A study published in the Australian Journal of Psychology found certain similarities and differences in personality traits when comparing compulsive use of social media with problematic or risky alcohol use. Continue reading “Do personality traits of compulsive users of social media overlap with problem drinking?”
Breathing through the nose aids memory storage
The way we breathe may affect how well our memories are consolidated (i.e. reinforced and stabilised). If we breathe through the nose rather than the mouth after trying to learn a set of smells, we remember them better, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report in The Journal of Neuroscience. Continue reading “Breathing through the nose aids memory storage”
Burning Incense Is Psychoactive: New Class Of Antidepressants Might Be Right Under Our Noses
Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression. This suggests that an entirely new class of depression and anxiety drugs might be right under our noses. Continue reading “Burning Incense Is Psychoactive: New Class Of Antidepressants Might Be Right Under Our Noses”
Effective new target for mood-boosting brain stimulation found
Researchers have found an effective target in the brain for electrical stimulation to improve mood in people suffering from depression. As reported in the journal Current Biology on November 29, stimulation of a brain region called the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) reliably produced acute improvement in mood in patients who suffered from depression at the start of the study. Continue reading “Effective new target for mood-boosting brain stimulation found”
Optimal blood pressure treatment for stroke patients
Aggressive treatment of hypertension in stroke patients could do more harm than good in the long term, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Georgia. Continue reading “Optimal blood pressure treatment for stroke patients”
Exposure to cannabis alters the genetic profile of sperm
As legal access to marijuana continues expanding across the U.S., more scientists are studying the effects of its active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in teens, adults and pregnant women. Continue reading “Exposure to cannabis alters the genetic profile of sperm”
Novo Scriptorium 