Advances in Drug Research for Autism Spectrum Disorders

An experimental drug that was found to increase social behavior and reduce repetitive grooming behaviors holds promise for helping individuals with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Experimental Drug Reduces Autism Symptoms In Mice

Alcohol Advertising and Underage Drinking

Clever television advertisements for alcoholic beverages could be attracting a undesirable consumer population -- underage drinkers. Research conducted at the Department of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center demonstrated the link between familiarity with television advertisements for alcohol and an increased likelihood to engage in underage drinking.

Underage Drinking: Minors Who Recognize Ads For Beer And Spirits Are More Likely To Drink

Emotional Abuse in Childhood May Negatively Impact Adult Romantic Relationships

Being emotional maltreated in childhood may result in post-traumatic stress disorder and heightened amounts of self-criticism in some individuals, which may in turn contribute to impaired adult romantic relationships. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev found that self-criticism may become a part of an abused individual's personality.

Troubled Romantic Relationships May Stem From Childhood Emotional Maltreatment

Criminal Behavior and Mental Illness

When someone commits a horrific crime, many people automatically assume the individual must be mentally ill. A researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry at London's King's examined the case of Anders Breivik, a mass murderer in Norway, to reveal why mental illness is not always the explanation.

Not All Outrageous Crimes Are Linked To Mental Illness

Addiction

It is no exaggeration to say millions of people in the United States are addicted to some substance or another. Nicotine, alcohol, and legal and illegal drugs devastate lives and families. This informational article from Medical News Today provides a thorough picture of what addiction is, its signs and symptoms, its causes, and its treatment.

What Is Addiction? What Causes Addiction?

Special Needs Youth and Depression

Young people with chronic medical conditions or developmental disabilities often meet rejection from peers because of their differences. Research from the Medical University of South Carolina reveals that being bullied or excluded from peer groups was more likely to be associated with depression than any of the challenges they faced with their chronic condition.

Youths With Special Needs At Risk For Depression When Ostracized By Peers

How Parents Behave Affects Teen Violence

How parents deal with violence, through attitudes and behavior, can have a strong effect on teenagers' behavior when confronted with a situation where violence is a possibility.

Parental Example May Be Responsible For Some Violent Teen Behavior

Violent Video Games Improve Shooting Skills

Behring Breivik, the Norwegian man who shot and killed 69 innocent people in a rampage in 2011, cited violent video games as his "training simulation" for his murderous activities. While most people who play video games will not engage in such acts, research at Ohio State University provides further evidence of the influence of violent video games on real life abilities to shoot.

Violent Video Games Can Teach How To Shoot More Accurately And Aim For The Head

Is Multitasking a Good Thing? Not Really

While many college students may engage in media multitasking (such as watching TV or listening to music while studying), they may getting more of an emotional boost from the activity than any lasting cognitive or learning benefits.

Media Multitasking Offers Emotional Boost But Could Be Detrimental To Performance

What Is Hypochondria?

At some point in our lives, we have probably all known a person who was excessively concerned with his or her own health. Every little ache, pain, and twitch would send him or her running to one or more doctors seeking a diagnosis. That person may -- or may not -- have met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for hypochondria. Here is an article from Medical News Today describing this condition in detail.

What is Hypochondria?

Brain Linkage Among Parkinson's Disease, Depression, and Addiction

A class of brain cells known to be associated with Parkinson's disease may also be associated with depression and addiction. This exciting finding could lead to more effective treatments of these two very common psychological conditions.

Scientists Identify Brain Circuitry Associated With Addictive, Depressive Behaviors

What is Depression?

Depression is sometimes referred to as the "common cold" of psychological disorder, but this is only a reflection on how often it occurs. Just as an unchecked common cold can sometimes become a more serious condition, so can depression. This excellent informational article by Medical News Today sheds some needed light on what depression is and isn't.

What Is Depression? What Causes Depression?

The Positive Effects of Mortality Awareness

Being aware of the possibility of one's own death due to a variety of causes does not have to be a fearful and depressing event. On the contrary, researchers at the University of Missouri reviewed several studies that indicated awareness of one's own mortality often spurred people to engage in more positive behaviors.

Awareness Of Mortality Can Result In Positive Behaviors

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream . . .

Dreams have fascinated humans for thousands of years. Why do we dreams, and do dreams really mean anything? While folk wisdom and other casual theories abound, science has some interesting insights into who has dreams, why we dream, and what different types of dreams may actually mean at a biological level.

