http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—Extreme fatigue is common in U.S. teens and often goes untreated, a new study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-teens-struggle-extreme-fatigue-survey.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 02 May 2013 07:20:02 EST news286690603 Mimicking the behaviour of mum and dad has long been considered a vital way in which children learn about the world around them. Now psychologists at The University of Nottingham have shown that copying unnecessary behaviour is more likely to be a social phenomenon than part of the practical process of acquiring new skills. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-social-phenomenon-scientists.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:00:01 EST news284638543 (Medical Xpress)—As Autism Awareness Month kicks off this April, experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) offer tips to an increasing number of parents and children facing the challenges the disorder presents. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-child-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:00:01 EST news284197461 Researchers at the University of Essex have developed a free mobile app that turns an iPhone or iPod into a hearing aid that could revolutionise the future for people with hearing loss. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-mobile-app-iphone-biologically-aid.html Health Fri, 29 Mar 2013 07:58:12 EST news283762679 Researchers at Yale School of Medicine are able to detect deficits in social attention in infants as young as six months of age who later develop Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Published in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry, the results showed that these infants paid less attention to people and their activities than typically developing babies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-attention-deficits-babies-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:47:12 EST news279280012 (Medical Xpress)—A new University of Michigan study finds that an overactive part of the brain hinders autistic teens from coping in unfamiliar social settings, leaving them feeling overwhelmed and anxious. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-overactive-brain-autistic-teens-adjusting.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 09 Jan 2013 06:26:30 EST news276935182 (Medical Xpress)—Schoolchildren on the autistic spectrum experience worrying levels of mental health difficulties, according to a new study by research psychologists from The University of Manchester. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-reveals-hidden-anguish-schoolchildren-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:39:33 EST news275049537 A new study finds differences in the ways that participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) helps men and women maintain sobriety. Two Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators found that, while many factors are helpful to all AA participants, some were stronger in men and some in women. For example, avoidance of companions who encourage drinking and social situations in which drinking is common had more powerful benefits for men, while increased confidence in the ability to avoid drinking while feeling sad, depressed or anxious appeared to be more important for women. Their report will appear in Drug and Alcohol Dependence and has been released online. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-women-men-benefit-ways-aa.html Addiction Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:24:05 EST news273929035 Women who have undergone group therapy and learned to relax have reduced their menopausal troubles by half, according to results of a study at Linköping University and Linköping University Hospital in Sweden. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-good-therapy-hot-flushes.html Health Fri, 23 Nov 2012 10:00:01 EST news272886560 Most people are faced with embarrassment or humiliation at some point in their lives. Maybe they get nervous before a big presentation to the bosses at work. Maybe they get a bit anxious thinking about approaching an attractive stranger at a party. But where is the line between normal shyness and social anxiety disorder? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-nervous-social-anxiety-disorder-simply.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:40:55 EST news272551225 A principal standing in the hallway says, "You are one of my favorite students!" In class, a smart girl says, "You are the nicest person in our class!" http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-avatars-children-social-anxiety.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:41:12 EST news258716460 The number of children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) declines as they enter adolescence, but the teen years can be a devastating trial of behavior and learning problems for kids with persistent OSA, new research shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-apnea-persisting-teens-impact-life.html Sleep apnea Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:00:04 EST news258658498 Many young adults explore and define their sexual identity in college, but that process can be stressful and lead to risky behaviors. In a new study, students whose sexual self-definition didn't fall into exclusively heterosexual or homosexual categories tended to misuse alcohol more frequently than people who had a firmly defined sexual orientation for a particular gender, according to University of Missouri researchers. These findings could be used to improve support programs for sexual minorities. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-sexual-fluctuation-alcohol-misuse.html Addiction Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:51:39 EST news258209493 As knowledge and awareness of autism grows in the community, so do the myths. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-myths-aboutautism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:50:02 EST news252061999 In a study published in the March 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Katherine Rice and colleagues, from the Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and Emory University School of Medicine, used eye-tracking technology to measure the relationship between cognitive and social disability in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and the ability of children with ASD to pay attention to social interactions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-eye-tracking-reveals-variability-successful-social.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:04:22 EST news249559455 If you are a people-pleaser who strives to keep your social relationships smooth and comfortable, you might find yourself overeating in certain social situations like Super Bowl watch parties. A new study from Case Western Reserve University found that, hungry or not, some people eat in an attempt to keep others comfortable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-extra-burgers-fries-people-pleasers.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:40:01 EST news247288882 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects about 1 in 100 children resulting in a range of problems in language, communication and understanding other people's emotional cues, all of which can lead to difficulties in social situations. Boys are three to four more times as likely to be affected as girls and consequently it has been suggested that the genes involved in this disorder may be linked to the X chromosome. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Molecular Autism used genome wide association study (GWAS) data to find a variation in the gene for transducin ß-like 1X-linked (TBL1X) which is associated with increased risk of ASD in boys. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-tbl1x-gene-involved-autism.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 04 Nov 2011 02:50:21 EST news239593656 Impulsive individuals tend to display aggressive behavior and have challenges ranging from drug and alcohol abuse, to problem gambling and difficult relationships. They are less able to adapt to different social situations. Impulsivity is also a common feature of psychiatric disorders. New research in Biological Psychiatry shows that people may react this way, in part, because they have lower levels of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter, in a specific part of their brain involved in regulating self-control. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-impulsive-men-disinhibited-brains-behavior.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:19:30 EST news239530762 Does your teen show normal nerves about the weekend party, or always stay home? Nearly half of teenagers say they're shy, perhaps a bit surprising in our say-anything society. But a government study finds a small fraction of those teens show signs of a troubling anxiety disorder that can be mistaken for extreme shyness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-teens-shy.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:38:41 EST news238088314 Your friend debuts a questionable haircut and asks what you think of it. Brutal honesty would definitely hurt his feelings, so what do you say? Most people in this situation would probably opt for a vague or evasive response, along the lines of "It's really unique!" or "It's so you!" Politeness helps us get through awkward social situations like these and makes it easier for us to maintain our relationships. But a new article published in the October issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that this kind of politeness can have disastrous consequences, especially in high-stakes situations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-perils-polite.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:58:21 EST news237567480 Understanding the line between harmless teasing and abusive bullying can mean the difference between interfering parents and those who help their children overcome painful child abuse, according to the newly appointed director of the University at Buffalo's Dr. Jean Alberti Center for the Prevention of Bullying Abuse and School Violence. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-dont-bullying-primer.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:17:27 EST news234001026 Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but how do our brains decide when and who we should copy? Researchers from The University of Nottingham have found that the key may lie in an unspoken invitation communicated through eye contact. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-eye-key-scientists.html Neuroscience Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:12:25 EST news232737131 Training teenagers to look at social situations positively could help those with anxiety and may help prevent problems persisting into adult life, new research from Oxford University is beginning to suggest. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-accentuating-positive-negative-teenagers-anxiety.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 13 Jul 2011 02:54:15 EST news229744437 (Medical Xpress) -- Self-identified social smokers are less likely to try to quit and to avoid smoking for more than a month, according to a national study in the American Journal of Public Health conducted by professors at the University of California, Merced, and UC San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-self-identified-social-smokers.html Health Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:42:22 EST news227263315 Understanding the actions of other people can be difficult for those with schizophrenia. Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered that impairments in a brain area involved in perception of social stimuli may be partly responsible for this difficulty. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-people-schizophrenia-social-cues.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 24 May 2011 15:48:04 EST news225470872 Drinking alcohol primes certain areas of our brain to learn and remember better, says a new study from the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research at The University of Texas at Austin. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-alcohol-brain.html Neuroscience Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:54:45 EST news221824459