Articles tagged with Cognitive Psychology
Researchers found four mental states: recollections, connection to environment, bizarreness, and voluntary control, which appear across all three vigilance stages. A specific brain signature for the 'bizarre' dream-like state was also identified, characterized by reduced long-range connectivity between brain regions.
Renowned physician-scientist Francis Collins was recognized for his groundbreaking work on the Human Genome Project and leadership at the National Institutes of Health. The Center for BrainHealth Award honors pioneers who fundamentally reshape understanding of the brain and human potential.
A new study by Bournemouth University found that the brain reacts to emojis in a way similar to seeing real human faces, with neural responses occurring within 145-160 milliseconds. This suggests that emojis can be processed by the brain as meaningful emotional signals during online interaction.
Researchers at the University of Houston found that distraction disrupts memory consolidation primarily due to demands on central executive processing. To improve short-term memory, focus attention on a task for a few seconds before switching, and avoid multitasking.
A digital single-session intervention (SSI) has been shown to meaningfully improve young people's sense of hope and control over their lives. The tool provides short, accessible and evidence-based psychological support and wellbeing activities, increasing feelings of hope and self-agency while reducing feelings of being out of control.
A new study by NUS confirms that word-picture guessing exercises with immediate feedback significantly improve adults' ability to recall new vocabulary in a second language. The research shows that attempting an answer first, even if not fully learned yet, strengthens memory and supports lasting learning.
Social media use has been linked to psychological distress and impaired functioning in some people, but the impact varies widely depending on how and why it's used. Researchers are debating how to measure social media addiction and need more rigorous studies to determine whether it should be classified as a clinical disorder.
Researchers develop molecular tool called SynTrogo, which enables selective dismantling of synaptic connections in brain circuits. By harnessing astrocytes, the system reduces synapse number while strengthening remaining connections, leading to enhanced long-term potentiation and improved memory.
Researchers developed a nasal spray that reversibly reduces brain inflammation, restores cellular power plants, and improves memory. The treatment bypasses the brain's protective shield through intranasal delivery, suppressing chronic inflammation and promoting successful brain aging.
A new study analyzed thousands of textual descriptions of two-person social interactions using generative AI, resulting in a comprehensive taxonomy of categories. The findings provide a data-driven framework for understanding the structure of social situations, including associations with conflict, power, and duty.
A research team identified distinct subregions within the default mode network (DMN) that act as senders and receivers of information, enabling flexible shifts between perception and memory-driven thought. The study reveals that the DMN is not functionally uniform but composed of subregions with distinct connectivity biases.
A new eight-week self-reflection program helps trainees deepen their understanding of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and develop reflective skills. The study found that the program improved satisfaction, self-awareness, and reflective practice among participants, suggesting its potential to support CBT education.
A new twin study reveals that innate IQ is a key predictor of future socio-economic status, with genetics playing a significant role. The study found that IQ is approximately 75% genetically predicted and that socio-economic status is mostly explained by genetics.
A Northwestern University study found that imagination is not just a copy of sensation, but emerges at later stages of processing when the brain represents information holistically. The researchers mapped brain activity during imagination and perception, finding overlap in higher-level association areas.
A research team led by LEE Doyun and KIM Yee-Joon found that the primary visual cortex encodes motion summaries and variability before higher brain regions transform them into category signals. This process, known as ensemble perception, allows the brain to capture the overall structure of a scene at a glance.
Researchers Jing Chen and Simon Fischer-Baum at Rice University have made significant contributions to psychological science, focusing on human-AI interaction and literacy. Their work explores trust in automation, human performance limitations, and how people interpret risk, aiming to improve safety and efficiency across industries.
A systematic review of social media platforms reveals that TikTok contains a substantial proportion of misleading information about mental health and neurodivergence, with higher rates of misinformation than other platforms. The study emphasizes the importance of credible sources and evidence-based content to combat spreading false ide...
A recent study published in Science found that humans and animals have overlapping preferences for certain qualities of an animal's call, with agreement strongest for lower-frequency sounds. The study used a gamified citizen science experiment involving over 4,000 human participants from around the world.
A new Northwestern University study has discovered a novel biomarker of schizophrenia that could also serve as a new drug candidate to treat the cognitive symptoms of the disorder. The study found that levels of the protein Cacna2d1 signal are reduced in patients with schizophrenia, resulting in overactive brain circuits.