5 Mind-Bending Facts About Dreams

What Is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a complex condition with diffuse body and joint pain, neurological dysfunctions, digestive problems, and breathing difficulties among its symptoms. Not surprisingly, depression, anxiety, cognitive and memory issues, depression, and anxiety are also part of this often misunderstood but debilitating syndrome. This excellent informational article from Medical News Today helps shed light on what fibromyalgia is and isn't.

What Is Fibromyalgia? What Causes Fibromyalgia?

Weight Prejudice and the Workplace

A multi-university study using resumes and small pictures of the same women before and after weight loss surgery showed that obese women were less likely to be deemed the best candidate for a job, more likely to be judged as lacking leadership potential, and more likely to receive a lower starting salary if hired.

Obese Women May Be Discriminated Against In The Workplace

Which Way Do I Go?

Signs with arrows and directional words showing people where to go may not be as as effective as those showing a finger pointing or a pair of eyes gazing in the appropriate direction. Researchers at the University of Exeter found that biological cues (fingers and eyes) drew participants' perception and attention significantly better than abstract cues.

Pointing a Finger Works Much Better Than Using Pointed Arrows

Work Motivation and Dopamine

Some people's predispositions to be hard workers -- or not -- may be influenced at the neurotransmitter level. Recent research at Vanderbilt University examined how dopamine levels relate to whether people are willing to work.

Willingness To Work May Hinge On Dopamine In The Brain

Virtual Exercise Partner?

How many of us have started an exercise program with a friend to enhance motivation only have to have the friend flake out and stop going? How many of us have been that friend? Well, there may be finally be a way to have an exercise buddy who won't do a disappearing act.

Researchers at Michigan State University studied the effects of a virtual exercise partner on a group of young women and the results are encouraging.

A Competent, Virtual Exercise Partner Can Boost Motivation And Improve Team Performance

Autism, Genetics, and Brain Function

The connection between autism and genetics has been demonstrated by much research, but many details of this relationship are still unknown. Recent research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found evidence to support that the different genes related to autism affect different functions in the brain.

Genetic Systems Disrupted In Autistic Brain

Social Inequality and Academic Dishonesty

A study done by Queen's University examined the pattern of Google searches for academically dishonest activities like buying term papers or getting hints about how to cheat. Individuals in areas that had large income disparities in the population were more likely to show this behavior. Why is this so?

Study of the Day: Social Inequality May Foster Distrust, Cheating in School

Body Language: Picking Out the Bad Guys

Body language can reveal much about an individual's mood, attitude, and intentions. A multi-university research team engaged in a study of what bodily cues can help determine whether someone is likely to engage in unethical behavior.

How to Spot a Scoundrel: Fidgeting and Trust

Overly Long Pregnancies and Child Behavior Problems

People tend to be familiar with at least some of the risks and problems that can occur when a child is born prematurely, but what of the risks that can occur when a child is born after the normal pregnancy term length? Research in the Netherlands found connections between overly long pregnancies and child behavioral and emotional problems and even ADHD.

Kids Born After 42 Weeks Have Higher Behavioral Problems Risk

Hand Preference, Depression, and Anxiety

Individuals who are depressed often lose their desire to approach other people or to engage in positive situations and activities. Recent research at The New School for Social Research indicates that the process of motivation at the brain level may differ for right-handed and left-handed people.

Finding That Emotion Is Reversed In Left-Handers' Brains Could Lead To New Treatment For Anxiety, Depression

A Promising New Treatment for PTSD?

Recent research at the Emory University School of Medicine revealed that a certain class of blood pressure medication may help people who have experienced trauma have less severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, more commonly known as PTSD.

PTSD Symptoms May Be Relieved By Some Blood Pressure Drugs

The Thoughts of Dogs

Dogs and humans have had a rich and fruitful partnership that has spanned thousands of years. The bonds of trust, friendship, and loyalty between canines and people are unparalleled with those of any other sets of species. Researchers at Emory University are using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to open the door to the cognitive world of man's (and woman's) best friend.

What Is Your Dog Thinking? Brain Scans Unleash Canine Secrets

Traumatic Events and Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are on the rise in the United States, and understanding what causes them is the focus of much medical and psychological research. A recent study conducted at the University of Minnesota explored the relationship between traumatic events in an individual's life and the triggering of eating disorder behaviors.

