Psychology posts
- March 13, 2013
- 12:13 PM
- 144 views
Facing the fear decreases anxiety in children
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point: Researchers found that the children who avoid scary situations have more anxiety disorders.
Journal: Behavior Therapy
Study Further:
In this study, researchers worked on more than 800 children in the age range of 7 to 18. Researchers developed two questionnaire reports, i.e. the Children’s Avoidance Measure Parent Report and the Children’s Avoidance Measure Self Report, where they asked the children’s avoidance tendencies, such as, in addressing parents, ........ Read more »
Whiteside, S., Gryczkowski, M., Ale, C., Brown-Jacobsen, A., & McCarthy, D. (2013) Development of child- and parent-report measures of behavioral avoidance related to childhood anxiety disorders. Behavior Therapy. DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2013.02.006
- March 13, 2013
- 08:30 AM
- 165 views
Do Dogs Find Their Owners Presence Supportive When a Threatening Stranger Comes Near?
by CAPB in Companion Animal Psychology Blog
How does your dog compare to a toddler? Recent animal research is comparing the abilities of dogs with young humans. A brand new study by Márta Gácsi et al in Hungary investigates whether dogs have the same response as infants to a test called the Strange Situation.In humans, attachment theory explains how children need to develop a strong attachment to at least one caregiver. If they don’t, their social and emotional development will be disrupted. As infants begin to crawl, the caregiver is........ Read more »
Gácsi, M., Maros, K., Sernkvist, S., Faragó, T., & Miklósi, �. (2013) Human Analogue Safe Haven Effect of the Owner: Behavioural and Heart Rate Response to Stressful Social Stimuli in Dogs. PLoS ONE, 8(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058475
- March 13, 2013
- 05:32 AM
- 141 views
Just say NO to sapropterin for autism
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
Actually the title of this post is a bit of a misnomer.I'm not really asking readers to say 'no' to sapropterin, otherwise known as tetrahydrobiopterin or BH4, for autism as if it were some kind of Zammo-esque drugs in the toilet scenario (note: for anyone born post-Grange Hill golden era or for my non-UK readers, you might want to follow this link to see what I'm going on about). But neither am I saying yes, as per my prime directive on this blog: no medical or clinical advice given or intended........ Read more »
Frye RE, Delatorre R, Taylor HB, Slattery J, Melnyk S, Chowdhury N, & James SJ. (2013) Metabolic effects of sapropterin treatment in autism spectrum disorder: a preliminary study. Translational psychiatry. PMID: 23462988
- March 13, 2013
- 02:40 AM
- 257 views
Brain Lateralization - Logical Left vs Creative Right
by Vivek Misra in Beautiful Mind
Broad generalizations are often made in popular psychology about one side or the other having characteristic labels, such as "logical" for the left side or "creative" for the right. These labels need to be treated carefully; although a lateral dominance is measurable, both hemispheres contribute to both kinds of processes.In psychology and neurobiology, the theory is based on what is known as the lateralization of brain function. So does one side of the brain really control specific functions? A........ Read more »
Ross, E., & Monnot, M. (2008) Neurology of affective prosody and its functional–anatomic organization in right hemisphere. Brain and Language, 104(1), 51-74. DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2007.04.007
George MS, Parekh PI, Rosinsky N, Ketter TA, Kimbrell TA, Heilman KM, Herscovitch P, & Post RM. (1996) Understanding emotional prosody activates right hemisphere regions. Archives of neurology, 53(7), 665-70. PMID: 8929174
Dehaene, S. (1999) Sources of Mathematical Thinking: Behavioral and Brain-Imaging Evidence. Science, 284(5416), 970-974. DOI: 10.1126/science.284.5416.970
Dehaene, S., Piazza, M., Pinel, P., & Cohen, L. (2003) THREE PARIETAL CIRCUITS FOR NUMBER PROCESSING. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 20(3-6), 487-506. DOI: 10.1080/02643290244000239
Hecht, D. (2010) Depression and the hyperactive right-hemisphere. Neuroscience Research, 68(2), 77-87. DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2010.06.013
Devinsky, O. (2009) Delusional misidentifications and duplications: Right brain lesions, left brain delusions. Neurology, 72(1), 80-87. DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000338625.47892.74
- March 12, 2013
- 12:18 PM
- 127 views
Grow, broaden, maintain: HR practices and how they matter for older workers
by Alex Fradera in BPS Occupational Digest
In the last issue of the Human Resource Management Journal, Dorien Kooij and colleagues investigate how general HR practices might have differential effects for younger and older employees. Given the ageing workforces prevelant in the West, it's an increasingly relevant issue.800 respondents to a much larger survey were randomly selected to form eight equally sized age groups, ranging from those below 20 to an over-50 group. Participants reported their experiences of HR practices that could infl........ Read more »
Kooij, D., Guest, D., Clinton, M., Knight, T., Jansen, P., & Dikkers, J. (2013) How the impact of HR practices on employee well-being and performance changes with age. Human Resource Management Journal, 23(1), 18-35. DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12000
- March 11, 2013
- 07:44 PM
- 92 views
Why I conference
by Cobb & Hecht in Do You Believe In Dog?
