Recent research reports on Brain, Behavior and Memory
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Brain signatures lead scientists to the seat of consciousness. This article is part of Demystifying the Mind, a special report on the new science of consciousness. Next installments to appear in the February 25 and March 10 issues of Science News. See the end of this installment for a graphic showing key brain regions and their relationship to consciousness.
People best able to resist eating sweets, going out with friends before finishing work or other temptations find ways to steer clear of such enticements altogether, so that they rarely have to resort to self-control.
Holding information within one's memory for a short while is a seemingly simple and everyday task. We use our short-term memory when remembering a new telephone number if there is nothing to write at hand, or to find the beautiful dress inside the store that we were just admiring in the shopping window. Yet, despite the apparent simplicity of these actions, short-term memory is a complex cognitive act that entails the participation of multiple brain regions.
Placebos reduce pain by creating an expectation of relief. Distraction -- say, doing a puzzle -- relieves it by keeping the brain busy. But do they use the same brain processes? Neuromaging suggests they do. When applying a placebo, scientists see activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. That's the part of the brain that controls high-level cognitive functions like working memory and attention -- which is what you use to do that distracting puzzle.
People who suffer a traumatic experience often don't talk about it, and many forget it over time. But not talking about something doesn't always mean you'll forget it; if you try to force yourself not to think about white bears, soon you'll be imagining polar bears doing the polka. A group of psychological scientists explore the relationship between silence and memories.
School-age children whose mothers nurtured them early in life have brains with a larger hippocampus, a key structure important to learning, memory and response to stress.
In theory, the social networking website Facebook could be great for people with low self-esteem. Sharing is important for improving friendships. But in practice, people with low self-esteem seem to behave counterproductively, bombarding their friends with negative tidbits about their lives and making themselves less likeable, according to a new study which will be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Tragedy, natural disasters, terrorism, divorce; 75 per cent of us will experience some form of trauma in life. But the experience can be a catalyst for positive change. Professor Stephen Joseph, an expert in posttraumatic growth, says human beings really can find purpose and a new direction in the wake of change and adversity. His book “What Doesn’t Kill Us’ was published February 2, 2012 by Piatkus.
