#counseling — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #counseling, aggregated by home.social.
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DATE: September 13, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: How virtual reality is changing brain-training technology
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-virtual-reality-is-changing-brain-training-technology/
Integrating virtual reality into brain-training therapies can make the experience more enjoyable and engaging for users. A recent review published in the journal Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback examined how immersive digital environments influence a person’s ability to control their own brain activity. The findings suggest that virtual reality holds promise for improving these therapies, but researchers still need better study designs to confirm the exact benefits.
Neurofeedback is a technique where individuals learn to alter their brain waves by watching them in real time. During a typical session, sensors are placed on a person’s scalp to record electrical activity in the brain. This method is known as electroencephalography, or EEG. The system processes these electrical signals instantly and provides visual or auditory cues to the user.
Specific brain wave patterns correspond to different mental states. For example, a relaxed yet focused state produces a specific frequency rhythm in the brain. If a person’s goal is to increase their focus, the software will reward them when their brain waves hit that target frequency. In traditional setups, this reward is often a simple two-dimensional graphic on a computer monitor, like a bar graph that grows taller or a moving line.
In recent years, software developers have begun replacing these simple graphics with virtual reality environments. Instead of watching a bar graph, a user wearing a headset might make a virtual flower bloom or a digital spaceship accelerate simply by changing their mental state. Psychologists Silvia Erika Kober, Guilherme Wood, and Lisa Maria Berger at the University of Graz in Austria conducted a comprehensive review to evaluate how these immersive environments compare to standard methods.
The researchers searched academic databases for studies that combined EEG-based neurofeedback with virtual reality. After filtering out papers that lacked sufficient experimental details, they identified 31 relevant studies to analyze. The selected research varied wildly in methodology, with participant numbers ranging from single case studies to 100 individuals. Many of the reviewed papers relied on small study samples of fewer than 50 participants.
The applications tested in these studies covered a wide range of scenarios and populations. Some studies involved healthy individuals, while others focused on clinical patients treating chronic pain, migraines, or the aftermath of a stroke. The virtual feedback scenarios were equally diverse. Participants in various studies were asked to navigate a ball through a forest, interact with virtual animals, or change the lighting in a digital auditorium using only their brain waves.
By analyzing these 31 papers, the research team found that users generally preferred virtual reality feedback over traditional two-dimensional screens. Participants often reported higher levels of enjoyment, interest, and perceived competence when interacting with three-dimensional virtual worlds. For therapeutic regimens that require dozens of sessions over several months, this boost in motivation could help keep patients engaged with their treatment.
However, when looking at whether virtual reality actually improved a person’s ability to control their brain waves, the results were mixed. Some studies found that users reached their target brain wave states faster in virtual reality. Other studies found no difference in brain wave control between the immersive and traditional formats.
Beyond basic training, virtual reality might help users apply their new mental skills in daily life. A major goal of neurofeedback is for patients, like children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to learn how to focus without needing a computer screen to guide them. Virtual reality allows developers to build realistic simulations, such as a busy virtual classroom, where users can practice regulating their brain activity in a distracting environment.
Despite these potential benefits, the review highlighted several factors that complicate the use of virtual reality. Headsets often differ from computer screens in brightness, field of view, and visual complexity. Changes in screen brightness alone can alter specific brain wave frequencies, making it difficult to tell if a user is successfully relaxing or just reacting to the light emitting from the lenses.
The researchers also noted that virtual environments can be too visually stimulating. While a visually rich, multi-sensory virtual world is entertaining, it can cause cognitive overload. If a virtual environment demands too much attention, the user might become distracted from the primary goal of regulating their mental state, causing their performance to drop.
The transition to virtual reality introduces physical side effects that do not typically occur with traditional computer monitors. Cybersickness, a type of motion sickness caused by virtual environments, can induce nausea, dizziness, and eye strain. The review indicated that women tend to experience these symptoms more frequently and severely than men, which could negatively affect their neurofeedback performance.
Age also plays a role in how users respond to immersive technology. Older individuals, who may be less familiar with virtual reality interfaces, sometimes reported higher levels of fear and anxiety during the sessions. The authors emphasized that virtual reality feedback may not be suitable for everyone, particularly individuals prone to motion sickness or those easily overwhelmed by sensory input.
A major limitation across the reviewed literature is the lack of proper control groups. Many studies only tested a single virtual reality condition without comparing it to a traditional screen or a fake feedback scenario. Without these baseline comparisons, it is hard to isolate the specific effects of the brain training from the sheer excitement of using a novel technology.
The rapid commercialization of both headsets and brain-reading devices raises additional ethical concerns. The authors warn about “neuroenchantment,” a phenomenon where people blindly trust the capabilities of neurotechnology simply because it seems futuristic. This blind trust can make consumers vulnerable to misleading advertising from companies selling home-based brain training systems for self-improvement or entertainment.
As private companies develop consumer-friendly devices capable of recording neural activity, users face new risks regarding data privacy. Over half of the consumer neurotechnology companies recently assessed in a separate industry report allow the sharing of brain data with third parties. As brain-computer interfaces become more accessible, the authors advise that future research must pair rigorous experimental design with strict data protection standards.
The study, “Controlling Virtual Reality With Brain Signals: State of the Art of Using VR-Based Feedback in Neurofeedback Applications,” was authored by Silvia Erika Kober, Guilherme Wood, and Lisa Maria Berger.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-virtual-reality-is-changing-brain-training-technology/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #VirtualRealityNeurofeedback #BrainTrainingTech #EEGNeurofeedback #VRInTherapy #NeurofeedbackResearch #ImmersiveFeedback #MindTrainingVR #Cyberhealth #NeurotechEthics #BrainWaveControl
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DATE: September 13, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: How virtual reality is changing brain-training technology
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-virtual-reality-is-changing-brain-training-technology/
Integrating virtual reality into brain-training therapies can make the experience more enjoyable and engaging for users. A recent review published in the journal Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback examined how immersive digital environments influence a person’s ability to control their own brain activity. The findings suggest that virtual reality holds promise for improving these therapies, but researchers still need better study designs to confirm the exact benefits.
Neurofeedback is a technique where individuals learn to alter their brain waves by watching them in real time. During a typical session, sensors are placed on a person’s scalp to record electrical activity in the brain. This method is known as electroencephalography, or EEG. The system processes these electrical signals instantly and provides visual or auditory cues to the user.
Specific brain wave patterns correspond to different mental states. For example, a relaxed yet focused state produces a specific frequency rhythm in the brain. If a person’s goal is to increase their focus, the software will reward them when their brain waves hit that target frequency. In traditional setups, this reward is often a simple two-dimensional graphic on a computer monitor, like a bar graph that grows taller or a moving line.
In recent years, software developers have begun replacing these simple graphics with virtual reality environments. Instead of watching a bar graph, a user wearing a headset might make a virtual flower bloom or a digital spaceship accelerate simply by changing their mental state. Psychologists Silvia Erika Kober, Guilherme Wood, and Lisa Maria Berger at the University of Graz in Austria conducted a comprehensive review to evaluate how these immersive environments compare to standard methods.
The researchers searched academic databases for studies that combined EEG-based neurofeedback with virtual reality. After filtering out papers that lacked sufficient experimental details, they identified 31 relevant studies to analyze. The selected research varied wildly in methodology, with participant numbers ranging from single case studies to 100 individuals. Many of the reviewed papers relied on small study samples of fewer than 50 participants.
The applications tested in these studies covered a wide range of scenarios and populations. Some studies involved healthy individuals, while others focused on clinical patients treating chronic pain, migraines, or the aftermath of a stroke. The virtual feedback scenarios were equally diverse. Participants in various studies were asked to navigate a ball through a forest, interact with virtual animals, or change the lighting in a digital auditorium using only their brain waves.
By analyzing these 31 papers, the research team found that users generally preferred virtual reality feedback over traditional two-dimensional screens. Participants often reported higher levels of enjoyment, interest, and perceived competence when interacting with three-dimensional virtual worlds. For therapeutic regimens that require dozens of sessions over several months, this boost in motivation could help keep patients engaged with their treatment.
However, when looking at whether virtual reality actually improved a person’s ability to control their brain waves, the results were mixed. Some studies found that users reached their target brain wave states faster in virtual reality. Other studies found no difference in brain wave control between the immersive and traditional formats.
Beyond basic training, virtual reality might help users apply their new mental skills in daily life. A major goal of neurofeedback is for patients, like children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to learn how to focus without needing a computer screen to guide them. Virtual reality allows developers to build realistic simulations, such as a busy virtual classroom, where users can practice regulating their brain activity in a distracting environment.
Despite these potential benefits, the review highlighted several factors that complicate the use of virtual reality. Headsets often differ from computer screens in brightness, field of view, and visual complexity. Changes in screen brightness alone can alter specific brain wave frequencies, making it difficult to tell if a user is successfully relaxing or just reacting to the light emitting from the lenses.
The researchers also noted that virtual environments can be too visually stimulating. While a visually rich, multi-sensory virtual world is entertaining, it can cause cognitive overload. If a virtual environment demands too much attention, the user might become distracted from the primary goal of regulating their mental state, causing their performance to drop.
The transition to virtual reality introduces physical side effects that do not typically occur with traditional computer monitors. Cybersickness, a type of motion sickness caused by virtual environments, can induce nausea, dizziness, and eye strain. The review indicated that women tend to experience these symptoms more frequently and severely than men, which could negatively affect their neurofeedback performance.
Age also plays a role in how users respond to immersive technology. Older individuals, who may be less familiar with virtual reality interfaces, sometimes reported higher levels of fear and anxiety during the sessions. The authors emphasized that virtual reality feedback may not be suitable for everyone, particularly individuals prone to motion sickness or those easily overwhelmed by sensory input.
A major limitation across the reviewed literature is the lack of proper control groups. Many studies only tested a single virtual reality condition without comparing it to a traditional screen or a fake feedback scenario. Without these baseline comparisons, it is hard to isolate the specific effects of the brain training from the sheer excitement of using a novel technology.
The rapid commercialization of both headsets and brain-reading devices raises additional ethical concerns. The authors warn about “neuroenchantment,” a phenomenon where people blindly trust the capabilities of neurotechnology simply because it seems futuristic. This blind trust can make consumers vulnerable to misleading advertising from companies selling home-based brain training systems for self-improvement or entertainment.
As private companies develop consumer-friendly devices capable of recording neural activity, users face new risks regarding data privacy. Over half of the consumer neurotechnology companies recently assessed in a separate industry report allow the sharing of brain data with third parties. As brain-computer interfaces become more accessible, the authors advise that future research must pair rigorous experimental design with strict data protection standards.
The study, “Controlling Virtual Reality With Brain Signals: State of the Art of Using VR-Based Feedback in Neurofeedback Applications,” was authored by Silvia Erika Kober, Guilherme Wood, and Lisa Maria Berger.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-virtual-reality-is-changing-brain-training-technology/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #VirtualRealityNeurofeedback #BrainTrainingTech #EEGNeurofeedback #VRInTherapy #NeurofeedbackResearch #ImmersiveFeedback #MindTrainingVR #Cyberhealth #NeurotechEthics #BrainWaveControl
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: How virtual reality is changing brain-training technology
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-virtual-reality-is-changing-brain-training-technology/
Integrating virtual reality into brain-training therapies can make the experience more enjoyable and engaging for users. A recent review published in the journal Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback examined how immersive digital environments influence a person’s ability to control their own brain activity. The findings suggest that virtual reality holds promise for improving these therapies, but researchers still need better study designs to confirm the exact benefits.
Neurofeedback is a technique where individuals learn to alter their brain waves by watching them in real time. During a typical session, sensors are placed on a person’s scalp to record electrical activity in the brain. This method is known as electroencephalography, or EEG. The system processes these electrical signals instantly and provides visual or auditory cues to the user.
Specific brain wave patterns correspond to different mental states. For example, a relaxed yet focused state produces a specific frequency rhythm in the brain. If a person’s goal is to increase their focus, the software will reward them when their brain waves hit that target frequency. In traditional setups, this reward is often a simple two-dimensional graphic on a computer monitor, like a bar graph that grows taller or a moving line.
In recent years, software developers have begun replacing these simple graphics with virtual reality environments. Instead of watching a bar graph, a user wearing a headset might make a virtual flower bloom or a digital spaceship accelerate simply by changing their mental state. Psychologists Silvia Erika Kober, Guilherme Wood, and Lisa Maria Berger at the University of Graz in Austria conducted a comprehensive review to evaluate how these immersive environments compare to standard methods.
The researchers searched academic databases for studies that combined EEG-based neurofeedback with virtual reality. After filtering out papers that lacked sufficient experimental details, they identified 31 relevant studies to analyze. The selected research varied wildly in methodology, with participant numbers ranging from single case studies to 100 individuals. Many of the reviewed papers relied on small study samples of fewer than 50 participants.
The applications tested in these studies covered a wide range of scenarios and populations. Some studies involved healthy individuals, while others focused on clinical patients treating chronic pain, migraines, or the aftermath of a stroke. The virtual feedback scenarios were equally diverse. Participants in various studies were asked to navigate a ball through a forest, interact with virtual animals, or change the lighting in a digital auditorium using only their brain waves.
By analyzing these 31 papers, the research team found that users generally preferred virtual reality feedback over traditional two-dimensional screens. Participants often reported higher levels of enjoyment, interest, and perceived competence when interacting with three-dimensional virtual worlds. For therapeutic regimens that require dozens of sessions over several months, this boost in motivation could help keep patients engaged with their treatment.
However, when looking at whether virtual reality actually improved a person’s ability to control their brain waves, the results were mixed. Some studies found that users reached their target brain wave states faster in virtual reality. Other studies found no difference in brain wave control between the immersive and traditional formats.
Beyond basic training, virtual reality might help users apply their new mental skills in daily life. A major goal of neurofeedback is for patients, like children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to learn how to focus without needing a computer screen to guide them. Virtual reality allows developers to build realistic simulations, such as a busy virtual classroom, where users can practice regulating their brain activity in a distracting environment.
Despite these potential benefits, the review highlighted several factors that complicate the use of virtual reality. Headsets often differ from computer screens in brightness, field of view, and visual complexity. Changes in screen brightness alone can alter specific brain wave frequencies, making it difficult to tell if a user is successfully relaxing or just reacting to the light emitting from the lenses.
The researchers also noted that virtual environments can be too visually stimulating. While a visually rich, multi-sensory virtual world is entertaining, it can cause cognitive overload. If a virtual environment demands too much attention, the user might become distracted from the primary goal of regulating their mental state, causing their performance to drop.
The transition to virtual reality introduces physical side effects that do not typically occur with traditional computer monitors. Cybersickness, a type of motion sickness caused by virtual environments, can induce nausea, dizziness, and eye strain. The review indicated that women tend to experience these symptoms more frequently and severely than men, which could negatively affect their neurofeedback performance.
Age also plays a role in how users respond to immersive technology. Older individuals, who may be less familiar with virtual reality interfaces, sometimes reported higher levels of fear and anxiety during the sessions. The authors emphasized that virtual reality feedback may not be suitable for everyone, particularly individuals prone to motion sickness or those easily overwhelmed by sensory input.
A major limitation across the reviewed literature is the lack of proper control groups. Many studies only tested a single virtual reality condition without comparing it to a traditional screen or a fake feedback scenario. Without these baseline comparisons, it is hard to isolate the specific effects of the brain training from the sheer excitement of using a novel technology.
The rapid commercialization of both headsets and brain-reading devices raises additional ethical concerns. The authors warn about “neuroenchantment,” a phenomenon where people blindly trust the capabilities of neurotechnology simply because it seems futuristic. This blind trust can make consumers vulnerable to misleading advertising from companies selling home-based brain training systems for self-improvement or entertainment.
As private companies develop consumer-friendly devices capable of recording neural activity, users face new risks regarding data privacy. Over half of the consumer neurotechnology companies recently assessed in a separate industry report allow the sharing of brain data with third parties. As brain-computer interfaces become more accessible, the authors advise that future research must pair rigorous experimental design with strict data protection standards.
The study, “Controlling Virtual Reality With Brain Signals: State of the Art of Using VR-Based Feedback in Neurofeedback Applications,” was authored by Silvia Erika Kober, Guilherme Wood, and Lisa Maria Berger.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-virtual-reality-is-changing-brain-training-technology/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #VirtualRealityNeurofeedback #BrainTrainingTech #EEGNeurofeedback #VRInTherapy #NeurofeedbackResearch #ImmersiveFeedback #MindTrainingVR #Cyberhealth #NeurotechEthics #BrainWaveControl
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: How virtual reality is changing brain-training technology
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-virtual-reality-is-changing-brain-training-technology/
Integrating virtual reality into brain-training therapies can make the experience more enjoyable and engaging for users. A recent review published in the journal Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback examined how immersive digital environments influence a person’s ability to control their own brain activity. The findings suggest that virtual reality holds promise for improving these therapies, but researchers still need better study designs to confirm the exact benefits.
Neurofeedback is a technique where individuals learn to alter their brain waves by watching them in real time. During a typical session, sensors are placed on a person’s scalp to record electrical activity in the brain. This method is known as electroencephalography, or EEG. The system processes these electrical signals instantly and provides visual or auditory cues to the user.
Specific brain wave patterns correspond to different mental states. For example, a relaxed yet focused state produces a specific frequency rhythm in the brain. If a person’s goal is to increase their focus, the software will reward them when their brain waves hit that target frequency. In traditional setups, this reward is often a simple two-dimensional graphic on a computer monitor, like a bar graph that grows taller or a moving line.
In recent years, software developers have begun replacing these simple graphics with virtual reality environments. Instead of watching a bar graph, a user wearing a headset might make a virtual flower bloom or a digital spaceship accelerate simply by changing their mental state. Psychologists Silvia Erika Kober, Guilherme Wood, and Lisa Maria Berger at the University of Graz in Austria conducted a comprehensive review to evaluate how these immersive environments compare to standard methods.
The researchers searched academic databases for studies that combined EEG-based neurofeedback with virtual reality. After filtering out papers that lacked sufficient experimental details, they identified 31 relevant studies to analyze. The selected research varied wildly in methodology, with participant numbers ranging from single case studies to 100 individuals. Many of the reviewed papers relied on small study samples of fewer than 50 participants.
The applications tested in these studies covered a wide range of scenarios and populations. Some studies involved healthy individuals, while others focused on clinical patients treating chronic pain, migraines, or the aftermath of a stroke. The virtual feedback scenarios were equally diverse. Participants in various studies were asked to navigate a ball through a forest, interact with virtual animals, or change the lighting in a digital auditorium using only their brain waves.
By analyzing these 31 papers, the research team found that users generally preferred virtual reality feedback over traditional two-dimensional screens. Participants often reported higher levels of enjoyment, interest, and perceived competence when interacting with three-dimensional virtual worlds. For therapeutic regimens that require dozens of sessions over several months, this boost in motivation could help keep patients engaged with their treatment.
However, when looking at whether virtual reality actually improved a person’s ability to control their brain waves, the results were mixed. Some studies found that users reached their target brain wave states faster in virtual reality. Other studies found no difference in brain wave control between the immersive and traditional formats.
