Automated ‘Coach’ Could Help with Social Interactions
CAMBRIDGE, MA; June 14, 2013—Social phobias affect about 15 million adults in the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, and surveys show that public speaking is high on the list of such phobias. For some people, these fears of social situations can be especially acute: For example, individuals with Asperger’s syndrome often have difficulty making eye contact and reacting appropriately to social cues. But with appropriate training, such difficulties can often be overcome.
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First Major Study of Suicide Motivations to Advance Prevention
June 13, 2013—A University of British Columbia study sheds important new light on why people attempt suicide and provides the first scientifically tested measure for evaluating the motivations for suicide.
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TLC for Education: Tribal Learning in the Classroom
June 12, 2013—In a recent interview with psychologist and neuropsychotherapist Louis Cozolino, Gina Stepp explores the concepts behind his 2013 book, The Social Neuroscience of Education. The human brain is a social organ, Cozolino points out. Its natural habitat for growing is in the context of secure attachment bonds and nurturing relationships.
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Dad's Life Stress Exposure Can Affect Offspring Brain Development
PHILADELPHIA, PA; June 12, 2013—Sperm doesn't appear to forget anything. Stress felt by dad—whether as a preadolescent or adult—leaves a lasting impression on his sperm that gives sons and daughters a blunted reaction to stress, a response linked to several mental disorders. The findings, published in a new preclinical study in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, point to a never-before-seen epigenetic link to stress-related diseases such as anxiety and depression passed from father to child.
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Resilience in Trying Times: A Result of Positive Actions
New York / Heidelberg; June 12, 2013—Communities that stick together and do good for others cope better with crises and are happier for it, according to a new study by University of British Columbia researcher John Helliwell and colleagues. Their work suggests that part of the reason for this greater resilience is the fact that humans are more than simply social beings, they are so-called 'pro-social' beings. In other words, they get happiness not just from doing things with others, but from doing things both with and for others.
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Suicide Risk Factors Mapped
June 10, 2013—A landmark study of the Swedish population has given a clearer picture of important risk factors for suicide. The study, a collaboration between Lund University in Sweden and Stanford University, showed that the rate of suicide among men is almost three times that of women. Being young, single and having a low level of education were stronger risk factors for suicide among men, while mental illness was a stronger risk factor among women. Unemployment was the strongest social risk factor among women, whereas being single was the strongest among men.
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People Are Overly Confident in Their Own Knowledge, Despite Errors
APS; June 10, 2013—Overprecision—excessive confidence in the accuracy of our beliefs—can have profound consequences, inflating investors’ valuation of their investments, leading physicians to gravitate too quickly to a diagnosis, even making people intolerant of dissenting views. Now, new research confirms that overprecision is a common and robust form of overconfidence driven, at least in part, by excessive certainty in the accuracy of our judgments.
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Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence Not Getting Adequate Mental Health Services
COLUMBIA, MO; June 10, 2013—Although many abused women suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and/or depression, they are not receiving needed mental health services, a University of Missouri researcher found.
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Do Antidepressants Impair the Ability to Extinguish Fear?
June 10, 2013—An interesting new report of animal research published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that common antidepressant medications may impair a form of learning that is important clinically.
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Teacher Collaboration, Professional Communities Improve Student Math Scores
CHARLOTTE; June 7, 2013—Many elementary students' math performance improves when their teachers collaborate, work in professional learning communities or do both, yet most students don't spend all of their elementary school years in these settings, a new study by UNC Charlotte researchers shows. The U.S. Department of Education funded the study, which the journal Sociology of Education recently published.
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More Fresh Air in Classrooms Means Fewer Absences
June 5, 2013—If you suspect that opening windows to let in fresh air might be good for you, a new study by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has confirmed your hunch. Analyzing extensive data on ventilation rates collected from more than 150 classrooms in California over two years, the researchers found that bringing classroom ventilation rates up to the state-mandated standard may reduce student absences due to illness by approximately 3.4 percent.
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Anxious? Activate Your Anterior Cingulate Cortex with a Little Meditation
WINSTON-SALEM, NC; June 3, 2013—Scientists, like Buddhist monks and Zen masters, have known for years that meditation can reduce anxiety, but not how. Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, however, have succeeded in identifying the brain functions involved.
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Evidence Supports 4 Lifestyle Changes to Protect Heart, Reduce Risk of Death
Baltimore, MD; June 3, 2013—A large, multi-center study led by Johns Hopkins researchers has found a significant link between lifestyle factors and heart health, adding even more evidence in support of regular exercise, eating a Mediterranean-style diet, keeping a normal weight and, most importantly, not smoking.
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Study Links Workplace Daylight Exposure to Sleep, Activity and Quality of Life
DARIEN, IL; June 2, 2013—A new study demonstrates a strong relationship between workplace daylight exposure and office workers' sleep, activity and quality of life.
Compared to workers in offices without windows, those with windows in the workplace received 173 percent more white light exposure during work hours and slept an average of 46 minutes more per night. There also was a trend for workers in offices with windows to have more physical activity than those without windows. Workers without windows reported poorer scores than their counterparts on quality of life measures related to physical problems and vitality, as well as poorer outcomes on measures of overall sleep quality, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction.
