EurekAlert! - Social/Behavioral Science

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Neuropsychological Rehabilitation
Smartphone training helps people with memory impairment regain independence
The treatment for moderate-to-severe memory impairment could one day include a prescription for a smartphone.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
New community health approach aims to combats chronic disease, empower patients, reduces costs
A new community-wide collaboration to reduce the impact of chronic disease and empower patients is generating impressive early results, leaders of the Accountable Care Community initiative said. The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron is leading the initiative with its founding institutional members and more than 60 public and private community partners. The groundbreaking effort unites medical, public health and social science professions, nonprofits and faith-based and community organizations for an "all-hands-on-deck" approach to public health.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Journal of Medical Toxicology
A mobile device for preventing and treating drug use
Imagine a device combining sensors to measure physiological changes. Then imagine a smartphone with software applications designed to respond to your bodily changes in an attempt to change your behavior. That is the vision behind "iHeal," a device to detect developing drug cravings and intervene as the cravings develop to prevent drug use. A study on iHeal has just been published online in Springer's Journal of Medical Toxicology.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Prevention Science
After-school program can reduce alcohol use among middle school students, study finds
A voluntary substance prevention program held after school and presented by trained facilitators can help reduce alcohol use among young adolescents, according to a new study.

NIH/National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2012 Annual Meeting
Antidepressant use linked with less patient satisfaction after hip replacement
Patients taking antidepressants up to three years prior to undergoing a total hip replacement (THR) were more likely to report greater pain before and after surgery and less satisfaction with their procedure, according to new research presented today at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS).

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2012 Annual Meeting
Anxiety trait linked to post-operative pain in men following total knee replacement
In new research, men with anxiety traits were more likely to report post-operative pain ratings following total knee replacement (TKR) resulting in longer hospital stays, and women generally reported higher post-operative pain levels than men and were less satisfied with pain control.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Biomedical Optics Express
Flipping a light switch in the cell: Quantum dots used for targeted neural activation
By harnessing quantum dots researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new and vastly more targeted way to stimulate neurons in the brain. Being able to switch neurons on and off and monitor how they communicate with one another is crucial for understanding -- and, ultimately, treating -- a host of brain disorders. The research was published today in the Optical Society's open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2012 Annual Meeting
Video-based home exercise can minimize osteoarthritis pain, improve mobility
Video-based home exercise programs can enhance adherence to a prescribed exercise program, reduce pain, improve physical function, and improve life quality in patients living with knee osteoarthritis.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Chemosphere
NIH study links high levels of cadmium, lead in blood to pregnancy delay
Higher blood levels of cadmium in females, and higher blood levels of lead in males, delayed pregnancy in couples trying to become pregnant, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other academic research institutions.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Significance
Statistical model unlocks barriers to use of fingerprint evidence in court
Potentially key fingerprint evidence is currently not being considered due to shortcomings in the way it is reported, according to a report published today in Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association. Researchers involved in the study have devised a statistical model to enable the weight of fingerprint evidence to be quantified, paving the way for its full inclusion in the criminal identification process.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
Heart disease may be a risk factor for prostate cancer
In a large analysis of men participating in a prostate drug trial, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute found a significant correlation between coronary artery disease and prostate cancer, suggesting the two conditions may have shared causes.

GlaxoSmithKline, US Department of Veterans Affairs, American Urological Association Foundation

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
Video surveillance camera revolution revisited in 2-part special issue of Information Polity
A two-part special issue of the journal Information Polity (ISSN: 1570-1255) aims to revisit the 'surveillance camera revolution'. It presents contemporary thinking and research on the use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), and draws out issues relating to governance and public policy.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Obesity Review
Anti-obesity drugs with a modified lifestyle helps weight loss -- new study
A study led by the University of Leicester has found that anti-obesity drugs coupled with lifestyle advice are effective in reducing weight and BMI.

