ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

Friends know how long you'll live, study finds Posted: 24 Jan 2015 09:08 AM PST Young lovers walking down the aisle may dream of long and healthy lives together, but close friends in the wedding party may have a better sense of whether those wishes will come true, suggests new research on personality and longevity.

Rare neurological disease shines light on health of essential nerve cells Posted: 22 Jan 2015 10:28 AM PST Pelizaeus Merzbacher disease, or PMD, is a devastating neurological condition that, in its most severe form, kills infants weeks after birth. Thirty years ago, a neuroscientist noticed a genetic mutation in dogs that was practically identical to the disease in humans. Now, that has laid out the results of his marathon pursuit of PMD.

How are student loans affecting the well-being of young adults? Posted: 22 Jan 2015 08:44 AM PST Young adults who accumulated higher amounts of debt incurred from student loans reported higher levels of depressive symptoms, even with adjustments for parental wealth, childhood socioeconomic status, and other factors, researchers have found.

Why should adolescents exhibiting symptoms of mental disorders be asked about hallucinations? Posted: 22 Jan 2015 05:43 AM PST Visual distortions and hallucinations related to an elevated risk of psychosis are linked to self-destructive thought processes among adolescents with psychological symptoms, according to a recent study. Early indications of the risk of psychosis can usually be detected long before the onset of a full-blown disorder.

Call for a new model to evaluate medical schools Posted: 21 Jan 2015 06:05 PM PST A new model to evaluate medical schools' production of academic physicians with biomedical research careers has been proposed by researchers. This model is based on relevant and accessible objective criteria that researchers propose should replace the subjective criteria used in the current USN&WR rankings system.

Antisocial and non-antisocial siblings share difficulty recognizing emotions Posted: 21 Jan 2015 06:05 PM PST Teenagers with brothers and sisters who exhibit severe antisocial behavior share a similar impairment with their siblings in recognizing emotions, according to a new study. The findings suggest that difficulties in recognizing emotions could be a factor that increases a child's risk of developing conduct disorder -- a condition characterized by pathological aggression and antisocial behavior.

Experts call for a rethink on guidelines about children's screen time Posted: 21 Jan 2015 06:05 PM PST The amount of time children spend using screens, such as televisions and computers, on a daily basis exceeds recommended guidelines, according to research. These guidelines were drawn up at a time when tablets, cell phones and other mobile devices were not as present in everyday life, which suggests they need to be redrafted, experts say.

Video-based therapy might benefit babies at risk of autism Posted: 21 Jan 2015 06:04 PM PST Video-based therapy for families with babies at risk of autism improves infants' engagement, attention and social behavior, and might reduce the likelihood of such children developing autism, according to new research.

Alternative DNA repair mechanism could provide better treatment for neuroblastoma in kids Posted: 21 Jan 2015 02:35 PM PST Targeting DNA repair pathways could provide new treatment options for children with high-risk cancer, experts report. "We discovered that high-risk neuroblastoma cells preferentially use an efficient but erroneous DNA repair pathway that gives these cells survival advantage. Importantly, children with neuroblastoma tumors harboring these alternative repair factors have worse overall survival than children with tumors that have low expression," says an investigator.

Sleeping on stomach may increase risk of sudden death in epilepsy Posted: 21 Jan 2015 02:35 PM PST Stomach sleepers with epilepsy may be at higher risk of sudden unexpected death, researchers report, drawing parallels to sudden infant death syndrome in babies. Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes repeated seizures and affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide.

Five strategies scholars use in writing medical review articles Posted: 21 Jan 2015 10:51 AM PST The five main strategies researchers use in preparing and writing medical review articles have been outlined in a new publication. Review articles inform and enlighten physicians and other readers by summarizing the research on a given topic and setting the stage for further studies.

Heightened scents: Do ambient fragrances make consumers purchase more? Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:47 AM PST Do consumers make different choices based on the fragrance surrounding them? A new study shows for the first time that the “temperature” of scents in a store atmosphere may have a powerful effect on what and how much customers buy.

Health Consciousness: Do Consumers Believe Healthy Food Always Tastes Bad? Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:47 AM PST Why are health awareness campaigns failing to reduce skyrocketing obesity rates? According to a new study, consumers continue to make their eating decisions based on taste alone.

Does corporate social responsibility reduce negative reviews for bad service? Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:47 AM PST When a company’s service falls short of expectations, consumers can react harshly, spreading negative comments or changing companies. But a new study shows that consumers practice surprising forgiveness when the underserving company also happens to be donating to a favorite charity.

Ecocentricity: How Do Consumers Decide What Makes a Product 'Green'? Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:47 AM PST The greenness of a product has become increasingly important to consumers, but how do they decide how green a product is in the first place? A new study suggests that consumers believe that products with central rather than peripheral recycled features are greener (even when they are not).

Buying cars: Do product features matter more than brands? Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:46 AM PST It is a popular belief among marketers that online searches for brand names are good indicators of which products consumers plan to buy. But a new study suggests that searches for specific features may be far more telling.