Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2012 – Neuroeconomics experts and guest editors of the Biological Psychiatry special issue Carla Sharp, John Monterosso, and P. Read Montague in an introductory paper define neuroeconomics as "an interdisciplinary field that brings together psychology, economics, neuroscience, and computational science to investigate how people make decisions."
Brain
Children whose fathers are more positively engaged with them at age three months have fewer behavioural problems at age twelve months, according to new research funded by the Wellcome Trust. The study suggests that interventions aimed at improving parent-child interaction in the early post-natal period may be beneficial to the child's behaviour later on in life.
Chimpanzees use weight to pick the best tool, and monkeys beg more when they're paid attention to, as reported in two independent research reports published July 18 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Problems walking including slow gait and a short stride are associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered. Their findings are being presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference July 14 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mayo Clinic researchers are presenting on several topics, including the following:
MULTIMEDIA ALERT: For multimedia resources including interviews with study authors visit Mayo Clinic News Network.
Putnam Valley, NY. (July 18 , 2012) – Meeting in Amman, Jordan April 27-30, 2011, members of the International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR) presented research aimed at improving the lives of people with neurological conditions such as amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, stroke and muscular dystrophy through a variety of therapies, including cell transplantation. The field of neurorestoratology has emerged as a new discipline in neuroscience, exploring the impact of cell transplantation and other factors on neurological recovery.
What makes soldiers abuse prisoners? How could Nazi officials condemn thousands of Jews to gas chamber deaths? What's going on when underlings help cover up a financial swindle? For years, researchers have tried to identify the factors that drive people to commit cruel and brutal acts and perhaps no one has contributed more to this knowledge than psychological scientist Stanley Milgram.
Using a two-photon microscope capable of peering deep within living tissue, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found new evidence that alpha-synuclein protein build-up inside neurons causes them to not only become "leaky," but also to misfire due to calcium fluxes.
PITTSBURGH— As an old proverb goes, "before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need most."
New research from Carnegie Mellon University's George Loewenstein and the University of Vienna's Linda Dezsö provides evidence of the pitfalls of making or receiving personal loans. Published in the Journal of Economic Psychology, the study is the first to systematically investigate the contours and consequences of loans between peers, such as friends, siblings, and coworkers and shows how self-serving bias behavior affects future relationships.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – July 18, 2012 – Drugs used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) do not appear to have long-term effects on the brain, according to new animal research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
MADISON—Metabolic syndrome, a term used to describe a combination of risk factors that often lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, seems to be linked to lower blood flow to the brain, according to research by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Researchers from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD), University of Exeter, will present the findings of a new study suggesting a link between binge drinking in older adults and the risk of developing dementia.
People are more likely to show forgiving behavior if they receive restitution, but they are more prone to report they have forgiven if they get an apology, according to Baylor University research published in the Journal of Positive Psychology.
The study underscores the importance of both restitution and apology and of using multiple measures for forgiveness, including behavior, said Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.
Washington, D.C. — Two powerful brain chemical systems work together to paralyze skeletal muscles during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, according to new research in the July 18 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The finding may help scientists better understand and treat sleep disorders, including narcolepsy, tooth grinding, and REM sleep behavior disorder.