ScienceDaily: Brain training reverses age-related cognitive decline. In rats. But still… “The neurons looked young again. They were full and robust. It’s like a hose without water going through it appears collapsed. Run the water and it expands to its original size. Recovery happens.”
A study finds delayed reaction times to unpleasant emotion in people who’ve had Botox treatment, supporting something called the “facial feedback hypothesis.” [A]fter Botox treatment, the subjects took more time to read…angry and sad sentences…“Normally, the brain would be sending signals to the periphery to frown, and the extent of the frown would be sent
ScienceDaily: Essential ingredients of supportive sibling relationships. [A new paper] urges parents to think about the relationship they want their kids to have with each other–now and as adults–and to be intentional in helping them create that positive, supportive bond. How-to suggestions included in the article.
UPI: Fighting depression by logging off. A recent study by researchers at Stony Brook University in New York found that online forums and chat sites can aggravate symptoms of depression. Over the course of a year, 13-year-old girls were found to become increasingly depressed and anxious when they participated in online chat sites allowing the
Less Net, Less Depression? Read More »
PsychCentral reports on a study that shows improved attention span–long-term–following a meditation retreat. “People may think meditation is something that makes you feel good and going on a meditation retreat is like going on vacation, and you get to be at peace with yourself. That’s what people think until they try it. Then you realize how
Meditation and Attention Span Read More »
Revisiting the conventional wisdom about getting along. [A]lthough a lot of modern relationship advice boils down to keeping positive, this isn’t always the best way to go. When things are dreamy, being positive is probably good advice. But this research suggests that rocky relationships can benefit from negative processes.
Relationship Rules Read More »
PsychCentral looks at a study about how people think different thoughts when using different languages–Arabic and Hebrew are the testers. The study found that Arab Israelis’ positive associations with their own people are weaker when they are tested in Hebrew than when they are tested in Arabic.
PsychCentral: Robots Help in Study of Trust. To test the hypothesis, researchers had test subjects interact with the social robot, Nexi, in an attempt to judge her trustworthiness. Unbeknownst to participants, Nexi has been programmed to make gestures while speaking with selected participants — gestures that the team hypothesizes could determine whether or not she’s deemed trustworthy.
Newsweek sounds an alarm re: declining “CQ” scores. With intelligence, there is a phenomenon called the Flynn effect—each generation, scores go up about 10 points. Enriched environments are making kids smarter. With creativity, a reverse trend has just been identified and is being reported for the first time here: American creativity scores are falling.
WebMD: Attitude, Knowledge Can Relieve Back Pain. “For most patients, psychological factors as well as beliefs, attitudes, and health literacy will also come into play,” he says. “We can tell patients to stay active, for example, but if they don’t believe exercise will help or if they fear activity will make their condition worse, they aren’t going