Key Events Can Trigger Eating Disorders

Final Exam Time: Bring Water

Final exams are coming up soon for many college and university students. The College Success Insider blog post, The Day of the Final Exam, suggests a bottle water as one of the comfort items to have on hand during a stressful exam session. Recent research conducted at the University of East London and the University of Westminster found that undergraduates who took water with them to an exam earned better grades on the exam than their classmates without water.

Bringing Water Into Exams May Improve Grades

Fat Talk

The culture of the United States is obsessed with physical appearance. Media images of impossibly thin women and improbably buff men saturate our environment. There is no doubt that these images of airbrushed perfection can damage ordinary people's body images, but research conducted at the University of Arizona at Tucson indicated that how we talk about our bodies and the bodies of other people may be even more detrimental.

Depression, Poor Body Image Result From Negative Talk About Weight

Life Expectancy and Life Decisions

If you were to win a huge lottery jackpot where you could choose to have a lesser amount paid to you immediately versus a larger overall amount paid to you in installments over the next 20 years, which would you choose? Recent research by Queen's University indicates that an important influence in this decision might be how long you believe you are going to live.

Major Life Decisions Affected By Perceived Life Expectancy

The Antisocial Consumer

Recent research at Northwestern University supported the old saying that money does not buy happiness and further found that highly materialistic people have higher rates of depression and anxiety and lower rates of social behavior. Why is this so?

Consumerism And Its Antisocial Effects

What a Relief!

You made it to the airport just in time to catch your flight. You submitted that important job application online with only two minutes to spare before the deadline. You were worried your date would be angry at you for cancelling at the last minute, but he/she is nothing but understanding. Whew!

That special release of tension called relief is an experience everyone can relate to, yet it has received very little scientific attention. A study by researchers at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Minnesota reveals some interesting information.

The Psychology of Whew!

Sexual Abuse History and Sexual Risk-Taking in Boys

Childhood sexual abuse is a tragedy affecting untold numbers of victims. While girls are more likely to be sexually abused, boys are targeted as well. The true number of sexually abused children is impossible to know because of underreporting to authorities due to shame, fear, and other factors. The negative effects of sexual abuse can be long-lasting. Research conducted at the University of British Columbia revealed that young males with a sexual abuse history are far more likely to engage in sexual risks.

Boys Who Have Been Sexually Abused More Likely To Take Sexual Risks

Implicit Stereotyping and Down Syndrome

While it has become more unacceptable for people to engage in and express explicit stereotyping over the past several decades, that does not mean stereotypical thoughts and judgments have necessarily lessened. In order for current researchers to assess stereotyping, thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs are more accurately assessed at an implicit level. A study conducted in France with photographs of children who appeared to have Down syndrome demonstrates this concept.

Facial Features Of Children With Down Syndrome Lead To Implicit Stereotyping

How Scientific Are Online Dating Services?

Several years ago, some of the larger online dating sites like EHarmony.com and Match.com built major advertising campaigns touting their use of science-based methods to match potential romantic partners. However, recent psychological research suggests that the online dating sites' methods may actually exclude those who might be a good match from consideration. The supposed science of online dating sites may not be so scientific at all.

The Shaky Science of Online Dating

Helping Others Helps Ourselves

The benefits of volunteering are many, not only for the people or cause being helped, but also for the volunteers. Different people have varying motivations for volunteering, and research from the Center for the Study of the Individual and Society at the University of Minnesota suggests the most effective motives may not be what most people would expect.

Why Helping Others Makes Us Happy

Does Wisdom Increase With Age?

A study conducted at the University of Waterloo suggests that wisdom is indeed related to age in individualistic North American societies, such as that of the United States. A follow up study conducted comparing Japanese and American participants, however, showed some surprising results.

Older and Wiser?

In-Class Texting Decreases Learning

In a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, students who sent or received text messages during class reported lower levels of learning than those who abstained from texting. Students' self-perceived abilities to multitask may not be as refined as they think.

Text Messaging in Class May Affect College Students' Learning

Is Daydreaming Always a Bad Thing?

We often correct children for daydreaming in the classroom and in other settings where they are supposed to be concentrating. You may have even found yourself as an adult losing focus in a long meeting or two. Daydreaming, however, may be a sign of a superior working memory.

The Benefits of Daydreaming

Negative Thinking Feeds Depression

While it is unrealistic to feel optimistic all of the time, feeling persistently negative can be psychologically unhealthy. A study conducted at Case Western Reserve University helps define where the line between negative thoughts end and depression risk begins.

