Brain And Consciousness Research - December 2008 Archives

Religion may have evolved because of its ability to help people exercise self-control (12/31/2008)

A study by a University of Miami psychologist reveals that religion facilitates the exercise of self-control and attainment of long-term goals ...> Full Article

Facial expressions of emotion are innate, not learned, says new study (12/30/2008)

Facial expressions of emotion are hardwired into our genes, according to a study published today in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The research suggests that facial expressions of emotion are innate rather than a product of cultural learning. ...> Full Article

Eyes on the prize (12/29/2008)

Dollar signs for eyes -- cartoonists have been drawing them for years, and the artists, while whimsical, may have been onto something. According to new research from UC San Diego, areas of the brain responsible for vision respond more strongly to objects of value. ...> Full Article

Psychologist identifies area of brain key to choosing words (12/28/2008)

New research by a Rice University psychologist clearly identifies the parts of the brain involved in the process of choosing appropriate words during speech. ...> Full Article

Our unconscious brain makes the best decisions possible (12/27/2008)

Researchers at the University of Rochester have shown that the human brain -- once thought to be a seriously flawed decision maker -- is actually hard-wired to allow us to make the best decisions possible with the information we are given. The findings are published in today's issue of the journal Neuron. ...> Full Article

Neural mechanisms of value bias in the human visual cortex (12/26/2008)

New research demonstrates that bias toward a potentially more valuable outcome can influence how visual information is processed in the human brain. The study, published by Cell Press in the Dec. 26 issue of the journal Neuron, provides insight into how the visual centers encode more valuable stimuli at the expense of less valuable alternatives. ...> Full Article

Researchers find that memory storage molecule preserves complex memories (12/26/2008)

A molecule known to preserve memories -- PKMzeta -- specifically stores complex, high-quality memories that provide detailed information about an animal's location, fears and actions, but does not control the ability to process or express this information. This finding suggests that PKMzeta erasure that is designed to target specific debilitating memories could be effective against the offending memory while sparing the computational function of brain. ...> Full Article

Genes may influence popularity (12/25/2008)

A groundbreaking study of popularity by a Michigan State University scientist has found that genes elicit not only specific behaviors but also the social consequences of those behaviors. ...> Full Article

Blind man walking: With no visual awareness, man navigates obstacle course flawlessly (12/25/2008)

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that people can successfully navigate an obstacle course even after brain damage has left them with no awareness of the ability to see and no activity in the visual cortex, a region of the brain's cortex that is primarily responsible for processing visual inputs. ...> Full Article

Replicating Milgram: Researcher finds most will administer shocks when prodded by 'authority figure' (12/24/2008)

Nearly 50 years after one of the most controversial behavioral experiments in history, a social psychologist has found that people are still just as willing to administer what they believe are painful electric shocks to others when urged on by an authority figure. ...> Full Article

How mirror neurons allow us to learn and socialize by going through the motions in the head (12/23/2008)

The old adage that we can only learn how to do something by trying it ourselves may have to be revised in the light of recent discoveries in neuroscience. It turns out that humans, primates, some birds, and possibly other higher animals have mirror neurons that fire in the same pattern whether performing or just observing a task. ...> Full Article

Study indicates how we make proper movements (12/23/2008)

How do we make proper movements? A new study in Psychological Science suggests that when we see an object, a number of motor programs in the brain are involuntarily activated (each with a different potential movement we can make), which all compete with one another. One program emerges as the winner of the competition and is ready to be implemented while the other programs (which would result in erroneous movements) are inhibited. ...> Full Article

Shaming some kids makes them more aggressive (12/22/2008)

Aren't you ashamed of yourself? All these years, you've been trying to build up your child's self-esteem, and now a growing body of research suggests you may be making a big mistake. A study published in the December issue of Child Development finds that early adolescents with high self-esteem are more likely to react aggressively when they feel ashamed than their peers with lower levels of self-esteem. ...> Full Article

Cry me a river: The psychology of crying (12/22/2008)

We've all experienced a 'good cry.' But why is crying beneficial? And is there such a thing as a 'bad cry'? A new report in Current Directions in Psychological Science describes some recent findings about the psychology of crying. Analysis of the detailed accounts of more than 3,000 recent crying experiences found that the benefits of crying depend entirely on the what, where and when of a particular crying episode. ...> Full Article

Sex difference on spatial skill test linked to brain structure (12/21/2008)

Men consistently outperform women on spatial tasks, including mental rotation, which is the ability to identify how a 3-D object would appear if rotated in space. A University of Iowa study shows a connection between this sex-linked ability and the structure of the parietal lobe, the brain region that controls this type of skill. ...> Full Article

The more you take the more you lose (12/21/2008)

The truth about give and take in social situations ...> Full Article

Old and young brains rely on different systems to remember emotional content (12/20/2008)

Neuroscientists from Duke University Medical Center have discovered that older people use their brains differently than younger people when it comes to storing memories, particularly those associated with negative emotions. ...> Full Article

Humans and chimps register faces by using similar brain regions (12/19/2008)

Chimpanzees recognize their pals by using some of the same brain regions that switch on when humans register a familiar face. The study -- the first to examine brain activity in chimpanzees after they attempt to match fellow chimps' faces -- offers new insight into the origin of face recognition in humans, the researchers said. ...> Full Article

Girls have superior sense of taste to boys (12/19/2008)

8,900 Danish schoolchildren behind new research findings ...> Full Article

More than just being a sentimental fool: The psychology of nostalgia (12/18/2008)

