelines for Babies, Kids and Teens

  14-06-2016 08:15 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: Google News - HealthKids who don't get enough sleep are at risk for a whole range of mental and physical woes, including some potentially serious health issues. New sleep guidelines for babies, school-age children and teens, released Monday, outline just how many hours of sleep kids need at every age in order to help them be at their best.
  
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• Little Progress Seen Over Half-Century in Assessing Suicide Risk

  14-06-2016 08:15 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: Psych CentralThe meta-analysis, led by clinical psychiatrist and Conjoint Professor Dr. Matthew Large from the University of New South Wales in Australia, found that suicide risk assessment tools were not successful in predicting suicide outcomes. It found no evidence of scientific progress over the past 50 years, pointing to a need for a more patient-focused approach to crisis mental health care.
  
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• Jordan's First Self-Defense Center for Women Counters Harassment

  14-06-2016 08:15 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: The GuardianTrainees learn martial arts and self-esteem to counter harassment and worse on the streets in a society where the laws on domestic violence are unclear.
  
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• For the LGBTIQ, a Gulf Between Laws and Acceptance

  14-06-2016 08:15 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: U.S. News and World ReportNearly one in five gay men has experienced some form of physical violence, according to a survey of 115,000 registered users of PlanetRomeo, a social networking and dating site for gay men. The reported rates of violence nearly double among users from countries like Iran, Egypt and Pakistan, where sexual orientation is enough to sentence a person to death or life in prison.
  
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• College Dorms a New Front in U.S. Battle Over Transgender Rights

  14-06-2016 08:15 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: Reuters - US NewsAs lawmakers across the United States battle over whether to allow transgender Americans to use public restrooms that match their gender identities, universities are scrambling to ensure that dorms meet federal standards.
  
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• Are "Workaholics" Prone to OCD, Anxiety?

  14-06-2016 08:15 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  Source: U.S. News and World ReportSome workaholics may be prone to mental health disorders, compared to folks with greater work-life balance, new research suggests. These disorders may include anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression, the study authors said.
  
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