Public Library of Science

Laughter perception networks in brain different for mocking, joyful or ticklish laughter

A laugh may signal mockery, humor, joy or simply be a response to tickling, but each kind of laughter conveys a wealth of auditory and social information. These different kinds of laughter also spark different connections ...

Neuroscience created May 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Self-affirmation improves problem-solving under stress

It's no secret that stress increases your susceptibility to health problems, and it also impacts your ability to solve problems and be creative. But methods to prevent associated risks and effects have been less clear – ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 01, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Biogeographic barrier that protects Australia from avian flu does not stop Nipah virus

An invisible barrier separates land animals in Australia from those in south-east Asia may also restrict the spillover of animal-borne diseases like avian flu, but researchers have found that fruit bats on ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 24, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study suggests clenching right hand may help form memories, left may help recall words

Clenching your right hand may help form a stronger memory of an event or action, and clenching your left may help you recollect the memory later, according to research published April 24 in the open access ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 24, 2013 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (8) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Air pollution and hardening of arteries

Long term exposure to air pollution may be linked to heart attacks and strokes by speeding up atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries", according to a study by U.S. researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

Health created Apr 23, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Long-term ADHD treatment increases brain dopamine transporter levels, may affect drug efficacy

Long-term treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with certain stimulant medications may alter the density of the dopamine transporter, according to research published May 15 in the open access journal ...

Attention deficit disorders created May 15, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Clinically depressed patients phrase personal goals in less specific terms

People suffering from clinical depression express personal goals and reasons for their attainment or failure in less specific terms than people without the disorder. This lack of specificity in representing personal goals ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 15, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Asymptomatic carriage of M. pneumoniae common in children

The bacterium M. pneumoniae is carried at high rates in the upper respiratory tracts of healthy children and usual diagnostic tests cannot differentiate between such asymptomatic carriage and actual respiratory tract infect ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Brain, not eye mechanisms keep color vision constant across lifespan

Cone receptors in the human eye lose their color sensitivity with age, but our subjective experience of color remains largely unchanged over the years. This ability to compensate for age-related changes in color perception ...

Cardiology created May 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Older people in Africa have limited functional ability

The number of adults living into older age in sub-Saharan Africa is rapidly growing yet many older men and women will have an illness or disability that limits their ability to function, according to a study by researchers ...

Health created May 07, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Link between intimate partner violence and depression

Not only are women who have experienced violence from their partner (intimate partner violence) at higher risk of becoming depressed, but women who are depressed may also be at increased risk of experiencing intimate partner ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 07, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Upper GI bleed linked to death from other causes

Individuals who have experienced a major bleed from their stomach or oesophagus (known as an upper gastrointestinal bleed) may be more likely to die from other causes, particularly malignant tumours and cardiovascular disease, ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 30, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Body size conveyed by voice determines vocal attractiveness

Deep male voices and high-pitched female voices are perceived as more attractive because listeners gauge the speaker's body size from the frequency of their voice, according to research published April 24 in the open access ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 24, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Mental health and NCDs

Non-communicable diseases (NCD) and mental disorders each constitute a huge portion of the worldwide health care burden, and often occur together, so they should be addressed together. These are the conclusions of the third ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Implementation research and child diarrhea

While considerable recent progress has been made against childhood diarrheal diseases, the number of children dying from diarrhoea remains unacceptably high.

Pediatrics created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0