Category: General Psychology

Autism

The Link Between Autism and The GI Tract

By Mariam Malik ‘22 Autism is the most rapidly rising developmental disability across the globe and approximately 90% of people affected experience gut-related issues with no obvious connection. But researchers at RMIT University in Australia have found equal gene mutations in both the gut and the brain that could explain this phenomenon in those with autism.  It has been previously discovered that a specific gene … Continue reading The Link Between Autism and The GI Tract

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Psychology

Relationship Between Academic Environment and the Mental Health of Students

Raymond Cheung ‘22 Researchers at the University of Munich and other universities analyzed the effect of a high-achieving environment on the mental health of students. Their work is vital because it provides insight into how a high-performing environment can harm the academic development and mental wellbeing of students. In the study, the researchers analyzed the responses of over 7,700 German school students with regards to … Continue reading Relationship Between Academic Environment and the Mental Health of Students

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Psychology

The link between symptoms of depression in children and involvement in sports

By Kavindra Sahabir ‘21 Depression is an issue that is rapidly becoming more and more common in modern day society, even among preadolescents. Many studies have been conducted that show a correlation between a dip in depressive symptoms with an increase in physical activity, yet such an effect had not been measured in those below the ages of 9 to 11. In this study conducted … Continue reading The link between symptoms of depression in children and involvement in sports

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Degenerative Disease, Psychology

A Novel Approach to Treating Psychopathy Associated with Huntington’s Disease.

By Snigdha Kanadibhotla ‘21 Characterized by uncontrollable and spastic movements, Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that is estimated to affect about 1 in 10,000 people in the United States (1). HD has pervasive effects that damage neurons in brain regions associated with mobility, emotion, and intellectual capacity leading to symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and difficulty learning. Despite its complex and varied … Continue reading A Novel Approach to Treating Psychopathy Associated with Huntington’s Disease.

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Figure 1. Enzyme that plays a role in memory loss can be inhibited to treat Alzheimer’s disease
2016-17, Biology, Psychology

Disrupting Enzyme To Tackle Alzheimer’s Disease

By Rideeta Raquib ’19 From histone modifications to DNA alterations, epigenetic processes play a major role in various physiological systems. Histones are proteins in eukaryotic cells that package DNA strands into nucleosomes. Gene regulation processes include histone acetylation, whereby an acetyl group is transferred from one molecule to another. This eventually removes the positive charge on the histones, giving nucleosomes a relaxed structure and allowing … Continue reading Disrupting Enzyme To Tackle Alzheimer’s Disease

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2016-17, Psychology, Sociology

A New Model for Group Decision-Making

By Anna Tarasova ’19 Making a decision in a group requires integrating individual and group beliefs. It has been previously demonstrated that one is more likely to assign greater credibility to the beliefs of a larger group than to those of a smaller group. Prior researchers have also theorized that the adoption of group beliefs by individuals is driven by a desire to mitigate potential … Continue reading A New Model for Group Decision-Making

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Figure 1: Defensiveness is a common symptom of ASD, manifesting in anxiety, social deficits, or other behavioral and psychological symptoms.
2016-17, Health, Psychology

A Potential Mechanism Explaining Tactile Defensiveness in Autism

By Anna Tarasova ’19 Hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli is frequently an aspect of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and can lead to defensiveness against touch and other sensory stimuli. This can contribute to hyperactivity and lead to inattention, learning difficulties, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and many other symptoms of autism. Although the mechanism of this phenomenon has long been unknown, Dr. Cynthia He and her colleagues at … Continue reading A Potential Mechanism Explaining Tactile Defensiveness in Autism

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Caption: Couples and friends tend to have overlapping personality traits, despite the well known saying “opposites attract.”
2016-17, Psychology

Finding Personality Similarities Within Friendships and Romantic Couples

Ericka Berman Previous research has shown that in close relationships, people tend to come from similar demographics. However, there is little known about personalities as measures of closeness. Wu Youyou Ph.D. et al. of Cambridge University aimed to examine personality similarities within romantic couples and friends. The researchers used Facebook to examine “Liked” pages and status updates to analyze language use. The study received data … Continue reading Finding Personality Similarities Within Friendships and Romantic Couples

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Figure 1: Sleep is an essential part of considering memory and faster relearning.
2016-17, Psychology

Relearn Faster and Retain Longer

Ericka Berman As established, repetitive practice is necessary for knowledge retention. Sleep is also a contributing factor to new learning and memory consolidation. In this study, Dr. Mazza and the team of researchers recruited 40 participants ages 18-29 from University of Lyon, who were randomly assigned to one of two groups. For this study, participants were asked to remember 16 Swahili-French words pairs. Participants completed … Continue reading Relearn Faster and Retain Longer

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Figure 1: The discovery of reduced brain activity as an indicator of depression helps piece together part of the explanation as to why depression may develop.
2016-17, Psychology

Blunted Neural Response to Rewards as a Prospective Predictor of the Development of Depression in Adolescent Girls

Ericka Berman Previous studies have shown that during adolescence, rates of depression increase markedly, and girls tend to have rates of depression twice as high as boys. Depressed adults were also shown to exhibit a decreased behavioral response to a reward and less brain activity in regions associated with reward processing in comparison to healthy adults. Dr. Brady Nelson and his team of researchers from … Continue reading Blunted Neural Response to Rewards as a Prospective Predictor of the Development of Depression in Adolescent Girls

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Caption: Non-academic related laptop use could have a negative effect on exam grades.
2016-17, Psychology

Logged In and Zoned Out

Ericka Berman Susan M. Ravizza Ph.D. of Michigan State University et al. sought to find the relationship between Internet use and classroom performance. In an introductory psychology class, eighty-four participants connected to the Internet using a proxy server over fifteen lectures so researchers could track Internet usage. Academic-related webpages were not counted in the same category of data collection as non-academic-related webpages. The proxy server … Continue reading Logged In and Zoned Out

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Caption: C-reactive protein levels can provide possible treatment for depression.
2016-17, Psychology

CRP Protein Levels Help Determine Depression Treatment

Meghan Bialt-DeCelie – ’19 When diagnosed with depression, patients are often left to trial and error with anti-depressant drugs. Incompatible prescriptions along the search can lead to potential issues with side effects, which can be ineffective as well as costly. A study led by Madhukar Trivedi, M.D. assessed a patient’s level of C-reactive protein (CRP) and related it to selection of antidepressant drugs escitalopram, a … Continue reading CRP Protein Levels Help Determine Depression Treatment

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