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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PTSD Research: Distinct Gene Activity Patterns from Childhood Abuse
May 1, 2013—Abuse during childhood is different. A study of adult civilians with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) has shown that individuals with a history of childhood abuse have distinct, profound changes in gene activity patterns, compared to adults with PTSD but without a history of child abuse.
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Risk of Depression Influenced by Quality of Relationships, Study Finds
U-M, April 30, 2013—The mantra that quality is more important than quantity is true when considering how social relationships influence depression, say University of Michigan researchers in a new study.
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Poor Parenting—Including Overprotection—Increases Bullying Risk
University of Warwick; April 25, 2013—Children who are exposed to negative parenting—including abuse, neglect but also overprotection—are more likely to experience childhood bullying by their peers, according to a meta-analysis of 70 studies of more than 200,000 children.
The research, led by the University of Warwick and published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect, found the effects of poor parenting were stronger for children who are both a victim and perpetrator of bulling (bully-victims) than children who were solely victims.
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Psychopaths Are Not Neurally Equipped to Have Concern for Others
Chicago, April 24, 2013—Prisoners who are psychopaths lack the basic neurophysiological “hardwiring” that enables them to care for others, according to a new study by neuroscientists at the University of Chicago and the University of New Mexico.
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Epigenetic Changes Shed Light
on Biological Mechanism of Autism
April 23-2013—Scientists from King's College London have identified patterns of epigenetic changes involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by studying genetically identical twins who differ in autism traits. The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, is the largest of its kind and may shed light on the biological mechanism by which environmental influences regulate the activity of certain genes and in turn contribute to the development of ASD and related behaviour traits.
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Forty Percent of Parents Give Young Children
Medicines that They Shouldn't
ANN ARBOR, MI; April 22, 2013—Children can get five to 10 colds each year, so it's not surprising that adults often turn to over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to relieve their little ones' symptoms. But a new University of Michigan poll shows that many are giving young kids medicines that they should not use.
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Teen Moms at Greater Risk for Later Obesity
ANN ARBOR, MI; April 19, 2013—A new study debunks the myth that younger moms are more likely to “bounce back” after having a baby—teenage pregnancy actually makes women more likely to become obese.
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From Mice to Humans, Comfort is Being Carried by Mom
CELL PRESS, April 18, 2013—There is a very good reason mothers often carry their crying babies, pacing the floor, to help them calm down. New research published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on April 18 shows that infants experience an automatic calming reaction upon being carried, whether they are mouse or human babies.
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Social Media Can Support Senior Health
April 16, 2013—The use of social media by older people can offer valuable additional support in cases of sickness and diseases, new research from the University of Luxembourg has shown.
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Our Future Looks Bright Because We Reject the Possibility of Negative Events
APS, April 15, 2013—People believe they’ll be happy in the future, even when they imagine the many bad things that could happen, because they discount the possibility that those bad things will actually occur, according to a new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
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First Objective Measure of Pain Discovered in Brain Scan Patterns
CU, Boulder; April 10, 2013—For the first time, scientists have been able to predict how much pain people are feeling by looking at images of their brains, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.
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Low on Self-Control? Surrounding Yourself With Strong-Willed Friends May Help
APS, April 9, 2013—We all desire self-control—the resolve to skip happy hour and go to the gym instead, to finish a report before checking Facebook, to say no to the last piece of chocolate cake. Though many struggle to resist those temptations, new research suggests that people with low self-control prefer and depend on people with high self-control, possibly as a way to make up for the skills they themselves lack.
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Google Searches about Mental Illness Follow Seasonal Patterns
San Diego, CA, April 9, 2013—A new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that Google searches for information across all major mental illnesses and problems followed seasonal patterns, suggesting mental illness may be more strongly linked with seasonal patterns than previously thought.
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Mothers with Postpartum Depression
Would Welcome Online Professional Treatment
CWRU, April 4, 2013—Mothers suffering from postpartum depression after a high-risk pregnancy would turn to online interventions if available anonymously and from professional healthcare providers, according to researchers from Case Western Reserve University’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences.
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Negative Emotions in Response to Daily Stress Take a Toll on Long-Term Mental Health
APS, April 2, 2013—Our emotional responses to the stresses of daily life may predict our long-term mental health, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
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Teachers' Gestures Boost Math Learning
MSU, March 29, 2013—Students perform better when their instructors use hand gestures—a simple teaching tool that could yield benefits in higher-level math such as algebra. This is "some of the strongest evidence yet that gesturing may have a unique effect on learning" say the researchers who performed this classroom comparison study.
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Multiple Moves Found Harmful to Young Children
in Low-Income Families
March 28, 2013—Poor children who move three or more times before they turn 5 have more behavior problems than their peers, according to a new study by researchers at Cornell University and the National Employment Law Project. The study is published in the journal Child Development.
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Could Brain Scans Predict Future Criminal Behavior?
ALBUQUERQUE, NM and DURHAM, NC; March 28, 2013—A new study conducted by The Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, N.M., shows that neuroimaging data can predict the likelihood of whether a criminal will reoffend following release from prison.
