Neuroscience
Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut:
A basic visual perception computer training task shows some beneficial transfer to working memory among older participants. See earlier.
'...more educated [people] on average believe themselves to be more left wing than their actual beliefs on a substantive issue might suggest' [pdf]
Patients with Alzheimer's disease show lack of insight into their memory loss.
'How representative are experimental findings from American university students?' [pdf]
'This study explores the premise that shame episodes can have the properties of traumatic memories'.
Camera angle and amount of detail interact to influence jurors' perception of the authenticity of video-taped suspect confessions. When the video camera is focused on the suspect (rather than on the interrogator or on both interrogator and suspect) and the confession contains greater detail, the confession is judged to be more authentic and the suspect considered more likely to be guilty.
Effects of institutional care on children's brains (as measured with EEG) is reversible if they were removed from the institution and placed in foster care before the age of 24 months. Suggests there is a 'sensitive period after which brain activity in the face of severe psychosocial deprivation is less amenable to recovery'.
Botox to the facial muscles slows people's ability to read emotional sentences. '...our results suggest the need for further research on cognitive and emotional effects of cosmetic BTX injection'.
Disregard for children's developmental delays shown by mothers and medical professionals in a socio-economically deprived US sample.
Rapid induction of false memory for pictures.
Women with higher pitched voices show a stronger preference than average for deeper male voices.
- Extras
Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut: Women's brains change in size across the menstrual cycle. Do positive children become positive adults? Reminders of death lead people to want to name their children after themselves. 10- to...
- Extras
Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut: Non-patients who hear voices. A light touch on the thigh boosts the handstand balance of gymnasts. American participants assign positive words and negative words to themselves in a 60:40 positively...
- The Type Of Interrogation Likely To Lead To False Confessions
Not surprisingly, confessions are extremely persuasive in court, but according to Jessica Klaver and colleagues, all too often these confessions are false, leading to the wrong person being found guilty. Now Klaver's team have used an elegant laboratory...
- Tapping Into People's Earliest Memories
When it comes to psychologists identifying people's earliest memories, the approach they take matters a lot. That's according to New Zealand psychologists Fiona Jack and Harlene Hayne who say their finding helps explain some of the mixed opinion...
- Students: It's Time To Ditch The Pre-exam All-nighter
Lack of sleep impairs the human brain's ability to store new information in memory, researchers have found. Past research has already shown that sleep is vital for consolidating recently-learned material but now Matthew Walker and colleagues have...
Neuroscience
Extras
A basic visual perception computer training task shows some beneficial transfer to working memory among older participants. See earlier.
'...more educated [people] on average believe themselves to be more left wing than their actual beliefs on a substantive issue might suggest' [pdf]
Patients with Alzheimer's disease show lack of insight into their memory loss.
'How representative are experimental findings from American university students?' [pdf]
'This study explores the premise that shame episodes can have the properties of traumatic memories'.
Camera angle and amount of detail interact to influence jurors' perception of the authenticity of video-taped suspect confessions. When the video camera is focused on the suspect (rather than on the interrogator or on both interrogator and suspect) and the confession contains greater detail, the confession is judged to be more authentic and the suspect considered more likely to be guilty.
Effects of institutional care on children's brains (as measured with EEG) is reversible if they were removed from the institution and placed in foster care before the age of 24 months. Suggests there is a 'sensitive period after which brain activity in the face of severe psychosocial deprivation is less amenable to recovery'.
Botox to the facial muscles slows people's ability to read emotional sentences. '...our results suggest the need for further research on cognitive and emotional effects of cosmetic BTX injection'.
Disregard for children's developmental delays shown by mothers and medical professionals in a socio-economically deprived US sample.
Rapid induction of false memory for pictures.
Women with higher pitched voices show a stronger preference than average for deeper male voices.
- Extras
Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut: Women's brains change in size across the menstrual cycle. Do positive children become positive adults? Reminders of death lead people to want to name their children after themselves. 10- to...
- Extras
Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut: Non-patients who hear voices. A light touch on the thigh boosts the handstand balance of gymnasts. American participants assign positive words and negative words to themselves in a 60:40 positively...
- The Type Of Interrogation Likely To Lead To False Confessions
Not surprisingly, confessions are extremely persuasive in court, but according to Jessica Klaver and colleagues, all too often these confessions are false, leading to the wrong person being found guilty. Now Klaver's team have used an elegant laboratory...
- Tapping Into People's Earliest Memories
When it comes to psychologists identifying people's earliest memories, the approach they take matters a lot. That's according to New Zealand psychologists Fiona Jack and Harlene Hayne who say their finding helps explain some of the mixed opinion...
- Students: It's Time To Ditch The Pre-exam All-nighter
Lack of sleep impairs the human brain's ability to store new information in memory, researchers have found. Past research has already shown that sleep is vital for consolidating recently-learned material but now Matthew Walker and colleagues have...