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Study Says Ask for a Precise Number During Negotiations
NEW YORK; May 31, 2013—With so much on the line for job seekers in this difficult economic climate, a lot of new hires might be wondering how—or whether at all—to negotiate salary when offered a new position. A recently published study on the art of negotiation by two professors at Columbia Business School could help these new hires, and all negotiators, seal a stronger deal than before.
"What we discovered is there is a big difference in what most people think is a good strategy when negotiating and what research shows is a good strategy," said Professor Mason.
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Lead Acts to Trigger Schizophrenia
NEW YORK; May 31, 2013—Mice engineered with a human gene for schizophrenia and exposed to lead during early life exhibited behaviors and structural changes in their brains consistent with schizophrenia. Scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine say their findings suggest a synergistic effect between lead exposure and a genetic risk factor, and open an avenue to better understanding the complex gene-environment interactions that put people at risk for schizophrenia and other mental disorders.
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When Friends Create Enemies: Potential Risks in Facebook's "Mutual Friends" Feature
PITTSBURGH; May 30, 2013 —The mutual-friends feature on social networks such as Facebook, which displays users’ shared friendships, might not be so “friendly.”
Often revered for bringing people together, the mutual-friends feature on Facebook actually creates myriad security risks and privacy concerns according to a University of Pittsburgh study published in Computers & Security. The study demonstrates that even though users can tailor their privacy settings, hackers can still find private information through mutual-friends features.
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Childhood Bullying Increases the Risk
of Self-Harm During Adolescence
WARWICK, U.K; May 28, 2013—A new study has proven that being bullied during childhood directly increases the likelihood of self- harm in late adolescence.
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Healthy Habits Die Hard
May 27, 2013—Stress and exhaustion may turn us into zombies, but a novel study shows that mindless behavior doesn't just lead to overeating and shopping sprees—it can also cause us to stick with behaviors that are good for us.
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Psychotherapy Produces Biological Changes in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
May 25, 2013—A new study published in the Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics examines whether treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) produce measureable biological changes.
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Cinnamon Compound Could Potentially Prevent Alzheimer's
Santa Barbara; May 23, 2013––Cinnamon: Can the red-brown spice with the unmistakable fragrance and variety of uses offer an important benefit? The common baking spice might hold the key to delaying the onset of––or warding off––the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
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Boys Will Be Boys—In the U.S. but Not in Asia
CORVALLIS, OR; May 22, 2013—A new study shows there is a gender gap when it comes to behavior and self-control in American young children—one that does not appear to exist in children in Asia.
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Empathy Plays a Role in Resolving Classic Ethical Dilemmas
CHESTNUT HILL, MA; May 22, 2013—Is it permissible to harm one to save many? Those who tend to say "yes" when faced with this classic dilemma are likely to be deficient in a specific kind of empathy, according to a report published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.
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Parent and Teacher Support Protects Teens from Sleep Problems and Depression
DARIEN, IL; May 22, 2013—A new study suggests that disturbed sleep in adolescents is associated with more symptoms of depression and greater uncertainly about future success. However, perceived support and acceptance from parents and teachers appears to have a protective effect.
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Drugs Found to Both Prevent and Treat Alzheimer's Disease in Mice
May 21, 2013—Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have found that a class of pharmaceuticals can both prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease in mice. The drugs, known as “TSPO ligands,” are currently used for certain types of neuroimaging.
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Study Finds Genetic Prediction of Postpartum Depression
Baltimore, MD; May 21, 2013—The epigenetic modifications, which alter the way genes function without changing the underlying DNA sequence, can apparently be detected in the blood of pregnant women during any trimester, potentially providing a simple way to foretell depression in the weeks after giving birth, and an opportunity to intervene before symptoms become debilitating.
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Compound in Mediterranean Diet Makes Cancer Cells "Mortal"
COLUMBUS, OH; May 20, 2013 —New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells' "superpower" to escape death.
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For Combat Veterans with PTSD,
Fear Circuitry in the Brain Never Rests
NEW YORK; May 18, 2013—Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or under-react in response to stressful tasks, such as recalling a traumatic event or reacting to a photo of a threatening face. Now, researchers at NYU School of Medicine have explored for the first time what happens in the brains of combat veterans with PTSD in the absence of external triggers.
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New Research Suggests Possible Direction for Treatment of Autism
WASHINGTON; May 17, 2013 — In the first successful experiment with humans using a treatment known as sensory-motor or environmental enrichment, researchers documented marked improvement in young autistic boys when compared to boys treated with traditional behavioral therapies, according to research published by APA.
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Bach to the Blues: Our Emotions Match Music to Colors
Berkeley, CA; May 16, 2013—Whether we’re listening to Bach or the blues, our brains are wired to make music-color connections depending on how the melodies make us feel, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley. For instance, Mozart’s jaunty Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major is most often associated with bright yellow and orange, whereas his dour Requiem in D minor is more likely to be linked to dark, bluish gray.
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Repeat Brain Injury Raises Soldiers' Suicide Risk
Salt Lake City; May 15, 2013—People in the military who suffer more than one mild traumatic brain injury face a significantly higher risk of suicide, according to research by the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah.