(Source)Hi Mia!Would you agree that you and I spend a lot of time researching and writing, two incredibly solitary activities?And given that we both have the social butterfly gene (I just got our DNA tests back, I’ll send you yours), conferences are incredibly important for our health and well-being; a time where we can run amok with people exuberant about the field of dog behavior, cognition and welfare.In some ways, conferences are akin to summer camp. Smores by the campfire become happy hou........ Read more »
Rice Eleanor Spicer, Silverman Jules, & Gordon Deborah M. (2013) Propagule Pressure and Climate Contribute to the Displacement of Linepithema humile by Pachycondyla chinensis. PLoS ONE, 8(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056281.t002
Lisberg Anneke E., & Snowdon Charles T. (2009) The effects of sex, gonadectomy and status on investigation patterns of unfamiliar conspecific urine in domestic dogs, Canis familiaris. Animal Behaviour, 77(5), 1147-1154. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.12.033
Lisberg Anneke E., & Snowdon Charles T. (2011) Effects of sex, social status and gonadectomy on countermarking by domestic dogs, Canis familiaris. Animal Behaviour, 81(4), 757-764. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.01.006
- March 11, 2013
- 01:20 PM
- 302 views
Is Food Addictive?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
Can food be addictive? Is obesity sometimes a form of substance abuse? In a new paper, neuroscientist and Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Nora Volkow, muses on ‘The Addictive Dimensionality of Obesity’ Volkow and her coauthors start out with a disclaimer – “we do not claim that obesity is the result [...]... Read more »
Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Tomasi D, & Baler RD. (2013) The Addictive Dimensionality of Obesity. Biological psychiatry. PMID: 23374642
- March 11, 2013
- 12:29 PM
- 331 views
“DeStress for Success” Program to decrease stress among teenagers
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main point: Researchers introduced a program, DeStress for Success Program, to decrease the stress among teenagers.
Journal: Neuroscience
Study Further:
"In 2000, our team showed that during the transition from elementary to secondary school, many young people produce high levels of stress hormones. Following this discovery, we wanted to test whether an educational program based on our current knowledge of stress would decrease the level of stress hormones and depressive symptoms........ Read more »
Lupien, S., Ouellet-Morin, I., Trépanier, L., Juster, R., Marin, M., Francois, N., Sindi, S., Wan, N., Findlay, H., Durand, N.... (2013) The DeStress for Success Program: Effects of a stress education program on cortisol levels and depressive symptomatology in adolescents making the transition to high school. Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.01.057
- March 11, 2013
- 10:11 AM
- 401 views
Where Does Culture Shock Come From?
by Eric Horowitz in peer-reviewed by my neurons
Culture is a powerful thing. It not only affects how much time you spend at work, how you treat others around you, and how much beer you consume before the age of 20, it can also influence the emotions you experience on a day-to-day basis. The simple story of how culture influences emotions is that [...]... Read more »
Boiger, M., Mesquita, B., Uchida, Y., & Feldman Barrett, L. (2013) Condoned or Condemned: The Situational Affordance of Anger and Shame in the United States and Japan. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. DOI: 10.1177/0146167213478201
- March 11, 2013
- 07:02 AM
- 167 views
Excuse me potential juror: Is your brain red or blue?
