Psychology news

• Your brain's got rhythm: Synthetic brain mimics

  14-02-2017 22:27
  Scientists have created synthetic brain systems called 'circuitoids' to better understand dysfunctional movements in Parkinson's, ALS and other diseases.
  
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• Why do we see so many different things in Rorschach ink blots?

  14-02-2017 20:00
  
  Devised as a method of psychiatric assessment over a century ago, the reason people see so many shapes and figures in the blots may finally be explainedThey were made to delve into the depths of the mind and reveal its darkest secrets through the dancers, butterflies and occasional blood-soaked carcass that people saw when they looked at the patterns. Related: Testing times for Wikipedia after doctor posts secrets of the Rorschach inkblotsContinue reading...
  
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• When choosing your next move, your brain is always ready for plan B

  14-02-2017 19:04
  Whether we're navigating a route to work or browsing produce at the grocery store, our brains are constantly making decisions about movement: Should I cross the street now or at the intersection? Should I reach for the red apple or the green apple? When you're presented with two options, your brain's motor neurons prep for both possibilities before you've decided which action to take, say researchers.
  
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• 7 health benefits of being in a happy marriage

  14-02-2017 18:31 via foxnews.com
  
  Study shows married couples had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol compared with single or divorced participants.
  
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• Girls still don’t think they are as smart as boys

  14-02-2017 18:29 via washingtonpost.com
  
  Study finds that girls starting at the age of 6 are less likely than boys of the same age to believe that girls are “really, really smart.”
  
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• A neuroscientist explains: listener's emails about empathy – podcast

  14-02-2017 16:30
  
  Responding to some of our listener’s emails, Dr Daniel Glaser ponders whether dogs have a Theory of Mind, the neuroscience behind bilingualism, and the value of introspectionSubscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterIn this mini podcast, Observer Magazine columnist and neuroscientist Dr Daniel Glaser answers listener’s emails in response to our A Neuroscientist Explains podcast on the need for ‘
  
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• Children of patients with C9orf72 mutations are at a greater risk of frontotemporal dementia or ALS at a younger age

  14-02-2017 15:40
  The most common genetic cause of the brain diseases frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a mutation in the C9orf72 gene. Researchers have demonstrated that if an affected parent passes on this mutation, the children will be affected at a younger age (than the parent). There are no indications that the disease progresses more quickly.
  
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• Brain model deveolped to quantify pain beyond sensory input

  14-02-2017 15:27
  Scientists are just beginning to study the complex cerebral processes behind pain, and in a promising step forward, researchers have developed a functional MRI-based model that identifies brain activity patterns involved in varied pain experience, even when the input from the body is held constant.
  
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• How the brain maintains useful memories

  14-02-2017 15:26
  Researchers have discovered a reason why we often struggle to remember the smaller details of past experiences.
  
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• Fictional characters make 'experiential crossings' into real life, study finds

  14-02-2017 15:06
  
  A fifth of readers report characters from novels cropping up in their daily lives, hearing their voices even after putting books asideIt’s a cliche to claim that a novel can change your life, but a recent study suggests almost a fifth of readers report that fiction seeps into their daily existence.Researchers at Durham University conducted a survey of more than 1,500 readers, with about 400 providing detailed descriptions of their experiences with book. Nineteen per cent of those responden
  
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• New research demonstrates a link between swearing fluency and emotion

  14-02-2017 09:00
  
  Keele University psychologist Dr Richard Stephens has published a new research paper which explores how experiencing emotion impacts on people swearing.
  
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• How we made Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

  14-02-2017 09:00
  
  John Gray: ‘I grew up with five brothers and then became a monk – so women were from another planet’I was a monk in the 1970s, working as an assistant to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. My world was meditation and yoga, but my brother was bipolar, and meditation didn’t work for him. So I studied psychology to try to help him, eventually becoming a therapist.
  We fantasise that Romeo and Juliet were this happy couple, but that's because they died a few days after their wedding R
  
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