Beyond basic training, virtual reality might help users apply their new mental skills in daily life. A major goal of neurofeedback is for patients, like children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to learn how to focus without needing a computer screen to guide them. Virtual reality allows developers to build realistic simulations, such as a busy virtual classroom, where users can practice regulating their brain activity in a distracting environment.
Despite these potential benefits, the review highlighted several factors that complicate the use of virtual reality. Headsets often differ from computer screens in brightness, field of view, and visual complexity. Changes in screen brightness alone can alter specific brain wave frequencies, making it difficult to tell if a user is successfully relaxing or just reacting to the light emitting from the lenses.
The researchers also noted that virtual environments can be too visually stimulating. While a visually rich, multi-sensory virtual world is entertaining, it can cause cognitive overload. If a virtual environment demands too much attention, the user might become distracted from the primary goal of regulating their mental state, causing their performance to drop.
The transition to virtual reality introduces physical side effects that do not typically occur with traditional computer monitors. Cybersickness, a type of motion sickness caused by virtual environments, can induce nausea, dizziness, and eye strain. The review indicated that women tend to experience these symptoms more frequently and severely than men, which could negatively affect their neurofeedback performance.
Age also plays a role in how users respond to immersive technology. Older individuals, who may be less familiar with virtual reality interfaces, sometimes reported higher levels of fear and anxiety during the sessions. The authors emphasized that virtual reality feedback may not be suitable for everyone, particularly individuals prone to motion sickness or those easily overwhelmed by sensory input.
A major limitation across the reviewed literature is the lack of proper control groups. Many studies only tested a single virtual reality condition without comparing it to a traditional screen or a fake feedback scenario. Without these baseline comparisons, it is hard to isolate the specific effects of the brain training from the sheer excitement of using a novel technology.
The rapid commercialization of both headsets and brain-reading devices raises additional ethical concerns. The authors warn about “neuroenchantment,” a phenomenon where people blindly trust the capabilities of neurotechnology simply because it seems futuristic. This blind trust can make consumers vulnerable to misleading advertising from companies selling home-based brain training systems for self-improvement or entertainment.
As private companies develop consumer-friendly devices capable of recording neural activity, users face new risks regarding data privacy. Over half of the consumer neurotechnology companies recently assessed in a separate industry report allow the sharing of brain data with third parties. As brain-computer interfaces become more accessible, the authors advise that future research must pair rigorous experimental design with strict data protection standards.
The study, “Controlling Virtual Reality With Brain Signals: State of the Art of Using VR-Based Feedback in Neurofeedback Applications,” was authored by Silvia Erika Kober, Guilherme Wood, and Lisa Maria Berger.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-virtual-reality-is-changing-brain-training-technology/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #VirtualRealityNeurofeedback #BrainTrainingTech #EEGNeurofeedback #VRInTherapy #NeurofeedbackResearch #ImmersiveFeedback #MindTrainingVR #Cyberhealth #NeurotechEthics #BrainWaveControl
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DATE: September 13, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: A 20-minute workout protects memory after sleep loss just as well as a 90-minute nap
Experiencing a sleepless night often makes it difficult to absorb and retain new information. A recent study suggests that engaging in a short bout of physical activity or taking a long nap can both protect the brain’s ability to form fresh memories after heavy sleep loss. The findings, published in PNAS, indicate that while these two strategies help memory in similar amounts, they rely on entirely different internal brain mechanisms to achieve that benefit.
Episodic memory allows people to consciously recall past events along with the specific time and place they occurred. This type of memory is essential for daily life, helping people navigate their environment, learn from past experiences, and make informed decisions about the future. When people do not get enough sleep, their capacity to record these episodic memories drops noticeably. In fact, a 2017 review explained how missing sleep directly disrupts the specific brain networks required to absorb and file away new information.
Because sleep loss is common among shift workers and medical professionals, scientists have been looking for accessible ways to shield the brain from its cognitive toll. At the same time, researchers have documented that movement benefits the brain under normal resting conditions. For instance, a 2019 meta-analysis demonstrated that a single short session of physical activity just before learning strongly improves memory performance.
Building on these separate lines of evidence, the authors of a 2021 review advanced the theory that exercise might act as a buffer to counteract the specific memory deficits caused by sleep deprivation. The current research, led by Madhura S. Lotlikar, was designed to test this idea directly by comparing the effects of exercise against the effects of a long nap. To understand what happens beneath the surface, the research team used electroencephalography, or EEG, a technique that involves placing small sensors on the scalp to measure the brain’s electrical waves.
To conduct the study, the researchers recruited 53 healthy young adults and kept them awake in a laboratory for 30 consecutive hours. After the sleep deprivation period, the participants were randomly split into three groups to undergo a specific intervention. One group exercised for 20 minutes on a stationary bicycle at a moderately intense pace, reaching 80 percent of their maximum heart rate. A second group was given a 90-minute opportunity to nap in a quiet, dark room. A third group, acting as a control, sat on a stationary bicycle for 20 minutes without pedaling.
Following their respective interventions, all participants waited for about 30 minutes. This interval ensured that the napping group had time to shake off any grogginess from waking up. Next, the participants completed a memory task while wearing EEG caps. They viewed 150 distinct images on a screen and rated the emotional intensity of each picture to ensure they were paying attention. Three days later, the participants returned for a surprise memory test where they were shown a mix of the original 150 images and 75 new ones, and they had to indicate whether they recognized each picture.
The results showed that both exercise and napping protected the participants’ memory capacities. The exercise and nap groups successfully identified 56 percent and 57 percent of the original images, respectively, compared to a base rate of 46 percent in the control group. This amounts to an average relative increase of 22 percent in memory performance for those who exercised or rested compared to those who did nothing. The researchers noted that these improvements were not due to participants simply guessing “yes” more often, but reflected a genuine boost in their ability to remember the specific items.
The EEG recordings indicated that the two interventions achieved this memory preservation through distinct brain pathways. For the napping group, sleeping successfully reduced markers of neural fatigue and sleep pressure in the brain before the memory task even began. By downscaling these exhausted neural networks, the nap placed the brain into an optimal state to receive and hold onto new information. In this group, the baseline state of the brain was the strongest predictor of how well a person would perform on the memory test three days later.
The exercise group displayed a different internal response. Before the memory task, their EEG markers showed the same high levels of neural fatigue and sleep pressure as the control group. However, exercise appeared to prime the brain to process information more efficiently once a new image appeared. When a picture was shown, the brains of the exercising participants successfully engaged specific electrical rhythms associated with active learning and attention allocation. This allowed the participants to mobilize their available mental resources without needing to exert extra compensatory effort.
In contrast, the sleep-deprived control group struggled to encode the memories. Their brainwaves indicated high levels of fatigue, and when they tried to process the new images, their brains showed signs of elevated effort. Unlike in the exercise group, this extra mental strain did not translate to better memory performance, suggesting that the sleep-deprived brain was attempting to compensate for its exhaustion but failing to store the new information effectively.
The new findings are in line with a study covered by PsyPost in 2025, which found that a two-hour nighttime nap during a 24-hour shift improved nurses’ visual and verbal memory performance and restored disrupted resting brain connectivity. The results also align with another study covered by PsyPost, which found that engaging in moderate physical activity is associated with better episodic memory performance the following day, though that study tracked everyday activity in middle-aged adults rather than testing an acute workout as a buffer against total sleep deprivation.
As with all research, there are a few caveats to consider. First, the laboratory setting involved a single bout of extreme sleep deprivation, which might not fully mirror the ongoing sleep loss that many shift workers experience in the real world. Additionally, the durations of the two interventions did not match, with exercise lasting 20 minutes and the nap lasting 90 minutes. The researchers intentionally designed it this way to mimic practical real-world options, as exercising for 90 minutes would be physically exhausting and napping for only 20 minutes might not provide enough deep sleep to restore brain function.
Future research could look into how these interventions affect occupation-specific tasks, such as medication administration for nurses or lane tracking for truck drivers. Scientists are also interested in whether combining these strategies, such as taking a nap and then exercising, might offer even greater benefits for the exhausted brain.
The study, “Protecting episodic memory after sleep loss: Similar benefits of exercise and naps via distinct neural contributions,” was authored by Madhura S. Lotlikar, Beatrice Ayotte, Amy Choi, Freddie Seo, Edwin M. Robertson, Fabien Dal Maso, and Marc Roig.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #SleepLoss #MemoryBoost #ExerciseVsNap #EpisodicMemory #BrainHealth #SleepScience #CognitivePerformance #NapsWork #WorkoutForMemory #NeuroscienceStudies
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DATE: September 13, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: A 20-minute workout protects memory after sleep loss just as well as a 90-minute nap
Experiencing a sleepless night often makes it difficult to absorb and retain new information. A recent study suggests that engaging in a short bout of physical activity or taking a long nap can both protect the brain’s ability to form fresh memories after heavy sleep loss. The findings, published in PNAS, indicate that while these two strategies help memory in similar amounts, they rely on entirely different internal brain mechanisms to achieve that benefit.
Episodic memory allows people to consciously recall past events along with the specific time and place they occurred. This type of memory is essential for daily life, helping people navigate their environment, learn from past experiences, and make informed decisions about the future. When people do not get enough sleep, their capacity to record these episodic memories drops noticeably. In fact, a 2017 review explained how missing sleep directly disrupts the specific brain networks required to absorb and file away new information.
Because sleep loss is common among shift workers and medical professionals, scientists have been looking for accessible ways to shield the brain from its cognitive toll. At the same time, researchers have documented that movement benefits the brain under normal resting conditions. For instance, a 2019 meta-analysis demonstrated that a single short session of physical activity just before learning strongly improves memory performance.
Building on these separate lines of evidence, the authors of a 2021 review advanced the theory that exercise might act as a buffer to counteract the specific memory deficits caused by sleep deprivation. The current research, led by Madhura S. Lotlikar, was designed to test this idea directly by comparing the effects of exercise against the effects of a long nap. To understand what happens beneath the surface, the research team used electroencephalography, or EEG, a technique that involves placing small sensors on the scalp to measure the brain’s electrical waves.
To conduct the study, the researchers recruited 53 healthy young adults and kept them awake in a laboratory for 30 consecutive hours. After the sleep deprivation period, the participants were randomly split into three groups to undergo a specific intervention. One group exercised for 20 minutes on a stationary bicycle at a moderately intense pace, reaching 80 percent of their maximum heart rate. A second group was given a 90-minute opportunity to nap in a quiet, dark room. A third group, acting as a control, sat on a stationary bicycle for 20 minutes without pedaling.
Following their respective interventions, all participants waited for about 30 minutes. This interval ensured that the napping group had time to shake off any grogginess from waking up. Next, the participants completed a memory task while wearing EEG caps. They viewed 150 distinct images on a screen and rated the emotional intensity of each picture to ensure they were paying attention. Three days later, the participants returned for a surprise memory test where they were shown a mix of the original 150 images and 75 new ones, and they had to indicate whether they recognized each picture.
The results showed that both exercise and napping protected the participants’ memory capacities. The exercise and nap groups successfully identified 56 percent and 57 percent of the original images, respectively, compared to a base rate of 46 percent in the control group. This amounts to an average relative increase of 22 percent in memory performance for those who exercised or rested compared to those who did nothing. The researchers noted that these improvements were not due to participants simply guessing “yes” more often, but reflected a genuine boost in their ability to remember the specific items.
The EEG recordings indicated that the two interventions achieved this memory preservation through distinct brain pathways. For the napping group, sleeping successfully reduced markers of neural fatigue and sleep pressure in the brain before the memory task even began. By downscaling these exhausted neural networks, the nap placed the brain into an optimal state to receive and hold onto new information. In this group, the baseline state of the brain was the strongest predictor of how well a person would perform on the memory test three days later.
The exercise group displayed a different internal response. Before the memory task, their EEG markers showed the same high levels of neural fatigue and sleep pressure as the control group. However, exercise appeared to prime the brain to process information more efficiently once a new image appeared. When a picture was shown, the brains of the exercising participants successfully engaged specific electrical rhythms associated with active learning and attention allocation. This allowed the participants to mobilize their available mental resources without needing to exert extra compensatory effort.
In contrast, the sleep-deprived control group struggled to encode the memories. Their brainwaves indicated high levels of fatigue, and when they tried to process the new images, their brains showed signs of elevated effort. Unlike in the exercise group, this extra mental strain did not translate to better memory performance, suggesting that the sleep-deprived brain was attempting to compensate for its exhaustion but failing to store the new information effectively.
The new findings are in line with a study covered by PsyPost in 2025, which found that a two-hour nighttime nap during a 24-hour shift improved nurses’ visual and verbal memory performance and restored disrupted resting brain connectivity. The results also align with another study covered by PsyPost, which found that engaging in moderate physical activity is associated with better episodic memory performance the following day, though that study tracked everyday activity in middle-aged adults rather than testing an acute workout as a buffer against total sleep deprivation.
As with all research, there are a few caveats to consider. First, the laboratory setting involved a single bout of extreme sleep deprivation, which might not fully mirror the ongoing sleep loss that many shift workers experience in the real world. Additionally, the durations of the two interventions did not match, with exercise lasting 20 minutes and the nap lasting 90 minutes. The researchers intentionally designed it this way to mimic practical real-world options, as exercising for 90 minutes would be physically exhausting and napping for only 20 minutes might not provide enough deep sleep to restore brain function.
Future research could look into how these interventions affect occupation-specific tasks, such as medication administration for nurses or lane tracking for truck drivers. Scientists are also interested in whether combining these strategies, such as taking a nap and then exercising, might offer even greater benefits for the exhausted brain.
The study, “Protecting episodic memory after sleep loss: Similar benefits of exercise and naps via distinct neural contributions,” was authored by Madhura S. Lotlikar, Beatrice Ayotte, Amy Choi, Freddie Seo, Edwin M. Robertson, Fabien Dal Maso, and Marc Roig.
-------------------------------------------------
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-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #SleepLoss #MemoryBoost #ExerciseVsNap #EpisodicMemory #BrainHealth #SleepScience #CognitivePerformance #NapsWork #WorkoutForMemory #NeuroscienceStudies
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: A 20-minute workout protects memory after sleep loss just as well as a 90-minute nap
Experiencing a sleepless night often makes it difficult to absorb and retain new information. A recent study suggests that engaging in a short bout of physical activity or taking a long nap can both protect the brain’s ability to form fresh memories after heavy sleep loss. The findings, published in PNAS, indicate that while these two strategies help memory in similar amounts, they rely on entirely different internal brain mechanisms to achieve that benefit.
Episodic memory allows people to consciously recall past events along with the specific time and place they occurred. This type of memory is essential for daily life, helping people navigate their environment, learn from past experiences, and make informed decisions about the future. When people do not get enough sleep, their capacity to record these episodic memories drops noticeably. In fact, a 2017 review explained how missing sleep directly disrupts the specific brain networks required to absorb and file away new information.
Because sleep loss is common among shift workers and medical professionals, scientists have been looking for accessible ways to shield the brain from its cognitive toll. At the same time, researchers have documented that movement benefits the brain under normal resting conditions. For instance, a 2019 meta-analysis demonstrated that a single short session of physical activity just before learning strongly improves memory performance.
Building on these separate lines of evidence, the authors of a 2021 review advanced the theory that exercise might act as a buffer to counteract the specific memory deficits caused by sleep deprivation. The current research, led by Madhura S. Lotlikar, was designed to test this idea directly by comparing the effects of exercise against the effects of a long nap. To understand what happens beneath the surface, the research team used electroencephalography, or EEG, a technique that involves placing small sensors on the scalp to measure the brain’s electrical waves.
To conduct the study, the researchers recruited 53 healthy young adults and kept them awake in a laboratory for 30 consecutive hours. After the sleep deprivation period, the participants were randomly split into three groups to undergo a specific intervention. One group exercised for 20 minutes on a stationary bicycle at a moderately intense pace, reaching 80 percent of their maximum heart rate. A second group was given a 90-minute opportunity to nap in a quiet, dark room. A third group, acting as a control, sat on a stationary bicycle for 20 minutes without pedaling.
Following their respective interventions, all participants waited for about 30 minutes. This interval ensured that the napping group had time to shake off any grogginess from waking up. Next, the participants completed a memory task while wearing EEG caps. They viewed 150 distinct images on a screen and rated the emotional intensity of each picture to ensure they were paying attention. Three days later, the participants returned for a surprise memory test where they were shown a mix of the original 150 images and 75 new ones, and they had to indicate whether they recognized each picture.
The results showed that both exercise and napping protected the participants’ memory capacities. The exercise and nap groups successfully identified 56 percent and 57 percent of the original images, respectively, compared to a base rate of 46 percent in the control group. This amounts to an average relative increase of 22 percent in memory performance for those who exercised or rested compared to those who did nothing. The researchers noted that these improvements were not due to participants simply guessing “yes” more often, but reflected a genuine boost in their ability to remember the specific items.
The EEG recordings indicated that the two interventions achieved this memory preservation through distinct brain pathways. For the napping group, sleeping successfully reduced markers of neural fatigue and sleep pressure in the brain before the memory task even began. By downscaling these exhausted neural networks, the nap placed the brain into an optimal state to receive and hold onto new information. In this group, the baseline state of the brain was the strongest predictor of how well a person would perform on the memory test three days later.
The exercise group displayed a different internal response. Before the memory task, their EEG markers showed the same high levels of neural fatigue and sleep pressure as the control group. However, exercise appeared to prime the brain to process information more efficiently once a new image appeared. When a picture was shown, the brains of the exercising participants successfully engaged specific electrical rhythms associated with active learning and attention allocation. This allowed the participants to mobilize their available mental resources without needing to exert extra compensatory effort.
In contrast, the sleep-deprived control group struggled to encode the memories. Their brainwaves indicated high levels of fatigue, and when they tried to process the new images, their brains showed signs of elevated effort. Unlike in the exercise group, this extra mental strain did not translate to better memory performance, suggesting that the sleep-deprived brain was attempting to compensate for its exhaustion but failing to store the new information effectively.
The new findings are in line with a study covered by PsyPost in 2025, which found that a two-hour nighttime nap during a 24-hour shift improved nurses’ visual and verbal memory performance and restored disrupted resting brain connectivity. The results also align with another study covered by PsyPost, which found that engaging in moderate physical activity is associated with better episodic memory performance the following day, though that study tracked everyday activity in middle-aged adults rather than testing an acute workout as a buffer against total sleep deprivation.
As with all research, there are a few caveats to consider. First, the laboratory setting involved a single bout of extreme sleep deprivation, which might not fully mirror the ongoing sleep loss that many shift workers experience in the real world. Additionally, the durations of the two interventions did not match, with exercise lasting 20 minutes and the nap lasting 90 minutes. The researchers intentionally designed it this way to mimic practical real-world options, as exercising for 90 minutes would be physically exhausting and napping for only 20 minutes might not provide enough deep sleep to restore brain function.
Future research could look into how these interventions affect occupation-specific tasks, such as medication administration for nurses or lane tracking for truck drivers. Scientists are also interested in whether combining these strategies, such as taking a nap and then exercising, might offer even greater benefits for the exhausted brain.
