<table style="border:1px solid #adadad; background-color: #F3F1EC; color: #666666; padding:8px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; line-height:16px; margin-bottom:6px;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News Daily Digest (Unofficial)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/i-was-astonished-universal-and-unique-motives-for-beauty-enhancing-behaviors-revealed-in-cross-cultural-study/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">“I was astonished”: Universal and unique motives for beauty-enhancing behaviors revealed in cross-cultural study</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 10th 2024, 10:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>From the Cook Islands to Poland, people everywhere strive to look their best—but the reasons behind these efforts are not always the same. A new study published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.106627"><em>Evolution and Human Behavior</em></a> explores the diverse motives for enhancing physical attractiveness across four different societies. The research highlights both universal trends and the culturally unique factors driving these behaviors.</p>
<p>The new study was led by <a href="https://martakowal.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marta Kowal</a>, a postdoctoral researcher at the IDN Being Human Lab at the University of Wrocław. The researchers aimed to understand why people across different cultures spend time and resources on improving their physical appearance, a common yet underexplored aspect of human behavior. While many previous studies have examined the role of physical attractiveness in areas like mate selection, most of these have taken a Western-centric, quantitative approach, focusing on individual cultures or large-scale surveys.</p>
<p>In their new study, the researchers intended to fill the gap by adopting a qualitative method, giving participants the chance to explain their perspectives and motivations in their own words. The research team was particularly interested in examining self-enhancement practices from a cross-cultural perspective.</p>
<p>“This study is a continuation of a previous one my team and I conducted (please see the published paper <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513822000472?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kowal et al.</a>, 2022 described in <a href="https://www.psypost.org/massive-psychology-study-provides-evidence-that-beauty-enhancing-behavior-is-a-universal-phenomenon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PsyPost</a>), where we quantitatively examined time spent enhancing physical attractiveness across 93,158 participants from 93 countries. The findings were remarkable! Yet, after that large-scale study, I couldn’t help but wonder: did we miss something? Or more precisely, what did we miss?” Kowal explained.</p>
<p>“In that previous study, we used an <em>etic</em> approach, which offers an outsider’s perspective through standardized measures and statistical inferences to facilitate cross-cultural comparisons. However, this time, we decided to take an <em>emic</em> approach, emphasizing the importance of an insider’s viewpoint and aiming to understand each culture from within.”</p>
<p>The researchers conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 96 participants from four distinct societies: the Cook Islands, Guatemala, Pakistan, and Poland. These societies were chosen for their geographic and cultural diversity, offering insights from a range of traditions and values related to physical appearance.</p>
<p>“This approach allowed us not only to ask predefined questions but also to dive deeper into how people around the world enhance their physical attractiveness, giving us a more nuanced perspective,” Kowal told PsyPost.</p>
<p>The Cook Islands, for example, are remote islands in the Pacific Ocean where Western beauty standards are less influential. Guatemala, in contrast, blends indigenous and Western influences. Pakistan’s Islamic culture significantly impacts beauty practices, while Poland, deeply rooted in Western culture, provided a contrasting view on beauty-enhancing behaviors.</p>
<p>The participants, aged between 18 and 65, represented a variety of backgrounds, including individuals from both urban and rural areas. Interviews were conducted in the participants’ local languages or in English, with the help of bilingual co-researchers when necessary. The researchers focused on three core questions during the interviews: What types of activities participants engaged in to improve their appearance, how much time they dedicated to these activities, and why they did so.</p>
<p>“Enhancing one’s physical attractiveness is a global behavior—whether among Polish individuals rooted in Western culture, Mestizo and Maya people in Guatemala, Muslims in Pakistan, or Maori in the South Pacific’s remote Cook Islands,” Kowal said.</p>
<p>One consistent theme was that women across all societies devote more time than men to improving their physical appearance. The amount of time varied, but the trend was universal. For example, Cook Island women estimated they spent around 15 to 20 minutes enhancing their appearance daily, while men spent only about 5 to 10 minutes. These time estimates were similar in Guatemala and Poland, where women reported around 30 minutes of daily beauty enhancement and men about 15 minutes. However, in Pakistan, women reported spending considerably more time—around 45 minutes daily—compared to men, who spent between 15 and 30 minutes.</p>
<p>“All interviewees agreed that women invest more time in beautification than men, although the degree varied across cultures,” Kowal told PsyPost. “Time spent enhancing attractiveness also shifted across life stages, peaking during dating, just before marriage (and in Pakistan, slightly after marriage as well, when women typically move into their husband’s family home), and in response to noticing the impact of aging.”</p>
<p>The study identified several key motivations for engaging in beauty-enhancing activities. One of the most prominent reasons was intersexual competition, or the desire to attract a mate. This motivation was particularly salient among women in all four societies. For example, women in Pakistan reported that enhancing their appearance, especially during courtship and in the early stages of marriage, was important to ensure their husband’s attention. Some participants even described the importance of looking good when their husband returned home from work, as it was seen as a way to relieve his stress.</p>
<p>Men also engaged in beauty-enhancing behaviors for intersexual competition, although their practices were more focused on grooming and physical fitness. In Poland, for example, men reported engaging in strength training to appear more muscular, which they believed would make them more attractive to women. This was seen as an important part of mate selection, as physical strength is often associated with masculinity and desirability.</p>
<p>Another key motivation was intrasexual competition, or the desire to outcompete same-sex rivals. This was more frequently reported by women, who described a competitive dynamic with other women in their social circles. For example, participants from the Cook Islands and Pakistan noted that women often improved their appearance to impress or intimidate other women, rather than solely to attract men.</p>
<p>Men, too, reported engaging in beauty-enhancing behaviors to compete with other men, particularly in terms of social status. In Pakistan and Poland, participants noted that looking attractive could increase their chances of job success, as physical appearance was often linked to respect and professional advancement. Men in Pakistan also emphasized the importance of physical attractiveness in increasing their social status within their communities.</p>
<p>“Men want to look attractive to increase their chances at a job,” a male participant from Pakistan explained. Similarly, a Polish participant remarked that “if you look good, everyone is going to respect you, but if you look bad, nobody is going to respect you.”</p>
<p>Certain beauty-enhancing activities were common across all four societies, although with some local variations. The most frequently mentioned activities included maintaining personal hygiene, applying makeup (especially among women), caring for hair and facial hair, using cosmetics, selecting appropriate clothing and accessories, and exercising.</p>
<p>But the study also identified several unique cultural differences in beauty-enhancing practices. In Guatemala, participants highlighted the importance of clean and fashionable clothing, and women reported that wearing revealing clothes was frowned upon, which contrasts with the more liberal views on clothing in Western societies.</p>
<p>In Pakistan, there was a strong emphasis on gold jewelry and a light skin complexion as markers of physical attractiveness, particularly for women, and men placed high importance on maintaining well-groomed beards, reflecting the cultural and religious significance of facial hair.</p>