Researchers used afterimages to measure brain predictions of visual consequences of eye movements, finding that predictions are accurate but subject to systematic errors. The brain's efference copy helps predict visual shifts, but this prediction falls short of the actual eye movement's consequences.
Researchers found that cortisol significantly worsens orientation in individuals, particularly in environments without landmarks. The brain's internal GPS system, grid cells, lose function under stress, leading to impaired navigation.
Cognitive neuroscientists are integrating genetics and AI to study language development and disorders. AI-based models can predict language development in children, while genetics research links rhythm disorders and dyslexia. The brain's wiring connecting language regions also reveals that language is a system, not a single 'thing'.
New prescriptions for stimulants among adults with ADHD more than doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the largest increases among younger adults. The trend is driven by improved recognition and treatment of ADHD in adulthood, as well as increased access to care and virtual health services.
A new study models brain aging and resilience over the lifespan, uncovering individual factors that affect cognition and identifying potential biomarkers of healthy brain aging. Researchers are now incorporating diverse data, including social and lifestyle factors, to create a broader picture of the aging brain.
A new study suggests that over 40% of UK adults are happy to use ChatGPT for mental health support due to long waiting times for traditional services. However, experts caution that AI should not replace human healthcare professionals and raise concerns about the potential impact on education and physical health.
A randomized study of 14 young adults found that sparkling water consumption reduced subjective fatigue and improved executive function while playing virtual soccer for three hours. Players who drank sparkling water also committed fewer fouls and had better game enjoyment compared to those drinking plain water.
A recent study found that AI programs are up to 97% accurate at detecting pictures of deepfake faces, but performed at chance levels when it comes to detecting deepfake videos. Humans correctly identified real and fake videos about two-thirds of the time, picking up on subtle inconsistencies in movement and facial expressions. The stud...
Researchers investigated which characteristics of crystals made them fascinating to early humans, using experiments with chimpanzees. The chimps showed a strong attraction to transparent and crystalline properties, suggesting that this attraction may have deep evolutionary roots.
A team of MIT engineers identified tacit knowledge in volunteers who classified images, shifting focus to easier-to-classify areas without awareness. Bringing this concealed knowledge to the surface enhances experts' performance, suggesting a method for boosting learning experience in disciplines requiring keen observation skills.
A study from the University of East Anglia found that Covid lockdowns disrupted children's ability to self-regulate, leading to slower growth in executive functions. Reception-age children, who normally learn to socialize and navigate classroom routines, showed significant setbacks in cognitive flexibility and self-regulation skills.
A new study from CU Anschutz links chronic back pain to heightened brain responses to everyday sounds and finds that Pain Reprocessing Therapy can improve sensory amplification. The research found specific brain changes associated with sound hypersensitivity, which can be treated with psychological therapy.
Researchers found no clear link between brain structure and navigation ability in healthy young adults, challenging decades-long assumptions. The study used advanced AI tools to analyze brain scans and detect subtle patterns, but found no measurable connection between brain structure and navigation performance.
Researchers found that veterans with prior concussions showed slower and less accurate eye movements, along with reduced performance on attention-based tasks. These subtle brain changes can be measured more than a decade after the original injury.
Researchers found that children who aren't friends connect better through play when given a task to complete, especially during goal-directed activities. The study, which involved 148 children aged six to eight, shows that connected communication is crucial for social coordination and teamwork.
Research found that bilingual individuals were more creative in their native language but less so in their second language. The study suggests that the language we think in shapes our creativity and that vivid mental imagery plays a key role in divergent thinking.
A UBCO study found that all forms of touch with therapy dogs contribute positively to participants' emotional wellbeing, regardless of which part is interacted with. The research suggests that simple interaction with a therapy dog can make a difference in reducing stress and improving overall well-being.
People can use the musical context to predict what will happen next and feel emotions such as anxiety or happiness. Research shows that using more context improves accuracy in tasks such as remembering chunks of music and predicting the next notes.
A new study from the University of East Anglia found that babies with an increased likelihood of autism may struggle to settle into deep, restorative sleep. Those with high sensory sensitivity slept more lightly even in quiet environments.
Researchers at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that stellate ganglion block enhances the effectiveness of cognitive processing therapy for treating PTSD, leading to faster symptom reduction and improved outcomes.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University demonstrate that apes can use their imagination and play pretend, challenging long-held assumptions about animal cognition. The findings suggest that the capacity to understand pretend objects is within the cognitive potential of enculturated apes.