The study, “Protecting episodic memory after sleep loss: Similar benefits of exercise and naps via distinct neural contributions,” was authored by Madhura S. Lotlikar, Beatrice Ayotte, Amy Choi, Freddie Seo, Edwin M. Robertson, Fabien Dal Maso, and Marc Roig.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #SleepLoss #MemoryBoost #ExerciseVsNap #EpisodicMemory #BrainHealth #SleepScience #CognitivePerformance #NapsWork #WorkoutForMemory #NeuroscienceStudies
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: A 20-minute workout protects memory after sleep loss just as well as a 90-minute nap
Experiencing a sleepless night often makes it difficult to absorb and retain new information. A recent study suggests that engaging in a short bout of physical activity or taking a long nap can both protect the brain’s ability to form fresh memories after heavy sleep loss. The findings, published in PNAS, indicate that while these two strategies help memory in similar amounts, they rely on entirely different internal brain mechanisms to achieve that benefit.
Episodic memory allows people to consciously recall past events along with the specific time and place they occurred. This type of memory is essential for daily life, helping people navigate their environment, learn from past experiences, and make informed decisions about the future. When people do not get enough sleep, their capacity to record these episodic memories drops noticeably. In fact, a 2017 review explained how missing sleep directly disrupts the specific brain networks required to absorb and file away new information.
Because sleep loss is common among shift workers and medical professionals, scientists have been looking for accessible ways to shield the brain from its cognitive toll. At the same time, researchers have documented that movement benefits the brain under normal resting conditions. For instance, a 2019 meta-analysis demonstrated that a single short session of physical activity just before learning strongly improves memory performance.
Building on these separate lines of evidence, the authors of a 2021 review advanced the theory that exercise might act as a buffer to counteract the specific memory deficits caused by sleep deprivation. The current research, led by Madhura S. Lotlikar, was designed to test this idea directly by comparing the effects of exercise against the effects of a long nap. To understand what happens beneath the surface, the research team used electroencephalography, or EEG, a technique that involves placing small sensors on the scalp to measure the brain’s electrical waves.
To conduct the study, the researchers recruited 53 healthy young adults and kept them awake in a laboratory for 30 consecutive hours. After the sleep deprivation period, the participants were randomly split into three groups to undergo a specific intervention. One group exercised for 20 minutes on a stationary bicycle at a moderately intense pace, reaching 80 percent of their maximum heart rate. A second group was given a 90-minute opportunity to nap in a quiet, dark room. A third group, acting as a control, sat on a stationary bicycle for 20 minutes without pedaling.
Following their respective interventions, all participants waited for about 30 minutes. This interval ensured that the napping group had time to shake off any grogginess from waking up. Next, the participants completed a memory task while wearing EEG caps. They viewed 150 distinct images on a screen and rated the emotional intensity of each picture to ensure they were paying attention. Three days later, the participants returned for a surprise memory test where they were shown a mix of the original 150 images and 75 new ones, and they had to indicate whether they recognized each picture.
The results showed that both exercise and napping protected the participants’ memory capacities. The exercise and nap groups successfully identified 56 percent and 57 percent of the original images, respectively, compared to a base rate of 46 percent in the control group. This amounts to an average relative increase of 22 percent in memory performance for those who exercised or rested compared to those who did nothing. The researchers noted that these improvements were not due to participants simply guessing “yes” more often, but reflected a genuine boost in their ability to remember the specific items.
The EEG recordings indicated that the two interventions achieved this memory preservation through distinct brain pathways. For the napping group, sleeping successfully reduced markers of neural fatigue and sleep pressure in the brain before the memory task even began. By downscaling these exhausted neural networks, the nap placed the brain into an optimal state to receive and hold onto new information. In this group, the baseline state of the brain was the strongest predictor of how well a person would perform on the memory test three days later.
The exercise group displayed a different internal response. Before the memory task, their EEG markers showed the same high levels of neural fatigue and sleep pressure as the control group. However, exercise appeared to prime the brain to process information more efficiently once a new image appeared. When a picture was shown, the brains of the exercising participants successfully engaged specific electrical rhythms associated with active learning and attention allocation. This allowed the participants to mobilize their available mental resources without needing to exert extra compensatory effort.
In contrast, the sleep-deprived control group struggled to encode the memories. Their brainwaves indicated high levels of fatigue, and when they tried to process the new images, their brains showed signs of elevated effort. Unlike in the exercise group, this extra mental strain did not translate to better memory performance, suggesting that the sleep-deprived brain was attempting to compensate for its exhaustion but failing to store the new information effectively.
The new findings are in line with a study covered by PsyPost in 2025, which found that a two-hour nighttime nap during a 24-hour shift improved nurses’ visual and verbal memory performance and restored disrupted resting brain connectivity. The results also align with another study covered by PsyPost, which found that engaging in moderate physical activity is associated with better episodic memory performance the following day, though that study tracked everyday activity in middle-aged adults rather than testing an acute workout as a buffer against total sleep deprivation.
As with all research, there are a few caveats to consider. First, the laboratory setting involved a single bout of extreme sleep deprivation, which might not fully mirror the ongoing sleep loss that many shift workers experience in the real world. Additionally, the durations of the two interventions did not match, with exercise lasting 20 minutes and the nap lasting 90 minutes. The researchers intentionally designed it this way to mimic practical real-world options, as exercising for 90 minutes would be physically exhausting and napping for only 20 minutes might not provide enough deep sleep to restore brain function.
Future research could look into how these interventions affect occupation-specific tasks, such as medication administration for nurses or lane tracking for truck drivers. Scientists are also interested in whether combining these strategies, such as taking a nap and then exercising, might offer even greater benefits for the exhausted brain.
The study, “Protecting episodic memory after sleep loss: Similar benefits of exercise and naps via distinct neural contributions,” was authored by Madhura S. Lotlikar, Beatrice Ayotte, Amy Choi, Freddie Seo, Edwin M. Robertson, Fabien Dal Maso, and Marc Roig.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #SleepLoss #MemoryBoost #ExerciseVsNap #EpisodicMemory #BrainHealth #SleepScience #CognitivePerformance #NapsWork #WorkoutForMemory #NeuroscienceStudies
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 09:56AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEEDTITLE: Scientists find a new layer of Alzheimer’s hidden in the genome
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
Scientists found that the 3D organization of DNA is disrupted in several types of brain cells affected by Alzheimer’s disease, altering how important genes are switched on and off. The discovery reveals a previously underexplored layer of the disease that could open new paths for understanding and eventually treating Alzheimer’s.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AlzheimersResearch #Genomics #3DGenome #BrainHealth #Gene Regulation #Neuroscience #AlzheimersAwareness #DNAArchitecture #NeurodegenerativeDisease #MedicalBreakthrough
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 09:56AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEEDTITLE: Scientists find a new layer of Alzheimer’s hidden in the genome
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
Scientists found that the 3D organization of DNA is disrupted in several types of brain cells affected by Alzheimer’s disease, altering how important genes are switched on and off. The discovery reveals a previously underexplored layer of the disease that could open new paths for understanding and eventually treating Alzheimer’s.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
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Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AlzheimersResearch #Genomics #3DGenome #BrainHealth #Gene Regulation #Neuroscience #AlzheimersAwareness #DNAArchitecture #NeurodegenerativeDisease #MedicalBreakthrough
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 09:56AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEEDTITLE: Scientists find a new layer of Alzheimer’s hidden in the genome
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
Scientists found that the 3D organization of DNA is disrupted in several types of brain cells affected by Alzheimer’s disease, altering how important genes are switched on and off. The discovery reveals a previously underexplored layer of the disease that could open new paths for understanding and eventually treating Alzheimer’s.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
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-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 09:56AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEEDTITLE: Scientists find a new layer of Alzheimer’s hidden in the genome
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
Scientists found that the 3D organization of DNA is disrupted in several types of brain cells affected by Alzheimer’s disease, altering how important genes are switched on and off. The discovery reveals a previously underexplored layer of the disease that could open new paths for understanding and eventually treating Alzheimer’s.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
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Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 09:56AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEEDTITLE: Scientists find a new layer of Alzheimer’s hidden in the genome
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
Scientists found that the 3D organization of DNA is disrupted in several types of brain cells affected by Alzheimer’s disease, altering how important genes are switched on and off. The discovery reveals a previously underexplored layer of the disease that could open new paths for understanding and eventually treating Alzheimer’s.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
-------------------------------------------------
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Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AlzheimersResearch #GenomeScience #3DGenomics #BrainDisease #DNAArchitecture #GeneRegulation #Neuroscience #AlzheimersDiscovery #BiomedicalBreakthrough #HealthcareInnovation
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 09:56AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEEDTITLE: Scientists find a new layer of Alzheimer’s hidden in the genome
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
Scientists found that the 3D organization of DNA is disrupted in several types of brain cells affected by Alzheimer’s disease, altering how important genes are switched on and off. The discovery reveals a previously underexplored layer of the disease that could open new paths for understanding and eventually treating Alzheimer’s.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260912220051.htm
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AlzheimersResearch #GenomeScience #3DGenomics #BrainDisease #DNAArchitecture #GeneRegulation #Neuroscience #AlzheimersDiscovery #BiomedicalBreakthrough #HealthcareInnovation
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: How personality and social context shape adolescent loneliness
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-personality-and-social-context-shape-adolescent-loneliness/
Adolescents experience isolation differently depending on whether they are with close friends or mere acquaintances, and their underlying personality traits shape these daily emotions. A new study published in Development and Psychopathology reveals that while spending time alone is linked to momentary feelings of isolation, young people with maladaptive personality traits tend to experience chronic loneliness regardless of their social surroundings.
Adolescence is a period of intense social transition. Teenagers often shift their focus from family to peers, which can leave them feeling disconnected if they have not yet formed stable friend groups. The threshold for feeling lonely varies from person to person. Psychologists often look to the differential reactivity hypothesis to explain this variation.
This hypothesis suggests that individuals differ widely in how they respond to social situations. People who are prone to loneliness do not necessarily encounter more social stressors than their peers. Instead, they react more intensely to the social situations they do face. Personality traits can heavily shape this reactivity.
Maladaptive personality traits refer to enduring patterns of thinking and behaving that make it difficult to function in everyday life. These include extreme emotional sensitivity or a tendency to withdraw from others. Cara Luisa Wicher, a psychologist at the University of Wuppertal in Germany, led a team to investigate how these traits operate in daily life. Wicher and her colleagues Susanne Buecker, Paula Philippi, and Aleksandra Kaurin sought to map the daily fluctuations of adolescent loneliness.
The researchers used a method called ecological momentary assessment. Traditional questionnaires ask participants to remember how they felt over the past week or month, which can introduce memory bias. By prompting the youth multiple times a day on their smartphones as they went about their normal lives, the researchers captured the immediate context of their emotions.
The study included 294 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 12 and 21. For 14 days, the participants received up to seven alerts a day, along with a separate evening survey. They answered questions about how lonely they felt at that exact moment, who they were with, and where they were. The participants answered over 27,000 momentary prompts, yielding a highly detailed dataset.
Before the two week period began, the participants also completed baseline questionnaires. These surveys measured overall trait loneliness and maladaptive personality domains. The personality inventory assessed traits such as negative affect, detachment, antagonism, disinhibition, and rigid perfectionism.
The data showed a distinct pattern regarding solitude. When the adolescents were alone, they reported higher levels of momentary and daily loneliness compared to when they were in social company. Yet, individuals who generally spent more time alone over the entire two week period were not necessarily lonelier on average than their highly social peers.
The type of company played a major role in shaping emotional states. Being in the presence of close connections, such as friends, romantic partners, or family members, was associated with reduced loneliness. In contrast, spending time with weaker social ties, like classmates or colleagues, was not associated with any reduction in loneliness.
The environment also factored into these emotional states. The adolescents reported the highest levels of momentary loneliness when interacting with people on the internet. This was followed by time spent with roommates or strangers.
The researchers also noted shifts in social habits related to age. Older adolescents spent less time with their families and more time with romantic partners. At the same time, older participants experienced a stronger association between being alone and feeling lonely. This aligns with psychological theories of emerging adulthood, where spending time alone is a normal part of gaining independence, yet it can feel particularly isolating as young people navigate identity formation.
Maladaptive personality traits heavily factored into these daily experiences. Participants who scored higher on these traits at the start of the study reported greater and more variable levels of loneliness throughout the two weeks. They experienced steeper emotional fluctuations from day to day.
Two specific personality domains stood out in the data. Detachment involves withdrawing from social interactions and displaying limited emotional expression. Negative affect describes a tendency to experience intense negative emotions frequently.
Adolescents with high levels of detachment spent more time alone and experienced more frequent spikes in loneliness. Those with high negative affect felt especially lonely when they were by themselves. These traits seemed to affect the way the youth processed their social environments.
When looking at the broader picture, maladaptive personality traits seemed to disconnect loneliness from actual social contact. For youth with higher levels of these traits, being alone more often did not directly predict higher average loneliness. Instead, they appeared to experience loneliness as an ongoing state, rather than a reaction to a specific moment of solitude.
The researchers also found that daily satisfaction with social contact partially explained the link between being alone and feeling lonely. This suggests that the perceived quality of a relationship is a stronger predictor of loneliness than the sheer quantity of interactions. Adolescents with maladaptive personality traits reported lower social satisfaction overall, which was associated with their heightened feelings of isolation.
The study relies heavily on surveys based on self-reports, which can introduce personal bias. The sample was also relatively uniform, consisting primarily of young people born in Germany from stable socioeconomic backgrounds. This limits how well the findings might apply to more diverse populations or clinical groups.
To avoid exhausting the participants with long surveys seven times a day, the researchers used a single question to measure momentary loneliness. While this is a common practice in this type of research, a single item might not capture the full experience of feeling isolated. The act of answering the surveys could have also influenced behavior. If participants knew that reporting social company would trigger follow up questions, they might have underreported their social interactions to save time.
Because the study observed daily habits without introducing an experiment, the results show associations rather than direct causes. For example, it remains unknown if spending time online precedes feelings of loneliness or if lonely individuals simply seek out the internet as a coping mechanism. Future research could explore more diverse groups and investigate how specific coping strategies or emotion regulation skills might alter these daily patterns of loneliness.
The study, “Daily manifestations of maladaptive personality traits and loneliness across social contexts in youth,” was authored by Cara Luisa Wicher, Susanne Buecker, Paula Philippi, and Aleksandra Kaurin.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-personality-and-social-context-shape-adolescent-loneliness/
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AdolescentLoneliness #MaladaptivePersonality #SocialContext #EcologicalMomentaryAssessment #LonelinessResearch #Detachment #NegativeAffect #SocialConnections #OnlineInteractions #YoungPeopleMentalHealth
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: How personality and social context shape adolescent loneliness
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-personality-and-social-context-shape-adolescent-loneliness/
Adolescents experience isolation differently depending on whether they are with close friends or mere acquaintances, and their underlying personality traits shape these daily emotions. A new study published in Development and Psychopathology reveals that while spending time alone is linked to momentary feelings of isolation, young people with maladaptive personality traits tend to experience chronic loneliness regardless of their social surroundings.
Adolescence is a period of intense social transition. Teenagers often shift their focus from family to peers, which can leave them feeling disconnected if they have not yet formed stable friend groups. The threshold for feeling lonely varies from person to person. Psychologists often look to the differential reactivity hypothesis to explain this variation.
This hypothesis suggests that individuals differ widely in how they respond to social situations. People who are prone to loneliness do not necessarily encounter more social stressors than their peers. Instead, they react more intensely to the social situations they do face. Personality traits can heavily shape this reactivity.
Maladaptive personality traits refer to enduring patterns of thinking and behaving that make it difficult to function in everyday life. These include extreme emotional sensitivity or a tendency to withdraw from others. Cara Luisa Wicher, a psychologist at the University of Wuppertal in Germany, led a team to investigate how these traits operate in daily life. Wicher and her colleagues Susanne Buecker, Paula Philippi, and Aleksandra Kaurin sought to map the daily fluctuations of adolescent loneliness.
The researchers used a method called ecological momentary assessment. Traditional questionnaires ask participants to remember how they felt over the past week or month, which can introduce memory bias. By prompting the youth multiple times a day on their smartphones as they went about their normal lives, the researchers captured the immediate context of their emotions.
The study included 294 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 12 and 21. For 14 days, the participants received up to seven alerts a day, along with a separate evening survey. They answered questions about how lonely they felt at that exact moment, who they were with, and where they were. The participants answered over 27,000 momentary prompts, yielding a highly detailed dataset.
Before the two week period began, the participants also completed baseline questionnaires. These surveys measured overall trait loneliness and maladaptive personality domains. The personality inventory assessed traits such as negative affect, detachment, antagonism, disinhibition, and rigid perfectionism.
The data showed a distinct pattern regarding solitude. When the adolescents were alone, they reported higher levels of momentary and daily loneliness compared to when they were in social company. Yet, individuals who generally spent more time alone over the entire two week period were not necessarily lonelier on average than their highly social peers.
The type of company played a major role in shaping emotional states. Being in the presence of close connections, such as friends, romantic partners, or family members, was associated with reduced loneliness. In contrast, spending time with weaker social ties, like classmates or colleagues, was not associated with any reduction in loneliness.
The environment also factored into these emotional states. The adolescents reported the highest levels of momentary loneliness when interacting with people on the internet. This was followed by time spent with roommates or strangers.
The researchers also noted shifts in social habits related to age. Older adolescents spent less time with their families and more time with romantic partners. At the same time, older participants experienced a stronger association between being alone and feeling lonely. This aligns with psychological theories of emerging adulthood, where spending time alone is a normal part of gaining independence, yet it can feel particularly isolating as young people navigate identity formation.
Maladaptive personality traits heavily factored into these daily experiences. Participants who scored higher on these traits at the start of the study reported greater and more variable levels of loneliness throughout the two weeks. They experienced steeper emotional fluctuations from day to day.
Two specific personality domains stood out in the data. Detachment involves withdrawing from social interactions and displaying limited emotional expression. Negative affect describes a tendency to experience intense negative emotions frequently.
Adolescents with high levels of detachment spent more time alone and experienced more frequent spikes in loneliness. Those with high negative affect felt especially lonely when they were by themselves. These traits seemed to affect the way the youth processed their social environments.
When looking at the broader picture, maladaptive personality traits seemed to disconnect loneliness from actual social contact. For youth with higher levels of these traits, being alone more often did not directly predict higher average loneliness. Instead, they appeared to experience loneliness as an ongoing state, rather than a reaction to a specific moment of solitude.
The researchers also found that daily satisfaction with social contact partially explained the link between being alone and feeling lonely. This suggests that the perceived quality of a relationship is a stronger predictor of loneliness than the sheer quantity of interactions. Adolescents with maladaptive personality traits reported lower social satisfaction overall, which was associated with their heightened feelings of isolation.
The study relies heavily on surveys based on self-reports, which can introduce personal bias. The sample was also relatively uniform, consisting primarily of young people born in Germany from stable socioeconomic backgrounds. This limits how well the findings might apply to more diverse populations or clinical groups.
