Brain

(New York, New York) October 8, 2013 - A loving touch, characterized by a slow caress or stroke - often an instinctive gesture from a mother to a child or between partners in romantic relationships – may increase the brain's ability to construct a sense of body ownership and, in turn, play a part in creating and sustaining a healthy sense of self. These findings come from a new study published online in Frontiers of Psychology, led by Neuropsychoanalysis Centre Director Dr. Aikaterini (Katerina) Fotopoulou, University College London, and NPSA grantee Dr.

Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia often run in families, but identifying specific genes that increase a person's risk for these complex disorders has proved difficult.

Now scientists from the University of Iowa and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have discovered -- by studying the genetics of two families severely affected by eating disorders -- two gene mutations, one in each family, that are associated with increased risk of developing eating disorders.

Turning to the Internet to find out what ails you is common, but for folks who have trouble handling uncertainty, "cyberchondria" – the online counterpart to hypochondria – worsens as they seek answers, a Baylor University researcher says.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The part of the brain that makes humans and primates social creatures may play a similar role in carnivores, according to a growing body of research by a Michigan State University neuroscientist.

In studying spotted hyenas, lions and, most recently, the raccoon family, Sharleen Sakai has found a correlation between the size of the animals' frontal cortex and their social nature.

Charlottesville, VA (October 8, 2013). Researchers found a significant reduction in the number of deaths of patients hospitalized in New York State with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) between 2001 and 2009. The Brain Trauma Foundation, in collaboration with the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, published the first edition of the "Guidelines for Management of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury" in 1986.

According to a Finnish study, women with eating disorders are less likely to have children than others in their age group. The discrepancy is the most apparent in anorexia sufferers. In this group, the number of pregnancies was less than half of that of the control group.

The likelihood of abortion was more than double for bulimics than for others in the same age group. Meanwhile, the likelihood for miscarriage was more than triple for binge-eating disorder (BED) sufferers. For women who had been in treatment for BED, nearly half of their pregnancies ended in miscarriage.

In a breakthrough for understanding brain evolution, neuroscientists have shown that differences between primate brains - from the tiny marmoset to human – can be largely explained as consequences of the same genetic program.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY'S HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS – Most know that hiding something from others can cause internal angst. New research suggests the consequences can go far beyond emotional strife and that being forced to keep information concealed, such as one's sexual orientation, disrupts the concealer's basic skills and abilities, including intellectual acuity, physical strength, and interpersonal grace—skills critical to workplace success.

EUGENE, Ore. -- Parents who physically abuse their children appear to have a physiological response that subsequently triggers more harsh parenting when they attempt parenting in warm, positive ways, according to new research.

Brain training games, apps, and websites are popular and it's not hard to see why — who wouldn't want to give their mental abilities a boost? New research suggests that brain training programs might strengthen your ability to hold information in mind, but they won't bring any benefits to the kind of intelligence that helps you reason and solve problems.

The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Babies learn how to anticipate touch while in the womb, according to new research by Durham and Lancaster universities.

Using 4-d scans psychologists found, for the first time, that fetuses were able to predict, rather than react to, their own hand movements towards their mouths as they entered the later stages of gestation compared to earlier in a pregnancy.

Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- Think of the smell of freshly baking bread. There is something in that smell, without any other cues – visual or tactile – that steers you toward the bakery. On the flip side, there may be a smell, for instance that of fresh fish, that may not appeal to you. If you haven't eaten a morsel of food in three days, of course, a fishy odor might seem a good deal more attractive.

A study by Simon Fraser University researchers has found seniors in long-term care facilities are at high risk of head injuries – nearly 40 per cent of those who fall experience head impact.

The researchers studied video footage of 227 falls among 133 residents at a local long-term care facility. They found 37 per cent of falling residents struck their heads upon falling, and hit the ground – most often, linoleum or tile flooring – more than 60 per cent of the time. The researchers conclude: "By any measure, this is an alarmingly high prevalence."

In a pilot study by Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, 20 grandmothers were able to lower their stress levels with a biofeedback device that tracks breathing patterns.

According to U. S. Census data, the number of children living with their grandparents has increased 64 percent in the past 20 years. Prior studies at the Case Western Reserve nursing school have found that many grandmothers suffer stress and depression from having to serve as full-time child-care givers at this stage in their lives.

Subtle body cues allow people to identify others with surprising accuracy when faces are difficult to differentiate. This skill may help researchers improve person-recognition software and expand their understanding of how humans recognize each other.

A study published in Psychological Science by researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas demonstrates that humans rely on non-facial cues, such as body shape and build, to identify people in challenging viewing conditions, such as poor lighting.