Psychology news

• Olfactory glomeruli have a unique structure

  21-09-2016 22:43
  Scientists have quantified and mapped the functional units of the olfactory center in the brains of vinegar flies responsible for the perception of odors. The basic units of the olfactory system in the fly brain provide references to their function and ecological relevance.
  
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• Brain to robot: 'Move, please'

  21-09-2016 20:22
  Using the power of thought to control a robot that helps to move a paralysed hand: new research could fundamentally change the therapy and daily lives of stroke patients.
  
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• Immune and targeted therapies with radiation therapy improves outcomes for melanoma brain metastases patients, say researchers

  21-09-2016 16:39
  Researchers have sought to determine if patients with melanoma brain metastases treated with immune and targeted therapies had improved outcomes over patients treated with conventional chemotherapy. They retrospectively analyzed data from 96 patients with melanoma brain metastases who were treated with stereotactic radiation therapy within 3 months of different targeted therapies (anti–PD-1 therapy, anti–CTLA-4 therapy, BRAF inhibitor plus a MEK inhibitor, or a BRAF inhibitor alone)
  
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• Common genetic variant regulates the mental health benefits of exercise

  21-09-2016 16:39
  A new study revealed that a common genetic variant in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene reduces the neurobiological benefits induced by physical exercise in mice.
  
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• Brain’s hippocampus helps fill in the blanks of language

  21-09-2016 16:34
  A new study shows that when you finish your spouse's sentences or answer a fill-in-the-blank question, you're engaging the brain's relay station for memories, an area that until now was largely neglected by scientists studying language.
  
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• MRI scanner sees emotions flickering across an idle mind

  21-09-2016 15:16
  As you relax and let your mind drift aimlessly, you might remember a pleasant vacation, an angry confrontation in traffic or maybe the loss of a loved one. And now a team of researchers says they can see those various emotional states flickering across the human brain.
  
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• Oxytocin enhances spirituality: The biology of awe

  21-09-2016 14:54
  Oxytocin has been dubbed the "love hormone" for its role promoting social bonding, altruism and more. Now new research suggests the hormone may also support spirituality.
  
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• Stimulating neurons could protect against brain damage, research shows

  21-09-2016 14:45
  A breakthrough in understanding how brain damage spreads – and how it could potentially be limited – has been made through a collaboration between neuroscientists and engineers.
  
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• Study quantifies risks of developing mental health problems if brother or sister affected

  21-09-2016 14:00
  
  What is the risk of developing a mental disorder if a brother or sister has the condition?
  
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• High status job means you are less likely to respond to treatment for depression

  21-09-2016 09:00
  
  An international study has found that having a high status job means that you are less likely to respond to standard treatment with medications for depression.
  
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• Children's willpower linked to smoking habits throughout life

  21-09-2016 09:00
  
  Scientists from the University of Stirling have discovered a link between childhood self-control and smoking habits across life.
  
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• Care home dementia study finds failure to reduce antipsychotic prescribing

  21-09-2016 09:00
  
  There has been no sustained reduction in the prescription of antipsychotics to UK dementia patients, despite government guidance, according to a report published in the medical journal BMJ Open.
  
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• Watching sad films boosts endorphin levels in your brain, psychologists say

  21-09-2016 01:01
  
  Traumatic films may boost pain tolerance and feelings of group bonding by increasing levels of feel-good chemicals produced by the brain, study revealsTyrannosaur, Breaking the Waves and Schindler’s List might make you reach for the tissues, but psychologists say they have found a reason why traumatic films are so appealing.Researchers at Oxford University say that watching traumatic films boosts feelings of group bonding, as well as increasing pain tolerance by upping levels of feel-good,
  
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• Cut-throat academia leads to 'natural selection of bad science', claims study

  21-09-2016 01:01
  
  Scientists incentivised to publish surprising results frequently in major journals, despite risk that such findings are likely to be wrong, suggests researchGetting stuff right is normally regarded as science’s central aim. But a new analysis has raised the existential spectre that universities, laboratory chiefs and academic journals are contributing to the “natural selection of bad science”.To thrive in the cut-throat world of academia, scientists are incentivised to publish
  
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