Psychology News and Research

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

Variations in RORA gene can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder

Investigators at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have identified a new gene linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

8 Aug 2012

Common myths about eyes

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article debunking—and proving—several myths regarding the eyes. Dr. William Boothe weighs in on this important conversation, as he believes that proper eye health can only be achieved if individuals understand how their eyes work, and how to take care of them.

7 Aug 2012

ICSSR launches first set of projects for networking and social science research

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) in association with the Deutsche For-schungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), the UKEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Netherlands Organi-sation for Scientific Research (NWO) have launched the first set of projects for networking and social science research cooperation between researchers in India and the four European countries.

7 Aug 2012

Foods high in sugar and fat could have addictive properties

Overweight and obese individuals can achieve a decade's worth of important health benefits by losing just 20 pounds, even if they regain the weight later that decade, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association's 120th Annual Convention. With a focus on psychology's role in overcoming the national obesity epidemic, the session also examined research that indicates foods high in sugar and fat could have addictive properties.

3 Aug 2012

SAGE Labs, Autism Speaks expand partnership to create first rat models for translational research

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced its expanded collaboration with Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering (SAGE) Labs, an initiative of Sigma- Life, to develop the first rat models with modified autism associated genes, intended to accelerate discovery and translational autism research.

3 Aug 2012

'Global brain connectivity' explains 10% of variance in individual intelligence

When it comes to intelligence, what factors distinguish the brains of the exceptionally smart from those of average humans? As science has long suspected, overall brain size matters somewhat, accounting for about 6.7 percent of individual variation in intelligence. More recent research has pinpointed the brain's lateral prefrontal cortex, a region just behind the temple, as a critical hub for high-level mental processing, with activity levels there predicting another 5 percent of variation in individual intelligence.

2 Aug 2012

APA Convention to highlight new research in personality and social psychology

From how relationships affect our health to the psychology of an awkward party moment to why we often choose ignorance over information - a guide to some talks with new research in personality and social psychology at the APA Convention in Orlando, Aug. 2-5, 2012.

1 Aug 2012

Tales of two doctors, at FDA and federal health services, who saw themselves as whistleblowers

The New York Times reports on how the Food and Drug Administration created an elaborate surveillance operation in response to the complaints of a particularly "caustic" agency scientist. In a separate story, the paper examines how the federal health service reassigned a psychologist who told his superiors that a North Dakota Indian tribe was ignoring an "epidemic" of child abuse.

1 Aug 2012

Poor sleep can reduce effectiveness of vaccines

As moms have always known, a good night's sleep is crucial to good health -- and now a new study led by a UCSF researcher shows that poor sleep can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.

1 Aug 2012

New Oxford University Press book on hypochondria

The "hypochondriac" is a complicated figure, often treated with scorn and derision, resented for making excessive demands on attention and health care resources.

31 Jul 2012

Study: Swimming helps to release stress and tension

New international research commissioned by the world's leading swimwear brand, Speedo, has revealed that swimmers agree that swimming helps to release stress and tension, makes them more confident about the way they look and leaves them feeling mentally refreshed.

31 Jul 2012

VA releases PE Coach mobile app for use with PTSD treatment

The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have released PE (for prolonged exposure) Coach, a smartphone mobile application for use with post-traumatic stress disorder treatment. Both departments use prolonged exposure therapy as an effective treatment for PTSD. PE Coach is a free app for Apple and Android mobile devices.

31 Jul 2012

Boys show more preference to solve arithmetic problems than girls

In a University of Missouri study, girls and boys started grade school with different approaches to solving arithmetic problems, with girls favoring a slow and accurate approach and boys a faster but more error prone approach.

30 Jul 2012

Combination of two stress hormones shuts down brain activity for goal-directed behaviour

Cognition psychologists at the Ruhr-Universit-t together with colleagues from the University Hospital Bergmannsheil (Prof. Dr. Martin Tegenthoff) have discovered why stressed persons are more likely to lapse back into habits than to behave goal-directed. The team of PD Dr. Lars Schwabe and Prof. Dr. Oliver Wolf from the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience have mimicked a stress situation in the body using drugs.

26 Jul 2012

Scientists use age-old fable to help illustrate how we think differently to other animals

Cambridge scientists have used an age-old fable to help illustrate how we think differently to other animals.

26 Jul 2012

Subconscious stop signs can help control overeating

Once you pop the top of a tube of potato chips, it can be hard to stop munching its contents. But Cornell University researchers may have found a novel way to help: edible serving-size markers that act as subconscious stop signs.

25 Jul 2012

Research provides real-world support for K-hler motivation gain effect

The inferior members of swimming or running relay teams - those athletes who fared poorest in individual races - showed the greatest gains when performing as part of a team, and those gains were even greater during final races as opposed to preliminary races.

25 Jul 2012

ADHD increases risk for comorbid psychiatric disorders

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in childhood is associated with an increased risk for a broad range of comorbid psychiatric disorders in adolescence, study results show.

24 Jul 2012

Mephedrone does have potential for abuse and addiction

The use of the synthetic stimulants collectively known as "bath salts" have gained popularity among recreational drug users over the last five years, largely because they were readily available and unrestricted via the Internet and at convenience stores, and were virtually unregulated.

24 Jul 2012

Tumor necrosis factor may play a key role in how light at night leads to depression

Chronic exposure to dim light at night can lead to depressive symptoms in rodents -- but these negative effects can be reversed simply by returning to a standard light-dark cycle, a new study suggests.

24 Jul 2012