<p>Poland’s participants were notably focused on achieving a desirable body shape through diet and exercise, reflecting the influence of Western media and fitness culture. Tanning was also a popular practice, with participants seeking to achieve a darker skin tone, which they associated with health and attractiveness.</p>
<p>In the Cook Islands, the use of flowers as a form of adornment was a distinct practice not seen in the other societies. Additionally, the study noted that the Cook Islands had a historical social norm where men took pride in having larger wives.</p>
<p>“I was particularly struck by how much I learned from people living in these diverse cultures,” Kowal said. “While I’ve always been a big fan of big data, this study made me realize how vital qualitative research is. Listening to perspectives from people who are so different, yet share common human experiences, was transformative. And this was not possible by conducting a quantitative study!”</p>
<p>“Having studied mate choice and physical attractiveness, I had mostly read scholarly reports about how beauty standards differ across cultures. But experiencing those differences firsthand was eye-opening. Coming from Poland, where a slim female body is highly valued, I was astonished when a Maori participant told me ‘They [our fathers and grandfathers] praised themselves if their wives were big. My grandfather used to say things like I don’t want my wife to get blown away by wind. (…) It’s hard to explain, but I’m more proud to have a big wife.’ Another interviewee further explained it, ‘If your wife is skinny, you’re not feeding your wife, so you know it’s like a competition type of thing.'”</p>
<p>A less commonly explored finding in previous research was the influence of religion on beauty-enhancing practices, particularly in Pakistan. Many Pakistani participants reported that improving their physical appearance was tied to their religious beliefs, especially in preparation for prayer or religious gatherings. For example, some participants mentioned that they wanted to look clean and presentable when attending mosque, as they believed it reflected their devotion to God. This finding highlights how beauty-enhancing behaviors can be motivated by factors beyond social competition and mate selection, extending into the realm of religious expression.</p>
<p>The study also revealed that modernization and social media played a significant role in shaping beauty-enhancing behaviors. Across all four societies, participants noted that social media, particularly platforms like Instagram, increased pressure to conform to idealized beauty standards. This was especially true among younger generations, who reported feeling pressure to look “perfect” in order to compete with the images of models and influencers they saw online.</p>
<p>Interestingly, some participants noted that men have begun to spend more time on their appearance as a result of social media’s influence. In Pakistan, younger men were described as more conscious of their looks than older generations, likely due to increased exposure to social media and Western beauty norms.</p>
<p>“The reasons for enhancing physical appearance varied, with cultural and social norms, religion, self-presentation, social media, and modernization all playing a role,” Kowal told PsyPost. “Ultimately, however, these behaviors may boil down to inter- and intrasexual competition.”</p>
<p>But the study, like all research, includes some caveats. “Most notably, we only interviewed 96 participants, which offers just a glimpse into these cultures,” Kowal said. “These individuals were not representative of their entire countries, so we cannot draw broad conclusions.”</p>
<p>“I’d like to express my deep gratitude to the team members who made this research possible, especially my former PhD supervisor, Professor Sorokowski, an expert in cross-cultural field studies, with whom I’m thrilled to continue working,” she added. “Special thanks to the wonderful and dedicated Sayra M. Cardona and Andrea Castañeda from Guatemala, and C.M. Nadeem Faisal from Pakistan. I’d also like to thank all our interviewees for sharing their perspectives! The current research was part of the grant I received from the Polish National Science Center (2019/33/N/HS6/00054). I would like to thank this organization and Committee for giving me the chance to pursue this exciting topic.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S109051382400103X" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sex and cross-cultural comparison of self-enhancement practices: Data from four distinct societies</a>,” was authored by Marta Kowal, Piotr Sorokowski, Sayra M. Cardona, Andrea Castañeda, and C.M. Nadeem Faisal.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/study-finds-marriage-is-linked-to-changes-in-sexism/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Study finds marriage is linked to changes in sexism</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 10th 2024, 08:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>Marriage is associated with increases in sexist attitudes shortly after marriage, particularly in men’s hostile sexism and women’s hostile and benevolent sexism, according to a study published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01510-0"><em>Sex Roles</em></a>.</p>
<p>Hostile sexism reflects antagonistic beliefs about women gaining power at the expense of men, while benevolent sexism portrays women as nurturing and in need of male protection. Previous research has shown that men’s hostile sexism can be rooted in anxieties about power loss within relationships, and benevolent sexism is often tied to motivations to sustain intimate relationships. Given that marriage marks a formal commitment between partners, Nickola C. Overall and colleagues examined changes in hostile and benevolent sexism before and after marriage.</p>
<p>The researchers utilized data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS), a longitudinal national study that assessed sexist attitudes over a 14-year period. They focused on a subset of 1,615 participants (569 men and 1,046 women) who transitioned from being unmarried to married and remained married throughout the study period. These participants were evaluated at multiple time points before and after marriage.</p>
<p>Participants’ sexist attitudes were measured using the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, which captures both hostile and benevolent sexism. Participants rated their agreement with statements on a 7-point scale. The study examined changes in these attitudes over three key periods: the years leading up to marriage, the year immediately following marriage, and the subsequent years of marriage.</p>
<p>The researchers tracked shifts in sexist attitudes over time, with a focus on how marriage might trigger changes in these beliefs. Demographic factors such as age, gender, and relationship length were controlled to ensure that these variables did not account for the observed changes in sexist attitudes.</p>
<p>In the years leading up to marriage, men’s hostile sexism—characterized by fears of women gaining power—gradually declined, as did women’s hostile and benevolent sexism. However, the first year of marriage marked a significant shift: men’s hostile sexism and both hostile and benevolent sexism in women showed a marked increase immediately after marriage. This spike in sexism shortly after marriage suggests that marriage may temporarily intensify concerns about power dynamics and relationship security, prompting men to feel more defensive and women to feel more protective of traditional gender roles.</p>
<p>However, these post-marriage increases in sexism were not sustained. In the years following marriage, both men’s hostile sexism and women’s hostile and benevolent sexism returned to their pre-marriage declining trajectories. This suggests that the initial spike in sexist attitudes may be linked to the stress and uncertainty of adapting to new marital roles, but as couples adjust to their long-term commitment, these concerns appear to subside.</p>
<p>For men, benevolent sexism—which had remained stable before marriage—showed a steady decline in the years following marriage. This decline implies that as men become more comfortable in their relationships, their need to maintain a paternalistic, protective view of women diminishes.</p>