To avoid exhausting the participants with long surveys seven times a day, the researchers used a single question to measure momentary loneliness. While this is a common practice in this type of research, a single item might not capture the full experience of feeling isolated. The act of answering the surveys could have also influenced behavior. If participants knew that reporting social company would trigger follow up questions, they might have underreported their social interactions to save time.
Because the study observed daily habits without introducing an experiment, the results show associations rather than direct causes. For example, it remains unknown if spending time online precedes feelings of loneliness or if lonely individuals simply seek out the internet as a coping mechanism. Future research could explore more diverse groups and investigate how specific coping strategies or emotion regulation skills might alter these daily patterns of loneliness.
The study, “Daily manifestations of maladaptive personality traits and loneliness across social contexts in youth,” was authored by Cara Luisa Wicher, Susanne Buecker, Paula Philippi, and Aleksandra Kaurin.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-personality-and-social-context-shape-adolescent-loneliness/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
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-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AdolescentLoneliness #MaladaptivePersonality #SocialContext #EcologicalMomentaryAssessment #LonelinessResearch #Detachment #NegativeAffect #SocialConnections #OnlineInteractions #YoungPeopleMentalHealth
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: How personality and social context shape adolescent loneliness
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-personality-and-social-context-shape-adolescent-loneliness/
Adolescents experience isolation differently depending on whether they are with close friends or mere acquaintances, and their underlying personality traits shape these daily emotions. A new study published in Development and Psychopathology reveals that while spending time alone is linked to momentary feelings of isolation, young people with maladaptive personality traits tend to experience chronic loneliness regardless of their social surroundings.
Adolescence is a period of intense social transition. Teenagers often shift their focus from family to peers, which can leave them feeling disconnected if they have not yet formed stable friend groups. The threshold for feeling lonely varies from person to person. Psychologists often look to the differential reactivity hypothesis to explain this variation.
This hypothesis suggests that individuals differ widely in how they respond to social situations. People who are prone to loneliness do not necessarily encounter more social stressors than their peers. Instead, they react more intensely to the social situations they do face. Personality traits can heavily shape this reactivity.
Maladaptive personality traits refer to enduring patterns of thinking and behaving that make it difficult to function in everyday life. These include extreme emotional sensitivity or a tendency to withdraw from others. Cara Luisa Wicher, a psychologist at the University of Wuppertal in Germany, led a team to investigate how these traits operate in daily life. Wicher and her colleagues Susanne Buecker, Paula Philippi, and Aleksandra Kaurin sought to map the daily fluctuations of adolescent loneliness.
The researchers used a method called ecological momentary assessment. Traditional questionnaires ask participants to remember how they felt over the past week or month, which can introduce memory bias. By prompting the youth multiple times a day on their smartphones as they went about their normal lives, the researchers captured the immediate context of their emotions.
The study included 294 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 12 and 21. For 14 days, the participants received up to seven alerts a day, along with a separate evening survey. They answered questions about how lonely they felt at that exact moment, who they were with, and where they were. The participants answered over 27,000 momentary prompts, yielding a highly detailed dataset.
Before the two week period began, the participants also completed baseline questionnaires. These surveys measured overall trait loneliness and maladaptive personality domains. The personality inventory assessed traits such as negative affect, detachment, antagonism, disinhibition, and rigid perfectionism.
The data showed a distinct pattern regarding solitude. When the adolescents were alone, they reported higher levels of momentary and daily loneliness compared to when they were in social company. Yet, individuals who generally spent more time alone over the entire two week period were not necessarily lonelier on average than their highly social peers.
The type of company played a major role in shaping emotional states. Being in the presence of close connections, such as friends, romantic partners, or family members, was associated with reduced loneliness. In contrast, spending time with weaker social ties, like classmates or colleagues, was not associated with any reduction in loneliness.
The environment also factored into these emotional states. The adolescents reported the highest levels of momentary loneliness when interacting with people on the internet. This was followed by time spent with roommates or strangers.
The researchers also noted shifts in social habits related to age. Older adolescents spent less time with their families and more time with romantic partners. At the same time, older participants experienced a stronger association between being alone and feeling lonely. This aligns with psychological theories of emerging adulthood, where spending time alone is a normal part of gaining independence, yet it can feel particularly isolating as young people navigate identity formation.
Maladaptive personality traits heavily factored into these daily experiences. Participants who scored higher on these traits at the start of the study reported greater and more variable levels of loneliness throughout the two weeks. They experienced steeper emotional fluctuations from day to day.
Two specific personality domains stood out in the data. Detachment involves withdrawing from social interactions and displaying limited emotional expression. Negative affect describes a tendency to experience intense negative emotions frequently.
Adolescents with high levels of detachment spent more time alone and experienced more frequent spikes in loneliness. Those with high negative affect felt especially lonely when they were by themselves. These traits seemed to affect the way the youth processed their social environments.
When looking at the broader picture, maladaptive personality traits seemed to disconnect loneliness from actual social contact. For youth with higher levels of these traits, being alone more often did not directly predict higher average loneliness. Instead, they appeared to experience loneliness as an ongoing state, rather than a reaction to a specific moment of solitude.
The researchers also found that daily satisfaction with social contact partially explained the link between being alone and feeling lonely. This suggests that the perceived quality of a relationship is a stronger predictor of loneliness than the sheer quantity of interactions. Adolescents with maladaptive personality traits reported lower social satisfaction overall, which was associated with their heightened feelings of isolation.
The study relies heavily on surveys based on self-reports, which can introduce personal bias. The sample was also relatively uniform, consisting primarily of young people born in Germany from stable socioeconomic backgrounds. This limits how well the findings might apply to more diverse populations or clinical groups.
To avoid exhausting the participants with long surveys seven times a day, the researchers used a single question to measure momentary loneliness. While this is a common practice in this type of research, a single item might not capture the full experience of feeling isolated. The act of answering the surveys could have also influenced behavior. If participants knew that reporting social company would trigger follow up questions, they might have underreported their social interactions to save time.
Because the study observed daily habits without introducing an experiment, the results show associations rather than direct causes. For example, it remains unknown if spending time online precedes feelings of loneliness or if lonely individuals simply seek out the internet as a coping mechanism. Future research could explore more diverse groups and investigate how specific coping strategies or emotion regulation skills might alter these daily patterns of loneliness.
The study, “Daily manifestations of maladaptive personality traits and loneliness across social contexts in youth,” was authored by Cara Luisa Wicher, Susanne Buecker, Paula Philippi, and Aleksandra Kaurin.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-personality-and-social-context-shape-adolescent-loneliness/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AdolescentLoneliness #MaladaptivePersonality #SocialContext #EcologicalMomentaryAssessment #LonelinessResearch #Detachment #NegativeAffect #SocialConnections #OnlineInteractions #YoungPeopleMentalHealth
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Federal science funding cuts push young U.S. researchers to consider moving abroad
Recent policy changes and budget reductions by the federal government have created immediate hurdles for young scientists building their careers in the United States. A new survey published in Frontiers in Sociology suggests that these abrupt funding disruptions have severely impacted the professional trajectories of early career researchers, pushing many to consider leaving academia or moving to other countries. The findings indicate how sudden halts in research funding can destabilize the long-term scientific workforce.
In early 2025, the Trump administration instituted rapid policy shifts across the academic landscape. Federal science budgets faced proposed double-digit percentage reductions, hundreds of existing research grants were abruptly frozen or terminated, and some diversity and climate programs were paused. Most basic scientific research in the United States happens at universities, relying heavily on federal grants. Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation allocate taxpayer money to academic laboratories, paying for scientific equipment, experimental materials, and researcher salaries.
When this funding stops, the people most immediately affected are early career researchers. This group includes undergraduate students, doctoral candidates working on their dissertations, and postdoctoral fellows, who are scientists completing additional training before seeking permanent faculty positions. These trainees typically depend directly on grant money for their livelihoods. Even before recent disruptions, a study covered by PsyPost in 2024 showed that many graduate students already face extreme financial stress because their stipends fail to cover basic living costs.
Sudden budget reductions tend to have long-lasting effects on the training pipeline. For instance, a 2026 computer modeling study indicated that abrupt cuts to federal health research funding create setbacks in scientist training that take decades to recover from. As an immediate reaction to the 2025 federal science funding cuts, a 2025 report indicated that universities across the country began shrinking graduate student admissions.
To better understand how the current generation of young scientists is experiencing these shifts, researchers led by Crystal Hammond at the University of California, Riverside, and Adriana Bankston at the STEM Advocacy Institute conducted a rapid-response survey.
The research team collected their data online during May and June of 2025, while the effects of the funding changes were still actively unfolding. They utilized two separate questionnaires. The first survey was a brief, qualitative tool that gathered personal stories and accounts of advocacy actions from six participants. The second survey was more comprehensive, collecting both quantitative data and open-ended responses from 30 early career researchers. The scientists recruited participants through academic mailing lists, social media, and direct outreach to university contacts.
In the comprehensive survey, 60 percent of respondents were doctoral students, 13.3 percent were undergraduate students, and 13.3 percent were postdoctoral researchers. The majority of the participants studied life sciences, such as biology or neuroscience, and most worked at large, public research universities. The respondents relied heavily on federal support for their work. About 63 percent reported that their research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, while 20 percent relied on the National Science Foundation.
The survey data provides evidence that the funding disruptions caused widespread professional distress. Half of the participants rated the professional impact of the cuts as severe, scoring the disruption an eight or higher on a ten-point scale. Another 40 percent rated the impact as moderate. When asked about specific negative consequences, participants reported a variety of issues, with 20 percent specifically noting that their stipends or benefits had been cut or delayed, and 10 percent reporting hiring freezes or rescinded job offers.
Looking to the future, the participants expressed widespread anxiety about their scientific careers. Ninety percent of respondents worried about their long-term job prospects in research. Over half of the sample, 56.7 percent, reported that they would not be able to complete their current research projects. Because of these barriers, 60 percent of the early career researchers said they were considering moving to another country to pursue their scientific goals.
The funding cuts also affected the broader well-being of the academic community. Nearly three-quarters of respondents reported that the budget changes negatively impacted their mental health and wellness. Additionally, 56.7 percent of participants said the disruptions harmed their sense of belonging in the sciences. Faced with these compounding pressures, 56.7 percent of the surveyed early career researchers indicated that they were considering leaving academic research entirely.
The qualitative responses offered more detail about the specific challenges these researchers faced. Graduate students described how canceled grants delayed their dissertation timelines, meaning they would run out of funding before they could finish their degrees. Postdoctoral researchers recounted how fellowships aimed at increasing diversity in the sciences were terminated abruptly. In response to these challenges, participants reported engaging in various forms of advocacy, such as organizing campus rallies, writing to their elected representatives, and trying to educate the public about the importance of scientific research.
The findings are in line with research covered by PsyPost in 2020. That earlier study examined perceptions of political interference and scientific integrity among federal agency scientists rather than funding cuts and career viability among university trainees, but it similarly found widespread disruption to researchers under the Trump administration.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind when interpreting these findings. The sample size of the survey was small, with only 30 participants completing the quantitative questionnaire. The authors utilized a rapid-response format with a short data collection window to capture immediate reactions, meaning the results are not a nationally representative sample of all scientists. Because the researchers used convenience sampling, it is possible that individuals who were most severely affected by the budget cuts were more motivated to participate.
Additionally, the demographic makeup of the respondents was fairly narrow. The majority of participants were White scholars working in the life sciences at research-intensive institutions. The effects of federal funding disruptions might look different for scholars in the humanities, social sciences, or at smaller colleges with different financial structures. Future studies with larger and more diverse groups of participants will be needed to fully capture how these policy shifts are reshaping the broader higher education landscape.
The study, “Early career researcher responses to 2025 United States federal science funding disruptions: a rapid-response pilot survey,” was authored by Crystal Hammond, John Patrick Flores, Siara Rouzer, Kassandra Fernandez, Amy Ralston, and Adriana Bankston.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #FederalFundingCuts #EarlyCareerResearchers #STEMOutreach #SciencePolicy #ResearchFunding #AcademicCareers #MoveForScience #STEMAdvocacy #HigherEducation #BrainDrainUSA
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Federal science funding cuts push young U.S. researchers to consider moving abroad
Recent policy changes and budget reductions by the federal government have created immediate hurdles for young scientists building their careers in the United States. A new survey published in Frontiers in Sociology suggests that these abrupt funding disruptions have severely impacted the professional trajectories of early career researchers, pushing many to consider leaving academia or moving to other countries. The findings indicate how sudden halts in research funding can destabilize the long-term scientific workforce.
In early 2025, the Trump administration instituted rapid policy shifts across the academic landscape. Federal science budgets faced proposed double-digit percentage reductions, hundreds of existing research grants were abruptly frozen or terminated, and some diversity and climate programs were paused. Most basic scientific research in the United States happens at universities, relying heavily on federal grants. Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation allocate taxpayer money to academic laboratories, paying for scientific equipment, experimental materials, and researcher salaries.
When this funding stops, the people most immediately affected are early career researchers. This group includes undergraduate students, doctoral candidates working on their dissertations, and postdoctoral fellows, who are scientists completing additional training before seeking permanent faculty positions. These trainees typically depend directly on grant money for their livelihoods. Even before recent disruptions, a study covered by PsyPost in 2024 showed that many graduate students already face extreme financial stress because their stipends fail to cover basic living costs.
Sudden budget reductions tend to have long-lasting effects on the training pipeline. For instance, a 2026 computer modeling study indicated that abrupt cuts to federal health research funding create setbacks in scientist training that take decades to recover from. As an immediate reaction to the 2025 federal science funding cuts, a 2025 report indicated that universities across the country began shrinking graduate student admissions.
To better understand how the current generation of young scientists is experiencing these shifts, researchers led by Crystal Hammond at the University of California, Riverside, and Adriana Bankston at the STEM Advocacy Institute conducted a rapid-response survey.
The research team collected their data online during May and June of 2025, while the effects of the funding changes were still actively unfolding. They utilized two separate questionnaires. The first survey was a brief, qualitative tool that gathered personal stories and accounts of advocacy actions from six participants. The second survey was more comprehensive, collecting both quantitative data and open-ended responses from 30 early career researchers. The scientists recruited participants through academic mailing lists, social media, and direct outreach to university contacts.
In the comprehensive survey, 60 percent of respondents were doctoral students, 13.3 percent were undergraduate students, and 13.3 percent were postdoctoral researchers. The majority of the participants studied life sciences, such as biology or neuroscience, and most worked at large, public research universities. The respondents relied heavily on federal support for their work. About 63 percent reported that their research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, while 20 percent relied on the National Science Foundation.
The survey data provides evidence that the funding disruptions caused widespread professional distress. Half of the participants rated the professional impact of the cuts as severe, scoring the disruption an eight or higher on a ten-point scale. Another 40 percent rated the impact as moderate. When asked about specific negative consequences, participants reported a variety of issues, with 20 percent specifically noting that their stipends or benefits had been cut or delayed, and 10 percent reporting hiring freezes or rescinded job offers.
Looking to the future, the participants expressed widespread anxiety about their scientific careers. Ninety percent of respondents worried about their long-term job prospects in research. Over half of the sample, 56.7 percent, reported that they would not be able to complete their current research projects. Because of these barriers, 60 percent of the early career researchers said they were considering moving to another country to pursue their scientific goals.
The funding cuts also affected the broader well-being of the academic community. Nearly three-quarters of respondents reported that the budget changes negatively impacted their mental health and wellness. Additionally, 56.7 percent of participants said the disruptions harmed their sense of belonging in the sciences. Faced with these compounding pressures, 56.7 percent of the surveyed early career researchers indicated that they were considering leaving academic research entirely.
The qualitative responses offered more detail about the specific challenges these researchers faced. Graduate students described how canceled grants delayed their dissertation timelines, meaning they would run out of funding before they could finish their degrees. Postdoctoral researchers recounted how fellowships aimed at increasing diversity in the sciences were terminated abruptly. In response to these challenges, participants reported engaging in various forms of advocacy, such as organizing campus rallies, writing to their elected representatives, and trying to educate the public about the importance of scientific research.
The findings are in line with research covered by PsyPost in 2020. That earlier study examined perceptions of political interference and scientific integrity among federal agency scientists rather than funding cuts and career viability among university trainees, but it similarly found widespread disruption to researchers under the Trump administration.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind when interpreting these findings. The sample size of the survey was small, with only 30 participants completing the quantitative questionnaire. The authors utilized a rapid-response format with a short data collection window to capture immediate reactions, meaning the results are not a nationally representative sample of all scientists. Because the researchers used convenience sampling, it is possible that individuals who were most severely affected by the budget cuts were more motivated to participate.
Additionally, the demographic makeup of the respondents was fairly narrow. The majority of participants were White scholars working in the life sciences at research-intensive institutions. The effects of federal funding disruptions might look different for scholars in the humanities, social sciences, or at smaller colleges with different financial structures. Future studies with larger and more diverse groups of participants will be needed to fully capture how these policy shifts are reshaping the broader higher education landscape.
The study, “Early career researcher responses to 2025 United States federal science funding disruptions: a rapid-response pilot survey,” was authored by Crystal Hammond, John Patrick Flores, Siara Rouzer, Kassandra Fernandez, Amy Ralston, and Adriana Bankston.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #FederalFundingCuts #EarlyCareerResearchers #STEMOutreach #SciencePolicy #ResearchFunding #AcademicCareers #MoveForScience #STEMAdvocacy #HigherEducation #BrainDrainUSA
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Federal science funding cuts push young U.S. researchers to consider moving abroad
Recent policy changes and budget reductions by the federal government have created immediate hurdles for young scientists building their careers in the United States. A new survey published in Frontiers in Sociology suggests that these abrupt funding disruptions have severely impacted the professional trajectories of early career researchers, pushing many to consider leaving academia or moving to other countries. The findings indicate how sudden halts in research funding can destabilize the long-term scientific workforce.
In early 2025, the Trump administration instituted rapid policy shifts across the academic landscape. Federal science budgets faced proposed double-digit percentage reductions, hundreds of existing research grants were abruptly frozen or terminated, and some diversity and climate programs were paused. Most basic scientific research in the United States happens at universities, relying heavily on federal grants. Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation allocate taxpayer money to academic laboratories, paying for scientific equipment, experimental materials, and researcher salaries.
When this funding stops, the people most immediately affected are early career researchers. This group includes undergraduate students, doctoral candidates working on their dissertations, and postdoctoral fellows, who are scientists completing additional training before seeking permanent faculty positions. These trainees typically depend directly on grant money for their livelihoods. Even before recent disruptions, a study covered by PsyPost in 2024 showed that many graduate students already face extreme financial stress because their stipends fail to cover basic living costs.
Sudden budget reductions tend to have long-lasting effects on the training pipeline. For instance, a 2026 computer modeling study indicated that abrupt cuts to federal health research funding create setbacks in scientist training that take decades to recover from. As an immediate reaction to the 2025 federal science funding cuts, a 2025 report indicated that universities across the country began shrinking graduate student admissions.
