Neuroscience, psychology and cognition.
Drinking two to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily was linked to a dramatically lower risk of dementia and better cognitive functioning in a study spanning up to 43 years. The benefits appeared regardless of genetic risk, but decaffeinated coffee did not show the same…
A surprising discovery reveals how psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, rapidly reshapes the brain by creating new neural connections and strengthening them. Researchers found that the drug behaves differently in healthy and chronically stressed mice, potentially…
When someone commits a wrong, people across vastly different cultures share a dual desire to compensate the victim and prevent future harms. Recent research indicates that our urge to punish offenders balances these two needs, requiring rule-breakers to replace what they took…
Frequent sports betting increases gambling harm by making bettors highly competitive and overly confident in their predictive skills. When financial losses eventually accumulate, gamblers are more likely to seek professional support if they blame bad luck rather than their own…
Staying in school for an extra year during adolescence appears to lower a person’s likelihood of developing dementia decades later, even among individuals who carry a strong inherited predisposition to the condition. Taking advantage of a 1972 British law that raised the minimum…
PsyPost · Eric W. Dolan ·
A five-question screen about unpredictable childhood experiences identified mental health risks among some children who were not flagged by a standard adversity questionnaire, according to a study published in Nature Mental Health . Both questionnaires were linked to mental…
Experiencing a demanding day at school, friction with coworkers, or an unexpected car repair may take an unseen toll on a romantic partnership. A recent study suggests that on days when individuals experience more outside stress than usual, their feelings of love, passion, and…
PsyPost · Eric W. Dolan ·
When a relationship between a parent and an adult child becomes deeply strained, enduring personality traits may help explain why some families stay in contact while others cut ties completely. A new study published in Frontiers in Psychology indicates that among people…
PsyPost · Eric W. Dolan ·
When a healthy human brain transitions from quiet rest to a demanding mental task, its large-scale communication networks flexibly reorganize to meet the challenge. A new neuroimaging study published in Nature Communications indicates that this adaptive shifting is dampened, or…
PsyPost · Eric W. Dolan ·
A surprising new study suggests that an anti-aging drug could help protect people genetically predisposed to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that just four weeks of low-dose rapamycin improved brain blood flow in healthy middle-aged adults carrying the high-risk APOE4 gene…