<p>One limitation is that the study’s event-aligned models could not account for shared variance between hostile and benevolent sexism, which may have underestimated the overall changes in attitudes.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01510-0">Is Marriage Associated With Decreases or Increases in Sexism?</a>” was authored by Nickola C. Overall, Emily J. Cross, and Chris G. Sibley.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/misophonia-shares-genetic-links-with-depression-anxiety-and-ptsd/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Misophonia shares genetic links with depression, anxiety, and PTSD</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 10th 2024, 06:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>A recent study published in<em> <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.971752/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frontiers in Neuroscience</a> </em>has shed light on the genetic factors associated with misophonia, a condition in which certain sounds—such as chewing or breathing—provoke intense emotional reactions like anger, anxiety, or disgust. The researchers found that misophonia shares significant genetic overlap with psychiatric disorders, particularly anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).</p>
<p>Misophonia, although increasingly recognized, remains poorly understood in terms of its causes and underlying mechanisms. The condition is often classified either as a psychiatric disorder or a broader medical disorder, but consensus on its classification has been elusive.</p>
<p>While misophonia can significantly disrupt everyday life, leading some individuals to seek professional help, the biological and genetic basis of the disorder has not been thoroughly explored. The researchers aimed to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the genetic origins of misophonia.</p>
<p>“As a researcher, when you explain what it is your working on — misophonia in this case — some get giggly. But I was very surprised to learn that very many would say, ‘Oh, I know someone with that,’ or even, ‘Oh, but that’s me,'” said study author Dirk J. A. Smit, an assistant professor of psychiatric neuroscience and genetics at the Amsterdam University Medical Center.</p>
<p>“And they weren’t giggling—they acknowledged it as a real problem that can disrupt lives. In some cases, it leads to family members not eating together, or people avoiding colleagues around lunchtime, after work drinks, or other social events. Most didn’t even know the word ‘misophonia,’ so it is a highly underreported phenomenon.”</p>
<p>To conduct this research, the scientists used a genetic analysis method known as a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS). A GWAS examines the entire genome of a large group of people to identify genetic variations linked to specific traits or disorders. In this case, the researchers analyzed genetic data related to a misophonia-like symptom: feeling intense rage triggered by the sound of chewing. The researchers used data from various sources, including 23andMe, the UK Biobank, and the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium.</p>
<p>The sample included 80,607 individuals who self-reported whether or not they experienced this rage response. While this proxy does not encompass all aspects of misophonia, it provided a useful starting point for the genetic analysis.</p>
<p>In addition to analyzing the genetic data related to this misophonia symptom, the researchers also examined the genetic correlations between this symptom and 44 other traits or disorders. The research team categorized the 44 traits into several groups: psychiatric disorders (such as depression and anxiety), audiological conditions (like tinnitus), personality traits (such as neuroticism), and other factors like educational attainment.</p>
<p>The genetic analysis confirmed that misophonia has a genetic basis. A particular genetic locus (rs2937573) was identified as being strongly associated with feeling intense rage triggered by the sound of chewing. This locus is located near the TENM2 gene, which is involved in brain development and cell adhesion. Although the specific role of this gene in hearing or emotional responses to sounds is not yet fully understood, it is a promising area for future research.</p>
<p>One of the key discoveries was the strong genetic correlation between misophonia and psychiatric disorders, particularly anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Misophonia showed a significant genetic overlap with major depressive disorder as well. These findings suggest that misophonia may share underlying genetic factors with these psychiatric conditions, supporting the idea that misophonia could be classified as a psychiatric disorder.</p>
<p>In terms of personality traits, the study found that individuals with a genetic predisposition to misophonia were also more likely to have traits such as neuroticism, guilt, irritability, and worry. These traits are often associated with internalizing emotional responses, which aligns with previous observations that misophonia sufferers tend to internalize their distress rather than expressing it outwardly.</p>
<p>“Most of the results are not really a surprise,” Smit told PsyPost. “Misophonia in its most common form raises anger to eating sounds, although many more emotions and trigger sound combinations exist. In line with this, we found that misophonia genetics was related to the genetics of the personality trait ‘irritability,’ which is kind of the essence of misophonia: you get irritated and angry when you hear the trigger sound, which might then be followed by avoidance behaviors, feelings of guilt, and more.”</p>
<p>“There was also an overlap with PTSD genetics. This means that genes that give a sensitivity to PTSD also increase the likelihood for misophonia, and that could point to a shared neurobiological system that affects both. And that could suggest that treatment techniques used for PTSD could also be used for misophonia.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, the study also found a moderate genetic correlation between misophonia and tinnitus, a condition characterized by persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears. This suggests that while misophonia may not be directly related to hearing loss or auditory dysfunction, they could share some psychological or neural mechanisms.</p>
<p>“There was also a correlation with the risk for tinnitus,” Smit explained. “What drives this link is not clear, but tinnitus almost always has a clear cause in hearing loss of some kind, which may be due to loud music exposure, ototoxic medication, infection, or aging. But it is also well-known that psychological factors play a role in the level of experienced disturbance, so this might be the link.”</p>
<p>However, no significant correlations were found between misophonia and other audiological traits, such as hearing performance or hearing loss, further supporting the idea that misophonia is more closely related to psychological factors than to hearing problems.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most unexpected result of the study was the negative genetic correlation between misophonia and autism spectrum disorder. This means that individuals genetically predisposed to misophonia are less likely to have genetic traits associated with autism. This finding contrasts with earlier clinical observations that suggested some overlap between the two conditions. “There was a small but negative correlation between misophonia genetics and autism genetics,” Smit said. “Given that autism is often associated with sensory sensitivity problems, that was unexpected. I expected a positive correlation.”</p>
<p>The study provides important insights into the genetic factors underlying misophonia and its genetic approach allows for a clearer identification of underlying biological pathways, reducing the risk of spurious correlations caused by external variables such as cultural or socioeconomic factors. Furthermore, by using data from large-scale sources like the UK Biobank and 23andMe, the researchers were able to access an enormous amount of genetic data. This scale is a major advantage because it allows for the analysis of numerous traits and disorders simultaneously.</p>
<p>But as with all research, there are some limitations to consider. One of the main drawbacks is that the research focuses on genetic propensities within the general population rather than on individuals who have been clinically diagnosed with misophonia. While the use of genetic data provides insight into tendencies and risks, it does not directly examine the disorder itself in diagnosed individuals.</p>
<p>“Our study was based on a sample from 23andMe, where participants answered a few simple questions about misophonia and the taste of cilantro,” Smit explained. “While this led to very interesting results, it did not involve a validated questionnaire or a medical assessment with a structured interview. So the results will be affected somewhat by reporting biases.”</p>
<p>It is also important to note that genetic correlations reflect shared genetic risk factors but do not necessarily indicate direct causal relationships between traits. As such, while the study found significant correlations between misophonia and conditions like anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, it cannot definitively determine whether these disorders share the same causal pathways or whether they simply overlap in some genetic risk factors.</p>
