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Psychology

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·April 26, 2023·5 min read

Pandemic Pet Pals: Exploring the Complex Relationship Between Pet Ownership, Stress, and Loneliness During Lockdown

During the COVID-19 pandemic, US dog and cat owners became closer to their pets, though pet ownership did not consistently alleviate stress and loneliness. The relationship between mental health and pet ownership was complex, with dog owners experiencing a greater reduction in stress and loneliness compared to cat owners and non-pet owners.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·May 22, 2019·2 min read

Unlike men, women’s cognitive performance may improve at higher room temperature

Women have better cognitive performance when in higher temperature environments. Researchers found women performed better on verbal and math tests when the room temperature is warmer, while male performance peaks in colder room climates.

Featured Psychology

·July 17, 2020·4 min read

Mundane Behavioral Decisions, Actions Can Be ‘Misremembered’ as Done

Mundane behaviors repeated over time, and occur in the context of other similar behaviors can lead to conflated intentions, which cause false memories of completing the task.

This shows people fighting over a puzzle piece.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 9, 2024·5 min read

Why We’re Confident with Only Half the Story

A new study reveals that people often overestimate the amount of information they have when making decisions, a phenomenon researchers call the “illusion of information adequacy.” Participants who were only given partial information about a situation were just as confident in their decisions as those who had the complete story.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 17, 2024·5 min read

Mindfulness Can Induce Altered States of Consciousness

Mindfulness training can lead to altered states of consciousness, such as disembodiment and unity. Researchers found that participants were twice as likely to experience these states compared to a control group. While these experiences can be positive, they may also be startling or unpleasant. Mindfulness teachers and students should discuss these potential side effects.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 20, 2015·3 min read

What Day is it? Why it’s Hard to Keep Track of Days of the Week

A new study reveals mid week days have less mental representations attached to them, making it more difficult for us to recall what day it is.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·April 8, 2022·4 min read

Depressive Disorders Can Lead to Changes in Immune Cells

Researchers identified a link between major depressive disorder and mechanical alterations in blood cells.

Featured Psychology

·April 24, 2017·5 min read

Placebo Effect Could Mend a Broken Heart Too

A new neuroimaging study finds the placebo effect can help to lessen the impact of the emotional pain from romantic rejection.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 13, 2019·3 min read

Acute cerebellar inflammation and hyperexcitability induces ‘depression-like’ behavior

Acute inflammation of the anterior cerebellum resulted in depression-like symptoms in rodent models. Suppressing microglia helped reduce hyperexcitability and symptoms of depression.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·April 15, 2017·5 min read

Visualizing Future Doesn’t Increase Delayed Gratification

The more a person is inclined to visualize, the more impulsive they are, a new study reports.

Image shows brain scans of bipolar patients.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·May 2, 2017·7 min read

Researchers Create a Roadmap of Bipolar Disorder and How It Affects the Brain

Reviewing brain scans of bipolar patients, researchers observe notable differences in the thickness of gray matter in areas of the brain associated with motivation and control inhibition compared to those without the disorder.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 6, 2022·3 min read

New Evidence for an Autoimmune Cause of Schizophrenia

Researchers have identified an autoantibody that appears to cause schizophrenia in some individuals. The findings add to the growing body of evidence that schizophrenia could have an autoimmune component.