To better understand how the current generation of young scientists is experiencing these shifts, researchers led by Crystal Hammond at the University of California, Riverside, and Adriana Bankston at the STEM Advocacy Institute conducted a rapid-response survey.
The research team collected their data online during May and June of 2025, while the effects of the funding changes were still actively unfolding. They utilized two separate questionnaires. The first survey was a brief, qualitative tool that gathered personal stories and accounts of advocacy actions from six participants. The second survey was more comprehensive, collecting both quantitative data and open-ended responses from 30 early career researchers. The scientists recruited participants through academic mailing lists, social media, and direct outreach to university contacts.
In the comprehensive survey, 60 percent of respondents were doctoral students, 13.3 percent were undergraduate students, and 13.3 percent were postdoctoral researchers. The majority of the participants studied life sciences, such as biology or neuroscience, and most worked at large, public research universities. The respondents relied heavily on federal support for their work. About 63 percent reported that their research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, while 20 percent relied on the National Science Foundation.
The survey data provides evidence that the funding disruptions caused widespread professional distress. Half of the participants rated the professional impact of the cuts as severe, scoring the disruption an eight or higher on a ten-point scale. Another 40 percent rated the impact as moderate. When asked about specific negative consequences, participants reported a variety of issues, with 20 percent specifically noting that their stipends or benefits had been cut or delayed, and 10 percent reporting hiring freezes or rescinded job offers.
Looking to the future, the participants expressed widespread anxiety about their scientific careers. Ninety percent of respondents worried about their long-term job prospects in research. Over half of the sample, 56.7 percent, reported that they would not be able to complete their current research projects. Because of these barriers, 60 percent of the early career researchers said they were considering moving to another country to pursue their scientific goals.
The funding cuts also affected the broader well-being of the academic community. Nearly three-quarters of respondents reported that the budget changes negatively impacted their mental health and wellness. Additionally, 56.7 percent of participants said the disruptions harmed their sense of belonging in the sciences. Faced with these compounding pressures, 56.7 percent of the surveyed early career researchers indicated that they were considering leaving academic research entirely.
The qualitative responses offered more detail about the specific challenges these researchers faced. Graduate students described how canceled grants delayed their dissertation timelines, meaning they would run out of funding before they could finish their degrees. Postdoctoral researchers recounted how fellowships aimed at increasing diversity in the sciences were terminated abruptly. In response to these challenges, participants reported engaging in various forms of advocacy, such as organizing campus rallies, writing to their elected representatives, and trying to educate the public about the importance of scientific research.
The findings are in line with research covered by PsyPost in 2020. That earlier study examined perceptions of political interference and scientific integrity among federal agency scientists rather than funding cuts and career viability among university trainees, but it similarly found widespread disruption to researchers under the Trump administration.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind when interpreting these findings. The sample size of the survey was small, with only 30 participants completing the quantitative questionnaire. The authors utilized a rapid-response format with a short data collection window to capture immediate reactions, meaning the results are not a nationally representative sample of all scientists. Because the researchers used convenience sampling, it is possible that individuals who were most severely affected by the budget cuts were more motivated to participate.
Additionally, the demographic makeup of the respondents was fairly narrow. The majority of participants were White scholars working in the life sciences at research-intensive institutions. The effects of federal funding disruptions might look different for scholars in the humanities, social sciences, or at smaller colleges with different financial structures. Future studies with larger and more diverse groups of participants will be needed to fully capture how these policy shifts are reshaping the broader higher education landscape.
The study, “Early career researcher responses to 2025 United States federal science funding disruptions: a rapid-response pilot survey,” was authored by Crystal Hammond, John Patrick Flores, Siara Rouzer, Kassandra Fernandez, Amy Ralston, and Adriana Bankston.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #FederalFundingCuts #EarlyCareerResearchers #STEMOutreach #SciencePolicy #ResearchFunding #AcademicCareers #MoveForScience #STEMAdvocacy #HigherEducation #BrainDrainUSA
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 01:43PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Anthropic CEO Says "Exponential" Growth of AI Is a "Warning Sign"
Source: CBS News - Science
Artificial intelligence technology is developing at an "exponential" rate, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told CBS News on Saturday, calling the situation a "warning sign" for the industry that requires serious safeguards. "It doesn't mean we need to panic today," he said, but he went on to caution that swarms of rogue AI agents could take over the internet in as little as six months, specifically mentioning an OpenAI rogue agent incident from July.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #ExponentialGrowth #AISafeguards #TechNews #Anthropic #DarioAmodei #OpenAI #RogueAI #CyberSecurity
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 01:43PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Anthropic CEO Says "Exponential" Growth of AI Is a "Warning Sign"
Source: CBS News - Science
Artificial intelligence technology is developing at an "exponential" rate, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told CBS News on Saturday, calling the situation a "warning sign" for the industry that requires serious safeguards. "It doesn't mean we need to panic today," he said, but he went on to caution that swarms of rogue AI agents could take over the internet in as little as six months, specifically mentioning an OpenAI rogue agent incident from July.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #ExponentialGrowth #AISafeguards #TechNews #Anthropic #DarioAmodei #OpenAI #RogueAI #CyberSecurity
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DATE: September 13, 2026 at 01:43PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Anthropic CEO Says "Exponential" Growth of AI Is a "Warning Sign"
Source: CBS News - Science
Artificial intelligence technology is developing at an "exponential" rate, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told CBS News on Saturday, calling the situation a "warning sign" for the industry that requires serious safeguards. "It doesn't mean we need to panic today," he said, but he went on to caution that swarms of rogue AI agents could take over the internet in as little as six months, specifically mentioning an OpenAI rogue agent incident from July.
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Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #ExponentialGrowth #AISafeguards #TechNews #Anthropic #DarioAmodei #OpenAI #RogueAI #CyberSecurity
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DATE: September 12, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Autistic individuals might be somewhat better at reading emotions of other autistic people
A study comparing the abilities of autistic and non-autistic individuals to recognize other people’s emotions found no overall main differences between the two groups. However, autistic individuals were more accurate at reading the emotional valence of other autistic individuals. The paper was published in Molecular Autism.
Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s thoughts and feelings. It also includes the ability to respond emotionally in a way that reflects or fits what that person is experiencing. Researchers distinguish between cognitive empathy, which involves recognizing and understanding another person’s mental state, and affective empathy, which refers to emotionally responding to another person’s feelings.
Autism has traditionally been associated with difficulties in empathy, especially in understanding other people’s emotions, intentions, and social signals. More recent work, however, has challenged the idea that such difficulties can be explained solely by deficits within autistic individuals. One influential view is the double empathy problem hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that misunderstandings between autistic and non-autistic people are reciprocal rather than one-sided.
According to this view, autistic people find it difficult to understand non-autistic people, while non-autistic people likewise struggle to understand autistic people because the two groups tend to differ in how they experience and communicate about the world. Research has increasingly found that autistic people tend to report easier communication, stronger connection, and greater comfort when interacting with other autistic people. Likewise, non-autistic people can have more difficulty accurately interpreting the emotions and mental states of autistic individuals than those of other non-autistic people.
Study author Yonat Rum and colleagues conducted a study in which they tested the double empathy problem hypothesis. More specifically, they explored whether autistic and non-autistic individuals differ in their ability to empathize with autistic and non-autistic social targets. These authors hypothesized that non-autistic participants would better empathize with non-autistic social targets, while autistic participants would better empathize with autistic social targets. Empathizing, in this context, meant understanding another person’s feelings accurately.
Study participants were 235 individuals recruited through the Cambridge Autism Research Database (CARD) and word of mouth. 141 of them were autistic. 125 were female. 74% were from English-speaking countries, most often from the UK. Autistic participants’ average age was 48 years, while it was 51 for non-autistic participants.
Study authors prepared an empathic accuracy task that consisted of videos of 5 autistic and 5 non-autistic adults telling autobiographical stories. These individuals reported how they felt while telling the story using a slider on a scale ranging from negative to positive (affective valence). They were continuously adjusting this slider while telling the story. The slider’s position was recorded every 0.5 seconds. After completing the story, these 10 storytellers rated the degree to which they felt 12 emotions (embarrassment, anger, sadness, happiness, disgust, pride, fear, excitement, contentment, stress, calmness, and alertness) on a scale from 0 to 8.
In the course of the study, each participant watched 2 of these videos (randomly selected), one with an autistic storyteller and one with a non-autistic storyteller. They were not told the diagnosis of the storytellers. Participants provided the same ratings as the storytellers, and study authors assessed participants’ empathic accuracy by calculating how much participants’ ratings of a storyteller’s emotional state agreed with the storyteller’s own ratings. Aside from this, participants rated their own feeling of empathy and interest toward the storyteller.
Results showed that participants were somewhat accurate in determining whether a storyteller’s feelings were positive or negative. However, there were no main differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals in the overall accuracy of estimating the specific emotions of the storytellers in the videos. However, when tracking moment-to-moment emotional valence using the continuous slider, autistic individuals were significantly more accurate at tracking the emotions of autistic storytellers compared to non-autistic participants. This small-to-medium advantage suggests an own-group advantage for autistic individuals.
The two groups of participants were equally accurate when assessing non-autistic storytellers. Interestingly, non-autistic individuals rated their own empathy and interest in the storyteller as higher. Additionally, when providing free-text comments, autistic participants frequently described difficulties in identifying emotions and reflected on their own performance, whereas non-autistic participants mostly provided feedback on the task design. This led the researchers to suggest that autistic individuals may underestimate their own empathic abilities.
“Findings suggest partial support for the double empathy problem theory and potential underestimation of autistic participants of their own empathic abilities. Individual variability patterns caution against treating neurotypes as homogeneous categories that alone determine double empathy processes,” study authors concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of autism. However, it should be noted that study participants rated pre-recorded videos, which is substantively different from assessing emotions during real-life social encounters. Authors also note that autistic participants in their study were volunteers i.e., self-selected, and may not adequately represent the full autism spectrum. The study sample likely did not include autistic individuals requiring greater support to engage in social interactions.
The paper, “Nuances of double empathy in autistic and non-autistic people: examination using the empathic accuracy paradigm,” was authored by Yonat Rum, Noa Feldman, Shir Genzer, Carrie Allison, Ofer Golan, Anat Perry, and Simon Baron-Cohen.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AutismEmpathy #DoubleEmpathy #EmpathicAccuracy #AutisticStrengths #EmotionReading #AutismResearch #Neurodiversity #MentalHealthAwareness #SocialCognition #MolecularAutism
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Autistic individuals might be somewhat better at reading emotions of other autistic people
A study comparing the abilities of autistic and non-autistic individuals to recognize other people’s emotions found no overall main differences between the two groups. However, autistic individuals were more accurate at reading the emotional valence of other autistic individuals. The paper was published in Molecular Autism.
Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s thoughts and feelings. It also includes the ability to respond emotionally in a way that reflects or fits what that person is experiencing. Researchers distinguish between cognitive empathy, which involves recognizing and understanding another person’s mental state, and affective empathy, which refers to emotionally responding to another person’s feelings.
Autism has traditionally been associated with difficulties in empathy, especially in understanding other people’s emotions, intentions, and social signals. More recent work, however, has challenged the idea that such difficulties can be explained solely by deficits within autistic individuals. One influential view is the double empathy problem hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that misunderstandings between autistic and non-autistic people are reciprocal rather than one-sided.
According to this view, autistic people find it difficult to understand non-autistic people, while non-autistic people likewise struggle to understand autistic people because the two groups tend to differ in how they experience and communicate about the world. Research has increasingly found that autistic people tend to report easier communication, stronger connection, and greater comfort when interacting with other autistic people. Likewise, non-autistic people can have more difficulty accurately interpreting the emotions and mental states of autistic individuals than those of other non-autistic people.
Study author Yonat Rum and colleagues conducted a study in which they tested the double empathy problem hypothesis. More specifically, they explored whether autistic and non-autistic individuals differ in their ability to empathize with autistic and non-autistic social targets. These authors hypothesized that non-autistic participants would better empathize with non-autistic social targets, while autistic participants would better empathize with autistic social targets. Empathizing, in this context, meant understanding another person’s feelings accurately.
Study participants were 235 individuals recruited through the Cambridge Autism Research Database (CARD) and word of mouth. 141 of them were autistic. 125 were female. 74% were from English-speaking countries, most often from the UK. Autistic participants’ average age was 48 years, while it was 51 for non-autistic participants.
Study authors prepared an empathic accuracy task that consisted of videos of 5 autistic and 5 non-autistic adults telling autobiographical stories. These individuals reported how they felt while telling the story using a slider on a scale ranging from negative to positive (affective valence). They were continuously adjusting this slider while telling the story. The slider’s position was recorded every 0.5 seconds. After completing the story, these 10 storytellers rated the degree to which they felt 12 emotions (embarrassment, anger, sadness, happiness, disgust, pride, fear, excitement, contentment, stress, calmness, and alertness) on a scale from 0 to 8.
In the course of the study, each participant watched 2 of these videos (randomly selected), one with an autistic storyteller and one with a non-autistic storyteller. They were not told the diagnosis of the storytellers. Participants provided the same ratings as the storytellers, and study authors assessed participants’ empathic accuracy by calculating how much participants’ ratings of a storyteller’s emotional state agreed with the storyteller’s own ratings. Aside from this, participants rated their own feeling of empathy and interest toward the storyteller.
Results showed that participants were somewhat accurate in determining whether a storyteller’s feelings were positive or negative. However, there were no main differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals in the overall accuracy of estimating the specific emotions of the storytellers in the videos. However, when tracking moment-to-moment emotional valence using the continuous slider, autistic individuals were significantly more accurate at tracking the emotions of autistic storytellers compared to non-autistic participants. This small-to-medium advantage suggests an own-group advantage for autistic individuals.
The two groups of participants were equally accurate when assessing non-autistic storytellers. Interestingly, non-autistic individuals rated their own empathy and interest in the storyteller as higher. Additionally, when providing free-text comments, autistic participants frequently described difficulties in identifying emotions and reflected on their own performance, whereas non-autistic participants mostly provided feedback on the task design. This led the researchers to suggest that autistic individuals may underestimate their own empathic abilities.
“Findings suggest partial support for the double empathy problem theory and potential underestimation of autistic participants of their own empathic abilities. Individual variability patterns caution against treating neurotypes as homogeneous categories that alone determine double empathy processes,” study authors concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of autism. However, it should be noted that study participants rated pre-recorded videos, which is substantively different from assessing emotions during real-life social encounters. Authors also note that autistic participants in their study were volunteers i.e., self-selected, and may not adequately represent the full autism spectrum. The study sample likely did not include autistic individuals requiring greater support to engage in social interactions.
The paper, “Nuances of double empathy in autistic and non-autistic people: examination using the empathic accuracy paradigm,” was authored by Yonat Rum, Noa Feldman, Shir Genzer, Carrie Allison, Ofer Golan, Anat Perry, and Simon Baron-Cohen.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AutismEmpathy #DoubleEmpathy #EmpathicAccuracy #AutisticStrengths #EmotionReading #AutismResearch #Neurodiversity #MentalHealthAwareness #SocialCognition #MolecularAutism
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Autistic individuals might be somewhat better at reading emotions of other autistic people
A study comparing the abilities of autistic and non-autistic individuals to recognize other people’s emotions found no overall main differences between the two groups. However, autistic individuals were more accurate at reading the emotional valence of other autistic individuals. The paper was published in Molecular Autism.
Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s thoughts and feelings. It also includes the ability to respond emotionally in a way that reflects or fits what that person is experiencing. Researchers distinguish between cognitive empathy, which involves recognizing and understanding another person’s mental state, and affective empathy, which refers to emotionally responding to another person’s feelings.
Autism has traditionally been associated with difficulties in empathy, especially in understanding other people’s emotions, intentions, and social signals. More recent work, however, has challenged the idea that such difficulties can be explained solely by deficits within autistic individuals. One influential view is the double empathy problem hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that misunderstandings between autistic and non-autistic people are reciprocal rather than one-sided.
According to this view, autistic people find it difficult to understand non-autistic people, while non-autistic people likewise struggle to understand autistic people because the two groups tend to differ in how they experience and communicate about the world. Research has increasingly found that autistic people tend to report easier communication, stronger connection, and greater comfort when interacting with other autistic people. Likewise, non-autistic people can have more difficulty accurately interpreting the emotions and mental states of autistic individuals than those of other non-autistic people.
Study author Yonat Rum and colleagues conducted a study in which they tested the double empathy problem hypothesis. More specifically, they explored whether autistic and non-autistic individuals differ in their ability to empathize with autistic and non-autistic social targets. These authors hypothesized that non-autistic participants would better empathize with non-autistic social targets, while autistic participants would better empathize with autistic social targets. Empathizing, in this context, meant understanding another person’s feelings accurately.
Study participants were 235 individuals recruited through the Cambridge Autism Research Database (CARD) and word of mouth. 141 of them were autistic. 125 were female. 74% were from English-speaking countries, most often from the UK. Autistic participants’ average age was 48 years, while it was 51 for non-autistic participants.
Study authors prepared an empathic accuracy task that consisted of videos of 5 autistic and 5 non-autistic adults telling autobiographical stories. These individuals reported how they felt while telling the story using a slider on a scale ranging from negative to positive (affective valence). They were continuously adjusting this slider while telling the story. The slider’s position was recorded every 0.5 seconds. After completing the story, these 10 storytellers rated the degree to which they felt 12 emotions (embarrassment, anger, sadness, happiness, disgust, pride, fear, excitement, contentment, stress, calmness, and alertness) on a scale from 0 to 8.
In the course of the study, each participant watched 2 of these videos (randomly selected), one with an autistic storyteller and one with a non-autistic storyteller. They were not told the diagnosis of the storytellers. Participants provided the same ratings as the storytellers, and study authors assessed participants’ empathic accuracy by calculating how much participants’ ratings of a storyteller’s emotional state agreed with the storyteller’s own ratings. Aside from this, participants rated their own feeling of empathy and interest toward the storyteller.
Results showed that participants were somewhat accurate in determining whether a storyteller’s feelings were positive or negative. However, there were no main differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals in the overall accuracy of estimating the specific emotions of the storytellers in the videos. However, when tracking moment-to-moment emotional valence using the continuous slider, autistic individuals were significantly more accurate at tracking the emotions of autistic storytellers compared to non-autistic participants. This small-to-medium advantage suggests an own-group advantage for autistic individuals.
The two groups of participants were equally accurate when assessing non-autistic storytellers. Interestingly, non-autistic individuals rated their own empathy and interest in the storyteller as higher. Additionally, when providing free-text comments, autistic participants frequently described difficulties in identifying emotions and reflected on their own performance, whereas non-autistic participants mostly provided feedback on the task design. This led the researchers to suggest that autistic individuals may underestimate their own empathic abilities.
“Findings suggest partial support for the double empathy problem theory and potential underestimation of autistic participants of their own empathic abilities. Individual variability patterns caution against treating neurotypes as homogeneous categories that alone determine double empathy processes,” study authors concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of autism. However, it should be noted that study participants rated pre-recorded videos, which is substantively different from assessing emotions during real-life social encounters. Authors also note that autistic participants in their study were volunteers i.e., self-selected, and may not adequately represent the full autism spectrum. The study sample likely did not include autistic individuals requiring greater support to engage in social interactions.