National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
Low dopamine levels during withdrawal promote relapse to smoking
Mark Twain said, "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times." Many smokers would agree that it's difficult to stay away from cigarettes. A new study in Biological Psychiatry this month now suggests that low dopamine levels that occur as a result of withdrawal from smoking actually promote the relapse to smoking.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
Stimulant treatment for ADHD not associated with increased risk of cardiac events in youth
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 5-9% of youth and is frequently treated with stimulant medications, such as methylphenidate and amphetamine products. A recent safety communication from the US Food and Drug Administration advised that all patients undergoing ADHD treatment be monitored for changes in heart rate or blood pressure.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
People with easy-to-pronounce names are favored at work and in personal life
Having a simple, easy-to-pronounce name is more likely to win you friends and favor in the workplace, a study by Dr. Simon Laham at the University of Melbourne and Dr. Adam Alter at New York University Stern School of Business, has found.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Child Development
New study: Adolescents suffering from depression more likely to be bullied
A new study provides evidence that adolescents who suffer from depression are more likely to develop difficulty in peer relationships including being bullied at school. It's often assumed that being bullied leads to psychological problems, such as depression, but the study doesn't support this line of thought.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
CSIC inquiry tests visual intelligence through Facebook
Researchers from Cajal Institute have developed an application on the social network to test different cognitive skills. Results will enable researchers to determine what parameters affect visual ability of the human being.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Neuron
'Explorers,' who embrace the uncertainty of choices, use specific part of cortex
As they try to find the best reward among options, some people explore based on how uncertain they are about the outcome of the options. Those who employ that thought process, unlike people who use other strategies, uniquely harness the computational power of the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex, a new study finds.

NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Neuron
Feast or famine? How appetite cells in the brain respond to fasting
Previous work has shown that the AgRP neurons promote feeding and weight gain, while the POMC cells have been linked with appetite suppression and weight loss. Now a new study published by Cell Press in the Feb. 9 issue of the journal Neuron uncovers a neural pathway that links fasting with activation of AgRP neurons. The research provides valuable insight into the complex mechanisms that control food seeking behavior.

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Child Development
Depression forecasts difficulties with peers in middle childhood
A longitudinal study of children in the middle years of childhood has found that depression forecasts problems in peer relationships, including being victimized by peers and problems being accepted by peers. For the study, researchers looked at 480 youths from fourth through sixth grades and used child, classmate, parent, and teacher surveys to gather data.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Child Development
Playing school sports affects youths' smoking
A new study of middle schoolers and their social networks has found that teammates' smoking plays a big role in youths' decisions about smoking, but adolescents who take part in a lot of sports smoke less. The study looked at 1,260 ethnically diverse, urban, middle-class sixth through eighth graders and used a new social network method designed by the researchers to examine how participation in sports with teammates who smoked affected adolescents' smoking behavior.

NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH/National Cancer Institute

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Child Development
In Northern Ireland, political violence harms youths through families
A new longitudinal study of neighborhoods in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has found that political violence affects children by upsetting the ways their families function, resulting in behavior problems and mental health symptoms among the youths over extended periods of time. Researchers gathered data through annual surveys of mothers and children, and through recording the number of politically motivated deaths in families' neighborhoods as an index of political violence.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Child Development
High-quality child care found good for children -- and their mothers
A longitudinal study of more than 1,300 children and their families found that mothers whose children spent their early years in high-quality nonparental care, starting from birth and in either center-based or home-based settings, were more likely than other moms to be involved in their children's schools later, regardless of the moms' socioeconomic status. The study also found that the quality of children's early care was more important than the type or setting of care.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Foundation for Child Development

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012

Child Development
Study examines role of bilingualism in children's development
A Canadian study looked at monolingual and bilingual six year-olds on three verbal tasks and one nonverbal task of executive control. The study found that different factors were responsible for the language- and non-language-related outcomes of bilingualism than found in previous research. This study is also unique in that it controlled for other factors that are often associated with bilingualism, including differences in culture, socioeconomic status, immigration history, and language.

National Institutes of Health


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