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Psychology & Psychiatry news

Psychology & Psychiatry

Hot sauce study finds asymmetric placebo effect can offer insights into pain perception

The expectations humans have of a pleasurable sensation asymmetrically shape neuronal responses and subjective experiences to hot sauce, according to a study published October 8, in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by ...

Medical research

Psilocybin may lead to increased optimism, rat study suggests

Monash University researchers have made a breakthrough in the study of psychedelics to treat disorders including major depression, demonstrating that rats given psilocybin exhibit increased optimism over time.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Screen time tied to depression, anxiety in 9- and 10-year-olds

Spending more time on screens increases the likelihood that 9- and 10-year-olds will develop symptoms of mental illness, according to a study by UC San Francisco that is one of the first long-term looks at the problem.

Psychology & Psychiatry

What's driving the rise in ADHD diagnoses among children and adults?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children, and the numbers are only expected to rise. The CDC reported that in 2022, more than 7 million (11.4%) U.S. children ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Is owning a dog good for your health?

Australia loves dogs. We have one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world, and one in two households has at least one dog.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Are auditory magic tricks possible for a blind audience?

Magic tricks make the impossible seem possible. Magicians have long captivated audiences with visual tricks, such as pulling a bunny from a hat or sawing someone in half, but tricks that rely on sound are scarce.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Research reveals gene expression's role in depression and immunity

A new study, conducted in a shared effort between U.K. and Italian researchers offers novel insights about the biological mechanisms behind major depressive disorder (MDD), and especially on the role of the immune system.

Psychology & Psychiatry

A closer look at the neurobiology of psychedelic experiences

Nitrous oxide, colloquially known as laughing gas, has been used clinically as an anesthetic to dull pain since the 19th century. However, in smaller amounts, it can induce mind-altered experiences, including feelings of ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

One-minute visual fixation can identify patients with schizophrenia

In a study published online in the Schizophrenia Bulletin, researchers from Dr. Wang Wei's lab at the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Wang Jijun' ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Junk food ads trigger positive emotions, healthy foods not so much

You might not care about the fast-food commercial shots of juicy burgers or creamy milkshakes, but they might change your beliefs about these items, whereas shots of fresh salads and berries might not, according to a new ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

How do you define shyness? A new study analyzes shyness in children

What is shyness? Research has shown that shyness is characterized by fear and nervousness in response to social novelty and/or social evaluation. Shyness can manifest on behavioral, affective, and physiological levels, but ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Tracking rapidly changing patterns of suicidal thought

In a new study, Harvard researchers took a granular approach to measuring the duration and frequency of suicidal thinking. With the help of a smartphone app, they were able to monitor participants multiple times a day over ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Oh, that's nice: How we recognize irony

We don't always recognize irony right away. An interdisciplinary research team at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main found that irony is primarily signaled by moving stress within a sentence. ...

Medical research

'Scratch and sniff' test sheds light on depression

A five-minute test commonly used to evaluate olfactory function (sense of smell) could also help doctors screen for depression, according to new research out of King George's Medical University, India. The research was presented ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

How do I do 'suicide watch' at home?

Some people still at imminent risk of suicide leave hospital to be cared for at home by their partner.