Archive for the 'Psychology news' Category

Traumatic experiences may make you tough

Posted on December 16 2011 by NewsBot

Your parents were right: Hard experiences may indeed make you tough. Psychological scientists have found that, while going through many experiences like assault, hurricanes, and bereavement can be psychologically damaging, small amounts of trauma may help people develop resilience.

Chimpanzees in research: Statement on Institute of Medicine report by NIH Director Francis Collins

Posted on December 15 2011 by NewsBot

The following is a statement by NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins on the Institute of Medicine report addressing the scientific need for the use of chimpanzees in research.

Less knowledge, more power: Uninformed can be vital to democracy, study finds

Posted on December 15 2011 by NewsBot

Uninformed individuals — as in those with no prior knowledge or strong feelings on a situation’s outcome — can actually be vital to achieving a democratic consensus, according to new research. These individuals tend to side with and embolden the numerical majority and dilute the influence of powerful minority factions who would otherwise dominate everyone else.

Blood test might predict how well a depressed patient responds to antidepressants

Posted on December 15 2011 by NewsBot

Researchers are reporting what could become the first reliable method to predict whether an antidepressant will work on a depressed patient.

Second-guessing one’s decisions leads to unhappiness, psychology researcher finds

Posted on December 15 2011 by NewsBot

You’re in search of a new coffee maker, and the simple quest becomes, well, an ordeal. After doing copious amounts of research and reading dozens of consumer reviews, you finally make a purchase, only to wonder: “Was this the right choice? Could I do better? What is the return policy?”

Report recommends stringent limits on use of chimpanzees in biomedical and behavioral research

Posted on December 15 2011 by NewsBot

Given that chimpanzees are so closely related to humans and share similar behavioral traits, the U.S. National Institutes of Health should allow their use as subjects in biomedical research only under stringent conditions, including the absence of any other suitable model and inability to ethically perform the research on people, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

Unwanted online sexual exposures decline for youth, new research finds

Posted on December 15 2011 by NewsBot

A new study finds declines in two kinds of youth Internet sexual encounters of great concern to parents: Unwanted sexual solicitations and unwanted exposure to pornography. The researchers suspect that greater public awareness may have been, in part, what has helped.

Fungus-induced neurological disease: An underestimated risk for animals and humans?

Posted on December 15 2011 by NewsBot

The mold fungus Penicillium crustosum occurs relatively frequently in food and animal fodder stored in temperate conditions. This mold produces powerful neurotoxins, for example penitrem A, which causes symptoms that are difficult to distinguish from those of other neurological diseases. Penitrem A is capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier and new research has unveiled the mechanisms behind the neurological effects of the toxin.

What determines the capacity of short-term memory?

Posted on December 15 2011 by NewsBot

Short-term memory plays a crucial role in how our consciousness operates. Several years ago a hypothesis has been formulated, according to which capacity of short-term memory depends in a special way on two cycles of brain electric activity. Scientists have now demonstrated this experimentally for the first time.

Alzheimer’s drug candidate may be first to prevent disease progression, mouse study suggests

Posted on December 15 2011 by NewsBot

A new drug candidate may be the first capable of halting the devastating mental decline of Alzheimer’s disease, based on the findings of a new study.