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Thinking abstractly like a duck(ling)
In the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, when one of a trio of bungling prison escapees angrily asks another, “Who elected you leader of this outfit?” his buddy smugly quips, “I figured it should be the one with the capacity for abstract thought.” Indeed, abstract conceptual thought is held to be so central to being human that the idea of someone being incapable of this kind of thinking is a subject for (sometimes rather cruel) humor.
Fear of Ebola
Author Contributions H. S. Kim and D. K. Sherman developed the study concept and contributed to the study design. Testing and data collection were performed by YouGov.com under the supervision of H. S. Kim and D. K. Sherman. J. A. Updegraff performed the data analysis. All authors interpreted the data and wrote the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission. In response to the Ebola scare in 2014, many people evinced strong fear and xenophobia.
Electrical Stimulation of Visual Cortex Can Immediately Improve Spatial Vision
We can improve human vision by correcting the optics of our lenses [ 1–3 ]. However, after the eye transduces the light, visual cortex has its own limitations that are challenging to correct [ 4 ]. Overcoming these limitations has typically involved innovative training regimes that improve vision across many days [ 5, 6 ]. In the present study, we wanted to determine whether it is possible to immediately improve the precision of spatial vision with noninvasive direct-current stimulation.
How does climate affect violence? Researchers offer new theory
Researchers have long struggled to explain why some violent crime rates are higher near the equator than other parts of the world. Now, a team of researchers have developed a model that could help explain why. This new model goes beyond the simple fact that hotter temperatures seem to be linked to more aggressive behavior. Paul van Lange, a professor of psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam along with Maria I.
Researchers offer new theory on how climate affects violence
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Researchers have long struggled to explain why some violent crime rates are higher near the equator than other parts of the world. Now, a team of researchers have developed a model that could help explain why. This new model goes beyond the simple fact that hotter temperatures seem to be linked to more aggressive behavior.
'Now-or-never bottleneck' explains language acquisition
ITHACA, N.Y. - We are constantly bombarded with linguistic input, but our brains are unable to remember long strings of linguistic information. How does the brain make sense of this ongoing deluge of sound?
Matrilineal Behavioral and Physiological Changes following the Death of a Non-Alpha Matriarch in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)
In many species, the loss of alpha matriarchs is associated with a number of negative outcomes such as troop fission, eviction, wounding, and reduced vitality. However, whether the dramatic consequences of their loss are due to their role as an old experienced figure or to their alpha status remains unclear.
Neurocognitive Risk in Children With Cochlear Implants
Importance Children who receive a cochlear implant (CI) for early severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss may achieve age-appropriate spoken language skills not possible before implantation.
Preterm Birth and Mortality and Morbidity: A Population-Based Quasi-experimental Study
Importance Preterm birth is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. However, previous studies have been unable to rigorously examine whether confounding factors cause these associations rather than the harmful effects of being born preterm.
Ventral Pallidum Neurons Encode Incentive Value and Promote Cue-Elicited Instrumental Actions
To use the Enhanced view of this article, please enable JavaScript on in your browser and refresh the page. Online Now Article ReportVentral Pallidum Neurons Encode Incentive Value and Promote Cue-Elicited Instrumental Actions Jocelyn M. RichardxJocelyn M.
The Busier the Better: Greater Busyness Is Associated with Better Cognition
Sustained engagement in mentally challenging activities has been shown to improve memory in older adults. We hypothesized that a busy schedule would be a proxy for an engaged lifestyle and would facilitate cognition. Here, we examined the relationship between busyness and cognition in adults aged 50–89. Participants ( N = 330) from the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study (DLBS) completed a cognitive battery and the Martin and Park Environmental Demands Questionnaire (MPED), an assessment of busyness.
Context Moderates Affirmation Effects on the Ethnic Achievement Gap
We attempted to replicate a self-affirmation intervention that produced a 40% reduction in the academic achievement gap among at-risk students. The intervention was designed as a protection against stereotype threat—, which creates stress and suppresses the performance, engagement, and learning of students stereotyped as intellectually inferior.
Taming the White Bear
Previous research indicates that prior information about a target feature, such as its color, can speed search. Can search also be speeded by knowing what a target will not look like? In the two experiments reported here, participants searched for target letters. Prior to viewing search displays, participants were prompted either with the color in which one or more nontarget letters would appear (ignore trials) or with no information about the search display (neutral trials).
