Summary: New research finds that transgender men report heart attack rates more than four times those of cisgender women and more than twice those of cisgender men. Transgender women report more than double the heart attack rate of cisgender women, while their rate does not differ significantly from cisgender men. Source: American Heart Association New … Read more

Summary: Johns Hopkins researchers found that celebrity overdoses and suicides attract far more media attention than information about national hotlines that can help prevent death and connect people to treatment. Source: Johns Hopkins University Study finds dramatic imbalance: Coverage of Demi Lovato’s overdose and Anthony Bourdain’s suicide far outpaced mentions of national helplines in news … Read more

Summary: A recent study shows that touching everyday objects can create precise and long-lasting memories of those objects, even when people are not trying to memorize them. Source: APS Touch alone can form detailed, durable memories that persist over time and transfer across senses, new research published in Psychological Science finds. “One striking result was … Read more

Summary: A variation of the classic marshmallow test shows that young children will delay gratification for much longer when they know a teacher will learn how long they waited. Source: APS The “marshmallow test” is one of psychology’s best-known experiments: a young child is offered a small reward immediately (one marshmallow) or a larger reward … Read more

Summary: Analysis of more than 2,000 human brain scans identified reproducible sex differences in regional cortical volume. On average, females showed relatively greater volume in medial and lateral prefrontal, orbitofrontal, superior temporal, and lateral parietal cortices, while males showed greater volume in ventral temporal and occipital regions. Cross-referencing with gene-expression maps points to a potential … Read more

Summary: A new clinical trial will evaluate whether oxytocin can reduce PTSD symptoms and related alcohol abuse in active-duty military personnel. Source: UCSF Nightmares. Intrusive memories. Avoidance of certain places. Uncontrolled anger. Persistent fear. Survivor’s guilt. These are common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that affects a disproportionate number of U.S. combat … Read more

Neuroscientists at University College London (UCL) have identified the posterior parietal cortex as the principal brain region responsible for building a real-time map of the body in space. Using brief magnetic stimulation applied through coils placed on participants’ scalps while they experienced controlled touches and limb movements, the team tested how the brain combines touch … Read more

Summary: A new study examines how early-life digestive inflammation may raise stress hormones in the gut and increase the risk of chronic indigestion and anxiety in adulthood. Source: APS. Traumatic or inflammatory events early in life can elevate norepinephrine—the primary stress-related neurotransmitter—in nerves that supply the upper abdomen, increasing the likelihood of developing chronic functional … Read more

Summary: New research indicates that spontaneous mind wandering can actually enhance learning on tasks that demand very little attention. Scientists recorded brain activity while participants performed a simple implicit learning task driven by hidden probabilities, and found that letting the mind drift did not harm—and sometimes improved—performance. Participants who experienced spontaneous, sleep-like neural states while … Read more

Summary: Researchers have shown that people can infer water temperature simply by listening to the sound of it being poured. Using machine learning and computational auditory analysis, the study demonstrates how listeners unconsciously use acoustic cues to perceive thermal properties, revealing a subtle cross-modal sensory ability with potential applications in neuroscience and sensory technology. This … Read more