Alcohol and Aggression

Statistics on violence support a strong link between alcohol intoxication and violent acts. Not all people, however, become aggressive when they are drinking. Researchers from Ohio State University and several other institutions conducted a laboratory experiment with result suggesting that the personality trait of being present-oriented heightens the chance of aggression after consuming alcohol.

One Trait Has Huge Impact On Whether Alcohol Makes You Aggressive

Virtual Violence Causes Brain Changes

There is ample research to support that violence in video games has cognitive, emotional, and psychological effects on those who play them. Research presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) provided evidence that video game violence alters regions of the brain involved in thought and emotional processes.

Violent Video Games Alter The Brain

Breakthroughs in Neuroscience: Schizophrenia, Depression, and Anxiety

Exciting new findings suggesting treatment directions for schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety were presented at Neuroscience 2011, the annual meeting for the Society for Neuroscience. Insights into how childhood stress can affect the brain, how factors believed to be involved in schizophrenia are related, and how a specific brain chemical enhanced antidepressant response are among the crucial findings presented.

New Understanding Of Brain Systems Suggests New Treatment Options For Schizophrenia, Depression And Anxiety

Multitasking Moms and Dads

Many people pride themselves on being able to multitask their way through a busy life. When it comes to parents, however, fathers may perceive multitasking as a much more positive thing than do mothers. Research conducted at Michigan State University revealed that mothers are multitasking about 2/5 of their waking hours and finding it to be a negative experience, whereas fathers are multitasking 1/3 of the time and finding it to be a positive experience.

Working Mothers Multitask More Than Fathers, And Don't Like It

The Healing Power of Dreams

Dreams and the sleep process have been a source of fascination for centuries. The content of dreams can range from the mundane to the bizarre. Sometimes they make sense to us; other times they lack meaning and structure. Dreaming occurs during REM sleep, a time at which our brain waves closely resemble those when we are awake and alert, yet we are deeply asleep. Individuals deprived of REM sleep can show cognitive, physical, and emotional deficits over time.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have found more support for the importance of REM sleep and dreams. Evidence suggests that our brains suppress stress chemicals and process emotional information during sleep, allowing healing from painful memories to take place.

During REM Sleep Stress Chemicals Shut Down And The Brain Processes Emotional Experiences

Teach Your Children Well . . . How to Trust and Love

Attachment theory, first proposed by John Bowlby in the early 20th century, supports the idea that how a child is treated by his or her parents will have a long lasting impact on the child's ability to participate in meaningful relationships. Adult attachment theory, as proposed by Hazan & Shaver, Bartholomew & Horowitz, and other researchers in the 1980s and 1990s, extended the original model to romantic relationships.

Support for the link between childhood attachment status and adult attachment status has been difficult to attain. Longitudinal research conducted at the University of Minnesota is helping to bridge that gap.

The Ability To Love Takes Root In Earliest Infancy