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
Brain researchers are increasingly focused on whether our brains are red or blue–as in Democrat or Republican. And there appears to actually be something to it. But it reminds me of that Dr. Seuss book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. I confess the charm of Dr. Seuss wore off for me a great [...]
Related posts:
Excuse me, potential juror, but just how big is your amygdala?
Republicans prefer ‘Republican-looking’ political candidates
The evidence is mounting: The brains of libera........ Read more »
Schreiber D, Fonzo G, Simmons AN, Dawes CT, Flagan T, Fowler JH, & Paulus MP. (2013) Red brain, blue brain: Evaluative processes differ in Democrats and Republicans. PLoS ONE, 8(2). PMID: 23418419
- March 11, 2013
- 06:48 AM
- 68 views
How Low Is Your GASP Score? Higher Guilt Proneness is Better.
by Dan DeFoe in Psycholawlogy
The choice between moral action and selfish action by workers has important consequences for organizations. One question about unethical and counterproductive workplace behaviors comes front and center: What prevents a person from engaging in unethical behavior? One personality trait particularly important for understanding moral character, guilt proneness, provides a key to predicting which [...]The post How Low Is Your GASP Score? Higher Guilt Proneness is Better. appeared first on Psy........ Read more »
Cohen, T., Panter, A., & Turan, N. (2012) Guilt Proneness and Moral Character. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(5), 355-359. DOI: 10.1177/0963721412454874
- March 11, 2013
- 05:49 AM
- 161 views
Inflammatory bowel disease in autism: distinctive features?
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
Where to start with this very long post... where to start?That autism, some cases of autism, also coincide with various comorbidities sometimes including severe gastrointestinal (GI) issues is a relatively undisputed finding these days. I'm actually getting a little bored of saying this myself on this blog and I'm sure some readers are getting bored of hearing it too.Health inequalityLymphocytic infiltration @ Wikipedia The reason why I continue to keep hammering away at this line however ........ Read more »
Walker, S., Fortunato, J., Gonzalez, L., & Krigsman, A. (2013) Identification of Unique Gene Expression Profile in Children with Regressive Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Ileocolitis. PLoS ONE, 8(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058058
- March 11, 2013
- 05:13 AM
- 134 views
Smiling fighters more likely to lose
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
The day before mixed martial artists compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), they pose with each other in a staged face-off. A new study has analysed photographs taken at dozens of these pre-fight encounters and found that competitors who smile are more likely to lose the match the next day (pdf via author website).
Michael Kraus and Teh-Way David Chen recruited four coders (blind to the aims of the study) to assess the presence of smiles, and smile intensity, in photograph........ Read more »
Kraus, M., & Chen, T. (2013) A Winning Smile? Smile Intensity, Physical Dominance, and Fighter Performance. Emotion. DOI: 10.1037/a0030745
- March 11, 2013
- 01:31 AM
- 166 views
Physiological responses to chew & spit – ghrelin and obestatin
by Shelly Fan in Neurorexia
This is my second guest post for Science of Eating Disorders blog. Tetyana has a lovely piece up looking at Deep Brain Stimulation as a potential therapy for intractable AN. If you haven’t seen it yet, please go check it out and join the discussion! Your body responds to food long before it reaches your [...]... Read more »
Monteleone P, Serritella C, Martiadis V, & Maj M. (2008) Deranged secretion of ghrelin and obestatin in the cephalic phase of vagal stimulation in women with anorexia nervosa. Biological psychiatry, 64(11), 1005-8. PMID: 18474361
Méquinion, M., Langlet, F., Zgheib, S., Dickson, S., Dehouck, B., Chauveau, C., & Viltart, O. (2013) Ghrelin: Central and Peripheral Implications in Anorexia Nervosa. Frontiers in Endocrinology. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2013.00015
- March 10, 2013
- 07:00 AM
- 173 views
High-impact journals: where newsworthiness trumps methodology
by Dorothy Bishop in bishopblog
