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Psychology

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·June 28, 2017·3 min read

Facial Models Suggest Less May Be More For a Successful Smile

Less is more when it comes to a successful smile, researcher report. In a new study, researchers presented over 800 participants with computer generated images of smiling faces. Researchers found people rated smaller smiles to be more genuine, while bigger smiles that showed more teeth were perceived less well.

Image shows the Gruffalo and mouse in the deep dark wood.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 28, 2017·5 min read

How ‘The Gruffalo’ Helped Academics Boost Youngsters’ Motor Skills and Language Ability

Using the children's book, "The Gruffalo", researchers devised a teaching approach that combined moment and storytelling activities. They report the children that participated in the combined activities showed greater improvement in both language and movement skills than those who were exposed to just one of the activities.

Autism Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology Visual Neuroscience

·June 28, 2017·5 min read

Why Some With Autism Avoid Eye Contact

A new study sheds light on why some people on the autism spectrum have problems maintaining eye contact. Researchers say that eye avoidance behavior may be triggered by excessive arousal stemming from an over-activation in a specific region of the brain.

Image shows a brain scans with the dlPFC highlighted.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 28, 2017·7 min read

How the Cortex Assigns Credit for Causality

A new study implicates the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in our ability to assign credit for whatever action leads to a desired outcome. While the study does not rule out the involvement of other brain areas to credit assignment, it does show the dlPFC is a key player in how we assess causality.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·June 27, 2017·5 min read

Taking Photos Boost Visual Memories, But Impairs Auditory Memory

According to researchers, taking a photo can help us to better recall visual memories, but can impair non-visual aspects, such as auditory details.

Autism Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·June 27, 2017·5 min read

Adults With Autism Make More Consistent Choices

A new study reports that while people on the autism spectrum often show reduced sensitivity to contextual information in perceptual tasks, this may actually head them to make more consistent choices in higher level decision making tasks.

Image shows a woman and shattered glass.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 27, 2017·5 min read

Reprogramming Brain Region Can Suppress Cocaine Cravings: Mouse Study

Silencing pyramidal neurons in the infralimbic cortex made rats more likely to relapse than those that underwent withdrawal from cocaine. The findings support growing evidence that the infralimbic cortex plays a vital role in suppressing addictive behaviors.

Autism Featured Genetics

·June 27, 2017·6 min read

Mice Provide Insight Into Genetics of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Researchers report that inducing mutation of the CHD8 gene, mice experience cognitive impairments and have increased brain volume. Both conditions are also seen in people with CHD8 mutations. The findings suggest CHD8 plays a role in brain function throughout life and could affect more that early brain development in people on the autism spectrum.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 26, 2017·4 min read

Lack of Sleep and Fighting With Partner Increases Inflammation

According to researchers, couples who fight following a lack of sleep expressed higher inflammation levels in blood samples.

Image shows woman holding her head and wearing a mask.

Featured Neurology Psychology

·June 26, 2017·5 min read

Exposure to Light Causes Emotional and Physical Responses in Migraine Sufferers

A new study reveals a connection between light sensitive nerve cells in the eyes and areas of the brain that regulate mood. The findings may help explain how light can induce some of the negative emotions that often accompany migraines.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 26, 2017·1 min read

The Brain’s Fight and Flight Response to Social Threat

In a study exploring the neural correlates of the fight or flight response, people who choose to flee perceive a greater threat, leading them to behaviorally and mentally disengage from a situation, researchers report.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·June 26, 2017·3 min read

‘Mind Reading’ Technology Decodes Complex Thoughts

Researchers report they can use brain activation patterns to identify complex thoughts. Their findings suggest the building blocks for complex human thoughts are not word based, but formed by the brain's sub systems. The study provides evidence that the neural dimensions of concept representation are universal across people and languages.