The paper, “Nuances of double empathy in autistic and non-autistic people: examination using the empathic accuracy paradigm,” was authored by Yonat Rum, Noa Feldman, Shir Genzer, Carrie Allison, Ofer Golan, Anat Perry, and Simon Baron-Cohen.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AutismEmpathy #DoubleEmpathy #EmpathicAccuracy #AutisticStrengths #EmotionReading #AutismResearch #Neurodiversity #MentalHealthAwareness #SocialCognition #MolecularAutism
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Therapeutic gardening improves mental health for adults with chronic conditions
Getting your hands dirty in the garden might offer a moderate boost to mental health for adults managing chronic health conditions. A recent review of past research found that activities like planting and tending to community gardens help ease symptoms of depression and anxiety, though the benefits for physical ailments are less pronounced. The research was published in BMC Public Health.
Chronic health conditions encompass a wide range of long-lasting medical issues that persist over time. These include physical illnesses like cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and diabetes, alongside cognitive and mood disorders like dementia, anxiety, and depression. Managing these persistent health challenges places a heavy burden on individuals, families, and healthcare systems around the world. Because the aging global population is driving an increase in these long-term conditions, medical professionals are seeking new management strategies.
Nature-based treatments are frequently recommended to help people cope with these long-term health needs. Therapeutic gardening is one such approach, where patients actively engage with plants, soil, and outdoor environments. These programs treat horticulture as a structured leisure activity that encourages physical movement, social interaction, and a connection to the natural world. In places like the United Kingdom, healthcare providers even use a process called social prescribing to encourage patients to visit parks and community gardens.
Past research has documented various psychological and social benefits of spending time in green spaces. Public health researcher Feifei Wang of Fudan University and psychologist Szilvia Boros of Széchenyi István University wanted to quantify these benefits specifically for populations with existing medical diagnoses. They designed a study to evaluate exactly how gardening activities alter specific categories of health for adults living with chronic illnesses.
To understand the broader impact of these outdoor interventions, Wang and Boros conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. A meta-analysis is a statistical technique that pools data from multiple independent studies to identify overall trends that a single experiment might miss. The researchers searched major scientific databases for peer-reviewed studies that tested gardening programs against a standard control group. They only included research focused on adults over the age of 18 who had at least one diagnosed chronic condition.
The team identified 23 relevant studies that included a total of 4,535 participants, representing a large combined sample size for this specific topic. The individuals involved in these trials lived with various chronic conditions, ranging from physical pain and obesity to high blood pressure, cognitive dysfunction, and cancer. The participants were primarily older adults with an average age of about 54 years, and roughly two-thirds of them were women. The included research featured a mix of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental study designs.
Wang and Boros extracted the reported health outcomes from these studies and divided them into three primary categories to calculate an effect size. An effect size is a statistical measurement that tells researchers how much of a difference an intervention actually made. The mental health category included measurements of anxiety, stress, depression, overall mood, and loneliness. The physical health category tracked metrics like blood pressure and cognitive function. The general health category covered broader quality of life indicators, such as pain levels, sleep quality, and social connectedness.
When analyzing the combined data, the researchers found that gardening interventions offered a moderate improvement for mental health outcomes. Participants who spent time digging, watering, and harvesting reported fewer issues with depression and anxiety compared to those in the control groups who did not participate in the gardening programs. Many of these trials involved older adults experiencing cognitive decline, such as dementia, who seemed to benefit psychologically from the active lifestyle and socialization that community gardens provide.
The analysis revealed less encouraging results for the other two categories. Gardening activities produced relatively small effects on general health and almost negligible changes to physical health outcomes. The data did not show widespread physical improvements, such as lowered blood pressure or improved cognitive function, directly stemming from the gardening interventions. The researchers noted that while physical movement is involved in gardening, it might not be strenuous enough to dramatically alter physical disease progression in a short timeframe.
To ensure the reliability of their findings, Wang and Boros performed a sensitivity analysis using a standardized quality assessment tool. This process involves stripping away studies with a high risk of bias or low-quality methodology to see if the overall trends hold up. After removing the weaker studies, the positive effect of gardening on mental health became even stronger. At the same time, the evidence for physical and general health benefits remained weak and the results were not statistically significant.
The study comes with a few limitations related to the nature of the available research. The included trials exhibited high heterogeneity, meaning the methods, duration, and intensity of the gardening programs varied wildly from one study to the next. Some studies involved short sessions over a few weeks, while others spanned several months. This wide variation makes it difficult to recommend a specific type or amount of gardening for therapeutic purposes.
Many of the included trials also struggled with methodological challenges like selection bias and a lack of randomized participant placement. In medical research, it is difficult to design a trial where participants are blind to the treatment they are receiving if that treatment involves active physical tasks. Because participants knew they were engaging in an outdoor activity, their expectations might have influenced their reported improvements in mood, stress, and general life satisfaction.
High dropout rates in community-based interventions can also skew the results of a meta-analysis. If participants who do not enjoy gardening leave a study early, the final data will only reflect the experiences of those who liked the activity enough to stay. The researchers noted that achieving perfect experimental conditions is often unrealistic when testing lifestyle interventions in real-world community settings.
Future research will need to define standardized gardening activities to better measure their health impacts. While working with plants can support psychological well-being, the current evidence does not support using horticulture as a primary treatment for physical ailments. Medical providers looking to recommend nature-based therapies require more rigorous, uniform trials to understand exactly how different health conditions respond to specific outdoor environments.
The study, “Effect of gardening activities on domains of health: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” was authored by Feifei Wang and Szilvia Boros.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #TherapeuticGardening #MentalHealthMatters #ChronicConditionsSupport #GreenCare #NatureTherapy #PublicHealthResearch #GardenTherapy #WellbeingThroughNature #CommunityGardening #MentalHealthAwareness
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Therapeutic gardening improves mental health for adults with chronic conditions
Getting your hands dirty in the garden might offer a moderate boost to mental health for adults managing chronic health conditions. A recent review of past research found that activities like planting and tending to community gardens help ease symptoms of depression and anxiety, though the benefits for physical ailments are less pronounced. The research was published in BMC Public Health.
Chronic health conditions encompass a wide range of long-lasting medical issues that persist over time. These include physical illnesses like cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and diabetes, alongside cognitive and mood disorders like dementia, anxiety, and depression. Managing these persistent health challenges places a heavy burden on individuals, families, and healthcare systems around the world. Because the aging global population is driving an increase in these long-term conditions, medical professionals are seeking new management strategies.
Nature-based treatments are frequently recommended to help people cope with these long-term health needs. Therapeutic gardening is one such approach, where patients actively engage with plants, soil, and outdoor environments. These programs treat horticulture as a structured leisure activity that encourages physical movement, social interaction, and a connection to the natural world. In places like the United Kingdom, healthcare providers even use a process called social prescribing to encourage patients to visit parks and community gardens.
Past research has documented various psychological and social benefits of spending time in green spaces. Public health researcher Feifei Wang of Fudan University and psychologist Szilvia Boros of Széchenyi István University wanted to quantify these benefits specifically for populations with existing medical diagnoses. They designed a study to evaluate exactly how gardening activities alter specific categories of health for adults living with chronic illnesses.
To understand the broader impact of these outdoor interventions, Wang and Boros conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. A meta-analysis is a statistical technique that pools data from multiple independent studies to identify overall trends that a single experiment might miss. The researchers searched major scientific databases for peer-reviewed studies that tested gardening programs against a standard control group. They only included research focused on adults over the age of 18 who had at least one diagnosed chronic condition.
The team identified 23 relevant studies that included a total of 4,535 participants, representing a large combined sample size for this specific topic. The individuals involved in these trials lived with various chronic conditions, ranging from physical pain and obesity to high blood pressure, cognitive dysfunction, and cancer. The participants were primarily older adults with an average age of about 54 years, and roughly two-thirds of them were women. The included research featured a mix of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental study designs.
Wang and Boros extracted the reported health outcomes from these studies and divided them into three primary categories to calculate an effect size. An effect size is a statistical measurement that tells researchers how much of a difference an intervention actually made. The mental health category included measurements of anxiety, stress, depression, overall mood, and loneliness. The physical health category tracked metrics like blood pressure and cognitive function. The general health category covered broader quality of life indicators, such as pain levels, sleep quality, and social connectedness.
When analyzing the combined data, the researchers found that gardening interventions offered a moderate improvement for mental health outcomes. Participants who spent time digging, watering, and harvesting reported fewer issues with depression and anxiety compared to those in the control groups who did not participate in the gardening programs. Many of these trials involved older adults experiencing cognitive decline, such as dementia, who seemed to benefit psychologically from the active lifestyle and socialization that community gardens provide.
The analysis revealed less encouraging results for the other two categories. Gardening activities produced relatively small effects on general health and almost negligible changes to physical health outcomes. The data did not show widespread physical improvements, such as lowered blood pressure or improved cognitive function, directly stemming from the gardening interventions. The researchers noted that while physical movement is involved in gardening, it might not be strenuous enough to dramatically alter physical disease progression in a short timeframe.
To ensure the reliability of their findings, Wang and Boros performed a sensitivity analysis using a standardized quality assessment tool. This process involves stripping away studies with a high risk of bias or low-quality methodology to see if the overall trends hold up. After removing the weaker studies, the positive effect of gardening on mental health became even stronger. At the same time, the evidence for physical and general health benefits remained weak and the results were not statistically significant.
The study comes with a few limitations related to the nature of the available research. The included trials exhibited high heterogeneity, meaning the methods, duration, and intensity of the gardening programs varied wildly from one study to the next. Some studies involved short sessions over a few weeks, while others spanned several months. This wide variation makes it difficult to recommend a specific type or amount of gardening for therapeutic purposes.
Many of the included trials also struggled with methodological challenges like selection bias and a lack of randomized participant placement. In medical research, it is difficult to design a trial where participants are blind to the treatment they are receiving if that treatment involves active physical tasks. Because participants knew they were engaging in an outdoor activity, their expectations might have influenced their reported improvements in mood, stress, and general life satisfaction.
High dropout rates in community-based interventions can also skew the results of a meta-analysis. If participants who do not enjoy gardening leave a study early, the final data will only reflect the experiences of those who liked the activity enough to stay. The researchers noted that achieving perfect experimental conditions is often unrealistic when testing lifestyle interventions in real-world community settings.
Future research will need to define standardized gardening activities to better measure their health impacts. While working with plants can support psychological well-being, the current evidence does not support using horticulture as a primary treatment for physical ailments. Medical providers looking to recommend nature-based therapies require more rigorous, uniform trials to understand exactly how different health conditions respond to specific outdoor environments.
The study, “Effect of gardening activities on domains of health: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” was authored by Feifei Wang and Szilvia Boros.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #TherapeuticGardening #MentalHealthMatters #ChronicConditionsSupport #GreenCare #NatureTherapy #PublicHealthResearch #GardenTherapy #WellbeingThroughNature #CommunityGardening #MentalHealthAwareness
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Therapeutic gardening improves mental health for adults with chronic conditions
Getting your hands dirty in the garden might offer a moderate boost to mental health for adults managing chronic health conditions. A recent review of past research found that activities like planting and tending to community gardens help ease symptoms of depression and anxiety, though the benefits for physical ailments are less pronounced. The research was published in BMC Public Health.
Chronic health conditions encompass a wide range of long-lasting medical issues that persist over time. These include physical illnesses like cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and diabetes, alongside cognitive and mood disorders like dementia, anxiety, and depression. Managing these persistent health challenges places a heavy burden on individuals, families, and healthcare systems around the world. Because the aging global population is driving an increase in these long-term conditions, medical professionals are seeking new management strategies.
Nature-based treatments are frequently recommended to help people cope with these long-term health needs. Therapeutic gardening is one such approach, where patients actively engage with plants, soil, and outdoor environments. These programs treat horticulture as a structured leisure activity that encourages physical movement, social interaction, and a connection to the natural world. In places like the United Kingdom, healthcare providers even use a process called social prescribing to encourage patients to visit parks and community gardens.
Past research has documented various psychological and social benefits of spending time in green spaces. Public health researcher Feifei Wang of Fudan University and psychologist Szilvia Boros of Széchenyi István University wanted to quantify these benefits specifically for populations with existing medical diagnoses. They designed a study to evaluate exactly how gardening activities alter specific categories of health for adults living with chronic illnesses.
To understand the broader impact of these outdoor interventions, Wang and Boros conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. A meta-analysis is a statistical technique that pools data from multiple independent studies to identify overall trends that a single experiment might miss. The researchers searched major scientific databases for peer-reviewed studies that tested gardening programs against a standard control group. They only included research focused on adults over the age of 18 who had at least one diagnosed chronic condition.
The team identified 23 relevant studies that included a total of 4,535 participants, representing a large combined sample size for this specific topic. The individuals involved in these trials lived with various chronic conditions, ranging from physical pain and obesity to high blood pressure, cognitive dysfunction, and cancer. The participants were primarily older adults with an average age of about 54 years, and roughly two-thirds of them were women. The included research featured a mix of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental study designs.
Wang and Boros extracted the reported health outcomes from these studies and divided them into three primary categories to calculate an effect size. An effect size is a statistical measurement that tells researchers how much of a difference an intervention actually made. The mental health category included measurements of anxiety, stress, depression, overall mood, and loneliness. The physical health category tracked metrics like blood pressure and cognitive function. The general health category covered broader quality of life indicators, such as pain levels, sleep quality, and social connectedness.
When analyzing the combined data, the researchers found that gardening interventions offered a moderate improvement for mental health outcomes. Participants who spent time digging, watering, and harvesting reported fewer issues with depression and anxiety compared to those in the control groups who did not participate in the gardening programs. Many of these trials involved older adults experiencing cognitive decline, such as dementia, who seemed to benefit psychologically from the active lifestyle and socialization that community gardens provide.
The analysis revealed less encouraging results for the other two categories. Gardening activities produced relatively small effects on general health and almost negligible changes to physical health outcomes. The data did not show widespread physical improvements, such as lowered blood pressure or improved cognitive function, directly stemming from the gardening interventions. The researchers noted that while physical movement is involved in gardening, it might not be strenuous enough to dramatically alter physical disease progression in a short timeframe.
To ensure the reliability of their findings, Wang and Boros performed a sensitivity analysis using a standardized quality assessment tool. This process involves stripping away studies with a high risk of bias or low-quality methodology to see if the overall trends hold up. After removing the weaker studies, the positive effect of gardening on mental health became even stronger. At the same time, the evidence for physical and general health benefits remained weak and the results were not statistically significant.
The study comes with a few limitations related to the nature of the available research. The included trials exhibited high heterogeneity, meaning the methods, duration, and intensity of the gardening programs varied wildly from one study to the next. Some studies involved short sessions over a few weeks, while others spanned several months. This wide variation makes it difficult to recommend a specific type or amount of gardening for therapeutic purposes.
Many of the included trials also struggled with methodological challenges like selection bias and a lack of randomized participant placement. In medical research, it is difficult to design a trial where participants are blind to the treatment they are receiving if that treatment involves active physical tasks. Because participants knew they were engaging in an outdoor activity, their expectations might have influenced their reported improvements in mood, stress, and general life satisfaction.
High dropout rates in community-based interventions can also skew the results of a meta-analysis. If participants who do not enjoy gardening leave a study early, the final data will only reflect the experiences of those who liked the activity enough to stay. The researchers noted that achieving perfect experimental conditions is often unrealistic when testing lifestyle interventions in real-world community settings.
Future research will need to define standardized gardening activities to better measure their health impacts. While working with plants can support psychological well-being, the current evidence does not support using horticulture as a primary treatment for physical ailments. Medical providers looking to recommend nature-based therapies require more rigorous, uniform trials to understand exactly how different health conditions respond to specific outdoor environments.
The study, “Effect of gardening activities on domains of health: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” was authored by Feifei Wang and Szilvia Boros.
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DATE: September 12, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Weightlifting offers large antidepressant effects for young women with anxiety, regardless of intensity
A recent study suggests that both standard and low-intensity strength training can help alleviate depressive symptoms in young women who experience high levels of anxiety. The findings provide evidence that weightlifting is a viable option for improving mental health, regardless of how much physical effort is involved. The research was published in Journal of Affective Disorders.
Generalized anxiety disorder involves severe, persistent worry that interferes with daily life. Some people experience symptoms that mimic this condition but fall just short of an official diagnosis, known as subclinical or analogue anxiety. Women are twice as likely as men to experience anxiety and depression, and these conditions often occur together. While medication and talk therapy are standard treatments, they can present barriers like high costs or unwanted side effects.
Lead author Darragh O’Sullivan, an exercise psychology researcher at the University of Limerick, Ireland, explained the focus on this demographic. “We also expanded on our previous research by focusing on anxious young women, as women are [generally] less involved in muscle-strengthening exercise, and therefore may have greater potential for improvement,” O’Sullivan told PsyPost.
“Women are also at higher risk of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, their comorbidity, and experience greater disability from their comorbidity, and therefore may benefit from early interventions, such as exercise, to treat mild symptoms,” O’Sullivan added.
As an alternative, physical exercise has emerged as a potential treatment. Strength training, which involves exercising with weights or resistance to build muscle, has shown particular promise. A 2018 meta-analysis indicated that strength training reliably reduces depressive symptoms across various populations. Building on this, a study covered by PsyPost in 2023 found that an eight-week weightlifting program lowered depressive symptoms in young adults when compared to a group placed on a waitlist.
However, comparing a workout program to a waitlist leaves a gap in our understanding. It is difficult to tell if the physical exertion is what helps, or if participants just benefit from getting out of the house, interacting with a coach, and expecting to feel better. To separate the physical benefits from the psychological boost of receiving attention, scientists needed to compare standard strength training against a very low-effort workout.
The current research was designed to test whether the actual intensity of the weightlifting changes how much a person’s mental health improves. “Although our previous trial demonstrated that guidelines-based resistance exercise training can result in large antidepressant effects when compared to a waitlist control, a key limitation of waitlist controls is that they cannot control for important factors like social contact or expectations for improvement,” O’Sullivan noted. “We therefore expanded on that by comparing the same resistance exercise training intervention to a low-intensity sham resistance exercise training attention control.”
The researchers recruited 55 young adult women with an average age of 22. All participants met the criteria for subclinical generalized anxiety disorder and were not currently engaged in regular strength training. After a brief familiarization period, the women were randomly divided into two groups for an eight-week program. Both groups completed twice-weekly, one-on-one supervised sessions consisting of exercises like squats, bench presses, and deadlifts.
The primary difference between the two groups was the amount of weight lifted. One group performed a moderate-to-high intensity routine, lifting loads set at 70 to 80 percent of their maximum capacity. The second group acted as a control condition, performing the exact same exercises but lifting only 20 percent of their maximum capacity. The authors tracked depressive symptoms using a standard 16-item questionnaire at multiple points during the study and one month after the program ended.
