Psychology News and Research

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

SAMHSA highlights importance of promoting children's mental health from birth

To highlight the importance of promoting children's mental health from birth, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and more than 80 public and private collaborating organizations and federal programs and agencies - including new supporters, such as the Office of Head Start at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Legion Auxiliary - today joined in a nationwide celebration of National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day (May 6).

7 May 2010

Kent State University receives four-year, $2.7M grant to study cognitive status of heart failure patients

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $2.7-million grant to Kent State University for a collaborative research project with Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing, Summa Health System in Akron and University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland to study cognitive impairment in heart failure patients.

7 May 2010

Baby swimming helps develop balance and movement in infants, young children

Teaching babies to swim turns out to be more than just fun. Baby swimmers have better balance and are also better at grasping at things than non-swimmers. This difference persists even when children are five years old, when babies who have been taught to swim still outperform their peers, research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) shows.

7 May 2010

Whole grain products seen more positively than refined cereal products in terms of healthiness

Increasing the consumption of whole grain products and ensuring the successful introduction of functional cereal based foods requires an understanding of the views of consumers. The HEALTHGRAIN project of the European Union performed two consumer studies, each in four European countries, in order to study consumer expectations of healthy cereal foods, and assess the effect of claims and cues on consumer perception.

5 May 2010

Pay-for-performance may create unintended financial incentives for doctors to discriminate against obese patients

Pay-for-performance reimbursement models may create unintended financial incentives for doctors to discriminate against obese patients, measuring a patient's waist circumference may be more effective in predicting surgical outcomes than the more traditional body mass index measure, and childhood obesity doubles the risk of developing colon cancer, according to data being presented at Digestive Disease Week- 2010.

5 May 2010

Healthy & happy lifestyle – key to touching 100 years of life, says study

In a new study the secret for a longer life is uncovered. Not surprisingly it lies more in a healthy and happy lifestyle than in just genetics. Researchers say that being a Centenarian is increasingly more common these days.

4 May 2010

Immune system responds aggressively when looking at sick people

Just seeing someone who looks sick is enough to make your immune system work harder, according to a new study in which volunteers looked at pictures of sick people. This may help fight off pathogens, says Mark Schaller from the University of British Columbia who conducted the research. "It seems like it's probably good for the immune system to be responding especially aggressively at times when it looks like you are likely to be coming into contact with something that might make you sick."

4 May 2010

Prenatal tobacco smoke exposure can increase risk of developmental problems in African American children

Low levels of prenatal tobacco smoke exposure are associated with a higher risk of developmental problems for African American children than white children, according to new research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

4 May 2010

Rush Center for Urban Health Equity to focus on disparities in heart and lung disease

Rush University Medical Center has been awarded a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the Rush Center for Urban Health Equity. The aim of the Center is to find ways to promote changes to eliminate the disparities in heart and lung disease affecting inner city residents, in particular those who are low-income persons of color.

4 May 2010

Stealth interventions may help people eat better, exercise more: Study

How do you get college students to eat better? A new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that a "stealth" strategy of raising the students' awareness of environmental and social issues related to food can persuade them to eat more veggies and less ice cream.

3 May 2010

Psychotic symptoms in children

Children normally experience flights of fancy, including imaginary friends and conversations with stuffed animals, but some of them are also having hallucinations and delusions which might be the early signs of psychosis.

3 May 2010

New book focusing on childhood TBI published

Pediatric traumatic brain injury is a major public health concern and a new book focuses on evaluating what is currently known about childhood TBI and the challenges faced by researchers and clinicians in this arena. The book is entitled "Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: New Frontiers in Clinical and Translational Research," edited by Vicki Anderson and Keith Owen Yeates and published by Cambridge University Press.

30 Apr 2010

UGA, Emory researchers awarded $1.9M grant to study role of regular exercise in attenuating drug abuse

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia and Emory University will receive $1.9 million over the next five years from the National Institutes of Health to study the neurobiological mechanisms for how regular aerobic exercise may prevent drug abuse relapse.

30 Apr 2010

Accurate reporting of errors can reduce preventable hospital deaths: SIOP

People go to hospitals to be treated for an illness or for corrective surgery with the expectation they will return home in much better health than when they entered the medical facility.

30 Apr 2010

NWO awards 31 grants in Investment Subsidy NWO Medium programme

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded 31 grants in the Investment Subsidy NWO Medium programme for the acquisition of equipment, the setting up of data collections and the production of software and bibliographies. The total investment amounts to 10 million euro.

30 Apr 2010

A major research initiative to optimize quality of life for cancer survivors

At the age of 12, she was diagnosed with spinal cord cancer, with a nasty tumor sitting at the very base of her spinal cord and getting entangled with spinal nerves.

30 Apr 2010

The OCD Project challenges six severe OCD sufferers to face fears in a bold move to better their lives

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a disorder of the brain where people experience obsessive thoughts, images, ideas or impulses – and they can't get past them. The day-to-day existence for severe OCD sufferers is dire. Untreated, they lead lives of self-punishment, fear and isolation that can result in job loss, broken families, bankruptcy and in some cases death.

29 Apr 2010