The paper, which is to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, studied impulsive and antisocial behavior and centered on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a portion of the brain that deals with regulating behavior and impulsivity
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People with Depression May Not Reap Full Benefits
of Healthy Behaviors
DURHAM, NC; March 26, 2013—Depression may inhibit the anti-inflammatory effects typically associated with physical activity and light-to-moderate alcohol consumption, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.
The finding—based on measurements of the cardio-metabolic risk marker C-reactive protein (CRP)—points to another potential danger of depression, which afflicts an estimated one in 10 adults in the United States. Study results were published online March 26, 2013, in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
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Arguments in the Home Linked With
Babies’ Brain Functioning
APS; March 25, 2013—Being exposed to arguments between parents is associated with the way babies’ brains process emotional tone of voice, according to a new study to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The study, conducted by graduate student Alice Graham with her advisors Phil Fisher and Jennifer Pfeifer of the University of Oregon, found that infants respond to angry tone of voice, even when they’re asleep.
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Iowa State Researchers Find Parent-Child Violence
Leads to Teen Dating Violence
AMES, Iowa; March 25, 2013—Teens today are involved in intimate relationships at a much younger age and often have different definitions of what is acceptable behavior in a relationship. Violence is something that is all too common and according to researchers at Iowa State it is a reflection of the relationships teens have with their parents or their parent’s partner.
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Differences in Brain Activity in Children at Risk of Schizophrenia Predate Onset of Symptoms
CHAPEL HILL, NC; March 22, 2013—Research from the University of North Carolina has shown that children at risk of developing schizophrenia have brains that function differently than those not at risk.
Because these differences in brain functioning appear before neuropsychiatric symptoms such as trouble focusing, paranoid beliefs, or hallucinations, the scientists believe that the finding could point to early warning signs or “vulnerability markers” for schizophrenia.
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Outdoor Education Helps Minority Students Close Gap in Environmental Literacy
March 22, 2013—Environmental education programs that took middle school students outdoors to learn helped minority students close a gap in environmental literacy (EL), according to research from North Carolina State University.
The study, published March 22 in PLOS ONE, showed that time outdoors seemed to impact African-American and Hispanic students more than Caucasian students, improving minority students' ecological knowledge and cognitive skills, two measures of environmental literacy. The statewide study also measured environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior such as recycling and conserving water.
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UNC Study Shows How Two Brain Areas Interact in Anxiety and Reward Behaviors
CHAPEL HILL, NC; March 20, 2013—New research from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine for the first time explains exactly how two brain regions interact to promote emotionally motivated behaviors associated with anxiety and reward.
The findings could lead to new mental health therapies for disorders such as addiction, anxiety, and depression. A report of the research was published online by the journal, Nature, on March 20, 2013.
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Women Abused as Children More Likely to Have Children with Autism
Boston, MA; March 20, 2013—Women who experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse as children are more likely to have a child with autism than women who were not abused, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Those who experienced the most serious abuse had the highest likelihood of having a child with autism — three-and-a-half times more than women who were not abused.
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Family Dinners Nourish Good Mental Health in Adolescents
McGill University; March 20, 2013—Regular family suppers contribute to good mental health in adolescents, according to a study co-authored by McGill professor Frank Elgar, Institute for Health and Social Policy.Family meal times are a measurable signature of social exchanges in the home that benefit adolescents' well-being—regardless of whether or not they feel they can easily talk to their parents.
The authors suggest that family mealtimes are opportunities for open family interactions which present teaching opportunities for parents to shape coping and positive health behaviors such as good nutritional choices, as well as enable adolescents to express concerns and feel valued, all elements that are conducive to good mental health in adolescents.
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Gone but Not Forgotten: Yearning for Lost Loved Ones Linked to Altered Thinking About the Future
APS; March 18, 2013—People suffering from complicated grief may have difficulty recalling specific events from their past or imagining specific events in the future, but not when those events involve the partner they lost, according to a new study published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
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Pig Brain Models Provide Insights into Human Cognitive Development
URBANA, March 14, 2013 –A mutual curiosity about patterns of growth and development in pig brains has brought two University of Illinois research groups together. Animal scientists Rod Johnson and Ryan Dilger have developed a model of the pig brain that they plan to use to answer important questions about human brain development.
“Until we know how the brain grows, we don’t know what is going to change,” added Dilger. Dilger’s group is interested in the effects of early-life nutrition on the brain. They are looking at the effects of specific fatty acids as primary structural components of the human brain and cerebral cortex, and at choline, a nutrient that is important for DNA production and normal functioning of neurons.
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Dwelling on Stressful Events Can Increase Inflammation in the Body, Study Finds
ATHENS, Ohio; March 13, 2013—Dwelling on negative events can increase levels of inflammation in the body, a new Ohio University study finds.
Researchers discovered that when study participants were asked to ruminate on a stressful incident, their levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of tissue inflammation, rose. The study is the first time to directly measure this effect in the body.
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Study: Probiotics Reduce Stress-Induced Intestinal Flare-Ups
ANN ARBOR, MI; March 13, 2013—For those with irritable bowel syndrome who wonder if stress aggravates their intestinal disorder, a new University of Michigan Health System study shows it’s not all in their head.
While stress does not cause IBS, the study revealed it does alter brain-gut interactions and induces the intestinal inflammation that often leads to severe or chronic belly pain, loss of appetite and diarrhea.
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