<p>Looking forward, the researchers suggest that future studies should investigate whether different emotional responses to misophonia trigger sounds (such as anxiety or panic rather than rage) are associated with different genetic profiles. This could help clarify whether misophonia is a uniform disorder or if there are distinct subtypes based on the primary emotional reaction to trigger sounds.</p>
<p>In addition to exploring potential subtypes, the team is also focusing on how misophonia manifests in specific populations, such as individuals with autism.</p>
<p>“We are continuing with a report on misophonia in autism, an understudied phenomenon in this group, although they have been studied for other hearing sensitivity symptoms like hyperacusis and phonophobia; sensory sensitivity is a well known symptom in many autistic individuals,” Smit explained. “This study on the prevalence of misophonia in autism is important because many people with autism indicate that they have misophonia symptoms, but some treatment options, like group cognitive-behavioral therapy, may not be as appropriate for them.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.971752" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A genome-wide association study of a rage-related misophonia symptom and the genetic link with audiological traits, psychiatric disorders, and personality</a>,” was authored by Dirk J. A. Smit, Melissa Bakker, Abdel Abdellaoui, Alexander E. Hoetink, Nienke Vulink, and Damiaan Denys.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/daily-habits-like-sleep-and-exercise-can-shape-brain-connectivity-for-weeks/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Daily habits like sleep and exercise can shape brain connectivity for weeks</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 9th 2024, 18:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>A new study published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002797" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PLOS Biology</a> provides fascinating insights into how our daily experiences and behaviors, such as sleep patterns, physical activity, and even our mood, leave lasting imprints on our brain’s connectivity. Conducted by researchers at Aalto University and the University of Oulu, the study used brain scans and data from wearable devices to track the brain activity and physiological states of a single participant over 133 days.</p>
<p>The new findings challenge the common perception that brain connectivity is influenced only by immediate events, revealing instead that behaviors from up to 15 days prior can continue to shape the brain’s functional connections. This suggests that short-term fluctuations in our environment and physiological states play a much more sustained role in brain dynamics than previously thought.</p>
<p>The researchers were motivated by the idea that human brains do not function in isolation. Ana Triana, the lead researcher, explained that our behavior and mental states are constantly influenced by a wide range of factors, including our environment, physical health, and emotional experiences. However, much of what is currently known about brain connectivity comes from short-term studies or cross-sectional research, which capture only snapshots of brain activity at a single point in time. These designs, while informative, might miss the more extended and complex effects that daily life has on brain function.</p>
<p>Triana and her team wanted to investigate whether behaviors, moods, and physiological changes like heart rate variability or sleep patterns continue to influence brain activity over a more extended period. This approach could provide a more accurate understanding of how our mental and physical states are intertwined with brain connectivity over days and weeks, rather than just minutes or hours.</p>
<p>“We wanted to go beyond isolated events,” Triana said. “Our behavior and mental states are constantly shaped by our environment and experiences. Yet, we know little about the response of brain functional connectivity to environmental, physiological, and behavioral changes on different timescales, from days to months.”</p>
<p>The study took a unique approach by focusing on just one participant—Ana Triana herself. Over a period of 133 days, Triana’s daily activities, sleep patterns, heart rate, and mood were continuously monitored using wearable devices, including a smartwatch and a ring designed to track physiological data.</p>
<p>“The use of wearable technology was crucial,” Triana explained. “Brain scans are useful tools, but a snapshot of someone lying still for half an hour can only show so much. Our brains do not work in isolation.”</p>
<p>Additionally, she completed surveys about her mood and experiences twice a day. This data was complemented by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans conducted twice a week, which measured her brain’s connectivity in different contexts, including rest, attention tasks, and memory tasks.</p>
<p>Each fMRI scan provided a detailed picture of how different regions of Triana’s brain communicated with each other while she performed tasks or simply rested. By combining the fMRI data with the physiological and behavioral data collected through wearables and surveys, the researchers could explore how changes in behavior and physical health impacted brain connectivity over time.</p>
<p>One of the key metrics the study focused on was heart rate variability (HRV), which is an indicator of how adaptable the heart is to changes in the body’s physiological state, such as during stress or relaxation. By analyzing this in conjunction with brain scans, the researchers could explore the relationship between physiological health and brain connectivity in real-world conditions.</p>
<p>The study found strong evidence that the brain’s connectivity evolves in response to external and internal factors over time, and not just in the immediate aftermath of a given event. For instance, a restless night of sleep or an intense workout from several days ago could still be shaping the way different parts of the brain communicate with each other up to 15 days later.</p>
<p>The research identified two distinct patterns in brain connectivity: a short-term wave lasting about seven days, which likely reflects rapid adaptations to more immediate factors like sleep quality, and a longer-term wave of changes that extends to around 15 days, showing more gradual, lasting effects.</p>
<p>One of the study’s more surprising findings was the link between HRV and brain connectivity, particularly during periods of rest. Higher heart rate variability, which typically indicates a better capacity to handle stress, was associated with more efficient communication between brain regions, especially in areas related to attention and memory. This suggests that the body’s ability to manage stress may have a lasting effect on the brain’s functional architecture, even when the brain is not actively focused on a specific task.</p>
<p>Physical activity also played an important role in shaping brain connectivity. Higher levels of daily movement were associated with stronger connections between brain regions, which could imply that regular exercise supports the brain’s ability to stay flexible and adapt to new challenges. On the flip side, days with less physical activity were linked to weaker brain connectivity, particularly in areas responsible for attention and cognitive flexibility.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the researchers found that these effects were not limited to the immediate aftermath of a specific behavior. For example, shifts in mood, sleep quality, or physical activity left lasting imprints on brain connectivity that persisted for days or even weeks. The brain appears to retain a “memory” of these behaviors, allowing them to influence brain function well beyond the moment they occurred.</p>
<p>Limitations and Directions for Future Research<br>
While the study’s findings are exciting, they come with important limitations. One major limitation is the fact that the study was conducted with only a single participant, which makes it difficult to generalize the findings to the broader population. While this single-case design allowed the researchers to gather incredibly detailed data over a long period, it’s unclear whether the same patterns would be observed in other people. The specific lifestyle, physiological makeup, and emotional responses of the participant might differ significantly from those of others, leading to different results.</p>
<p>Future studies could benefit from a larger sample size to see if these brain-behavior relationships hold across different individuals with varied lifestyles and health conditions. Additionally, while the study focused on the effects of behavior and physiological states on brain connectivity, it did not explore whether changes in brain connectivity could, in turn, influence future behavior or physiological responses. Investigating this bidirectional relationship could offer a more comprehensive understanding of how the brain and body interact over time.</p>
