Psychology News and Research

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

Study reinforces significance of raising young children in stimulating environments

A recent study shows that infants and toddlers take longer to notice new visual stimuli and are less accurate in their gaze than adults, but slowly improve as they age. The findings reinforce the importance of raising young children in stimulating environments, and set an important baseline as detection of developmental disorders increasingly rely on tracking eye movements.

3 Jun 2016

UBC study finds lower HIV testing rates among gay men living in small cities

Men who live outside major Canadian cities and have sex with other men are less likely to get an HIV test than their metropolitan counterparts, a UBC study shows.

2 Jun 2016

GET.ON online training course can effectively reduce depression risk

Inspired by promising tests of web-based health intervention measures, the researchers aimed to find out whether the risk of developing depression could be reduced by a six-week online training course called GET.ON. GET.ON is based on established therapy methods involving systematic problem solving and behavioural activation.

2 Jun 2016

Interventions for breast cancer patients show benefits based on women’s stress levels

Is a couples' support group or an enhanced couples' group therapy intervention with skill instruction more effective for helping women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer? According to research from an investigator at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and colleagues from other facilities across the country, neither intervention is more dominant, but each has its own benefits depending on the stress level of the patient.

2 Jun 2016

Luteal phase of menstrual cycle may help thwart smoking behavior in women

Women who want to quit smoking may have better success by carefully timing their quit date with optimal days within their menstrual cycle, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

1 Jun 2016

First ECHO model helps improve screening and management of autism

Wait lists for a specialist to confirm an autism diagnosis can be agonizing and last months. As the prevalence of autism and autism spectrum disorders increase, so does the demand for a health care system that is fully equipped to respond to the complex needs associated with autism.

1 Jun 2016

Short-term use of opioids implicated in protracted pain, new study finds

Painkillers such as morphine, oxycodone and methadone could actually prolong and increase pain even after only a few days’ use, according to research conducted on rats by scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US.

31 May 2016

Brief opioid exposure can cause increase in chronic pain

The dark side of painkillers - their dramatic increase in use and ability to trigger abuse, addiction and thousands of fatal overdoses annually in the United States is in the news virtually every day.

31 May 2016

Overcoming barriers in autism research: an interview with Gahan Pandina

There are currently no medications which address the core symptoms of ASD, and a significant barrier to their development is that researchers have historically lacked effective methods for measuring clinical outcomes.

30 May 2016

Imaging data shows brains may have capacity to reverse schizophrenia effects

A team of scientists from across the globe have shown that the brains of patients with schizophrenia have the capacity to reorganize and fight the illness. This is the first time that imaging data has been used to show that our brains may have the ability to reverse the effects of schizophrenia.

28 May 2016

Electronic media use may affect parent-child communication

It happens in many households. Kids are tapping on their cell phones or are preoccupied by their favorite TV show as their parents ask them a question or want them to do a chore.

27 May 2016

Study reveals brain mechanism involved in switching between habitual behavior and decision-making

Not all habits are bad. Some are even necessary. It's a good thing, for example, that we can find our way home on "autopilot" or wash our hands without having to ponder every step. But inability to switch from acting habitually to acting in a deliberate way can underlie addiction and obsessive compulsive disorders.

27 May 2016