Nostalgia has a long history, being viewed initially as a medical disease, then as a psychiatric disease. According to a new report in Current Directions in Psychological Science, only recently have psychologists begun focusing on the positive and potentially therapeutic aspects of nostalgia. Research suggests that nostalgia can promote psychological health, including counteracting the effects of loneliness and providing us with a greater sense of continuity and meaning to our lives. ...> Full Article

Pain hurts more if the person hurting you means it (12/17/2008)

Psychologists at Harvard University have found that pain hurts more when we think that someone intended to cause hurt. Intentional pain also seems to have a fresh sting every time, whereas we get used to unintentional pain. ...> Full Article

Study reveals clues to how we forget over short-term (12/17/2008)

Theories suggest that we forget when information simply decays from our memory (when too much time has passed) or when we confuse an item with other items that we have previously encountered (also known as temporal confusability). Psychologists investigated the two theories to pinpoint the main cause of forgetfulness over the short term. The results, reported in Psychological Science, reveal that temporal confusability, and not decay, is important for forgetting over the short term. ...> Full Article

Brain background to body mass (12/16/2008)

Brain genes associated with increased body mass ...> Full Article

Exercise suppresses appetite by affecting appetite hormones (12/15/2008)

A vigorous 60-minute workout on a treadmill affects the release of two key appetite hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY, while 90 minutes of weight lifting affects the level of only ghrelin. The research shows that aerobic exercise is better at suppressing appetite than nonaerobic exercise and provides a possible explanation for how that happens. This line of research may eventually lead to more effective ways to use exercise to help control weight. ...> Full Article

Inside the consumer mind: brain scans reveal choice mechanism (12/15/2008)

What can retailers do to make the choice process easier? ...> Full Article

Low-carb diets can affect dieters' cognition skills (12/14/2008)

Tufts study compared women's cognition on low-carb and reduced-calorie diets ...> Full Article

Cellular 'brakes' may slow memory process in aging brains (12/13/2008)

When diseases or even old age threaten brain cells, some neurons survive while neurons no farther than a millimeter away die. University of Florida researchers may have discovered a molecular mechanism that puts the brakes of cell-survival processes, a finding that could be important for understanding age-related memory loss. ...> Full Article

Women who are perceived as confident in job interviews also seen as lacking social skills (12/13/2008)

Modest candidates viewed as more likeable but less competent ...> Full Article

Study reveals effects of unconscious exposure to advertisements (12/12/2008)

Findings could help marketers optimize advertising for the human mind ...> Full Article

Conscious vs. unconscious thought in making complicated decisions (12/12/2008)

It may be surprising to learn that recent studies have suggested that the best way to deal with complex decisions is to not think about them at all -- that unconscious thought will help us make the best choices. Although this may seem like an appealing strategy, new research in Psychological Science cautions that there are limitations in the efficacy of unconscious thought making the best decisions. ...> Full Article

Researcher finds link between aggression, status and sex (12/12/2008)

Have you ever wondered why it seems like the littlest things make people angry? Why a glance at the wrong person or a spilled glass of water can lead to a fist fight or worse? University of Minnesota researcher Vladas Griskevicius has three words to explain why people may be evolutionarily inclined to make a mountain out of molehill: aggression, status and sex. ...> Full Article

Are men hardwired to overspend? (12/11/2008)

Bling, foreclosures, rising credit card debt, bank and auto bailouts, upside down mortgages and perhaps a mid-life crisis new Corvette -- all symptoms of compulsive overspending. ...> Full Article

Unlocking the mysteries of memory (12/10/2008)

Groundbreaking research on human memory by Tel Aviv University. ...> Full Article

EEGs show brain differences between poor and rich kids (12/9/2008)

Prefrontal cortex activity in poor children resembles that of stroke victim, study finds ...> Full Article

Happiness is a collective -- not just individual -- phenomenon (12/8/2008)

Happiness spreads through social networks like an emotional contagion, according to a study that looked at nearly 5,000 individuals over a period of 20 years. When an individual becomes happy, the network effect can be measured up to three degrees. One person's happiness triggers a chain reaction that benefits not only his friends, but his friends' friends, and his friends' friends' friends. The effect lasts for up to one year. Conversely, sadness does not spread through social networks as robustly as happiness. ...> Full Article

Too much commitment may be unhealthy for relationships, psychology professor says (12/6/2008)

Relationship-contingent self-esteem can trigger depression and anxiety, eroding bonds ...> Full Article

Stress-related disorders affect brain's processing of memory (12/5/2008)

Researchers using functional MRI have determined that the circuitry in the area of the brain responsible for suppressing memory is dysfunctional in patients suffering from stress-related psychiatric disorders. Results of the study will be presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. ...> Full Article

Stereotypes, bias and personnel decisions (12/4/2008)

2 articles explore complexity of stereotyping and workplace discrimination ...> Full Article

The freedom of power (12/4/2008)

New research explores the creative and attitude expressions of the powerful and the powerless ...> Full Article

Exercise helps prevent age-related brain changes in older adults (12/3/2008)

Older adults who exercise regularly show increased cerebral blood flow and a greater number of small blood vessels in the brain. ...> Full Article

Cleanliness can compromise moral judgment (12/2/2008)

The next time you have to make a difficult moral decision, you might think twice about mulling it over in the bath or shower ...> Full Article

Scientists offer explanation for 'face blindness' (12/1/2008)

New research provides insight into intriguing disorder ...> Full Article