<p>Another direction for future research could be the use of more complex statistical models to explore how different factors, such as sleep, mood, and physical activity, interact with each other to influence brain connectivity. The current study looked at these variables in isolation, but in reality, they are likely to have complex, interdependent effects on the brain’s functional networks.</p>
<p>Finally, the researchers pointed out that while they tracked changes over a 15-day period, it is unknown whether behaviors from even further back in time might have an impact on brain connectivity. Future studies could extend the observation period to explore whether certain behaviors or physiological states have even longer-lasting effects on brain function.</p>
<p>“We must bring data from daily life into the lab to see the full picture of how our habits shape the brain, but surveys can be tiring and inaccurate,” said study co-author, neuroscientist and physician Nick Hayward. “Combining concurrent physiology with repeated brain scans in one person is crucial. Our approach gives context to neuroscience and delivers very fine detail to our understanding of the brain.”</p>
<p>“Linking brain activity with physiological and environmental data could revolutionize personalized healthcare, opening doors for earlier interventions and better outcomes,” added Triana.</p>
<p>The study, “Longitudinal single-subject neuroimaging study reveals effects of daily environmental, physiological, and lifestyle factors on functional brain connectivity,” was authored by Ana María Triana, Juha Salmi, Nicholas Mark Edward Alexander Hayward, Jari Saramäki, and Enrico Glerean.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/study-uncovers-narrowing-gender-divide-in-pornography-use-and-attitudes-among-teens/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Study uncovers narrowing gender divide in pornography use and attitudes among teens</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 9th 2024, 16:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>A new study published in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2024.2408269"><em>The Journal of Sex Research</em></a> indicates that Swedish adolescents are using pornography more frequently, with notable shifts in their attitudes. Between 2004 and 2020–21, both boys and girls have become more tolerant of pornography, yet increasingly skeptical of its supposed benefits. Interestingly, the once prominent gender gap in reactions to pornography has narrowed considerably, with boys and girls now reporting similar emotional and behavioral responses.</p>
<p>Past studies have shown that pornography can shape young people’s understanding of sex, relationships, and gender roles. However, these studies primarily focused on a time when pornography was less accessible, and societal views were different. This study aimed to explore how attitudes toward pornography have changed in light of its increased availability, especially among adolescents who have grown up with smartphones and easy access to free online content.</p>
<p>“Pornography has changed drastically in the past decades, and we knew little about how adolescent responses and attitudes toward pornography have shifted over time. Our data presented a unique opportunity to address this gap,” said study author Meghan Donevan, a PhD student in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Umeå University.</p>
<p>The researchers analyzed data from two nationally representative surveys of Swedish high school seniors in 2004 and 2020–21. Both surveys included identical questions about pornography use, attitudes, and responses, which allowed the researchers to directly compare data across these two time points. The 2004 survey included responses from 4,266 students, while the 2020–21 survey had responses from 3,256 students.</p>
<p>Both surveys gathered data on a wide range of variables, including gender, living situation, parents’ employment, and drug use, to ensure a comprehensive analysis of how various factors might influence adolescents’ attitudes toward pornography.</p>
<p>To assess pornography use, participants were first asked if they had ever used pornography. The surveys defined pornography broadly as “images or videos where one or more people engage in sexual acts, either alone or with others.” For those who reported using pornography, the frequency of their use over the last 12 months was categorized as: never, 1–2 times a year, some time each month, some time each week, and more or less daily.</p>
<p>In addition to tracking how often teenagers watched pornography, the researchers asked questions that delved into their emotional and cognitive reactions. These included whether students found pornography arousing, upsetting, or informative and whether it influenced their behaviors. The surveys also included questions about societal attitudes, such as whether pornography should be easily available or restricted, and whether it degrades women or men.</p>
<p>One of the most significant findings was the increase in the frequency of pornography use among both boys and girls, despite a slight decline in the overall percentage of adolescents who reported ever using pornography. While fewer students in 2020–21 reported ever using pornography compared to 2004, those who did use it were using it more frequently.</p>
<p>Among boys, the proportion of those using pornography weekly or daily rose sharply, from 40% in 2004 to 76% in 2020–21. Girls also showed a significant increase in frequent pornography use, with the percentage of weekly or daily users rising from just 2% in 2004 to 19% in 2020–21.</p>
<p>“The significant increase in girls’ frequency of pornography use is something we haven’t seen in previous studies in Sweden, suggesting that pornography’s ubiquity and changing social norms are influencing how both genders interact with it,” Donevan told PsyPost.</p>
<p>“In our discussion, we compare these findings to historical smoking trends, where smoking—initially a male-dominated behavior—became more common among women as norms shifted and it was marketed as a symbol of empowerment. Eventually, increased awareness of health risks led to declining rates in both genders. Similarly, as the health and societal impacts of pornography become more widely recognized, we may see parallel shifts in attitudes and behaviors.</p>
<p>Despite these increases in frequency of usage, the study found notable shifts in emotional and cognitive responses to pornography. Boys in the 2020–21 cohort were less likely to report feeling aroused or excited by pornography compared to boys in 2004 and fewer boys reported applying the behaviors they saw in pornography in their own sexual experiences.</p>
<p>“We were surprised that much of the convergence in responses and attitudes was due to boys becoming less excited and aroused by pornography and less inclined to imitate the behaviors they observe,” Donevan said. “This suggests a potential desensitization effect, where frequent exposure may lead to reduced arousal or interest.”</p>
<p>At the same time, girls reported fewer negative emotional reactions, such as feeling disgusted or upset, when using pornography in 2020–21 compared to 2004. This change in girls’ responses might be linked to increased pornography use and the reduction of stigma around female pornography consumption.</p>
<p>Another key finding was the narrowing of the gender gap in attitudes toward pornography. While boys continued to hold more permissive attitudes than girls, both genders showed increased tolerance for pornography’s availability by 2020–21. More boys and girls agreed that pornography should be easily accessible, and fewer supported legal restrictions on its availability.</p>
<p>However, despite this greater tolerance, both boys and girls became more critical of pornography’s purported benefits. By 2020–21, fewer adolescents believed that pornography was a good source of sexual information or that it had a positive impact on sexual relationships, indicating growing skepticism about its value.</p>
<p>Importantly, the study also highlighted persistent gender differences in how boys and girls perceive the content and societal impacts of pornography. Girls were significantly more likely than boys to view pornography as degrading to women and to believe that those involved in its production are exploited. While nearly half of the girls in the 2020–21 cohort agreed that pornography exploits its participants, only 20% of boys shared this view.</p>
<p>“Our study shows that both boys and girls are using pornography more frequently, and their attitudes toward it are becoming more tolerant,” Donevan told PsyPost. “This is concerning, given the strong association between frequent pornography use and adverse outcomes, including harmful gender stereotypes, risky sexual behaviors, and, among boys, a link to sexual violence perpetration. Thankfully, perhaps due to increased societal awareness, educational initiatives, or the felt impact of its personal effects, adolescents are becoming more critical of its perceived benefits.”</p>
