Psychology News
Four tips for keeping New Year’s resolutions, inspired by recent research on behavioral economics and health.
The first Monday after the holidays can be a depressing time for people coping with post-holiday letdown or depression triggered by short days called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This year, First Monday will be especially blue, due to the added stress of the brutal cold in many parts of the...
New social networking research investigates how individuals use Facebook to maintain their friendships.
Many people can recall reading at least one cherished story that they say changed their life. Now researchers have detected what may be biological traces related to this feeling: Actual changes in the brain that linger, at least for a few days, after reading a novel. Their findings, that reading a...
Research shows people are getting fatter around the world, and the problem is growing most rapidly in developing countries.
Expectant women with prenatally diagnosed fear of childbirth are at an increased risk of postpartum depression, according to a study of over 500,000 mothers in Finland. Women with a history of depression are at the highest risk of postpartum depression. The fact that fear of childbirth puts women...
It is widely believed that people are bad at naming odors. This has led researchers to suggest smell representations are simply not accessible to the language centers of the brain. But is this really so? New evidence for smell language has been found in the Malay Peninsula.
A writer focused on sustainable eating gives a mostly clean bill of health to GMO’s. So what?
Having shingles may increase the risk of having a stroke years later, according to research.
A novel technique has enabled a patient with "word blindness" to read again. Word blindness is a rare neurological condition. (The medical term is "alexia without agraphia.") Although a patient can write and understand the spoken word, the patient is unable to read.
Stretches of DNA called retrotransposons, often dubbed “junk DNA”, might play an important role in schizophrenia. In a study published, a Japanese team revealed that LINE-1 retrotransposons are abnormally abundant in the schizophrenia brain, modify the expression of genes related to schizophrenia...
Study shows an inexperienced driver who reaches for a cellphone increases the risk for a crash by more than 700 percent.
Researchers discovered that a steroid produced in the brain could point the way toward addiction therapies.
Weekends spent drinking and partying may seem like harmless fun, but new research shows that this level of alcohol consumption may damage DNA.
Online viewing and listening are now staples of those who live the digital life. But online tasting? This may be happening sooner than one expects, with a new taste simulator.
Health organizations around the world recommend a form of psychotherapy, known as cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT, for patients with schizophrenia. Now, however, the most extensive study ever undertaken into its effect on the symptoms of the disorder finds little impact, according to a team of...
New research has found that consumers may be just as willing to buy healthy food if they feel they’re still getting a "supersize" deal.
Parents and other adults heap the highest praise on children who are most likely to be hurt by the compliments, a new study finds.
Drivers eat, reach for the phone, text, or otherwise take their eyes off the road about 10 percent of the time they are behind the wheel, according to a study using video technology and in-vehicle sensors.
Researchers have found that rates of smoking, drinking and drug use are significantly higher among those who have psychotic disorders than among those in the general population. The finding is of particular concern because individuals with severe mental illness are more likely to die younger than...
New research suggests that alpha tocepherol, fat-soluble Vitamin E and antioxidant, may slow functional decline (problems with daily activities such as shopping, preparing meals, planning, and traveling) in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease and decrease caregiver burden. There was...
Research shows our emotions are directly linked to sensations in our bodies.
For people at high risk of depression because of a family history, spirituality may offer some protection for the brain, a new study hints.
To reach goals, be more logical and take a scientific view of your emotions.
Growing evidence indicates that helmets do not prevent traumatic brain injuries or even death.
A new study shows that one night of sleep deprivation increases morning blood concentrations of NSE and S-100B in healthy young men. These molecules are typically found in the brain. Thus, their rise in blood after sleep loss may indicate that a lack of snoozing might be conducive to a loss of...
Researchers found that the most common emotions trigger strong bodily sensations, and the bodily maps of these sensations were topographically different for different emotions. The sensation patterns were, however, consistent across different West European and East Asian cultures, highlighting that...
High levels of "good" cholesterol and low levels of "bad" cholesterol are correlated with lower levels of the amyloid plaque deposition in the brain that is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, in a pattern that mirrors the relationship between good and bad cholesterol in cardiovascular disease,...
Research shows that timing is important in determining whether or not we succeed.
Almost half of high-schoolers have had sexual intercourse, but teens almost never ask their doctors about sexual health.
Schizophrenia was only recognized as a medical condition in the past few decades, and its exact causes remain unclear. Now a researcher has discovered that an important cell-maintenance process called autophagy is reduced in the brains of schizophrenic patients. The findings advance the...
Study helps explain how nicotine exploits the body’s cellular machinery to promote addiction. The findings could lead to new therapies to help people quit smoking.
Even professional orchestra musicians suffer from particular stress on the day of the concert and release more cortisol. For the first time, it has now been possible to demonstrate that, amongst others, the enzyme myeloperoxidase, which is regarded as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, plays...
The life coach Martha Beck has made a lot of money from a simple theme: If it feels right, go for it. She wants both women and men to conquer the “soul-sucking” forces around them.
Stroke rehabilitation researchers report improvement in spatial neglect with prism adaptation therapy. This new study supports behavioral classification of patients with spatial neglect as a valuable tool for assigning targeted, effective early rehabilitation with prism adaptation.
Instead of encouraging smokers to plan one quit attempt around New Year’s, which comes only once a year, experts believe a better strategy would be to follow a New Year’s quit with a weekly recommitment to quit that takes advantage of natural weekly cycles. In a 2013 study, researchers found that...
A psychotherapist warns of the developmental costs to small children who use electronics.
A psychologist discusses the plight of gifted poor children in weak public schools.
Researchers have discovered that an antioxidant designed more than a dozen years ago to fight damage within human cells significantly helps symptoms in mice that have a multiple sclerosis-like disease.
A new study suggests that a history of concussion involving at least a momentary loss of consciousness may be related to the buildup of Alzheimer’s-associated plaques in the brain.
Human beings are highly efficient at recognizing familiar faces, even from very poor quality images.
Lack of sunlight isn't the only reason that people feel down during the winter months.
An experiment in Raleigh is helping mentally ill patients without admitting them to emergency rooms.
"Good to see you. I'm sorry. It sounds like you've had a tough, tough, week." Spoken by a doctor to a cancer patient, that statement is an example of compassionate behavior observed by a research team in a new study published.
Study shows “exposure” therapy that helps combat veterans also works for traumatized sexually abused teens with similar symptoms.
Among patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy, a lethal, genetic neurodegenerative disease, use of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent diflunisal compared with placebo for two years reduced the rate of progression in neurological impairment and preserved quality of life, according to a...
Among patients with idiopathic (of unknown cause) gastroparesis, use of the antidepressant nortriptyline compared with placebo for 15 weeks did not result in improvement in overall symptoms, according to a study.
Adolescents girls with sexual abuse-related post-traumatic stress disorder experienced greater benefit from prolonged exposure therapy (a type of therapy that has been shown effectiveness for adults) than from supportive counseling, according to a study.