Study Identifies Point When Negative Thoughts Turn Into Depression

The World As Seen Through Psychosis

A compassionate project conducted by UK artist Alexa Wright aims to relieve some of the myths and misunderstandings many people hold about individuals who experience psychosis.

Postcards From Another Person's Reality

Peer Pressure Can Reduce Teens' Alcohol Use

When many people hear of peer pressure in the teenage years, their thoughts turn to negative and destructive behaviors. A study conducted at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands suggests that anti-alcohol norms exerted by high-status peers can have a significant influence on teens' drinking behaviors.

Peers May Have A Positive Effect On Adolescent Drinking And Behavior

The Pain of Social Exclusion

Humans are innately social creatures. Our drive to affiliate with others is a powerful motivator of behavior. Being ignored, rejected, or excluded hurts, regardless of whether it happens face-to-face or online.

Social Exclusion: Being Ignored Online Or In Person, It's Still Exclusion

Compassion and Socioeconomic Status

Differences in how rich and poor people respond to others in need is a popular theme in fiction, with the rich mostly shown as indifferent and the poor mostly shown as generous and willing to help. In real life, there are certainly a wide range of behaviors shown by people of all socioeconomic statuses when a situation of need arises.

Researchers at UC Berkeley have found, however, that individuals of a lower socioeconomic status may show a stronger compassion response at physiological and emotional levels.

Lower Classes Quicker To Show Compassion In The Face Of Suffering

Binge Eating and Depression

The co-occurrence of depression and eating disorders has been long noted, especially in the adolescent female population that is most likely to develop eating disorders. A study done by researchers Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health examined the relationship between binge eating and depression in nearly 5,000 teenage girls in the United States. Findings revealed that participants who were depressed were significantly more likely to engage in future binge eating or overeating.

Binge Eating And Depression Often Linked In Teenage Girls

Babies and the Art of Conversation

One of the hottest You Tube videos of 2011 is of two adorable twin boys who seem to be having a conversation. The gestures, the body language, the pacing of "words", and the rise and fall of their voices mimic adult conversation to an uncanny degree. Babies watch, listen, and learn from other people around them.

Research from the University of Notre Dame suggests that from the time babies are very small, they are absorbing word patterns that will assist them in learning and producing words as they reach toddlerhood.

Babies Track Word Patterns Long Before Word-Learning Starts

One Treatment Method Is Not Enough to Conquer Depression

Modern society is focused on quick fixes for problems. Products for rapid weight loss, online diploma mills, and technology that provides instant communication with others all stem from this collective mindset. Unfortunately, we tend to extend that "instant results" mentality to solving health issues.

A common scenario in someone diagnosed with depression is that he/she goes to a family physician and is given a prescription and perhaps a referral to counseling. Quite a few people do not follow through with the counseling, because "I'm too busy, I don't have time." Others will go to counseling and expect the counselor to tell them exactly what to do to feel better right now, and will stop going after one or two sessions. Likewise, many people expect immediate relief from their prescriptions, as if depression were merely a headache that goes away with one pill. Premature discontinuance of prescribed medication for depression is extremely common.

Depression is a whole body illness, and research published in an online seminar by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center supports treating it from multiple perspectives at once.

Major Depression Requires Several Treatment Steps For Remission

The Benefits of Faith

Regularly attending religious services may be protective factors against pessimism, cynicism, and depression. Research conducted by Yeshiva University using a sample of over 92,000 women showed more positive life outlooks for 56% of the participants and lower depression symptoms in 27% of the participants.

Attending Religious Services Lowers Depression Risk And Raises Optimism

Depression Is Not "Just In Your Head"

There is increasing evidence that depression is indeed a whole body illness. Research findings from Concordia University suggest that a malfunctioning stress system is implicated in depression and also impairs the body's ability to recover from the fight-or-flight response. It would be wise for individuals with depression to be evaluated for heart disease/heart attack risks as well.

Depression Impacts Stress System, Fight Or Flight Response, Can Lead To Heart Disease

How Often Do People Think About Sex?

A very common urban legend states that men think about sex every seven seconds. Researchers at Ohio State University have evidence that debunks that myth, and also shows that men think about sex and food in nearly equal amounts (19 times per day versus 18 times per day). Nonetheless, men in the study did think about sex almost twice as often as women.

New Study Says Men Are Not Sex Crazed After All