The results indicated that both groups experienced massive drops in their depressive symptoms. In the higher-intensity group, symptom scores fell by an average of 54 percent. Meanwhile, the low-intensity group saw their scores drop by 43 percent. The difference in mental health improvement between the two groups was not statistically significant.
This suggests that a low-intensity workout also yields a strong antidepressant effect for this population. As expected, physical strength changes did differ between the groups. The higher-intensity group increased their overall lifting strength by 41 percent, compared to a 21 percent increase in the low-intensity group. For both groups, the psychological benefits were largely maintained a month after the supervised training concluded.
The strong benefit seen in the low-effort group was somewhat unanticipated by the research team. “The magnitude of the antidepressant effect of low-intensity resistance exercise training exceeded our expectations, but is likely reflective of what is still a substantial change in exercise activity, from not engaging in resistance exercise training to completing low-intensity resistance exercise training twice per week for 10 weeks,” O’Sullivan said.
These results stand in slight tension with a 2024 meta-analysis covered by PsyPost. That review found that higher exercise intensity is generally linked to greater reductions in depression, though it focused on clinical major depression rather than subclinical anxiety in young women. On the other hand, the new findings are consistent with research covered by PsyPost in 2026. That earlier study looked at older women and similarly found that weightlifting reduced depressive symptoms regardless of whether the participants lifted heavy or light weights.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. The researchers point out that the low-intensity group might have actually received a mild physical training effect, rather than just acting as a psychological control. Because the low-intensity group did gain some physical strength, it is difficult to completely separate the psychological benefits of participating from the physical benefits of the movement itself.
Additionally, the study relied on self-reported questionnaires to track mental health changes. Such surveys can sometimes be influenced by a participant’s expectations or desire to show improvement to their trainers. The sample was also restricted to young adult women with a specific anxiety profile. This means the findings might not naturally extend to men, older adults, or people with a formally diagnosed clinical disorder.
Moving forward, the scientists suggest testing these programs in larger clinical settings. They hope to compare weightlifting directly against standard treatments like talk therapy or medication.
“Both higher- and lower-intensity resistance exercise training can result in large reductions in depressive symptoms in anxious young women,” O’Sullivan concluded. “Young women can benefit from even low-intensity resistance exercise training which requires less physical effort, but we do recommend gradual progression to higher intensity for additional health benefits.”
He added, “For those that are not involved in any resistance exercise, anything is better than nothing, including for mental health.”
The study, “Resistance exercise training compared to a low-intensity sham for depressive symptoms in young women with analogue generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial,” was authored by Darragh O’Sullivan, Jennifer M. Rice, Mark Lyons, Brett R. Gordon, and Matthew P. Herring.
-------------------------------------------------
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-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #WeightliftingForMentalHealth #AnxietyInYoungWomen #ResistanceTraining #DepressionReduction #LowIntensityExerciseWorks #StrengthTrainingBenefits #WomenInSportsPsych #SubclinicalAnxiety #MentalHealthExercise #ExerciseAsTreatment
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Weightlifting offers large antidepressant effects for young women with anxiety, regardless of intensity
A recent study suggests that both standard and low-intensity strength training can help alleviate depressive symptoms in young women who experience high levels of anxiety. The findings provide evidence that weightlifting is a viable option for improving mental health, regardless of how much physical effort is involved. The research was published in Journal of Affective Disorders.
Generalized anxiety disorder involves severe, persistent worry that interferes with daily life. Some people experience symptoms that mimic this condition but fall just short of an official diagnosis, known as subclinical or analogue anxiety. Women are twice as likely as men to experience anxiety and depression, and these conditions often occur together. While medication and talk therapy are standard treatments, they can present barriers like high costs or unwanted side effects.
Lead author Darragh O’Sullivan, an exercise psychology researcher at the University of Limerick, Ireland, explained the focus on this demographic. “We also expanded on our previous research by focusing on anxious young women, as women are [generally] less involved in muscle-strengthening exercise, and therefore may have greater potential for improvement,” O’Sullivan told PsyPost.
“Women are also at higher risk of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, their comorbidity, and experience greater disability from their comorbidity, and therefore may benefit from early interventions, such as exercise, to treat mild symptoms,” O’Sullivan added.
As an alternative, physical exercise has emerged as a potential treatment. Strength training, which involves exercising with weights or resistance to build muscle, has shown particular promise. A 2018 meta-analysis indicated that strength training reliably reduces depressive symptoms across various populations. Building on this, a study covered by PsyPost in 2023 found that an eight-week weightlifting program lowered depressive symptoms in young adults when compared to a group placed on a waitlist.
However, comparing a workout program to a waitlist leaves a gap in our understanding. It is difficult to tell if the physical exertion is what helps, or if participants just benefit from getting out of the house, interacting with a coach, and expecting to feel better. To separate the physical benefits from the psychological boost of receiving attention, scientists needed to compare standard strength training against a very low-effort workout.
The current research was designed to test whether the actual intensity of the weightlifting changes how much a person’s mental health improves. “Although our previous trial demonstrated that guidelines-based resistance exercise training can result in large antidepressant effects when compared to a waitlist control, a key limitation of waitlist controls is that they cannot control for important factors like social contact or expectations for improvement,” O’Sullivan noted. “We therefore expanded on that by comparing the same resistance exercise training intervention to a low-intensity sham resistance exercise training attention control.”
The researchers recruited 55 young adult women with an average age of 22. All participants met the criteria for subclinical generalized anxiety disorder and were not currently engaged in regular strength training. After a brief familiarization period, the women were randomly divided into two groups for an eight-week program. Both groups completed twice-weekly, one-on-one supervised sessions consisting of exercises like squats, bench presses, and deadlifts.
The primary difference between the two groups was the amount of weight lifted. One group performed a moderate-to-high intensity routine, lifting loads set at 70 to 80 percent of their maximum capacity. The second group acted as a control condition, performing the exact same exercises but lifting only 20 percent of their maximum capacity. The authors tracked depressive symptoms using a standard 16-item questionnaire at multiple points during the study and one month after the program ended.
The results indicated that both groups experienced massive drops in their depressive symptoms. In the higher-intensity group, symptom scores fell by an average of 54 percent. Meanwhile, the low-intensity group saw their scores drop by 43 percent. The difference in mental health improvement between the two groups was not statistically significant.
This suggests that a low-intensity workout also yields a strong antidepressant effect for this population. As expected, physical strength changes did differ between the groups. The higher-intensity group increased their overall lifting strength by 41 percent, compared to a 21 percent increase in the low-intensity group. For both groups, the psychological benefits were largely maintained a month after the supervised training concluded.
The strong benefit seen in the low-effort group was somewhat unanticipated by the research team. “The magnitude of the antidepressant effect of low-intensity resistance exercise training exceeded our expectations, but is likely reflective of what is still a substantial change in exercise activity, from not engaging in resistance exercise training to completing low-intensity resistance exercise training twice per week for 10 weeks,” O’Sullivan said.
These results stand in slight tension with a 2024 meta-analysis covered by PsyPost. That review found that higher exercise intensity is generally linked to greater reductions in depression, though it focused on clinical major depression rather than subclinical anxiety in young women. On the other hand, the new findings are consistent with research covered by PsyPost in 2026. That earlier study looked at older women and similarly found that weightlifting reduced depressive symptoms regardless of whether the participants lifted heavy or light weights.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. The researchers point out that the low-intensity group might have actually received a mild physical training effect, rather than just acting as a psychological control. Because the low-intensity group did gain some physical strength, it is difficult to completely separate the psychological benefits of participating from the physical benefits of the movement itself.
Additionally, the study relied on self-reported questionnaires to track mental health changes. Such surveys can sometimes be influenced by a participant’s expectations or desire to show improvement to their trainers. The sample was also restricted to young adult women with a specific anxiety profile. This means the findings might not naturally extend to men, older adults, or people with a formally diagnosed clinical disorder.
Moving forward, the scientists suggest testing these programs in larger clinical settings. They hope to compare weightlifting directly against standard treatments like talk therapy or medication.
“Both higher- and lower-intensity resistance exercise training can result in large reductions in depressive symptoms in anxious young women,” O’Sullivan concluded. “Young women can benefit from even low-intensity resistance exercise training which requires less physical effort, but we do recommend gradual progression to higher intensity for additional health benefits.”
He added, “For those that are not involved in any resistance exercise, anything is better than nothing, including for mental health.”
The study, “Resistance exercise training compared to a low-intensity sham for depressive symptoms in young women with analogue generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial,” was authored by Darragh O’Sullivan, Jennifer M. Rice, Mark Lyons, Brett R. Gordon, and Matthew P. Herring.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #WeightliftingForMentalHealth #AnxietyInYoungWomen #ResistanceTraining #DepressionReduction #LowIntensityExerciseWorks #StrengthTrainingBenefits #WomenInSportsPsych #SubclinicalAnxiety #MentalHealthExercise #ExerciseAsTreatment
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Weightlifting offers large antidepressant effects for young women with anxiety, regardless of intensity
A recent study suggests that both standard and low-intensity strength training can help alleviate depressive symptoms in young women who experience high levels of anxiety. The findings provide evidence that weightlifting is a viable option for improving mental health, regardless of how much physical effort is involved. The research was published in Journal of Affective Disorders.
Generalized anxiety disorder involves severe, persistent worry that interferes with daily life. Some people experience symptoms that mimic this condition but fall just short of an official diagnosis, known as subclinical or analogue anxiety. Women are twice as likely as men to experience anxiety and depression, and these conditions often occur together. While medication and talk therapy are standard treatments, they can present barriers like high costs or unwanted side effects.
Lead author Darragh O’Sullivan, an exercise psychology researcher at the University of Limerick, Ireland, explained the focus on this demographic. “We also expanded on our previous research by focusing on anxious young women, as women are [generally] less involved in muscle-strengthening exercise, and therefore may have greater potential for improvement,” O’Sullivan told PsyPost.
“Women are also at higher risk of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, their comorbidity, and experience greater disability from their comorbidity, and therefore may benefit from early interventions, such as exercise, to treat mild symptoms,” O’Sullivan added.
As an alternative, physical exercise has emerged as a potential treatment. Strength training, which involves exercising with weights or resistance to build muscle, has shown particular promise. A 2018 meta-analysis indicated that strength training reliably reduces depressive symptoms across various populations. Building on this, a study covered by PsyPost in 2023 found that an eight-week weightlifting program lowered depressive symptoms in young adults when compared to a group placed on a waitlist.
However, comparing a workout program to a waitlist leaves a gap in our understanding. It is difficult to tell if the physical exertion is what helps, or if participants just benefit from getting out of the house, interacting with a coach, and expecting to feel better. To separate the physical benefits from the psychological boost of receiving attention, scientists needed to compare standard strength training against a very low-effort workout.
The current research was designed to test whether the actual intensity of the weightlifting changes how much a person’s mental health improves. “Although our previous trial demonstrated that guidelines-based resistance exercise training can result in large antidepressant effects when compared to a waitlist control, a key limitation of waitlist controls is that they cannot control for important factors like social contact or expectations for improvement,” O’Sullivan noted. “We therefore expanded on that by comparing the same resistance exercise training intervention to a low-intensity sham resistance exercise training attention control.”
The researchers recruited 55 young adult women with an average age of 22. All participants met the criteria for subclinical generalized anxiety disorder and were not currently engaged in regular strength training. After a brief familiarization period, the women were randomly divided into two groups for an eight-week program. Both groups completed twice-weekly, one-on-one supervised sessions consisting of exercises like squats, bench presses, and deadlifts.
The primary difference between the two groups was the amount of weight lifted. One group performed a moderate-to-high intensity routine, lifting loads set at 70 to 80 percent of their maximum capacity. The second group acted as a control condition, performing the exact same exercises but lifting only 20 percent of their maximum capacity. The authors tracked depressive symptoms using a standard 16-item questionnaire at multiple points during the study and one month after the program ended.
The results indicated that both groups experienced massive drops in their depressive symptoms. In the higher-intensity group, symptom scores fell by an average of 54 percent. Meanwhile, the low-intensity group saw their scores drop by 43 percent. The difference in mental health improvement between the two groups was not statistically significant.
This suggests that a low-intensity workout also yields a strong antidepressant effect for this population. As expected, physical strength changes did differ between the groups. The higher-intensity group increased their overall lifting strength by 41 percent, compared to a 21 percent increase in the low-intensity group. For both groups, the psychological benefits were largely maintained a month after the supervised training concluded.
The strong benefit seen in the low-effort group was somewhat unanticipated by the research team. “The magnitude of the antidepressant effect of low-intensity resistance exercise training exceeded our expectations, but is likely reflective of what is still a substantial change in exercise activity, from not engaging in resistance exercise training to completing low-intensity resistance exercise training twice per week for 10 weeks,” O’Sullivan said.
These results stand in slight tension with a 2024 meta-analysis covered by PsyPost. That review found that higher exercise intensity is generally linked to greater reductions in depression, though it focused on clinical major depression rather than subclinical anxiety in young women. On the other hand, the new findings are consistent with research covered by PsyPost in 2026. That earlier study looked at older women and similarly found that weightlifting reduced depressive symptoms regardless of whether the participants lifted heavy or light weights.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. The researchers point out that the low-intensity group might have actually received a mild physical training effect, rather than just acting as a psychological control. Because the low-intensity group did gain some physical strength, it is difficult to completely separate the psychological benefits of participating from the physical benefits of the movement itself.
Additionally, the study relied on self-reported questionnaires to track mental health changes. Such surveys can sometimes be influenced by a participant’s expectations or desire to show improvement to their trainers. The sample was also restricted to young adult women with a specific anxiety profile. This means the findings might not naturally extend to men, older adults, or people with a formally diagnosed clinical disorder.
Moving forward, the scientists suggest testing these programs in larger clinical settings. They hope to compare weightlifting directly against standard treatments like talk therapy or medication.
“Both higher- and lower-intensity resistance exercise training can result in large reductions in depressive symptoms in anxious young women,” O’Sullivan concluded. “Young women can benefit from even low-intensity resistance exercise training which requires less physical effort, but we do recommend gradual progression to higher intensity for additional health benefits.”
He added, “For those that are not involved in any resistance exercise, anything is better than nothing, including for mental health.”
The study, “Resistance exercise training compared to a low-intensity sham for depressive symptoms in young women with analogue generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial,” was authored by Darragh O’Sullivan, Jennifer M. Rice, Mark Lyons, Brett R. Gordon, and Matthew P. Herring.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #WeightliftingForMentalHealth #AnxietyInYoungWomen #ResistanceTraining #DepressionReduction #LowIntensityExerciseWorks #StrengthTrainingBenefits #WomenInSportsPsych #SubclinicalAnxiety #MentalHealthExercise #ExerciseAsTreatment
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Different video game genres alter brain activity and enhance cognition in unique ways
Playing different types of video games can improve a person’s cognitive abilities and alter how their brain operates at rest. A new study reveals that fast-paced action games and turn-based strategy games both enhance mental performance, but action games lead to more pronounced and long-lasting neural adaptations. The research was recently published in the journal Brain Sciences.
As video games have grown into a dominant form of global entertainment, researchers have increasingly investigated their potential to shape the brain. Past studies have suggested that regular gameplay can boost attention, memory, and executive function. Executive function refers to a set of mental skills that include flexible thinking and self-control.
Researchers Jingqing Lu, Dezhong Yao, and their colleagues at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China wanted to understand how distinct game genres uniquely influence the brain. Different genres require vastly different mental resources to succeed. Fast-paced action games demand rapid reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and the simultaneous monitoring of multiple visual targets. Turn-based strategy card games focus on long-term planning, probabilistic reasoning, and keeping track of past moves.
The researchers designed a study to compare these two specific gaming experiences. They aimed to track how dedicated practice alters performance on mental tests and changes the brain’s baseline electrical activity. To measure this baseline activity, they used electroencephalography, commonly known as EEG, to record electrical signals while participants rested with their eyes closed. Resting-state EEG provides an objective measure of the brain’s intrinsic activity and structural efficiency when not actively engaged in a task.
The researchers recruited 68 college students who did not regularly play video games. They randomly assigned the participants to play either an action game, League of Legends, or a strategy card game, Legends of the Three Kingdoms. Each participant played their assigned game for one hour a day, five days a week, over a span of 20 weeks.
To track changes, the research team tested the participants at six different points over 30 weeks. This timeline included a baseline test, mid-training assessments, a post-training test at 20 weeks, and a final retention test 10 weeks after all training had stopped. At these sessions, participants completed three computer-based cognitive tasks. The researchers separately recorded their resting brain activity during these testing weeks.
The first task evaluated distributed spatial attention, which is the ability to monitor multiple locations at once without moving the eyes. Participants had to remember the location of a quick visual cue. They later had to identify a symbol that appeared in that exact spot on a screen.
Over the course of the training, both groups became faster and more accurate at this spatial attention task. However, the action game group experienced a much larger boost in accuracy than the strategy game group. This advantage for the action game players remained robust at the final 10-week follow-up.
The second assessment was a spatial working memory task. It required participants to observe a grid of flashing squares and recall if a current square matched one that flashed several turns earlier. Working memory acts as a temporary mental workspace for holding and processing information on the fly.
Participants in both the action and strategy groups responded faster on the working memory task as their training progressed. Both groups maintained their initial accuracy levels as their speed improved. The action game players consistently demonstrated higher overall performance throughout the testing period.
The final task measured executive function by presenting participants with colored arrows. The participants had to press buttons based on specific rules that pitted the color of the arrow against the direction it was pointing. This forced them to suppress their instinctive reactions and follow the changing logical rules.
In this executive function test, both groups substantially reduced their reaction times without sacrificing accuracy. The researchers observed that differences in accuracy between the two groups were not statistically significant. This indicates that both game types provided a similar enhancement to the speed of cognitive processing.
During the EEG sessions, the researchers looked at specific frequencies of brainwaves. They focused on slow-moving delta and theta waves, as well as functional connections in the alpha band. Delta and theta waves are associated with neural adaptability and readiness. Alpha-band connections indicate how efficiently different brain regions communicate with one another.
The physiological data showed that both groups developed increased delta and theta wave power over the 30 weeks. They also showed a reduction in alpha-band connectivity. A decrease in alpha connectivity suggests that the brain is streamlining its networks. It appears to cut out redundant pathways to process information more efficiently.
The action game group exhibited much stronger brain wave changes than the strategy game group. Ten weeks after the training ended, the action game players had notably higher slow-wave activity than their strategy game counterparts. They also displayed much lower alpha connectivity. These physiological shifts closely mirrored the action group’s superior performance on the attention and memory tasks.
While these results highlight the mental benefits of gaming, the findings apply specifically to the structured environment of the experiment. The participants only played for one hour a day. They avoided extreme gaming habits that could lead to fatigue or behavioral issues. The study also focused exclusively on young, healthy college students.
The way video games affect the brains of children, older adults, or individuals with cognitive impairments might look entirely different. Additionally, the researchers relied on self-reported logs and limited account data to verify that participants were not playing other video games during the study. This method relies on honesty and memory, which can introduce errors.
The researchers also did not track the participants’ academic workloads during the testing phases. Heavy coursework or stressful exams could have independently influenced their mental fatigue or cognitive performance. Future research will need to incorporate broader age groups and track daily stress levels to fully understand how digital environments shape human brain function.
The study, “Effects of Video Game Type on Cognitive Performance and Brain Functional Connectivity: A Longitudinal EEG Study,” was authored by Jingqing Lu, Ruifang Cui, Lijun Jiang, Chenyu Mu, Weiyi Ma, Diankun Gong, and Dezhong Yao.
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-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Different video game genres alter brain activity and enhance cognition in unique ways
Playing different types of video games can improve a person’s cognitive abilities and alter how their brain operates at rest. A new study reveals that fast-paced action games and turn-based strategy games both enhance mental performance, but action games lead to more pronounced and long-lasting neural adaptations. The research was recently published in the journal Brain Sciences.
As video games have grown into a dominant form of global entertainment, researchers have increasingly investigated their potential to shape the brain. Past studies have suggested that regular gameplay can boost attention, memory, and executive function. Executive function refers to a set of mental skills that include flexible thinking and self-control.
Researchers Jingqing Lu, Dezhong Yao, and their colleagues at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China wanted to understand how distinct game genres uniquely influence the brain. Different genres require vastly different mental resources to succeed. Fast-paced action games demand rapid reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and the simultaneous monitoring of multiple visual targets. Turn-based strategy card games focus on long-term planning, probabilistic reasoning, and keeping track of past moves.
The researchers designed a study to compare these two specific gaming experiences. They aimed to track how dedicated practice alters performance on mental tests and changes the brain’s baseline electrical activity. To measure this baseline activity, they used electroencephalography, commonly known as EEG, to record electrical signals while participants rested with their eyes closed. Resting-state EEG provides an objective measure of the brain’s intrinsic activity and structural efficiency when not actively engaged in a task.
The researchers recruited 68 college students who did not regularly play video games. They randomly assigned the participants to play either an action game, League of Legends, or a strategy card game, Legends of the Three Kingdoms. Each participant played their assigned game for one hour a day, five days a week, over a span of 20 weeks.
To track changes, the research team tested the participants at six different points over 30 weeks. This timeline included a baseline test, mid-training assessments, a post-training test at 20 weeks, and a final retention test 10 weeks after all training had stopped. At these sessions, participants completed three computer-based cognitive tasks. The researchers separately recorded their resting brain activity during these testing weeks.
The first task evaluated distributed spatial attention, which is the ability to monitor multiple locations at once without moving the eyes. Participants had to remember the location of a quick visual cue. They later had to identify a symbol that appeared in that exact spot on a screen.
Over the course of the training, both groups became faster and more accurate at this spatial attention task. However, the action game group experienced a much larger boost in accuracy than the strategy game group. This advantage for the action game players remained robust at the final 10-week follow-up.
The second assessment was a spatial working memory task. It required participants to observe a grid of flashing squares and recall if a current square matched one that flashed several turns earlier. Working memory acts as a temporary mental workspace for holding and processing information on the fly.
Participants in both the action and strategy groups responded faster on the working memory task as their training progressed. Both groups maintained their initial accuracy levels as their speed improved. The action game players consistently demonstrated higher overall performance throughout the testing period.
The final task measured executive function by presenting participants with colored arrows. The participants had to press buttons based on specific rules that pitted the color of the arrow against the direction it was pointing. This forced them to suppress their instinctive reactions and follow the changing logical rules.
In this executive function test, both groups substantially reduced their reaction times without sacrificing accuracy. The researchers observed that differences in accuracy between the two groups were not statistically significant. This indicates that both game types provided a similar enhancement to the speed of cognitive processing.
During the EEG sessions, the researchers looked at specific frequencies of brainwaves. They focused on slow-moving delta and theta waves, as well as functional connections in the alpha band. Delta and theta waves are associated with neural adaptability and readiness. Alpha-band connections indicate how efficiently different brain regions communicate with one another.
The physiological data showed that both groups developed increased delta and theta wave power over the 30 weeks. They also showed a reduction in alpha-band connectivity. A decrease in alpha connectivity suggests that the brain is streamlining its networks. It appears to cut out redundant pathways to process information more efficiently.
The action game group exhibited much stronger brain wave changes than the strategy game group. Ten weeks after the training ended, the action game players had notably higher slow-wave activity than their strategy game counterparts. They also displayed much lower alpha connectivity. These physiological shifts closely mirrored the action group’s superior performance on the attention and memory tasks.
While these results highlight the mental benefits of gaming, the findings apply specifically to the structured environment of the experiment. The participants only played for one hour a day. They avoided extreme gaming habits that could lead to fatigue or behavioral issues. The study also focused exclusively on young, healthy college students.
The way video games affect the brains of children, older adults, or individuals with cognitive impairments might look entirely different. Additionally, the researchers relied on self-reported logs and limited account data to verify that participants were not playing other video games during the study. This method relies on honesty and memory, which can introduce errors.
The researchers also did not track the participants’ academic workloads during the testing phases. Heavy coursework or stressful exams could have independently influenced their mental fatigue or cognitive performance. Future research will need to incorporate broader age groups and track daily stress levels to fully understand how digital environments shape human brain function.
The study, “Effects of Video Game Type on Cognitive Performance and Brain Functional Connectivity: A Longitudinal EEG Study,” was authored by Jingqing Lu, Ruifang Cui, Lijun Jiang, Chenyu Mu, Weiyi Ma, Diankun Gong, and Dezhong Yao.
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DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Different video game genres alter brain activity and enhance cognition in unique ways
Playing different types of video games can improve a person’s cognitive abilities and alter how their brain operates at rest. A new study reveals that fast-paced action games and turn-based strategy games both enhance mental performance, but action games lead to more pronounced and long-lasting neural adaptations. The research was recently published in the journal Brain Sciences.
As video games have grown into a dominant form of global entertainment, researchers have increasingly investigated their potential to shape the brain. Past studies have suggested that regular gameplay can boost attention, memory, and executive function. Executive function refers to a set of mental skills that include flexible thinking and self-control.
Researchers Jingqing Lu, Dezhong Yao, and their colleagues at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China wanted to understand how distinct game genres uniquely influence the brain. Different genres require vastly different mental resources to succeed. Fast-paced action games demand rapid reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and the simultaneous monitoring of multiple visual targets. Turn-based strategy card games focus on long-term planning, probabilistic reasoning, and keeping track of past moves.
The researchers designed a study to compare these two specific gaming experiences. They aimed to track how dedicated practice alters performance on mental tests and changes the brain’s baseline electrical activity. To measure this baseline activity, they used electroencephalography, commonly known as EEG, to record electrical signals while participants rested with their eyes closed. Resting-state EEG provides an objective measure of the brain’s intrinsic activity and structural efficiency when not actively engaged in a task.
The researchers recruited 68 college students who did not regularly play video games. They randomly assigned the participants to play either an action game, League of Legends, or a strategy card game, Legends of the Three Kingdoms. Each participant played their assigned game for one hour a day, five days a week, over a span of 20 weeks.
To track changes, the research team tested the participants at six different points over 30 weeks. This timeline included a baseline test, mid-training assessments, a post-training test at 20 weeks, and a final retention test 10 weeks after all training had stopped. At these sessions, participants completed three computer-based cognitive tasks. The researchers separately recorded their resting brain activity during these testing weeks.
The first task evaluated distributed spatial attention, which is the ability to monitor multiple locations at once without moving the eyes. Participants had to remember the location of a quick visual cue. They later had to identify a symbol that appeared in that exact spot on a screen.
Over the course of the training, both groups became faster and more accurate at this spatial attention task. However, the action game group experienced a much larger boost in accuracy than the strategy game group. This advantage for the action game players remained robust at the final 10-week follow-up.
The second assessment was a spatial working memory task. It required participants to observe a grid of flashing squares and recall if a current square matched one that flashed several turns earlier. Working memory acts as a temporary mental workspace for holding and processing information on the fly.
Participants in both the action and strategy groups responded faster on the working memory task as their training progressed. Both groups maintained their initial accuracy levels as their speed improved. The action game players consistently demonstrated higher overall performance throughout the testing period.
The final task measured executive function by presenting participants with colored arrows. The participants had to press buttons based on specific rules that pitted the color of the arrow against the direction it was pointing. This forced them to suppress their instinctive reactions and follow the changing logical rules.
In this executive function test, both groups substantially reduced their reaction times without sacrificing accuracy. The researchers observed that differences in accuracy between the two groups were not statistically significant. This indicates that both game types provided a similar enhancement to the speed of cognitive processing.
During the EEG sessions, the researchers looked at specific frequencies of brainwaves. They focused on slow-moving delta and theta waves, as well as functional connections in the alpha band. Delta and theta waves are associated with neural adaptability and readiness. Alpha-band connections indicate how efficiently different brain regions communicate with one another.
The physiological data showed that both groups developed increased delta and theta wave power over the 30 weeks. They also showed a reduction in alpha-band connectivity. A decrease in alpha connectivity suggests that the brain is streamlining its networks. It appears to cut out redundant pathways to process information more efficiently.
The action game group exhibited much stronger brain wave changes than the strategy game group. Ten weeks after the training ended, the action game players had notably higher slow-wave activity than their strategy game counterparts. They also displayed much lower alpha connectivity. These physiological shifts closely mirrored the action group’s superior performance on the attention and memory tasks.
While these results highlight the mental benefits of gaming, the findings apply specifically to the structured environment of the experiment. The participants only played for one hour a day. They avoided extreme gaming habits that could lead to fatigue or behavioral issues. The study also focused exclusively on young, healthy college students.
The way video games affect the brains of children, older adults, or individuals with cognitive impairments might look entirely different. Additionally, the researchers relied on self-reported logs and limited account data to verify that participants were not playing other video games during the study. This method relies on honesty and memory, which can introduce errors.
The researchers also did not track the participants’ academic workloads during the testing phases. Heavy coursework or stressful exams could have independently influenced their mental fatigue or cognitive performance. Future research will need to incorporate broader age groups and track daily stress levels to fully understand how digital environments shape human brain function.
The study, “Effects of Video Game Type on Cognitive Performance and Brain Functional Connectivity: A Longitudinal EEG Study,” was authored by Jingqing Lu, Ruifang Cui, Lijun Jiang, Chenyu Mu, Weiyi Ma, Diankun Gong, and Dezhong Yao.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #VideoGamesAndCognition #ActionGamesBoostAttention #TurnBasedStrategyBenefits #EEGBrainConnectivity #DeltaThetaPower #AlphaConnectivityReduction #SpatialAttentionEnhancement #WorkingMemoryBoost #ExecutiveFunctionTraining #GamingEffectsOnBrains
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DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:09PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Anthropic Says It Blocked AI Misuse That Could Create Biological Weapons
Source: PBS News Hour
Anthropic said Thursday it has blocked efforts by bad actors to use its artificial intelligence models for malicious activity such as cyberattacks, surveillance, and research that could have led to biological weapons. As AI models grow more powerful, elaborate cyberattacks no longer require sophisticated skills, and even lone individuals can create threats that would not have been possible even a year ago, Anthropic warned.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Anthropic #AIsecurity #BioweaponPrevention #CyberSecurity #AIMisuse #BioSecurity #ArtificialIntelligence #MaliciousUse #TechSafety #ResponsibleAI
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:09PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Anthropic Says It Blocked AI Misuse That Could Create Biological Weapons
Source: PBS News Hour
Anthropic said Thursday it has blocked efforts by bad actors to use its artificial intelligence models for malicious activity such as cyberattacks, surveillance, and research that could have led to biological weapons. As AI models grow more powerful, elaborate cyberattacks no longer require sophisticated skills, and even lone individuals can create threats that would not have been possible even a year ago, Anthropic warned.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Anthropic #AIsecurity #BioweaponPrevention #CyberSecurity #AIMisuse #BioSecurity #ArtificialIntelligence #MaliciousUse #TechSafety #ResponsibleAI
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:09PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Anthropic Says It Blocked AI Misuse That Could Create Biological Weapons
Source: PBS News Hour
Anthropic said Thursday it has blocked efforts by bad actors to use its artificial intelligence models for malicious activity such as cyberattacks, surveillance, and research that could have led to biological weapons. As AI models grow more powerful, elaborate cyberattacks no longer require sophisticated skills, and even lone individuals can create threats that would not have been possible even a year ago, Anthropic warned.
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Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Anthropic #AIsecurity #BioweaponPrevention #CyberSecurity #AIMisuse #BioSecurity #ArtificialIntelligence #MaliciousUse #TechSafety #ResponsibleAI
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DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:08PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Ancient Teeth Reveal Humans Were Getting High 25,000 Years Ago
Source: Science Daily - Top Society
Ancient human remains from Sulawesi suggest people were habitually using the psychoactive betel nut as far back as 25,000 years ago. Researchers found unusual tooth wear and traces of arecoline, the nut's mind-altering compound, in the teeth of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. The practice may have started partly for pain relief, but prolonged use damaged their teeth—providing perhaps the earliest known evidence of habitual drug use anywhere in...
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DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:08PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Ancient Teeth Reveal Humans Were Getting High 25,000 Years Ago
Source: Science Daily - Top Society
Ancient human remains from Sulawesi suggest people were habitually using the psychoactive betel nut as far back as 25,000 years ago. Researchers found unusual tooth wear and traces of arecoline, the nut's mind-altering compound, in the teeth of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. The practice may have started partly for pain relief, but prolonged use damaged their teeth—providing perhaps the earliest known evidence of habitual drug use anywhere in...
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AncientHumans #BetelNut #PaleoDrugUse #AncientTeeth #PrehistoricHabitualUse #Arecoline #SulawesiAncients #ArchaeologyFindings #ToothWear #MindAlteringSubstances
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:08PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Ancient Teeth Reveal Humans Were Getting High 25,000 Years Ago
Source: Science Daily - Top Society
Ancient human remains from Sulawesi suggest people were habitually using the psychoactive betel nut as far back as 25,000 years ago. Researchers found unusual tooth wear and traces of arecoline, the nut's mind-altering compound, in the teeth of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. The practice may have started partly for pain relief, but prolonged use damaged their teeth—providing perhaps the earliest known evidence of habitual drug use anywhere in...
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Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AncientHumans #BetelNut #PaleoDrugUse #AncientTeeth #PrehistoricHabitualUse #Arecoline #SulawesiAncients #ArchaeologyFindings #ToothWear #MindAlteringSubstances
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DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:08PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Studies May Promise Anonymity, But the Promise Is Often Broken
Source: Science
Economist Abel Brodeur was leading a group of colleagues examining a survey-research study when they noticed something that stunned them. Its data set, available in a public repository, contained names of people who had admitted to crimes and identified their accomplices, information never provided to police. This broken promise of anonymity, it turns out, was far from an isolated case, according to a new study released last week.
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-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:08PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Studies May Promise Anonymity, But the Promise Is Often Broken
Source: Science
Economist Abel Brodeur was leading a group of colleagues examining a survey-research study when they noticed something that stunned them. Its data set, available in a public repository, contained names of people who had admitted to crimes and identified their accomplices, information never provided to police. This broken promise of anonymity, it turns out, was far from an isolated case, according to a new study released last week.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #StudiesMayPromiseAnonymity #AnonymityBroken #DataPrivacy #PublicDataRisks #SurveyResearch #DataSecurity #CriminalRecords leakage #ResearchEthics #SocialScience #ScienceNews
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:08PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Studies May Promise Anonymity, But the Promise Is Often Broken
Source: Science
Economist Abel Brodeur was leading a group of colleagues examining a survey-research study when they noticed something that stunned them. Its data set, available in a public repository, contained names of people who had admitted to crimes and identified their accomplices, information never provided to police. This broken promise of anonymity, it turns out, was far from an isolated case, according to a new study released last week.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #StudiesMayPromiseAnonymity #AnonymityBroken #DataPrivacy #PublicDataRisks #SurveyResearch #DataSecurity #CriminalRecords leakage #ResearchEthics #SocialScience #ScienceNews
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:07PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Why People Often Hide Their Successes and Share Their Failures
Source: PsyPost
People often adjust what they share about their own achievements or setbacks based on what their conversation partner has just revealed. New research suggests that these choices are driven less by a desire to manage one's own image and more by an intention to protect other people's feelings. This goal leads people to share mutual failures far more often than mutual successes, according to a report in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision...
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #HidingSuccesses #SharingFailures #MutualSupport #EmpathyInConversation #SocialBehavior研究 #CommunicationDynamics #WorkplaceCulture #EmotionalIntelligence #SelfPresentation #PsychologyResearch
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:07PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Smartphone Use Before Age 13 Tied to Worse Mental Health in Adulthood
Source: PsyPost
New research has linked the use of smartphones in early childhood to poorer psychological well-being in young adulthood. The negative outcomes are largely tied to social media usage, which opens the door to cyberbullying, poor family relationships, and disrupted sleep. The study, published in Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, examined over 100,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 from 163 countries and varied cultural...
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-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:07PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Smartphone Use Before Age 13 Tied to Worse Mental Health in Adulthood
Source: PsyPost
New research has linked the use of smartphones in early childhood to poorer psychological well-being in young adulthood. The negative outcomes are largely tied to social media usage, which opens the door to cyberbullying, poor family relationships, and disrupted sleep. The study, published in Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, examined over 100,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 from 163 countries and varied cultural...
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-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:07PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Smartphone Use Before Age 13 Tied to Worse Mental Health in Adulthood
Source: PsyPost
New research has linked the use of smartphones in early childhood to poorer psychological well-being in young adulthood. The negative outcomes are largely tied to social media usage, which opens the door to cyberbullying, poor family relationships, and disrupted sleep. The study, published in Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, examined over 100,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 from 163 countries and varied cultural...
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-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:07PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Smartphone Use Before Age 13 Tied to Worse Mental Health in Adulthood
Source: PsyPost
New research has linked the use of smartphones in early childhood to poorer psychological well-being in young adulthood. The negative outcomes are largely tied to social media usage, which opens the door to cyberbullying, poor family relationships, and disrupted sleep. The study, published in Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, examined over 100,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 from 163 countries and varied cultural...
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Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #SmartphoneUse #YouthMentalHealth #EarlyTechExposure #SocialMediaImpact #CyberbullyingAwareness #SleepDisruption #FamilyRelationships #AdolescentWellbeing #MentalHealthResearch #DigitalWellbeing
-
DATE: September 12, 2026 at 12:07PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Why People Often Hide Their Successes and Share Their Failures
Source: PsyPost
People often adjust what they share about their own achievements or setbacks based on what their conversation partner has just revealed. New research suggests that these choices are driven less by a desire to manage one's own image and more by an intention to protect other people's feelings. This goal leads people to share mutual failures far more often than mutual successes, according to a report in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision...
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #HidingSuccesses #SharingFailures #MutualSupport #EmpathyInConversation #SocialBehavior研究 #CommunicationDynamics #WorkplaceCulture #EmotionalIntelligence #SelfPresentation #PsychologyResearch