Psychology News and Research

RSS

Psychology is the study of human mental functions, behavior and processes.

Researchers develop new tool to calm down horses

How many ways can you think of to stress out a horse? Trailering, bathing, clipping, vet visits, hoof trims, bridling, saddling -- the possibilities are endless. Unfortunately, calming options are not.

28 Jul 2018

Study helps to explain why older adults experience dysphagia

As adults age, they all experience a natural loss of muscle mass and function. A new study finds that as the loss of muscle and function in the throat occurs it becomes more difficult for efficient constriction to occur while swallowing - which leads to an increased chance of food and liquids being left over in the throat.

26 Jul 2018

Neurobiologists identify new link between smell and memory

Neurobiologists at the University of Toronto have identified a mechanism that allows the brain to recreate vivid sensory experiences from memory, shedding light on how sensory-rich memories are created and stored in our brains.

24 Jul 2018

Research shows how experience alters the basics of memory formation

We know instinctively that our experiences shape the way we learn. If we are highly familiar with a particular task, like cooking for example, learning a new recipe is much easier than it was when we were a novice.

24 Jul 2018

Alzheimer’s disease greater in females, researchers speculate

This week, at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Chicago, a group of researchers presented reserch findings on the gender differences in Alzheimer’s causation. They speculated that women might be getting Alzheimer’s and dementia more commonly than men and the reason behind this has not been clearly understood. Estrogen or the female hormone could be the key, the researchers state.

23 Jul 2018

Study reveals how giant neurons in the brain may play huge role in generalized arousal

There is no shortage of wonders that our central nervous system produces--from thought and language to movement to the five senses.

23 Jul 2018

ADHD medications may fail to improve cognition in healthy college students, study shows

Contrary to popular belief across college campuses, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications may fail to improve cognition in healthy students and actually can impair functioning, according to a study by researchers at the University of Rhode Island and Brown University.

20 Jul 2018

Rat study shows negative effects of perinatal exposure to phthalates

Male and female rats exposed in the womb and during lactation to plasticizing chemicals known as phthalates had significantly fewer neurons and synapses than those that were not exposed, researchers report in a new study.

19 Jul 2018

Research shows that neurons can encode more than one signal at a time

Back in the early days of telecommunications, engineers devised a clever way to send multiple telephone calls through a single wire at the same time.

19 Jul 2018

Therapy dogs found to be effective in reducing ADHD symptoms in children

In a first of its kind randomized trial, researchers from the UCI School of Medicine found therapy dogs to be effective in reducing the symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children.

19 Jul 2018

Increasing blood sugar levels improves memory and performance in older adults

Sugar improves memory in older adults - and makes them more motivated to perform difficult tasks at full capacity - according to new research by the University of Warwick.

18 Jul 2018

New study demonstrates little effect of hormone therapy on artery thickness

Heart disease is still the number one killer of US women, and hormone therapy remains a top treatment for menopause symptoms.

18 Jul 2018

Animal studies reveal brain changes responsible for appetite effects of cannabis

New research on how cannabis use alters eating behavior could lead to treatments for appetite loss in chronic illness, according to experts at Washington State University.

17 Jul 2018

Study: Women's emotional state not related to success of infertility treatment

Infertility treatments, such as In-vitro fertilization, are stressful experiences for women that can take large emotional tolls, especially when the treatment fails.

13 Jul 2018

UW-Madison researchers develop new method to track Parkinson's damage in the heart

A new way to examine stress and inflammation in the heart will help Parkinson's researchers test new therapies and explore an unappreciated way the disease puts people at risk of falls and hospitalization.

13 Jul 2018

People living in areas with less sunlight may have high risk of OCD

Living at higher latitudes, where there is also less sunlight, could result in a higher prevalence rate of obsessive compulsive disorder, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

11 Jul 2018

Physical activity can lower weight gain in postmenopausal women who have quit smoking

Smokers give lots of reasons for not quitting smoking, with fear of weight gain ranking as one of the most favored, but a new study that followed smokers from the Women's Health Initiative confirms that even modest increases in physical activity can minimize weight gain in postmenopausal women after they have quit smoking.

11 Jul 2018

Research sheds light on composition of cannabis used to treat children with epilepsy

A pioneering study has found Australian parents who turned to medicinal cannabis to treat children with epilepsy overwhelmingly (75 percent) considered the extracts as "effective". Contrary to parental expectations, extracts generally contained low doses of cannabidiol - commonly considered to be a key therapeutic element and that has been successfully used in recent clinical trials to treat epilepsy.

5 Jul 2018

Researchers demonstrate role of oxytocin in cooperative decisions or conversations

The hormone oxytocin has long been known to play a role in the social bonds humans form. For the first time, psychology researcher Jennifer McClung and biology doctoral student Zegni Triki of the Center for Cognitive Science at the University of Neuchâtel demonstrate the role of naturally occurring oxytocin in social interactions, such as cooperative decisions or conversations.

4 Jul 2018