The Structure of Human Prosociality
Prosocial behavior is crucial for functioning societies. However, its reliable scientific assessment and the understanding of its underlying structure are still a challenge.
Bilingual baby brains show increased activity in executive function regions
This news release is available in Spanish. Many brain studies show that bilingual adults have more activity in areas associated with executive function, a set of mental abilities that includes problem-solving, shifting attention and other desirable cognitive traits. Now new findings reveal that this bilingualism-related difference in brain activity is evident as early as 11 months of age, just as babies are on the verge of producing their first words.
In Memoriam: John F. Kurtzke, MD (1926-2015): A Founding Father of Neuroepidemiology and Pioneer of Modern Clinical Trial Design
The American Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The AMA designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM per course. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
The Impact of Affect on Out-Group Judgments Depends on Dominant Information-Processing Styles
Two studies tested the affect-as-cognitive-feedback model, in which positive and negative affective states are not uniquely associated with particular processing styles, but rather serve as feedback about currently accessible processing styles. The studies extend existing work by investigating (a) both incidental and integral affect, (b) out-group judgments, and (c) downstream consequences.
A Model of Representational Spaces in Human Cortex
We scanned 11 healthy young right-handed participants (4 females; mean age: 24.6 ± 3.7 years) with no history of neurological or psychiatric illness. All had normal or corrected-to-normal vision. Informed consent was collected in accordance with the procedures set by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects. Subjects were paid for their participation. Estimating the spatial resolution of shared representations in the common model space.
Robot Guided ‘Pen Skill’ Training in Children with Motor Difficulties
Citation: Shire KA, Hill LJB, Snapp-Childs W, Bingham GP, Kountouriotis GK, Barber S, et al. (2016) Robot Guided ‘Pen Skill’ Training in Children with Motor Difficulties. PLoS ONE 11(3): e0151354. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0151354 Copyright: © 2016 Shire et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
How to build a caring economy
Research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience shows beyond doubt that the assumptions about human nature that underpin mainstream economic models are simply wrong. If, therefore, we are to address some of our most pressing global problems, such as climate change and inequality, we need to devise new economic models that accommodate the real complexity of human nature.
Improved prediction of complex diseases by common genetic markers: state of the art and further perspectives
Reliable risk assessment of frequent, but treatable diseases and disorders has considerable clinical and socio-economic relevance. However, as these conditions usually originate from a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors, precise prediction remains a considerable challenge. The current progress in genotyping technology has resulted in a substantial increase of knowledge regarding the genetic basis of such diseases and disorders.
Paternal Age at Childbearing and Offspring Psychiatric and Academic Morbidity
Importance Advancing paternal age is associated with increased genetic mutations during spermatogenesis, which research suggests may cause psychiatric morbidity in the offspring. The effects of advancing paternal age at childbearing on offspring morbidity remain unclear, however, because of inconsistent epidemiologic findings and the inability of previous studies to rigorously rule out confounding factors.
Abnormal Rich Club Organization and Functional Brain Dynamics in Schizophrenia
Importance The human brain forms a large-scale structural network of regions and interregional pathways. Recent studies have reported the existence of a selective set of highly central and interconnected hub regions that may play a crucial role in the brain’s integrative processes, together forming a central backbone for global brain communication. Abnormal brain connectivity may have a key role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
How can peers, parents, schools and new media stop bullying?
Los Angeles, CA (January 27, 2016) A new review of research out today outlines roles and recommendations for peers, parents, schools and new media platforms to stop bullying. This review was published in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, a Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS) journal published in partnership with SAGE Publishing.
What Comes After /f/? Prediction in Speech Derives From Data-Explanatory Processes
Acoustic cues are short-lived and highly variable, which makes speech perception a difficult problem. However, most listeners solve this problem effortlessly. In the present experiment, we demonstrated that part of the solution lies in predicting upcoming speech sounds and that predictions are modulated by high-level expectations about the current sound. Participants heard isolated fricatives (e.g., “s,” “sh”) and predicted the upcoming vowel.
Climate Change and Disasters
This research examined whether framing a natural disaster as the product of climate change impacts attitudes toward disaster victims and humanitarian relief. Participants (n = 211) read an article about a famine caused by severe droughts, with one condition attributing the droughts to climate change and the other condition made no mention of climate change.
