Psychology News and Research

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

Psychology graduate students face gap in training opportunities

The New York Times reports on a lack of internships available to students graduating in clinical psychology.

9 Nov 2011

First Edition: November 8, 2011

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including stories on malpractice reforms and previews of voting in Ohio on two ballot questions affecting health care issues and a Mississippi abortion issue.

8 Nov 2011

Study looks at influence of father's depression on his children

There have been numerous studies that looked at the effect of mother's depression upon her children. But there have been no studies that explore the influence a father's depression on his children.

8 Nov 2011

Study examines how men's crime, tobacco and alcohol use change over time

After men become fathers for the first time, they show significant decreases in crime, tobacco and alcohol use, according to a new, 19-year study.

8 Nov 2011

Finger nails on chalkboard - why so disturbing

The frequency of the screechy, scratchy sound ranges between 2000 and 4000 Hz, a frequency most sensitive to the human ear. “Some frequencies are amplified due to the anatomy of the ear canal,” write musicologists Christoph Reuter, of the University of Vienna, and Michael Oehler, of the Macromedia University for Media and Communication in Cologne, Germany.

7 Nov 2011

Forbes Consulting announces availability of MindSight technology

Forbes Consulting Group today announced the availability of MindSight, an innovative research technology that identifies and explains the specific subconscious emotions motivating consumers and professionals to buy.

5 Nov 2011

Pioneering neuroscientist receives Rockefeller's Pearl Meister Greengard Prize

Brenda Milner, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of cognitive neuroscience whose discoveries revolutionized the understanding of memory, was awarded the 2011 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize from The Rockefeller University yesterday.

5 Nov 2011

Dampening of emotions linked to high blood pressure

Your ability to recognize emotional content in faces and texts is linked to your blood pressure, according to a Clemson University researcher.

4 Nov 2011

Amphetamine use in adolescence can affect brain chemistry and behaviour

Amphetamine use in adolescence can cause neurobiological imbalances and increase risk-taking behaviour, and these effects can persist into adulthood, even when subjects are drug free. These are the conclusions of a new study using animal models conducted by McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) researcher Dr. Gabriella Gobbi and her colleagues.

4 Nov 2011

Marital status, income level and age affect likelihood of depression in breast cancer survivors

This year, more than 230,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 40,000 women will not survive their battle with cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. New research from the University of Missouri shows that certain factors, including marital status, having children in the home, income level and age, affect the likelihood of depression in breast cancer survivors.

3 Nov 2011

Regular physical activity associated with lower risk of depression in old age

Regular physical activity is associated with a lower risk of suffering depression in old age. This is shown by one of the largest studies on elderly Europeans to have been carried out, by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, among others. Research also shows that self-determined motivation and perceived competence are important factors in persuading elderly people to exercise more.

3 Nov 2011

Birth control shot may impair a person's memory

The birth control shot Depo Provera offers a convenient alternative for women who don't want to remember to take a daily pill. Ironically, research from Arizona State University has shown the shot actually may impair a person's memory.

2 Nov 2011

Hippocampus supports both recollection and familiarity memories

Human memory has historically defied precise scientific description, its biological functions broadly but imperfectly defined in psychological terms. In a pair of papers published in the November 2 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at the University of California, San Diego report a new methodology that more deeply parses how and where certain types of memories are processed in the brain, and challenges earlier assumptions about the role of the hippocampus.

2 Nov 2011

Happiness good for health: Study

A new study suggests that happiness is good for health. Epidemiologists at University College, London, reported their results Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

1 Nov 2011

Study: People with schizophrenia have weakened sense of body ownership

A study using a procedure called the rubber hand illusion has found striking new evidence that people experiencing schizophrenia have a weakened sense of body ownership and has produced the first case of a spontaneous, out-of-body experience in the laboratory.

1 Nov 2011

Improving mother's sleep habits through early intervention could reduce risk of preterm births

Poor sleep quality in both early and late pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of delivering preterm.

1 Nov 2011

Loneliness breaks up a normal night's sleep

Loneliness is not only heartbreaking, it breaks up a normal night's sleep, a new study shows. Researchers say compromised sleep may be one pathway by which feelings of loneliness adversely affect our health.

1 Nov 2011

Seven billion humans and counting

According to the United Nations Population Fund, the seven-billionth child is most likely to be a boy born in India or China, this week. However the trend of fertility or growth of population in the longer term is in a different direction toward slower population growth, says Dudley Poston, a professor of sociology and demographics at Texas A&M University.

31 Oct 2011

Scientists pinpoint brain circuitry linked to decision-making

What drives addicts to repeatedly choose drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, overeating, gambling or kleptomania, despite the risks involved? Neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have pinpointed the exact locations in the brain where calculations are made that can result in addictive and compulsive behavior.

31 Oct 2011

Researchers identify FMRP protein as key player in RNA editing

The most common form of heritable cognitive impairment is Fragile X Syndrome, caused by mutation or malfunction of the FMR1 gene. Loss of FMR1 function is also the most common genetic cause of autism. Understanding how this gene works is vital to finding new treatments to help Fragile X patients and others.

31 Oct 2011