While it has long been believed that the brain slows as people age, recent research shows it may be a conscious choice that leads older people to emphasize accuracy over speed. The research shows that healthy older people can be trained to respond faster in some decision-making tasks without hurting their accuracy, meaning their cognitive [...]
Emerging research looks at how the hormonal tsunami associated with pregnancy affects a woman’s brain. Scientists have a good understanding of a pregnant mother’s health, behavior, and moods and her baby’s cognitive and psychological development once it is born. But little is known of how pregnancy can change a mother’s brain. “Pregnancy is a critical period [...]
In new research, scientists evaluate how our senses interact to aid our perception of the world. Researchers discovered that the interplay and interaction among senses is complex but important. The intricacy is especially pronounced in regards to perception of moving objects as hearing and sight are deeply intertwined. In fact the connection is so profound [...]
Most would agree that recognizing faces is an important social skill. New research suggests the ability is tied to an individuals’ brain perceiving a face in a holistic manner. “Face recognition is an important social skill, but not all of us are equally good at it,” said Beijing Normal University cognitive psychologist Jia Liu. But [...]
Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects up to 17.5 percent of the population. Although researchers believe the disorder is caused by a defect in the brain’s processing of graphic symbols, the exact cause for the condition is unknown. Now, new research suggests the symptoms of dyslexia, including difficulties in reading, are at least partly [...]
A new study suggests people who feel they are stuck with a restriction are more likely to simply live with it than individuals who think the rule is vague or ambiguous. The authors say this conclusion may help explain everything from unrequited love to the political issues in the Middle East. The study will be [...]
For those with autism, medications are called for when the individual presents specific psychiatric problems such as aggression, anxiety and obsessive behavior. University of Missouri researchers believe propranolol (a drug long used to treat high blood pressure and control heart rate as well as to reduce test anxiety) offers potential for improving language and social [...]
For years, researchers have been puzzled by study findings that showed younger adults to be better decision-makers than older individuals. Experts suspected the findings resulted from experimental designs that tested the ability to make decisions one at a time without regard to the past or future, thus negating the influence of experience and judgment. In [...]
Emerging research discovers that training to recognize visual patterns can imbed brain memories for an extended period. In an article published in the journal Psychological Science, researchers at McMaster University found that when participants were shown visual patterns — faces, which are highly familiar objects, and abstract patterns, which are much less frequently encountered — [...]
A new study discovers the brain has difficulty discerning detailed facts when it is actively trying to get an overview of a situation. Researchers have known that the brain is constantly changing as it perceives the outside world, processing and learning about everything it encounters. However, they were surprised to discover the surprising connection between [...]