<p>“Educational efforts remain essential to help young people critically engage with pornography and understand its potential impacts. Moreover, clinicians, educators, and parents should be aware of these trends to better support young people in navigating and critically assessing pornography’s influence on their development and well-being.”</p>
<p>One limitation of this study is that it uses a cross-sectional design, making it difficult to establish causal relationships. “We can’t determine the exact mechanisms behind the observed changes in attitudes and responses,” Donevan noted. Additionally, the study was conducted in Sweden, a country with a unique cultural and social context, particularly regarding attitudes toward sexuality and gender equality. As a result, the findings might not be fully generalizable to adolescents in other cultural settings, where norms, values, and access to pornography may differ significantly.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study offers important insights into evolving patterns of pornography use and sets the stage for future research.</p>
<p>“My colleagues and I aim to continue these representative studies to explore evolving trends and patterns,” Donevan said. “In our next manuscript, we aim to explore risk factors like age, gender, and mental health among adolescents who have sent nude images online, comparing those with low versus high trauma symptoms to identify predictors of psychological distress.”</p>
<p>“In addition to examining young people’s pornography use, my colleagues and I also focus on the impacts of pornography on those filmed for its production. This holistic perspective is key to truly understanding the broader societal implications of pornography. It is concerning that so few boys recognize the misogyny and exploitation within the pornography industry. We hope our research will contribute to public discussions and educational interventions that address pornography’s impact on users, those exploited in its production, and society at large.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2024.2408269">Closing the Gender Gap? A Cohort Comparison of Adolescent Responses to and Attitudes Toward Pornography, 2004 vs. 2021</a>,” was authored by M. Donevan, M. Bladh, Å. Landberg, L. S. Jonsson, G. Priebe, I. Dennhag, and C. G. Svedin.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/older-adults-prefer-deepening-knowledge-while-youth-explore-broadly/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Older adults prefer deepening knowledge while youth explore broadly</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 9th 2024, 14:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>Older adults tend to seek more specific information while younger adults prefer a diversive approach, according to new research in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000806"><em>Psychology & Aging</em></a>.</p>
<p>Noninstrumental information seeking, driven by curiosity, is common across various contexts in daily life. Prior studies suggest that aging may reduce overall information-seeking behavior and curiosity. However, few studies have examined whether the <em>type</em> of information sought changes with age. This is important because curiosity and knowledge acquisition are essential for adaptive aging. Greta M. Fastrich and colleagues investigated whether adults exhibit different information-seeking behaviors—specifically, diversive (exploring new topics) or specific (deepening knowledge on familiar topics)—as they age.</p>
<p>The study involved 498 participants aged 12 to 79 who were recruited from the London Science Museum. Participants selected one of five broad themes: mythical beasts, historical expeditions, prehistoric animals, lesser-known scientists, and lesser-known countries. Once they chose a theme, they rated their prior knowledge on a 7-point Likert scale and then selected a specific topic within that theme (e.g., “Glyptodon” for prehistoric animals).</p>
<p>After selecting a topic, participants were presented with short factual statements, followed by options to either learn more about the same topic (specific information seeking) or switch to a new topic (diversive information seeking). They could read up to 10 facts for each topic and up to 80 facts in total across multiple topics.</p>
<p>The facts were presented in a random order, and the participants could spend as much time as they wished reading each fact and making their choices. Data were collected on how many facts each participant read, whether they chose to continue reading within a topic or switch, and their self-reported curiosity and interest in the material.</p>
<p>The results revealed significant age-related differences in information-seeking strategies. As people aged, they increasingly favored specific information seeking, choosing to stay within a topic and explore more facts about it rather than switching to new topics. Older participants read more facts per topic, showing a clear preference for deepening their knowledge rather than broadening it. In contrast, younger participants exhibited more diversive information seeking, frequently switching between topics to explore a wider range of material. This age-related shift in behavior was subtle but consistent: for each additional year in age, participants were slightly more likely to stay within a topic and less likely to explore a new one.</p>
<p>Additionally, the researchers found that participants’ self-reported curiosity and interest were related to their information-seeking choices. Participants who rated themselves as more interested in a fact were more likely to continue within the same topic, although curiosity ratings before reading the facts were not as strongly linked to whether they would stay or switch.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the older participants also reported higher levels of interest in the topics they chose to explore in depth, suggesting that their choices may have been driven by both curiosity and a desire to build on existing knowledge.</p>
<p>These results suggest that information-seeking strategies evolve with age, with older adults showing a preference for specific information seeking, potentially due to their broader prior knowledge.</p>
<p>One limitation is the lack of representation of older adults in the sample, limiting the ability to capture potential qualitative differences in information-seeking behaviors among the oldest participants.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000806">Adult Age Differences in Noninstrumental Information-Seeking Strategies</a>”, was authored by Greta M. Fastrich, Lily FitzGibbon, Johnny K. Lau, Sumeyye Aslan, Michiko Sakaki, and Kou Murayama.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/natural-body-posture-correlates-with-dominance-and-antisocial-behavior-study-shows/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Natural body posture correlates with dominance and antisocial behavior, study shows</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 9th 2024, 12:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>A recent study published in the <em><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-28114-001?doi=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Personality and Social Psychology</a></em> found a connection between an individual’s natural body posture and their personality traits. Researchers discovered that how a person habitually stands—when not influenced by external factors—reflects their attitudes toward dominance, submission, and social hierarchy. Importantly, this relationship appears stable over time, suggesting that the way a person naturally stands might be a consistent reflection of their underlying personality.</p>
<p>For centuries, body posture has been viewed as an essential part of emotional and social communication. Charles Darwin, for instance, emphasized the role of body language in emotional expression. While many studies have looked at temporary body language—how someone stands or moves during a specific interaction—there has been less research on whether everyday, habitual body posture carries meaningful information about a person’s personality. The researchers aimed to answer this question by investigating whether natural posture correlates with stable personality traits.</p>
<p>“Many studies have previously investigated how adopting a specific posture (e.g., expansive vs. contractive in the ‘power posing’ paradigm) can change people’s social perceptions, interactions, and even their own mood and behavior,” said study authors Soren Wainio-Theberge and Jorge L. Armony of McGill University. “In psychology, we call this a ‘state’ variable—something that changes from moment to moment or day to day, like your mood. People also vary in terms of stable, ‘trait’ characteristics, such as personality. We were interested in assessing whether, in addition to its effects on state variables, natural body posture (i.e., posture when they’re not doing anything in particular) could also reflect a trait which would relate to specific personality characteristics.”</p>
