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Psychology News

These research articles involve many aspects of psychology such as cognitive psychology, depression studies, mental health, stress, happiness and neuropsychology, Scroll below for more specific categories.

How Therapy Rewires the Brain to Ease Chronic Pain

Chronic pain affects one in five adults, and medication alone doesn’t always offer relief. A new review reveals that psychological treatments—particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—can reduce pain through measurable changes in the brain. The review of multiple studies found that therapy shifts brain network activity, helping people loosen harmful thought patterns and reduce emotional stress linked to pain.

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How Music Can Emotionally Reshape Your Memories

A new neuroscience study reveals that music can alter the emotional content of our memories when played during recollection. Participants who listened to emotionally charged music while recalling neutral stories later remembered those stories with emotional tones matching the music.

Inflammation Tied to Motivation Loss in Schizophrenia

A new study has uncovered a biological link between inflammation and motivational deficits in people with schizophrenia, identifying a promising treatment target for symptoms that current medications fail to address. Higher levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein were associated with reduced activity in brain regions involved in reward and motivation, such as the ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

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Your Brain Loves Deep Breathing, Science Explains Why

Breathwork, or the practice of intentionally controlling one’s breathing, has been shown to calm brain activity, reduce anxiety, and even ease symptoms of depression. Deep, slow breathing engages neural circuits that regulate emotional states, producing a measurable calming effect.

Midlife Cortisol Levels Linked to Alzheimer’s Risk

A new study finds that elevated cortisol levels in midlife are linked to increased brain amyloid deposition—a key marker of Alzheimer’s disease—specifically in post-menopausal women. Researchers tracked 305 cognitively healthy individuals over 15 years and discovered that high cortisol predicted amyloid buildup later in life, but only among women who had gone through menopause.

Calm Your Mind: Choose Mindfulness by Anxiety Type

Mindfulness is well known for its calming effects, but researchers now propose that different types of mindfulness practices may be more effective for specific types of anxiety. A new framework suggests that focused attention meditation may benefit those who worry chronically, while open monitoring may help individuals with hypervigilance and physical symptoms.

Personality Could Help Predict Bipolar Disorder

New research suggests that personality testing could help tailor treatment for people with bipolar disorder by predicting who is more likely to experience recurrent depression or struggle with daily life functioning. Analyzing data from over 2,500 individuals, researchers identified combinations of personality traits—called personality styles—that either increase or protect against long-term mental health risks.

Psychedelics May Shift Brain Power to the Right Hemisphere

A new theory suggests that psychedelics promote empathy, insight, and psychological flexibility by making the brain’s right hemisphere temporarily dominant over the left. Known as HEALS—Hemispheric Annealing and Lateralization Under Psychedelics—this model proposes that psychedelics disrupt the typical hierarchy between hemispheres, releasing the more holistic, emotionally intelligent right side from left-brain control.

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Public Favors Some Organ Recipients Over Others

Americans tend to judge organ transplant eligibility based on the cause of a person’s illness rather than their race or ethnicity. Survey participants consistently favored recipients whose conditions were seen as less self-inflicted—such as black lung disease from coal mining or genetic kidney failure—over those with alcohol use disorder or unvaccinated COVID-19 complications.

Autistic and Non-Autistic People Communicate Equally Effectively

A new study has debunked the common myth that autistic people are less effective communicators than non-autistic individuals. Researchers found no difference in how well information was shared between autistic-only, non-autistic-only, or mixed groups.

Early Bonding Buffers Kids from Lasting Effects of Maternal Depression

A new study highlights the lasting impact of postpartum maternal depression and mother-to-infant bonding on children’s emotional and behavioral outcomes. Researchers found that early bonding can partially offset the negative effects of maternal depression, reducing future psychosocial difficulties.

This shows a child, a calendar and pill bottles.

Early ADHD Treatment May Mean Years on Medication

A large Finnish registry study reveals that many children, especially boys who begin ADHD medication between ages 6 and 8, remain on treatment for more than seven years. While the average duration of ADHD medication was over three years, a quarter of treated children remained on it for over seven, and some for nearly a decade.