Feature Channels: Behavioral Science

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19-Aug-2016 3:00 PM EDT
The Brain Uses Backward Instant Replays to Remember Important Travel Routes
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Neuroscientists believe they have figured out how rats solve certain navigational problems. If there’s a “reward” at the end of the trip, specialized neurons in the hippocampus of the brain “replay” the route taken to get it, but backward. And the greater the reward, the more often the rats’ brains replay it.

   
Released: 25-Aug-2016 8:30 AM EDT
Scalpel-Free Surgery Proves Safe, Effective for Treating Essential Tremor
University of Virginia Health System

A study published today in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine offers the most in-depth assessment yet of the safety and effectiveness of a high-tech alternative to brain surgery to treat the uncontrollable shaking caused by the most common movement disorder. And the news is very good.

Released: 25-Aug-2016 8:05 AM EDT
What Makes Southerners Sound Southern?
University of Georgia

Linguistic researchers will be isolating and identifying the specific variations in speech that make Southerners sound Southern.

Released: 24-Aug-2016 11:05 PM EDT
Queen's Researchers Measure Emotional Flexibility in Mother-Daughter Dyads
Queen's University

Queen's University researchers Tom Hollenstein and Jessica Lougheed have published new research on the emotional bonds between mothers and adolescent daughters. The study examined how well mother-daughter pairs were able to manage rapid transitions between emotional states and the so-called "emotional rollercoaster" of adolescence.

18-Aug-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Biomarkers May Help Better Predict Who Will Have a Stroke
American Academy of Neurology (AAN)

People with high levels of four biomarkers in the blood may be more likely to develop a stroke than people with low levels of the biomarkers, according to a study published in the August 24, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Released: 24-Aug-2016 1:05 PM EDT
Working Well by Being Well
Washington University in St. Louis

Nearly 90 percent of companies in the United States use some form of employee wellness program – from gym memberships to health screenings to flu shots – all designed to improve health. A study currently under review and co-authored by a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis empirically tested how these programs affect worker productivity. The research paired individual medical data from employees taking part in a work-based wellness program to their productivity rates over time.

18-Aug-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Graying but Grinning: Despite Physical Ailments, Older Adults Happier
UC San Diego Health

While even the best wines eventually peak and turn to vinegar, a new study by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine suggests a paradoxical trend in the mental health of aging adults: They seem to consistently get better over time.

23-Aug-2016 2:30 PM EDT
How Do Antidepressants Trigger Fear and Anxiety?
University of North Carolina Health Care System

UNC School of Medicine scientists mapped out a serotonin-driven anxiety brain circuit that may explain the acute anxiety side effect of antidepressant use.

Released: 24-Aug-2016 12:05 PM EDT
8 Facts Behind the “Foodie” Phenomena
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)

Forty-eight million Americans define themselves as “foodies,” and 29 million are further categorized as members of a highly involved, seriously culinary group (Packaged Facts). In the August issue of Food Technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists, contributing editor A. Elizabeth Sloan explored the current “foodie” trend in America and the consumer behaviors driving it.

Released: 24-Aug-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Parents, Listen up: Children Keep Still During Prayer
University of California, Riverside

Preschool-aged children, and their parents, are more likely to view the physical actions of prayer (i.e., closing eyes, folding hands) to help with reflection and communicating with God. This is according to a new study by Rebekah Richert, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside. The paper, titled “Folding Your Hands Helps God Hear You: Prayer and Anthropomorphism in Parents and Children,” was published in Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion.

Released: 24-Aug-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Neuroscientists Receive NSF Grant to StudyEvolution of Brain To Support Technological Learning
Georgia State University

The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) at Georgia State University has received a three-year, $970,704 grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate how the human brain has evolved to support technological learning.

Released: 24-Aug-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Tipped Out: Gratuities Present Challenges for Restaurant Operations
University of Guelph

Tipping in restaurants is a widespread practice in need of reform, according to a new study conducted by University of Guelph professors. They found tipping poses significant challenges for restaurants, with managers seeing difficulties in hiring chefs and maintaining a cordial workplace environment. Surprisingly, servers welcomed changes to how tips are divvied up, even at the risk of less income.

Released: 24-Aug-2016 1:05 AM EDT
Too Much Activity in Certain Areas of the Brain Is Bad for Memory and Attention
University of Nottingham

Neurons in the brain interact by sending each other chemical messages, so-called neurotransmitters. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the most common inhibitory neurotransmitter, which is important to restrain neural activity, preventing neurons from getting too trigger-happy and from firing too much or responding to irrelevant stimuli.

Released: 23-Aug-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Americans Favor Gender Roles for Both Heterosexual and Same-Sex Couples
Indiana University

A majority of Americans think the “more masculine” partner and the “more feminine” partner in a same-sex couple should generally be responsible for stereotypically male and female chores, according to new research.

Released: 23-Aug-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Interactions with Faculty Differ for Male and Female College Students
Indiana University

In a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Indiana University doctoral student Emma Cohen looks for answers to questions of how gender shapes college students’ day-to-day academic experiences.

Released: 23-Aug-2016 12:05 PM EDT
The demise of the Maya civilization: Water shortage can destroy cultures
Vienna University of Technology

Something really drastic must have happened to the Ancient Maya at the end of the Classic Period in the 9th century. Within a short period of time, this advanced civilisation in Central America went from flourishing to collapsing -- the population dwindling rapidly and monumental stone structures, like the ones built at Yucatán, were no longer being constructed. The reason for this demise remains the subject of debate even today. Model calculations by TU Wien may have found the explanation: the irrigation technology that served the Mayans well during periods of drought may have actually made their society more vulnerable to major catastrophes.

Released: 23-Aug-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Teachers Favor Middle-Class Behaviors by Students
Indiana University

Research by an Indiana University sociologist finds that teachers often inadvertently translate students’ class-based behaviors into unequal opportunities in school. Teachers favor middle-class students in various ways, perhaps unconsciously.

Released: 23-Aug-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Why Are We So Afraid to Leave Children Alone?
University of California, Irvine

Leaving a child unattended is considered taboo in today’s intensive parenting atmosphere, despite evidence that American children are safer than ever. So why are parents denying their children the same freedom and independence that they themselves enjoyed as children? A new study by University of California, Irvine social scientists suggests that our fears of leaving children alone have become systematically exaggerated in recent decades – not because the practice has become more dangerous, but because it has become socially unacceptable.



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