A new study by University of Toronto researchers found that day-to-day fluctuations in mental sharpness predict success or struggle. Mental sharpness is linked to productivity, goal-setting, and mood, with sharper days leading to more challenging goals and lower-sharpness days stalling on routine tasks.
A new study from Rice University suggests that drivers often misunderstand cyclist hand signals, which can lead to accidents. The research found that arm signals are the most effective way for drivers to understand a cyclist's intentions, but even these signals can be misinterpreted in certain situations.
A long-term study with over 700 participants shows that focusing on the strength of people with depression increases their self-confidence and enables them to better achieve personal goals. Reflecting on their strengths also leads to improved progress towards set goals.
A recent study by the University of York found that UK polling clerks made mistakes in 36% of cases when tested with real ID documents. The findings challenge the assumption that human checks are a reliable barrier against voter fraud, highlighting the need for improved training methods and alternative security measures.
A study warns that current school-based mental health support for children from multilingual backgrounds can be less effective and inaccessible due to linguistic and cultural challenges. The researchers found that conversations were often 'lost in translation,' leading to reduced parental engagement and attendance.
A team of researchers from The University of Osaka compared the way humans and machines think about words, finding some strong correlations but also significant discrepancies. Human ratings varied widely across words like prepositions and conjunctions, while LLMs tended to assign consistently low ratings.
A recent study published in JAMA highlights the importance of effective communication of medical numbers, particularly in preventing nocebo effects. Researchers recommend using positive framing and clear strategies to present numbers in an understandable way, as vague verbal descriptors can amplify fear and unintended expectation effects.
A UH psychologist's study finds that anxiety sensitivity and pain-related anxiety are linked to mental health problems and clinically significant alcohol use among survivors of traumatic sexual assault. The investigation highlights the importance of addressing both types of anxiety in reducing the risk of lifelong challenges.
Caring for grandchildren may help prevent cognitive decline in older adults, according to a recent study published by the American Psychological Association. Grandparents who provided childcare scored higher on tests of memory and verbal fluency compared to those who didn't.
Research suggests that people use a combination of egocentric and allocentric reference frames to navigate complex environments, regardless of cultural background. This integration allows individuals to effectively track objects and movements in their surroundings.
Researchers propose a neuroscience framework explaining how motivation fundamentally reshapes memory. Two motivational moods - an interrogation-driven mood supported by dopamine and an imperative-driven mood supported by noradrenaline - are associated with different neural contexts, determining the type of memory formed.
A new study by University College London researchers found that women and people with anxiety are prone to two distinct types of underconfidence. Women initially show underconfidence but confidence grows as time elapses, while those with anxiety become less confident with more reflection.
Researchers at the University of Houston found that admitting intellectual errors can increase public trust in science. In a classroom setting, professors who admit mistakes were rated higher by students for warmth, competence, and teacher effectiveness. This study highlights the importance of intellectual humility in building respect.
Smartphone apps based on psychological theories are 3 times more effective than minimal support in helping people quit smoking long-term. The apps improve sustained abstinence rates when combined with traditional interventions or pharmacotherapy.
A new study from Tel Aviv University reveals that participants consistently preferred options with more positive facial expression mimicry during conversations. Facial mimicry is found to predict choices even when personal taste is not explicitly stated.
A team from Tokyo Metropolitan University found that numerical information in vision affects spatial perception, introducing complex interplay between object-based processing and number value. Their experiments with squares showed a strong vertical bias when numbers were present, highlighting the impact of the ventral visual stream.
A new study reveals that everyday conversations can delay essential eye-movement responses, affecting the fast visual assessments required for safe driving. The research found that talking imposes cognitive load strong enough to interfere with the neural processes that initiate and guide eye movements.
Mind blanking is characterized by decreased connectivity between neural networks, disrupted visual information processing, and reduced sensory input. The study's findings suggest that being awake does not necessarily mean being conscious of something, and mind blanking corresponds to a genuine interruption in the stream of thoughts.
A research team at the University of Göttingen investigated how laughter can be regulated and found that social cues can strongly interfere with these efforts. The results showed that suppression and distraction were effective strategies to hold back laughter, while cognitive reappraisal could reduce how funny the jokes felt.
A new study examines why some people excel at reading emotions from faces and context, while others struggle. The research finds that individuals use complex or simple strategies to weigh different types of information, with the latter being less cognitively demanding. This variation in integration strategies may contribute to differen...