<p>To examine whether natural body posture is a stable trait that reflects deeper personality characteristics, the researchers conducted a series of five studies.</p>
<p>In the first study, 421 participants were recruited, but after quality checks, data from 369 participants were analyzed. They were asked to take four photos of themselves in a natural standing position: from the front, back, left, and right. These photos were analyzed using a machine-learning tool called OpenPOSE, which detected key body points and calculated angles related to their posture, including angles of the neck, shoulders, spine, and hips.</p>
<p>Along with the posture assessment, participants completed a comprehensive set of personality questionnaires. These included scales measuring traits like social dominance orientation, psychopathy, empathy, anger control, and other relevant socio-affective dimensions.</p>
<p>The results revealed a significant relationship between an upright, erect posture and certain personality traits. Participants who naturally stood with a more upright posture, characterized by a straight neck and an open body stance, were more likely to exhibit personality traits associated with dominance, competitiveness, and antisocial tendencies. Specifically, these individuals scored higher on social dominance orientation and primary psychopathy, while scoring lower on empathy and anger control.</p>
<p>“We were surprised that antisocial traits were most consistently associated with posture, rather than depression and negative emotion,” Wainio-Theberge and Armony told PsyPost. “Previous studies in clinical depression have found more hunched postures in depressed patients, and while we saw some evidence for that in our data, antisocial traits were far more consistent.”</p>
<p>In the second study, the researchers aimed to test whether the posture-personality relationship observed in Study 1 reflected stable, trait-like behavior or if it varied over time. To do this, they conducted a follow-up study with a subset of 107 participants from the original sample. These participants repeated the posture assessment five weeks after the initial session.</p>
<p>The results showed that participants’ postures remained stable over the five-week interval. The angles of their neck, shoulders, and other key body points stayed consistent across both sessions, indicating that natural posture is not just a transient state but a stable individual trait. The posture-personality relationship observed in Study 1 was also replicated in this follow-up study.</p>
<p>The third study sought to directly test whether the natural upright postures observed in Study 1 could be interpreted as dominant postures. In this study, 104 participants were asked to adopt specific dominant and submissive poses. They were provided with no additional instructions besides being told to assume a “dominant” and a “submissive” pose, with the order counterbalanced across participants.</p>
<p>The researchers used logistic regression to develop a classifier that could distinguish between the dominant and submissive postures based on the postural angles measured in the photos. This classifier was then applied to the natural posture data from Study 1 to classify participants’ natural stances as either dominant or submissive.</p>
<p>The results confirmed that the upright, erect postures observed in Study 1 were indeed interpreted as dominant postures. Participants’ dominant poses were characterized by open, upright body positions, with a straight neck and forward-leaning hips, while submissive poses were more closed off, with slumped shoulders and a lowered head. The classifier was able to distinguish dominant from submissive poses with an average accuracy of approximately 75%, with 76.3% accuracy for dominant poses and 73.8% for submissive ones.</p>
<p>When applied to the natural postures from Study 1, the classifier confirmed that those classified as having dominant postures also scored higher on the antisocial personality traits identified in the first study. This finding reinforced the interpretation that habitual upright posture is associated with social dominance and hierarchy-related personality traits.</p>
<p>In the fourth study, the researchers aimed to explore the physiological underpinnings of the posture-personality relationship by measuring muscle activity in participants while assessing their natural posture. The study included 129 participants, and the researchers focused on two key neck muscles: the sternocleidomastoid (a muscle involved in head and neck movement) and the upper trapezius (which helps stabilize the shoulders and neck).</p>
<p>Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to record muscle activity while participants were seated and at rest. This data was then correlated with the posture components identified in Study 1. Additionally, participants completed the same personality questionnaires as before, and their natural postures were again assessed using the photogrammetric approach.</p>
<p>The physiological measurements revealed that individuals with more upright postures showed increased muscle activity in the sternocleidomastoid, the neck muscle responsible for keeping the head elevated. However, there was no significant correlation between posture and the upper trapezius muscle activity. This suggests that the upright posture associated with dominant personality traits may be actively maintained through specific muscle engagement, particularly in the neck.</p>
<p>Importantly, the researchers also replicated the posture-personality relationship observed in earlier studies, confirming that individuals with more upright postures continued to score higher on dominance-related personality traits, even in an in-person setting.</p>
<p>For their final study, the researchers aimed to further explore the relationship between natural posture and personality traits by expanding the range of personality measures used. They recruited 125 participants. Participants were asked to take photos of their natural standing posture, and these images were analyzed using the same photogrammetric techniques as in earlier studies. In addition to the personality scales used in previous studies, this study included measures of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and aggression to explore a wider array of antisocial traits.</p>
<p>The findings showed that individuals with more erect postures scored higher on traits such as Machiavellianism, primary psychopathy, and hubristic pride, all of which relate to a desire for power and the use of manipulative or aggressive strategies to achieve social dominance. The results of Study 5 reinforced the idea that natural body posture reflects stable personality characteristics, particularly those related to dominance and hierarchy.</p>
<p>However, the researchers noted that “it is important to emphasize that our study is observational; that is, we observed a correlation between body posture and personality and therefore cannot make inferences about causality. In other words, people should NOT take away that standing upright will change your personality (for better or for worse).”</p>
<p>“One take-home message from our study is that body posture is not only important for physical health, but it also reflects (as mentioned, whether it plays a causal role or not remains to be determined) relevant aspects of our personality, particularly those related to social interactions. Thus, together with findings from studies on the psychological effects of transient body poses, it highlights the importance, and benefits, of paying attention to our bodies in our daily life.”</p>
<p>But as with any study, there are some limitations. The sample was predominantly drawn from a university setting in Canada. It remains unclear whether the same patterns would hold in a more diverse population, particularly among older adults or those from different cultural backgrounds. Future research should aim to replicate these findings in more varied populations to ensure their generalizability.</p>
<p>“The usual caveat in this kind of research is the sample—we studied young adults, most of whom were university students and the vast majority of whom self-identified as women,” Wainio-Theberge and Armony told PsyPost. “While we recently extended this to a wider age range (up to 80 years old), there’s a lot of variability in the population at large that we’re not capturing in this study.”</p>
<p>Additionally, while the researchers found a connection between posture and personality, their measurements focused primarily on postures related to dominance and submission. Future studies could explore whether other postural characteristics, such as slouching or leaning, are associated with different personality traits, such as introversion or anxiety.</p>