A survey of 161 military personnel who were stationed in Iraq and evaluated for a possible traumatic brain injury—also known as TBI—showed that the risk for suicidal thoughts or behaviors increased not only in the short term, as measured during the past 12 months, but during the individual's lifetime.
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Brain Imaging Study Links Cannabinoid Receptors to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
NEW YORK, May 14, 2013—In a first-of-its-kind effort to illuminate the biochemical impact of trauma, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered a connection between the quantity of cannabinoid receptors in the human brain, known as CB1 receptors, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the chronic, disabling condition that can plague trauma victims with flashbacks, nightmares and emotional instability. Their findings, which appear online today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, will also be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry in San Francisco.
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MU Expert Discusses Workplace Mindfulness Practices
COLUMBIA, MO; May 13, 2013—In this interview, University of Missouri health psychologist Lynn Rossy discusses challenges to introducing mindfulness in the workplace and suggests steps to help employees become more self-aware and understanding of others, improve their self-esteem and enthusiasm, and decrease symptoms related to depression, anxiety, chronic pain and immune system dysfunction.
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To Suppress or To Explore? Emotional Strategy May Influence Anxiety
Urbana-Champaign; May 13, 2013—When trouble approaches, what do you do? Run for the hills? Hide? Pretend it isn't there? Or do you focus on the promise of rain in those looming dark clouds?
New research suggests that the way you regulate your emotions, in bad times and in good, can influence whether—or how much—you suffer from anxiety.
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Nobody Likes a 'Fat-Talker,' Notre Dame Study Shows
Notre Dame, IN; May 9, 2013—Women who engage in "fat talk"—the self-disparaging remarks girls and women make in relation to eating, exercise or their bodies—are less liked by their peers, a new study from the University of Notre Dame finds.
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Look! Something Shiny!
How Some Textbook Visuals can Hurt Learning
COLUMBUS, Ohio; May 8, 2013—Adding captivating visuals to a textbook lesson to attract children’s interest may sometimes make it harder for them to learn, a new study suggests.
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Early Math and Reading Ability Linked to Job and Income in Adulthood
APS; May 8, 2013—Math and reading ability at age 7 may be linked with socioeconomic status several decades later, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The childhood abilities predict socioeconomic status in adulthood over and above associations with intelligence, education, and socioeconomic status in childhood.
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Teen Girls Who Exercise Are Less Likely to Be Violent
WASHINGTON, DC; May 6, 2013—Regular exercise is touted as an antidote for many ills, including stress, depression and obesity. Physical activity also may help decrease violent behavior among adolescent girls, according to new research to be presented Monday, May 6, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.
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Nearly 20 Percent of Suicidal Youths Have Guns in Their Home
WASHINGTON, DC; May 6, 2013—Nearly one in five children and teens found to be at risk for suicide report that there are guns in their homes, and 15 percent of those at risk for suicide with guns in the home know how to access both the guns and the bullets, according to a study to be presented Monday, May 6, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.
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Don't Txt n Drive: Teens Not Getting Msg
WASHINGTON, DC; May 4, 2013—Teens can get hundreds of text messages a day, but one message they aren't getting is that they shouldn't text and drive. Nearly 43 percent of high school students of driving age who were surveyed in 2011 reported texting while driving at least once in the past 30 days, according to a study to be presented Saturday, May 4, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.
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90 Percent of Pediatric Specialists
Not Following Clinical Guidelines
When
Treating Preschoolers with ADHD
New Hyde Park, NY; May 4 , 2013—A recent study by pediatricians from the Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York examined to what extent pediatric physicians adhere to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical guidelines regarding pharmacotherapy in treating young patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The results showed that more than 90 percent of medical specialists who diagnose and manage ADHD in preschoolers do not follow treatment guidelines recently published by the AAP.
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Preordering Lunch Increases Healthy Entree Selection in Elementary Schools
New York; May 3, 2013—We all know that buying food when we are hungry is a recipe for disaster. When we are hungry, we can be especially sensitive to sights and smells of foods that will satiate, but may lack in nutrient content. What if we could make our meal choices when we are full, and not anticipating the feeling of satiation we all enjoy? Would we make healthier choices?
Researchers at the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (B.E.N. Center) set out to test whether or not preordering lunch would nudge students make healthier entrée choices.
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Humor Styles and Bullying in School: No Laughing Matter
Staffordshire, UK; May 1, 2013—There is a clear link between children’s use of humor and their susceptibility to being bullied by their peers, according to a major new study released today by Keele University.
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Outdoor Recess Time Can Reduce the Risk of Nearsightedness in Children
SAN FRANCISCO; May 1, 2013—Two new studies add to the growing evidence that spending time outdoors may help prevent or minimize nearsightedness in children. A study conducted in Taiwan, which is the first to use an educational policy as a public vision health intervention, finds that when children are required to spend recess time outdoors, their risk of nearsightedness is reduced. A separate study in Danish children is the first to show a direct correlation between seasonal fluctuations in daylight, eye growth and the rate of nearsightedness progression. The research was published in the May issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
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