Psychology News and Research

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

Rodent olfaction and the chemistry of instinct

The mechanics of instinctive behavior are mysterious. Even something as simple as the question of how a mouse can use its powerful sense of smell to detect and evade predators, including species it has never met before, has been almost totally unknown at the molecular level until now.

29 Jun 2011

Prototype small molecule drugs could suppress hepatitis C

Targeted multi-drug treatments for hepatitis C patients that could stop the virus in its tracks have come a step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK.

29 Jun 2011

Asperger syndrome characteristics evident during child's first two years

People with Asperger syndrome have problems with social interaction and attentiveness, and are also sensitive to noise and light. Several of these characteristics were evident to parents during their child's first two years, reveals Petra Dewrang's thesis in psychology at the University of Gothenburg.

29 Jun 2011

New insights into 'sundowning' syndrome

New research provides the best evidence to date that the late-day anxiety and agitation sometimes seen in older institutionalized adults, especially those with dementia, has a biological basis in the brain.

28 Jun 2011

BioLineRx initiates enrollment in BL-1020 Phase II/III trial against schizophrenia

BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today the enrollment of the first patient in the Phase II/III CLARITY clinical trial of BL-1020, a first in class, orally available, GABA-enhanced antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia.

28 Jun 2011

Study shows how binge drinking could cause serious brain damage in young adults

It's considered a rite of passage among young people - acting out their independence through heavy, episodic drinking. But a new University of Cincinnati study, the first of its kind nationally, is showing how binge drinking among adolescents and young adults could be causing serious damage to a brain that's still under development at this age.

28 Jun 2011

New software program can allow scientists to produce single brain images

A University of Colorado Boulder research team has developed a new software program allowing neuroscientists to produce single brain images pulled from hundreds of individual studies, trimming weeks and even months from what can be a tedious, time-consuming research process.

28 Jun 2011

Spirituality, religion can help traumatic brain injury victims to rehabilitate

Brigid Waldron-Perrine, Ph.D., a recent graduate from Wayne State University, and her mentor, Lisa J. Rapport, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Wayne State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, found that if traumatic brain injury (TBI) victims feel close to a higher power, it can help them rehabilitate. The study was recently published in Rehabilitation Psychology.

28 Jun 2011

Voluntary conversation decreases marijuana use among teenagers

Marijuana is the most prevalent illicit drug used by teenagers and adults around the world. Nearly a third of high school students in the United States report smoking it, and most high schoolers say they have access to the drug.

27 Jun 2011

Woods Institute at Stanford University awards seven new Environmental Venture Project grants

The Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University has awarded seven new Environmental Venture Projects (EVP) grants for interdisciplinary research aimed at finding practical solutions promoting global sustainability.

24 Jun 2011

Combined pediatric neuroscience programs at Barrow Neurological Institute

St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and Phoenix Children's Hospital jointly announced this week their pediatric neuroscience programs are combining under the newly formed Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital.

24 Jun 2011

Genetics may fuel women's prejudice against male strangers during menstrual cycle

Women's bias against male strangers increases when women are fertile, suggesting prejudice may be partly fueled by genetics, according to a study by Michigan State University psychology researchers.

24 Jun 2011

Scientists analyse factors that influence development of burnout syndrome

Being over-burdened with work, monotony and the perception of lack of recognition can all be catalysts for burnout syndrome. A team of scientists has analysed the factors that influence the development of the three sub-types of this condition - 'frenetic', 'under-challenged' and 'worn out'.

24 Jun 2011

RACGP welcomes Senate Inquiry into mental health funding cuts

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has welcomed the move yesterday to hold a Senate Inquiry into the Federal Government’s decision to cut the Medicare patient rebates for GP mental health services in the 2011‐2012 Federal Budget. The Senate Inquiry comes after strong and consistent lobbying on the issue by the RACGP and our colleagues within United General Practice Australia (UGPA).

23 Jun 2011

Resveratrol may make old age more tolerable, but not prevent it

A University of Florida review of research finds the polyphenol compound known as resveratrol found in red wine, grapes and other fruits may not prevent old age, but it might make it more tolerable.

23 Jun 2011

Woman can more accurately identify man's sexual orientation during peak ovulation

A new study by psychologists at the University of Toronto and Tufts University shows that a woman can more accurately identify a man's sexual orientation when looking at his face, when she is closest to her time of peak ovulation. Further, having romantic thoughts or a mating goal heightens a woman's ability to discriminate between straight and gay men.

23 Jun 2011

FDA reveals graphic new cigarette warning labels

"Nearly a half-century after U.S. cigarette packs were emblazoned with their first, modest warning, 'Caution: Cigarette Smoking May be Hazardous to Your Health,' the Food and Drug Administration - at Congress' behest - is … requiring tobacco companies to print painful images, such as that of a man smoking through a hole in his throat or of a lip eroded by cancer and a mouthful of rotting teeth, right on their cigarette packs," the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

23 Jun 2011

Weak neural synchronization could serve as powerful, new biological marker of autism

In a novel imaging study of sleeping toddlers, scientists at the University of California, San Diego Autism Center of Excellence report that a diminished ability of a young brain's hemispheres to "sync" with one another could be a powerful, new biological marker of autism, one that might enable an autism diagnosis at a very young age.

23 Jun 2011

First audio data of naturally occurring spanking of children

In one recording, a mom spanks her 3-year-old 11 times for fighting with his sister. In another, a mom slaps her son for turning the page of a book while she reads to him. In still another, a mom spanks her 5-year-old when he refuses to clean up his room after repeated warnings to do so.

23 Jun 2011

Families with mental illness have less involvement in faith practices

Mental illness of a family member destroys the family's connection with the religious community, a new study by Baylor University psychologists has found, leading many affected families to leave the church and their faith behind.

23 Jun 2011