When loved ones lose their hearing, audiologists often counsel spouses and family members to speak clearly so they are better understood. But hearing loss professionals say that this well-meaning advice can backfire: clear speech can make you sound angry. A new study supports the idea that clear speech can carry negative overtones even when the phrase itself is emotionally neutral. ...
A follow-up study of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) who participated in an earlier 'proof of concept' clinical trial using exenatide showed that improvements persisted 12 months after discontinuing exenatide therapy. These data provide strong encouragement for the further study of this drug in patients with PD, report researchers. ...
Researchers have found that the phenomenon of “face pareidolia” -- where onlookers report seeing images of Jesus, Virgin Mary, or Elvis in objects such as toasts, shrouds, and clouds -- is normal and based on physical causes. ...
Even among the healthiest individuals, memory and cognitive abilities decline with age. This aspect of normal aging can affect an individual's quality of life and capability to live independently, but the rate of decline is variable across individuals. There are many factors that can influence this trajectory, but perhaps none more importantly than genetics. ...
Why do we yawn? We tend to yawn before sleep and after waking, when we are bored or under stimulated. We yawn in the anticipation of important events and when we are under stress. What do all of these have in common? Researchers highlight a link with thermoregulation, and in particular, brain cooling. ...
The way that your heart rate increases in response to alertness in the brain has been recently discovered by researchers. Specifically, this study looked at the interactions between neurons that fire upon increased attention and anxiety and neurons that control heart rate to discover the "why," "how," and "where to next" behind this phenomenon. The results may have important implications for how certain...
Concussion rates in US high-school athletes more than doubled between 2005 and 2012, according to a new national study using data on nine team sports. Researchers suspect the upward trend in reported concussions reflects increased awareness. Overall, the rate increased from .23 to .51 concussions per 1,000 athlete exposures. An athlete exposure is defined as one athlete participating in one competition...
A new study indicates that pilots may have a hard time concentrating on the automated systems that now carry out many of the tasks once completed by humans. Pilots reported an increase in big-picture flight-related thoughts when using higher levels of automation, but when the flight was progressing according to plan and pilots were not interacting with the automation, their thoughts were more likely...
Pregnant women show increased activity in the area of the brain related to emotional skills as they prepare to bond with their babies, according to a new study. ...
Researchers discover face pareidolia, a phenomenon where people 'see' faces on objects such as toast or in clouds, is based on physical causes. ...
According to new research, chimpanzees have almost the same personality trails as humans. ...
A sleep disorder known as exploding head syndrome is both real and often overlooked, a new study suggests. ...
Male gamers who choose a female avatar are more likely to use emotional phrases and emoticons. They are also more likely to choose an attractive avatar, a new study reports. ...
It sounds like a phrase from Urban Dictionary, or the title of an animated gif, but a researcher says 'exploding head syndrome' is an authentic and largely overlooked phenomenon that warrants a deeper look. People with the syndrome typically perceive abrupt, loud noises—door slams, fireworks, gunshots—as they are going to sleep or waking up. While harmless, the episodes can be frightening. ...
It’s been called a “thunderclap” headache – a sudden intense pain that’s the hallmark of a rare but usually deadly type of stroke called a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). If the initial event doesn’t kill, as many as 30% of patients will suffer further strokes within two weeks from a blockage caused by blood vessels in spasm. Now, a neurosurgeon is hoping to someday prevent these secondary strokes by...
If you've ever heard the boisterous courtship sounds being made at night by male frogs gathered around a pond or "watering hole" to attract mates, you may have noticed some communication similarities to those of humans enjoying a loud night out at a cocktail party or bar—that familiar cacophony with everyone essentially shouting over each other to be heard. ...
The brains of children who were born just a few weeks early differ from those born on time, and these differences may affect learning and behavior, according to a new study. ...
Something -- or some things -- in the blood of young mice has the ability to restore mental capabilities in old mice, a new study has found. If the same goes for humans, it could spell a new paradigm for recharging our aging brains, and it might mean new therapeutic approaches for treating dementias such as Alzheimer's disease. ...
The psychostimulant drug lisdexamfetamine can aid post-menopausal women by improving attention and concentration, organization, working memory and recall, preliminary evidence from a recent study indicates. The study enrolled 30 women between the ages of 48 and 60 who had experienced a diminished ability to focus and multi-task in their early post-menopausal years. The cohort was made up of successful...
Scientists have shown that anger, anxiety, and depression not only affect the functioning of the heart, but also increase the risk for heart disease. Stroke and heart attacks are the end products of progressive damage to blood vessels supplying the heart and brain, a process called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis progresses when there are high levels of chemicals in the body called pro-inflammatory...