The Monkey Business Illusion – A Great New Take On A Classic Psychology Study
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Depression may have more far-reaching consequences than previously believed. Recent data suggests that individuals who suffer from a mood disorder could be twice as likely to have a heart attack compared to individuals who are not depressed. This process has been poorly understood — until now. A new study led by Concordia University has found that depressed individuals have a slower recovery time after exercise compared to those who are non-depressed.
For a hormone, oxytocin is pretty famous. It is the “cuddle chemical”—the hormone that helps mothers bond with their babies. Salespeople can buy oxytocin spray on the internet, to make their clients trust them. It’s known for promoting positive feelings, but more recent research has found that oxytocin can promote negative emotions, too. The authors of a new review article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, takes a look at what oxytocin is really doing.
Panic attacks that seem to strike sufferers out-of-the-blue are not without warning after all, according to new research. A study based on 24-hour monitoring of panic sufferers while they went about their daily activities captured panic attacks as they happened and discovered waves of significant physiological instability for at least 60 minutes before patients’ awareness of the panic attacks, said psychologist Alicia E. Meuret at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Included in this report is a video interview with the lead researcher who discusses the study results.
Acute stress is thought to precipitate alcohol drinking. Yet the ways that acute stress can increase alcohol consumption are unclear. A new study investigated whether different phases of response to an acute stressor can alter the subjective effects of alcohol. Findings indicate bi-directional relationships between alcohol and stress. Results will be published in the October 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
When the space shuttle Atlantis returns from the International Space Station it will mark the end of an era for American space travel. We will all be holding our breath for its final safe landing to end a brilliant 30 year career. Reflecting on this, Lawrence Klein, Vice President and Co-Founder of Thought Technology Ltd., recalls, “One of our company’s proudest achievements was to have its FlexComp Infiniti system chosen as the physiological monitoring equipment used in NASA’s NEEMO-9 project.” Included in this report is a video that explains how biofeedback was used in support of the NASA mission.
The potentially lasting implications of day-to-day couple conflict on physical and mental well-being are revealed in a study published today in the journal Personal Relationships. Until now research has concentrated on the immediate effects of romantic conflict, typically in controlled laboratory settings. In one of the first studies to look at the longer term, Professor Angela Hicks investigated the physiological and emotional changes taking place in couples the day after conflict occurred, specifically taking into account the differing styles of emotional attachment between participating partners.
Evidence in both humans and animals points to emotional benefits from exercise, both physical and mental. Now, in recent experiments with mice, scientists have traced the stress-buffering effect of activity to a brain circuit known to be involved in emotional regulation as well as mood disorders and medication effects. The finding is a clue to understanding the neurological roots of resilience, key to developing new means of prevention and treatment for stress-related illness.
Competitive athletes should not only practice their sport to improve performance; perhaps they should also practice heart rate variability (HRV). Studies have shown that learning to increase heart rate variability through biofeedback can improve sport performance and help athletes cope with the stress of competition. A link to download the original study is included in this report.
Veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars showed a 50 percent reduction in their symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after just eight weeks of practicing the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique, according to a pilot study published in the June 2011 issue of Military Medicine.
For the past seven years, Widener’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology has provided coursework leading to Board Certification from the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA). The program, taught by Celeste De Bease, PhD, BCB-Fellow, BCN-Fellow and by Pam Calvert-Hirt, PsyD, MBA, BCB, has led many of its graduate students to their dissertations on biofeedback, particularly Haya Al-Joudi.
