Latest

Psychology

Drawing of a human head with gears and computer parts on it.

·October 2, 2012·2 min read

Intelligence Is in the Genes, but Where?

A new study reveals that most of the specific genes long thought to be linked to intelligence probably have no bearing on one’s IQ. And it may be some time before researchers can identify intelligence’s specific genetic roots.

Two pictures of a man from different distances are side by side.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 26, 2012·3 min read

Ready for Your Close-Up?

Caltech study shows that the distance at which facial photos are taken influences perception.

Featured Psychology

·September 20, 2012·2 min read

Fear Can Be Erased from the Brain

Newly formed emotional memories can be erased from the human brain.The findings may represent a breakthrough in research on memory and fear. This is shown by researchers from Uppsala University in a study being published by Science.

Featured Psychology

·September 20, 2012·2 min read

‘Psychopaths’ Have An Impaired Sense of Smell

People with psychopathic tendencies have an impaired sense of smell, which points to inefficient processing in the front part of the brain (orbitofrontal cortex) according to a new study.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 20, 2012·2 min read

Brain Study Reveals the Roots of Chocolate Temptations

Researchers have new evidence in rats to explain how it is that chocolate candies can be so completely irresistible. The urge to overeat such deliciously sweet and fatty treats traces to an unexpected part of the brain and its production of a natural, opium-like chemical.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 18, 2012·3 min read

Theory: Music Underlies Language Acquisition

Contrary to the prevailing theories that music and language are cognitively separate or that music is a byproduct of language, theorists at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) advocate that music underlies the ability to acquire language.

Featured Psychology

·September 13, 2012·3 min read

How Early Social Deprivation Impairs Long-Term Cognitive Function

A study shows social isolation during early life prevents the cells that make up the brain's white matter from maturing and producing the right amount of myelin, the fatty "insulation" on nerve fibers that helps them transmit long-distance messages within the brain.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·September 13, 2012·3 min read

Stress Breaks Loops that Hold Short-Term Memory Together

By watching individual neurons at work, a group of psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has revealed just how stress can addle the mind, as well as how neurons in the brain's prefrontal cortex help remember information in the first place.

Featured Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 7, 2012·4 min read

Predicting How Patients Respond to Therapy

A new study led by MIT neuroscientists has found that brain scans of patients with social anxiety disorder can help predict whether they will benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy.

Featured Neurology Psychology

·August 30, 2012·4 min read

Potential Treatment for Cognitive Effects of Stress-Related Disorders, Including PTSD

Researchers identified a potential medical treatment for cognitive effects of stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, conducted in a PTSD mouse model, shows that an experimental drug called S107, one of a new class of small-molecule compounds called Rycals, prevented learning and memory deficits associated with stress-related disorders.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 29, 2012·2 min read

Math Ability Requires Crosstalk in the Brain

A new study finds strength of communication between the left and right brain hemispheres predicts performance on basic arithmetic problems. Findings shed light on the neural basis of human math abilities and suggest a possible route to aiding those who suffer from dyscalculia - an inability to understand and manipulate numbers.

The image shows the major brain structures implicated in autism.

Autism Featured Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 27, 2012·3 min read

Little Evidence Supports Autism Treatment Options in Adolescents

Researchers studying interventions for adolescents and young adults with autism are reporting today that there is insufficient evidence to support findings, good or bad, for the therapies currently used.