America and the Age of Genocide
Drawing on research on the collapse of compassion and group processes and interrelations, four experiments investigated how labeling a conflict “genocide” affects distant bystanders’ support for intervention. The genocide label (compared with no label or the label “not a genocide”) weakened Americans’ support for intervention in a crisis analogous to Darfur. Ingroup glorification moderated this effect such that the genocide label decreased support at high levels of glorification (Studies 1-3).
Meningeal norepinephrine produces headache behaviors in rats via actions both on dural afferents and fibroblasts
Background Stress is commonly reported to contribute to migraine although mechanisms by which this may occur are not fully known. The purpose of these studies was to examine whether norepinephrine (NE), the primary sympathetic efferent transmitter, acts on processes in the meninges that may contribute to the pain of migraine. Methods NE was applied to rat dura using a behavioral model of headache.
Growing Fixed With Age
Beliefs about whether people can change (“lay theories” of malleability) are known to have wide-ranging effects on social motivation, cognition, and judgment. Yet rather than holding an overarching belief that people can or cannot change, perceivers may hold independent beliefs about whether different people are malleable—that is, lay theories may be target-specific.
(Baby)Talk to Me
Since the mid-20th century, scientists have observed unique features in speech, facial expression, and content directed to infants and toddlers in comparison to speech directed to adults. Whereas much research has studied the characteristics of so-called infant-directed speech and speculated about its significance for language learning, research directly testing these ideas has been more limited until recently.
Recognizing the Presidents
Studies over the past 40 years have shown that Americans can recall about half the U.S. presidents. Do people know the presidents even though they are unable to access them for recall? We investigated this question using the powerful cues of a recognition test. Specifically, we tested the ability of 326 online subjects to recognize U.S. presidents when presented with their full names among various types of lures.
The Words Children Hear
Young children learn language from the speech they hear. Previous work suggests that greater statistical diversity of words and of linguistic contexts is associated with better language outcomes. One potential source of lexical diversity is the text of picture books that caregivers read aloud to children. Many parents begin reading to their children shortly after birth, so this is potentially an important source of linguistic input for many children.
Lady in Red
Recent evidence supports the idea that women use red clothing as a courtship tactic, and results from one study further suggested that women were more likely to wear red on days of high fertility in their menstrual cycles. Subsequent studies provided mixed support for the cycle-phase effect, although all such studies relied on counting methods of cycle-phase estimation and used between-subjects designs.
Competence Judgments Based on Facial Appearance Are Better Predictors of American Elections Than of Korean Elections
Author Contributions J. Na and A. O’Toole developed the study concept and contributed to the study design. Testing and data collection were performed by J. Na in the United States and by S. Kim and H. Oh in Korea. J. Na and A. O’Toole performed the data analysis and interpretation. J. Na and A. O’Toole drafted the manuscript and the other authors provided comments. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
Associations between Parity, Hair Hormone Profiles during Pregnancy and Lactation, and Infant Development in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta)
Studies examining hormones throughout pregnancy and lactation in women have been limited to single, or a few repeated, short-term measures of endocrine activity. Furthermore, potential differences in chronic hormonal changes across pregnancy/lactation between first-time and experienced mothers are not well understood, especially as they relate to infant development.
Comment on “Number-space mapping in the newborn chick resembles humans’ mental number line”
Rugani et al. (1) presented evidence in support of the claim that domestic chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) employ a “mental number line” similar to that used by most, but not all, humans. This Comment will focus on a critical flaw in the study’s design and statistical analysis. I argue that Rugani et al. failed to measure, model, or control for the significant side biases displayed by precocial birds, including the domestic chicks used in their study (2–9).
Consciousness has less control than believed, according to new theory
Consciousness -- the internal dialogue that seems to govern one's thoughts and actions -- is far less powerful than people believe, serving as a passive conduit rather than an active force that exerts control, according to a new theory proposed by an SF State researcher. Associate Professor of Psychology Ezequiel Morsella's "Passive Frame Theory" suggests that the conscious mind is like an interpreter helping speakers of different languages communicate.
What Is Quantum Cognition, and How Is It Applied to Psychology?
Quantum cognition is a new research program that uses mathematical principles from quantum theory as a framework to explain human cognition, including judgment and decision making, concepts, reasoning, memory, and perception. This research is not concerned with whether the brain is a quantum computer. Instead, it uses quantum theory as a fresh conceptual framework and a coherent set of formal tools for explaining puzzling empirical findings in psychology.
Video: Can training our brains make us more compassionate?
