Amotivation and Anhedonia Key to Social Functioning in Schizophrenia

Summary: Amotivation and anhedonia, rather than expressive dysfunction, are crucial to determining the social functioning of individuals with schizophrenia. The transdiagnostic network analysis examined the relationship between negative symptoms, other…

Investigating Stress Response in PTSD and Depression Through Gene Analysis

Summary: Researchers conducted an analysis of genes in nearly 575,000 brain cells from individuals with and without post-traumatic stress and major depressive disorders (PTSD and MDD), yielding new insights into…

Balanced Parenting Is Key to Nurturing Harmonious Sibling Bonds

Summary: A new study suggests that equal treatment of siblings by parents fosters better sibling relationships. Analyzing retrospective reports of 325 college-age adults, the researchers found that parental differential treatment…

Glutamate Receptor Activation: A Potential Cure for Opioid Addiction?

Summary: Scientists discovered a potential new weapon in the battle against opioid use disorder (OUD), a condition that affects over two million people in the U.S. alone. The drug, ADX106772,…

Happily Ever After? How Films Portray Facial Surgery Outcomes

Summary: A new study scrutinizes the portrayal of characters with facial disfigurements in films, revealing inherent cultural biases and potential psychological benefits of plastic surgery. Researchers analyzed 48 characters from…

Scorching Stress: The Hidden Mental Toll of Summer Heatwaves

Summary: Research suggests that extreme summer heat can significantly impact mental health, in addition to physical health. Changes in emotions and behaviors can occur due to heat’s influence on serotonin,…

Brain Bites: Top 5 Neuroscience News Articles of the Week – June 23, 2023

Summary: This week’s neuroscience revelations encompass intriguing findings from the enigmatic genetics of mind-controlling hairworms to the groundbreaking link between alcohol use disorders and certain neuronal plasticity genes. A novel…

Give and Grow: Volunteering Linked to Better Cognitive Health in Seniors

Summary: Volunteering can significantly improve cognitive function in older adults, suggests new research. The study, which included a diverse group of 2,476 seniors, linked volunteering activities to better executive function…

Moral Conundrums: The Conflict Underlying Obedience to Authority

Summary: Researchers explored the conflict experience of individuals when instructed to act against their beliefs. Using the “bug destruction task,” participants were ordered to grind live bugs, causing a moral…

AI System Detects Social Norm Violations

Summary: A pioneering AI system successfully identifies violations of social norms. Utilizing GPT-3, zero-shot text classification, and automatic rule discovery, the system categorizes social emotions into ten main types. It…