Category: General Psychology

2024-25, Cognition, Psychiatry, Psychology

An Interesting Twist to the Long Video Game Debate

Author: Farzad Hoque, Class of 2028 The relationship between video games and behavior has long sparked debate within psychology and education. Investigations on how different game genres may influence levels of aggression and social intelligence among regular gamers have been conducted for decades, and recent research shines a new light on the matter. Similar to what has been commonly believed, researchers hypothesized that distinct game … Continue reading An Interesting Twist to the Long Video Game Debate

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2024-25, Cognition, education, Psychology

The Effects of Video Game Addiction on Children’s Cognitive and Learning Skills

Author: Amal Bilal, Class of 2028 Figure 1: A couple of young kids playing video games. Video games have become an increasingly popular source of entertainment among children, with over 90% of children between 2 and 17 years old actively playing video games. Although video games allow children to socialize and have leisure time, they can also lead to addiction. Excessive gaming can negatively impact … Continue reading The Effects of Video Game Addiction on Children’s Cognitive and Learning Skills

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2024-25, Cognition, General Neuroscience, General Psychology, Health, Health and Medicine, Psychology

Disease Rarity Doesn’t Cause Increased Loneliness

Author: Farzad Hoque, Class of 2028 Loneliness is something all have experienced, but it is especially present for people living with chronic illnesses. One might think that individuals with rare chronic conditions would feel lonelier than those with more common diseases, but when looked into it, the reality was surprising.  Dr. Lobel and Dr. Nicoloro-SantaBarbara at Stony Brook University gathered data via an anonymous online … Continue reading Disease Rarity Doesn’t Cause Increased Loneliness

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2024-25, Brain, General Psychology, Health, mental health, Psychology, Technology

Duty Calls: Video Games as an Outlet for Reflection and Fulfilling Desires

Author: Ishmam Khan, Class of 2025 Figure 1: Social media is a common outsource for video game discussion; Reddit is the most popular source for these discussion topicsCall of Duty is an iconic first-person shooter video game published by Activision Studios. The game is known for its dynamic gunplay, innovative realistic graphics, and its gritty portrayal of war. However, Call of Duty has a contentious … Continue reading Duty Calls: Video Games as an Outlet for Reflection and Fulfilling Desires

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2024-25, Computer Science, Computer Science, COVID-19, Depression, General Neuroscience, General Psychology, Machine Learning, mental health, Technology

What do Machines Know of Depression? Explaining Past Failures of Clinical Algorithms About MDD

Author: Ishmam Khan, Class of 2025 Figure 1: MDD is a devastating, extremely common, and fast-growing disease in terms of suffering, mortality, and cost to society. Since COVID-19, the rates of mental health disorders have increased significantly. One such disorder is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), a serious disorder affecting more than 8% of the US population. As of 2024, the remission rates, or rate of … Continue reading What do Machines Know of Depression? Explaining Past Failures of Clinical Algorithms About MDD

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2023-24, 2023-24, Brain, Cognition, General Neuroscience, General Psychology, Neuroscience, Psychology, Year

Childhood Maltreatment as a Predictor of Neural Activity During Postpartum

Marie Collison, Class of ‘25 Individuals who have experienced childhood maltreatment (CM) in their past have a greater risk of exhibiting behaviors of maltreatment towards their own children. As such, it is important to understand how mothers may respond to their infant cues in context with their past experiences, especially during the often tumultuous postpartum (after-birth) period. Prior research has established that brain responses in … Continue reading Childhood Maltreatment as a Predictor of Neural Activity During Postpartum

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2023-24, Brain, Cognition, Depression, General Neuroscience, General Psychology, Neuroscience, Psychology, Year

Understanding SSRI Withdrawal: Insights Into the Complex Journey

By: Marie Collison, Class of ‘25 Depression is a very common and impairing condition, often resulting in costly care. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed as a part of treatment; however, 30–50% of individuals who are prescribed antidepressants do not take them long-term. There are many reasons why a patient may decide to stop taking their medication, such as experiencing negative side effects … Continue reading Understanding SSRI Withdrawal: Insights Into the Complex Journey

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2023-24, Depression, General Neuroscience, mental health, Psychology

Orbitofrontal Cortex Studies May Pave the Way to Treating Social Anhedonia

Author: Kimberly Johnston, Class of 2026 Social anhedonia is a psychological condition characterized by a diminished ability to experience pleasure from social interactions and activities. It is associated with greater symptom severity and poorer response to treatment in individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). In individuals with MDD and social anhedonia, abnormalities in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) may hinder the brain’s ability to properly respond … Continue reading Orbitofrontal Cortex Studies May Pave the Way to Treating Social Anhedonia

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2023-24, Brain, mental health, Psychiatry

Decoding Schizophrenia: Potential Mechanisms of the Schizophrenic Brain Could Lead to Novel Treatments

Author: Kimberly Johnston, Class of 2026 Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a mental disorder characterized by severe impairments in working memory (WM), a type of short-term memory responsible for temporarily storing and manipulating information needed to perform tasks, solve problems, and make decisions. A key region of the brain involved in this process is the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which is active during internal thinking and deactivated … Continue reading Decoding Schizophrenia: Potential Mechanisms of the Schizophrenic Brain Could Lead to Novel Treatments

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
2023-24, General Neuroscience, General Psychology

Combined Personological and Motivational Correlates Drive Conspiratorial Ideation

Author: Vignesh Subramanian, Class of 2024 Figure 1: Heightened paranoia and feelings of antagonism towards others are among the strongest indicators of conspiratorial ideation. Conspiracy theories are generally unsubstantiated explanations for specific events or circumstances that attribute said events to powerful individuals or groups secretly working in tandem. It remains disputed that either the number of conspiracy theories or the extent of public belief in … Continue reading Combined Personological and Motivational Correlates Drive Conspiratorial Ideation

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
General Psychology, Neurology, Psychology

Quantifying Affectionate Touch in Romantic Relationships

Julia Chivu ’23 Across cultures and continents, affection serves as a universal bond that unites romantic partners. Researchers from various institutions worldwide collaborated on two studies to better understand and quantify the dynamic between love and touch. The first study sought to investigate the global association between love and touch-related behaviors. The second study examined the correlation between frequencies of affectionate touch and love amongst … Continue reading Quantifying Affectionate Touch in Romantic Relationships

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Psychology

Playing traditional cultural games results in greater love for your country?!

Maria Sazonova ‘ 26 Figure 1: Small children joyfully playing Petak Umpet  Petak Umpet is an Indonesian variation on the widespread game of hide and seek, one that provides cultural insight and preservation. Education of the young is extremely important for the wellbeing and future advancement of the State, and traditional games are important cultural based learning resources. A research team from The University of … Continue reading Playing traditional cultural games results in greater love for your country?!

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment