news 2011

New research from Cambridge University and others shows that, with sensitive ing, young children can be reliable witnesses in cases of abuse. Children provided remarkable amounts of free recall information in response to open prompts which did not direct them." —Professor Michael Lamb A new study shows that children as young as three or four years old can talk informatively and accurately about experiences - including incidents of abuse - if they are ed by specialists who understand children's strengths and weaknesses.

Boosting a woman's confidence makes her better at spatial tasks, University of Warwick scientists have found, suggesting skills such as parking and map-reading could come more easily if a woman is feeling good about herself. Previous studies have established that women are slower and less accurate than men on a range of spatial tasks.

PA 350/11 The role that emotional support plays in helping a patient in their fight against breast cancer is to be examined as part of a year-long research project at The University of Nottingham. Second-year applied psychology PhD student Prema Nirgude is recruiting people who have overcome the illness, and their partners, to talk about how they coped following the diagnosis and supported one another during treatment.

Facial expressions have been called the "universal language of emotion," but people from different cultures perceive happy, sad or angry facial expressions in unique ways, according to new research from the University of Glasgow. Facial Recognition [mp3] Scotsman: Happy or sad face? Depends on your culture Fifteen Chinese people and 15 Caucasians living in Glasgow took part in the study.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but how do our brains decide when and who we should copy? Researchers from The University of Nottingham have found that the key may lie in an unspoken invitation communicated through eye. In a study published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, a team of scientists from the University's School of Psychology show that eye seems to act as an invitation for mimicry, triggering mechanisms in the frontal region of the brain that control imitation.

When it comes to speech, the human brain has two main tasks: to articulate it and to understand it. For many years psychologists have debated whether these two functions use the same regions of the brain. Now scientists at the University of Glasgow, Radboud University and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics have found the answer.

Why were people offended when BBC broadcaster James Naughtie mispronounced the surname of the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt' Why is it much easier for bilingual speakers to swear in their second language' Why are people offended by swear words ' but not euphemisms' New research from the University of Bristol sheds light on these issues and how they might help to answer the much-debated question: does the language you speak affect the way you thi

Training teenagers to look at social situations positively could help those with anxiety and may help prevent problems persisting into adult life, new research from Oxford University is beginning to suggest. The researchers found that tasks designed to prompt either positive or negative interpretations of unclear situations can shift how healthy teenagers think about such events.

PA207/11 New research into how the bilingual brain processes two very different languages has revealed that bilinguals' native language directly influences their comprehension of their second language. The innovative study by researchers in The University of Nottingham's School of Psychology set out to explore whether Chinese-English bilinguals translate English words automatically into Chinese without being aware of this process.

Premature or low birthweight babies are more than three times more likely to suffer from anxiety and mood disorders in adolescence than full-term infants, according to psychologists at the University of Birmingham. Professor Stephen Wood, working with co-investigators at the University of Melbourne in Australia, conducted a meta-analysis of ten studies into mental health outcomes in children born prematurely.

University of Manchester researchers have for the first time been able to watch what happens to the brain as it loses consciousness. Using sophisticated imaging equipment they have constructed a 3-D movie of the brain as it changes while an anaesthetic drug takes effect.

PA 169/11 Female drink-drivers are more likely to be older, better-educated and divorced, widowed or separated, research has shown. The study by academics at The University of Nottingham found that emotional factors and mental health problems were common triggers in alcohol-related offences committed by women.

Early diversity crucial for social cohesion, claims new research Research from the University of Sheffield's Department of Psychology has revealed that exposing infants to faces from racial groups other than their own improves their ability to recognise and identify individuals from different racial groups.

A new test of consciousness which could be helpful in the diagnosis of coma patients has been identified in new research led by scientists from the University of Liège and UCL. Recent studies have shown that patients with severe brain damage who show little outward signs of perception or understanding may have a certain degree of pain experience and awareness.

The future mood swings of people with bipolar disorder can be predicted by their current thoughts and behaviour, a study published today (Tuesday) has found. Psychologists from the Universities of Manchester and Lancaster say their findings are important because they mean talking therapies, like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), could prove effective treatments for the condition.

How images of wealth and success can negatively shape body image The advert for a facial cream shows a slender woman with perfect skin in an exotic holiday location. How does it make you feel? Research has already shown that exposure to images of ultra thin models has a negative impact on women's perception of their own bodies.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow have shown that when parts of our vision are blocked, the brain steps in to fill in the blanks. The team from the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology conducted a series of experiments that showed how our brains predict what cannot be seen by drawing on our previous experiences to build up an accurate picture.

Immunity experts at the University of Birmingham have found biological evidence to suggest that bereavement lowers physical immunity, putting older people at risk of life-threatening infections. Brand new research published online in the journal Brain Behavior and Immunity shows that the emotional stress of bereavement is associated with a fall in the efficiency of white blood cells known as neutrophils, which combat infections such a pneumonia, a major cause of death in older adults.

Research calls into question people's ability to form their own judgements about their preferred election candidate after finding voters could be heavily swayed by 'the worm'. 'The worm' is a continuous response tracking measure that is increasingly being used in live election debates around the world.

PA96/11 Children with Tourette syndrome could benefit from behavioural therapy to reduce their symptoms, according to a new brain imaging study. Researchers at The University of Nottingham discovered that the brains of children with Tourette syndrome (TS) develop in a unique way — which could suggest new methods of treating the condition.