Can training our brains help make the world a better place? Tania Singer from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences thinks it can. She’s a social neuroscientist and psychologist who says the brain’s plasticity means it can be trained to make us less selfish and more compassionate.
Does Seeing Faces of Young Black Boys Facilitate the Identification of Threatening Stimuli?
Pervasive stereotypes linking Black men with violence and criminality can lead to implicit cognitive biases, including the misidentification of harmless objects as weapons. In four experiments, we investigated whether these biases extend even to young Black boys (5-year-olds).
Group Cooperation without Group Selection: Modest Punishment Can Recruit Much Cooperation
Citation: Krasnow MM, Delton AW, Cosmides L, Tooby J (2015) Group Cooperation without Group Selection: Modest Punishment Can Recruit Much Cooperation. PLoS ONE 10(4): e0124561. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124561 Copyright: © 2015 Krasnow et al.
Is Empathic Accuracy Enough to Facilitate Responsive Behavior in Dyadic Interaction? Distinguishing Ability From Motivation
Author Contributions L. A. Winczewski and N. L. Collins developed the study concept. All authors contributed to the study design. Data were collected by L. A. Winczewski and J. D. Bowen. L. A. Winczewski conducted all analyses under the supervision of N. L. Collins. L. A. Winczewski drafted the manuscript, and revisions were made by J. D. Bowen and N. L. Collins. All authors approved the final version of the article for submission.
Brain Reward Activity to Masked In-Group Smiling Faces Predicts Friendship Development
This study examined whether neural responses in the ventral striatum (VS) to in-group facial expressions—presented without explicit awareness—could predict friendship patterns in newly arrived individuals from China 6 months later.
Observing the unexpected enhances infants’ learning and exploration
Infants use “unexpectedness” as a cue for learning. Stahl and Feigenson studied how babies reacted when objects behaved in surprising ways (see the Perspective by Schulz). Babies who saw apparently solid and weighty objects moving through a wall or past the edge of a table without falling looked intently at them. When given the opportunity to explore these peculiar objects, they did so by banging them on the floor—as if to test their solidity—or dropping them—as if to test their weightiness.
Variation in an Iron Metabolism Gene Moderates the Association Between Blood Lead Levels and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children
Author Contributions J. T. Nigg and K. H. Friderici developed the study concept and design. Data collection, including genotyping of samples analyzing blood lead levels, was overseen by J. T. Nigg, K. H. Friderici, and M. A. Nikolas. M. A. Nikolas, A. L. Elmore, and N. Natarajan performed the data analysis with supervision and guidance by J. T. Nigg. J. T. Nigg, A. L. Elmore, and M. A. Nikolas drafted the manuscript, and all authors provided critical revisions. All authors approved the final manuscript before submission.
Greater Maternal Insensitivity in Childhood Predicts Greater Electrodermal Reactivity During Conflict Discussions With Romantic Partners in Adulthood
In this study, we drew on prospective, longitudinal data to investigate the long-term predictive significance of the quality of early parent-child relationship experiences for adults’ sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity during conflict discussions with their romantic partners. Maternal sensitivity was repeatedly assessed across childhood via direct observations of mother-child interactions.
Varieties of Visual Working Memory Representation in Infancy and Beyond
Research on the developmental origins of visual working memory in infants has largely progressed along two separate branches. One branch is rooted in the classic work on adult visual working memory, while the other is rooted in the classic work on the object concept in infancy. Both lines of research have yielded some converging results but also some surprisingly different patterns.
Flipping the Switch
Research suggests that high levels of interpersonal power can promote enhanced executive functioning capabilities. The present work explored whether this effect is contingent upon expectancies concerning power’s downstream cognitive consequences. Study 1 showed that social dominance orientation (SDO) predicted idiosyncratic expectancies of mental energy change toward interpersonal power.
Daily Marijuana Use Is Not Associated with Brain Morphometric Measures in Adolescents or Adults
Recent research has suggested that marijuana use is associated with volumetric and shape differences in subcortical structures, including the nucleus accumbens and amygdala, in a dose-dependent fashion. Replication of such results in well controlled studies is essential to clarify the effects of marijuana.
A Company I Can Trust? Organizational Lay Theories Moderate Stereotype Threat for Women
Women remain under-represented in the leadership of corporate America. According to stereotype threat theory, this under-representation may persist because women are concerned about being stereotyped in business settings. Three studies investigated whether an entity (fixed), compared with an incremental (malleable), organizational lay theory is threatening for women evaluating a consulting company.
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