Physically, crying is known to be a symptom of pain or stress. But a Tel Aviv University evolutionary biologist points to empirical evidence showing that tears have emotional benefits and can make interpersonal relationships stronger. New analysis shows that tears still signal physiological distress, but they also function as an evolution-based mechanism to bring people…
Category: Psychology
A phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by a recurring, excessive fear of a thing or circumstance. Typically, phobias cause a sudden onset of fear and last for longer than six months. Phobias often start in childhood. A phobia could be anything you were frightened of when you were little, whether it was a real…
There are various models of stress that are continually studied by psychologists around the world. The two most common models are the psychosomatic stress model and the diathesis stress model. Psychosomatic Psychosomatic stress is the type of stress where the connection between mind and body is strengthened. Specifically speaking, you either develop a disease or…
Short periods of sensory deprivation can be relaxing. Sensory deprivation can be achieved by using such simple devises such as blindfolds and earmuffs. Devices that are more complex can cut the sense of smell, touch taste, sense of heat or cold and gravity. Sensory deprivation methods have been used in psychology experiments and for torture.…
Did you know that apathy was a symptom of Aspergers Syndrome? It is not always seen or even connected, but there is a very real link between an individual with Aspergers Syndrome experiencing stress, and there suddenly being a response of severe apathy. Some have likened it to feeling stuck in a vat of sinking…
Research published in the August 2008 issue of Behavioral Neuroscience suggests that they may well be. The study shows evidence that links genes to anxious behavior. People who carry a common variation of a gene that regulates dopamine were found to have an exaggerated startle reflex when viewing unpleasant pictures. Researchers at the University of…
A new study from Emory University researchers is showing hopeful results when using Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression. Could this be the beginning of the end for SSRI’s? The study, published in the online issue of Biological Psychiatry, reports that the technique is “generally safe” and gives meaningful improvements in patients as early as…
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental neuropsychiatric disorder in which there are significant problems with executive functions (e.g., attentional control and inhibitory control) that cause attention deficits, hyperactivity, or impulsiveness which is not appropriate for a person’s age. These symptoms must begin by age six to twelve and persist for more than six…
Some hear choruses singing folk songs, others hear Mozart or even the Glenn Miller Orchestra. But there is no music; they are hallucinating. Research in the August 8 2000 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, confirms the region of the brain and condition that causes this rare and bizarre…