Psychology News and Research

RSS

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

Too much coffee can lead to hallucinations

According to a study by researchers at Durham University people with a higher caffeine intake, from coffee, tea and caffeinated energy drinks, are more likely to experience hallucinatory experiences such as hearing voices and seeing things that are not there.

18 Jan 2009

Drinking in a group reduces risks

New research has revealed that people who drink alcohol in a group assess risk better and are less likely to make mistakes than those who drink alone.

15 Jan 2009

Genetic variation cues social anxiety in monkeys and humans

A genetic variation involving the brain chemical serotonin has been found to shape the social behavior of rhesus macaque monkeys, which could provide researchers with a new model for studying autism, social anxiety and schizophrenia.

15 Jan 2009

High caffeine consumption linked to hallucinations

High caffeine consumption could be linked to a greater tendency to hallucinate, a new research study suggests.

13 Jan 2009

Understanding human smell at the neural level

A new Rice University study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that socioemotional meanings, including sexual ones, are conveyed in human sweat.

9 Jan 2009

Recognizing children's successes in all areas may prevent teenage depression

Students' successes in the first grade can affect more than their future report cards.

9 Jan 2009

Online racial discrimination linked to depression, anxiety in teens

In the early days of the Internet, some scholars once predicted a lessening of racism and race-based discrimination in online interactions thanks to the anonymity and race-neutral nature of the medium.

9 Jan 2009

Mortality rates higher for heart disease patients in neighbourhoods with poor socioeconomics status

Heart disease patients living in poorer areas of B.C. are up to twice as likely to die from chronic diseases than patients living in better-off areas, a University of British Columbia study has found.

8 Jan 2009

Restoring trust harder when it is broken early in relationship

In relationships built on trust, a bad first impression can be harder to overcome than a betrayal that occurs after ties are established, a new study suggests.

7 Jan 2009

Drive toward containing health care costs could have consequences for health care delivery

The drive toward containing health care costs could have the unintended consequence of reducing physician productivity, impairing quality and perhaps even increasing costs, two Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center physicians suggest in a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspective."

7 Jan 2009

New drug being tested for Fragile X syndrome

A pilot trial of an oral drug therapy called fenobam has shown promising initial results and could be a potential new treatment option for adult patients with Fragile X syndrome (FXS).

6 Jan 2009

Children's teasing is an 'essential' part of growing up, expert says

According to an American psychologist children's teasing is an 'essential' part of growing up and should not be seen as a form of bullying.

6 Jan 2009

Expectant brains help predict anxiety treatment success

A network of emotion-regulating brain regions implicated in the pathological worry that can grip patients with anxiety disorders may also be useful for predicting the benefits of treatment.

5 Jan 2009

New blood fights cancer

"New blood" can revitalize a company or a sports team. Recent research by Tel Aviv University finds that young blood does a body good as well, especially when it comes to fighting cancer.

1 Jan 2009

Social and economic burden of insomnia is high

A study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep indicates that the indirect costs of untreated insomnia are significantly greater than the direct costs associated with its treatment.

1 Jan 2009

Risk takers do so because their brains are less able to process dopamine

According to scientists risk takers and drug abusers behave the way they do because their brains are less able to process dopamine.

30 Dec 2008

Spontaneous facial expressions of emotion of congenitally and noncongenitally blind individuals

Joyful or sad smiles expressed after a competition are the same for blind and sighted athletes, says a new study, showing that certain facial expressions are innate and managed differently depending on the social situation.

30 Dec 2008

Study looks at brain and movement planning

When you first notice a door handle, your brain has already been hard at work. Your visual system first sees the handle, then it sends information to various parts of the brain, which go on to decipher out the details, such as color and the direction the handle is pointing. As the information about an object is sent further along the various brain pathways, more and more details are noticed-in that way, a simple door handle turns into a silver-plated-antique-style-door-handle-facing-right.

18 Dec 2008

Women mostly satisfied with egg donation; some claim problems

Two-thirds of women who donated eggs to fertility clinics reported satisfaction with the process, but 16 percent complained of subsequent physical symptoms and 20 percent reported lasting psychological effects, according to the first study to examine the long-term effects of donation.

17 Dec 2008

Promiscuity fears pose barrier to cervical cancer vaccinations

The public's concerns about costs and increased promiscuity among teenagers appear to be hindering use of a vaccine against the human papilloma virus (HPV) to prevent life-threatening diseases, according to a study by researchers at Yale School of Public Health.

17 Dec 2008