The neuroscience of hypocrisy points to a communication breakdown in the brain
People who act dishonestly while condemning others show reduced activity in a brain area responsible for decision making. Researchers found that acting ethically requires the mind to actively sync up different types of information.
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Brain volume in bipolar disorder increases during depression and shrinks during remission
Bipolar disorder doesn't just affect mood—it actively reshapes the brain. A new two-year study found that a patient's gray matter volume fluctuates dramatically depending on whether they are experiencing a depressive episode or are in remission.
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People with the least political knowledge tend to be the most overconfident in their grasp of facts
People often misjudge their understanding of verifiable political facts. A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied provides evidence that individuals with the least actual knowledge tend to display the highest levels of overconfidence.
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Psychedelics may enhance emotional closeness and relationship satisfaction when used therapeutically
Psychedelic drugs may foster deeper relationships and social connection when administered by professionals, suggests a systematic review. The new paper highlights distinct benefits over recreational use.
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The link between our obsession with Facebook and our shrinking brain
Our obsession with social websites like Twitter and Facebook is the side-effect of an evolutionary process that caused our brains to shrink, according to Professor Bruce Hood. "As people settled down into fixed communities for the first time, with the...
Read moreDetailsUCLA first to map autism-risk genes by function
Pity the poor autism researcher. Recent studies have linked hundreds of gene mutations scattered throughout the brain to increased autism risk. Where do you start?
Read moreDetailsAre probiotics a promising treatment strategy for depression?
Probiotics are not new, but their status as a nutritional buzzword is. Most folks have now heard and seen the term countless times in commercials and advertisements, as yogurt, dietary supplement, natural food product, and even cosmetic companies promote their...
Read moreDetailsSlacktivism: ‘Liking’ on Facebook may mean less giving
Would-be donors skip giving when offered the chance to show public support for charities in social media, a new study from the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business finds.
Read moreDetailsEducational video games can boost motivation to learn
Math video games can enhance students' motivation to learn, but it may depend on how students play, researchers at New York University and the City University of New York have found in a study of middle-schoolers.
Read moreDetailsHow video gaming can be beneficial for the brain
Video gaming causes increases in the brain regions responsible for spatial orientation, memory formation and strategic planning as well as fine motor skills.
Read moreDetailsDialectical behavior therapy is a new method for overcoming post-traumatic stress disorder
Dialectical behavior therapy , a psychotherapeutic strategy that has been used in borderline personality disorder, may also be useful in the setting of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Read moreDetailsMice modeling schizophrenia show key brain network in overdrive
Working with mice genetically engineered to display symptoms of schizophrenia, neuroscientists at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT have uncovered a faulty brain mechanism that may underlie schizophrenia and...
Read moreDetailsIs a deranged hormone behind combat post-traumatic stress disorder?
A paper published in the current issue of psychotherapy and psychosomatics provides a new hypothesis concerned with the role of aldosterone in combat PTSD.
Read moreDetailsPsychotherapy may fix serotonin receptors better than antidepressant drugs
A paper published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics provides new findings on the role of psychotherapy in regulating serotonin receptors.
Read moreDetailsPoor social skills linked to disordered eating attitudes
Young women with critical, over-involved mothers likelier to have poor social skills and disordered eating attitudes.
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