Because it is hard to get a paper published in a high-impact journal, it is often assumed that such papers are of particularly high quality. In practice, however, these journals focus more on newsworthiness of findings than methodological rigour, and, as Tressoldi et al (2013) have shown, their standards of statistical reporting can be low. This point is illustrated by a recent paper in Current Biology entitled "Action video games make dyslexic children read better." This study was ser........ Read more »
Tressoldi, P., Giofré, D., Sella, F., & Cumming, G. (2013) High Impact . PLoS ONE, 8(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056180
- March 9, 2013
- 05:18 PM
- 163 views
Tropes Against Video Games
by Jesse Marczyk in Pop Psychology
Back in mid-May of last year, Anita Sarkeesian launched a Kickstarter project to help fund her video series on portrayals of women in video games called “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games”. Her initial goal was set at $6000 for … Continue reading →... Read more »
Zahavi, A. (1975) Mate selection—A selection for a handicap. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 53(1), 205-214. DOI: 10.1016/0022-5193(75)90111-3
- March 9, 2013
- 04:07 PM
- 180 views
Dopamine and Reward Prediction Error
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
I am back from the IBAGS conference and full of new information! I plan to blog about tons of amazing things over the next month or so, but today we'll start with some foundation building.Dopamine nails (source)The IBAGS (international basal ganglia society) meeting is all about the basal ganglia (which includes the striatum), and as you may know, dopamine is a super important molecule for the proper function of the striatum (it is the dopamine cells that die in Parkinson's Disease).There were m........ Read more »
Schultz W. (1998) Predictive reward signal of dopamine neurons. Journal of neurophysiology, 80(1), 1-27. PMID: 9658025
- March 9, 2013
- 03:38 PM
- 172 views
Methionine synthase and autism
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
The paper by Christina Muratore and colleagues* (open-access) including Dick Deth and Antonio Persico in the authorship line-up, is the source of today's post. Concerned with quite an important enzyme, methionine synthase (MS), and in particular MS mRNA status in post-mortem frontal cortex samples, the authors report lower levels of MS mRNA in cases of autism. I should add that quite a good overview of this paper can also be found here.Recycle @ Wikipedia OK, let's start from the beginning........ Read more »
Muratore, C., Hodgson, N., Trivedi, M., Abdolmaleky, H., Persico, A., Lintas, C., De La Monte, S., & Deth, R. (2013) Age-Dependent Decrease and Alternative Splicing of Methionine Synthase mRNA in Human Cerebral Cortex and an Accelerated Decrease in Autism. PLoS ONE, 8(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056927
- March 9, 2013
- 12:06 PM
- 145 views
More Bad News For Voice “Lie Detection”
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
“Layered Voice Analysis” (LVA) is a controversial technology promoted as a tool for helping detect stress and other emotions by analysis of the human voice. According to the company behind the method, Nemesysco: LVA technology enables better understanding of your suspect’s mental state and emotional makeup at a given moment by detecting the emotional cues [...]... Read more »
Horvath F, McCloughan J, Weatherman D, & Slowik S. (2013) The Accuracy of Auditors' and Layered Voice Analysis (LVA) Operators' Judgments of Truth and Deception During Police Questioning*. Journal of forensic sciences. PMID: 23406506
- March 9, 2013
- 10:12 AM
- 215 views
Researchers pinpointed the chemicals released in happiness and sleep
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main point: Researchers have found a peptide/a neurotransmitter, the release of which greatly increases in happiness and decreases in sadness.
Journal: Nature Communications
Study Further:
The name of the peptide is hypocretin that can increase both mood and alertness in humans. According to experts, this chemical can become the basis of treating the psychiatric disorders such as depression.
Researchers also worked on another chemical, a peptide called as melanin concentrating hormon........ Read more »
Blouin, A., Fried, I., Wilson, C., Staba, R., Behnke, E., Lam, H., Maidment, N., Karlsson, K., Lapierre, J., & Siegel, J. (2013) Human hypocretin and melanin-concentrating hormone levels are linked to emotion and social interaction. Nature Communications, 1547. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2461
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