<p>“The long-term goal would be to extend this research to other aspects of personality,” the researchers said. “Body language is multifaceted and conveys lots of signals besides dominance and submission, so there’s no reason to expect that posture-personality relationships should be limited to this dimension. With more advanced methods, which we are currently developing, we might be able to pick up on other posture-personality relationships.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000515" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Differences in natural standing posture are associated with antisocial and manipulative personality traits</a>,” was authored by Soren Wainio-Theberge and Jorge L Armony.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/inflammation-from-severe-covid-19-can-damage-brainstem-leading-to-prolonged-symptoms-new-research-suggests/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Inflammation from severe COVID-19 can damage brainstem, leading to prolonged symptoms, new research suggests</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 9th 2024, 11:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>A new study suggests that damage to the brainstem, the part of the brain that controls essential functions like breathing and heart rate, may be responsible for the long-lasting physical and mental health issues seen in patients who experienced severe COVID-19. Using powerful, ultra-high-resolution MRI scanners, researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford observed abnormalities in the brainstems of individuals who had been hospitalized with severe COVID-19 early in the pandemic. </p>
<p>These abnormalities are believed to result from inflammation, and they appear to correlate with symptoms such as breathlessness, fatigue, and anxiety. The findings, published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae215" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Brain</a></em>, could help explain why some people experience prolonged symptoms after recovering from COVID-19.</p>
<p>The researchers conducted this study to better understand the long-term effects of severe COVID-19 on the brain. When the pandemic first began, many patients reported lingering symptoms long after they had recovered from the initial infection, a phenomenon that has come to be known as long COVID. These symptoms often include fatigue, breathlessness, and anxiety, but the underlying cause of these issues remained unclear. Early post-mortem studies showed evidence of inflammation in the brainstems of patients who had died from COVID-19, leading scientists to suspect that the brainstem might play a role in long COVID. </p>
<p>However, it had previously been impossible to study this inflammation in living people, because of the brainstem’s small size and location deep within the brain. With the advent of 7-Tesla (7T) MRI scanners, which can image the brain in much finer detail than conventional scanners, the researchers hoped to identify any lasting damage to the brainstem in survivors of severe COVID-19.</p>
<p>“Things happening in and around the brainstem are vital for quality of life, but it had been impossible to scan the inflammation of the brainstem nuclei in living people, because of their tiny size and difficult position,” said first author Catarina Rua, from Cambridge’s Department of Clinical Neurosciences. “Usually, scientists only get a good look at the brainstem during post-mortem examinations. But with 7T scanners, we can now measure these details. The active immune cells interfere with the ultra-high magnetic field, so that we’re able to detect how they are behaving. Cambridge was special because we were able to scan even the sickest and infectious patients, early in the pandemic.”</p>
<p>“The brainstem is the critical junction box between our conscious selves and what is happening in our bodies,” said Professor James Rowe, also from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, who co-led the research. “The ability to see and understand how the brainstem changes in response to COVID-19 will help explain and treat the long-term effects more effectively.”</p>
<p>The study involved 30 participants who had been hospitalized with severe COVID-19 during the early stages of the pandemic, before vaccines were available. These participants were scanned using powerful 7-Tesla MRI scanners several months after they had recovered and been discharged from the hospital. For comparison, the researchers also scanned a group of 51 healthy individuals who had no history of COVID-19 infection. The participants were recruited from two sites: the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre at Cambridge and the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging at Oxford.</p>
<p>The researchers used a specific type of MRI technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), which can measure tiny changes in brain tissue by detecting the magnetic properties of certain materials like iron. QSM is particularly useful for detecting inflammation and other changes in brain structure. In this study, the researchers focused on four key regions of the brainstem: the midbrain, pons, medulla, and superior cerebellar peduncle. They were particularly interested in finding out whether these regions showed any abnormalities in the COVID-19 patients, as these areas are involved in functions like breathing and anxiety regulation.</p>
<p>The research team also collected clinical data from the COVID-19 patients, including measures of disease severity during their hospital stay, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (a marker of inflammation) and the duration of their hospital admission. They also assessed the patients’ mental health and physical recovery using questionnaires that measured symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as overall functional ability.</p>
<p>The MRI scans revealed that the COVID-19 survivors had significant abnormalities in their brainstems, particularly in the medulla oblongata and the pons, which are critical regions for regulating breathing, heart rate, and other basic bodily functions. The researchers found that these abnormalities were consistent with a neuroinflammatory response, suggesting that the patients’ immune systems had overreacted to the virus and caused damage to the brainstem. Importantly, these changes were still present several months after the patients had recovered from the acute phase of the infection.</p>
<p>One of the most striking findings was that the level of inflammation in the brainstem was correlated with the severity of the patients’ COVID-19 infection and their recovery outcomes. Patients who had experienced more severe cases of COVID-19, as measured by longer hospital stays and higher levels of CRP, showed greater brainstem abnormalities. Moreover, the brainstem regions that were most affected are known to be involved in regulating the sensation of breathlessness, which could explain why many of the patients continued to feel short of breath long after their infection had cleared.</p>
<p>“The fact that we see abnormalities in the parts of the brain associated with breathing strongly suggests that long-lasting symptoms are an effect of inflammation in the brainstem following COVID-19 infection,” said Rua. “These effects are over and above the effects of age and gender, and are more pronounced in those who had had severe COVID-19.”</p>
<p>The study also found that the abnormalities in the brainstem were linked to mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. This is significant because the brainstem is responsible for monitoring breathlessness and fatigue, sensations that are closely linked to anxiety. The researchers suggested that the damage to the brainstem could explain why some COVID-19 survivors experience ongoing mental health issues, even after the physical symptoms of the infection have subsided.</p>
<p>“Mental health is intimately connected to brain health, and patients with the most marked immune response also showed higher levels of depression and anxiety,” said Rowe. “Changes in the brainstem caused by COVID-19 infection could also lead to poor mental health outcomes, because of the tight connection between physical and mental health.”</p>
<p>While this study offers valuable insights into the potential brain-based mechanisms of long COVID symptoms, it has some limitations. First, the sample size was relatively small, with only 30 COVID-19 patients included in the study. This limits the ability to generalize the findings to all COVID-19 survivors, especially those who had less severe infections or were asymptomatic. The patients included in the study were also all hospitalized during the early stages of the pandemic, before vaccines were available, so it is unclear whether the findings would apply to people who contracted COVID-19 later or who had milder cases.</p>
<p>Another limitation is that the study only captured a single point in time—several months after the patients had recovered. Future research should track COVID-19 survivors over longer periods to see whether the brainstem abnormalities improve, worsen, or remain stable over time. Additionally, while the study focused on the brainstem, other parts of the brain may also play a role in the long-term effects of COVID-19, and these areas should be explored in future studies.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, the researchers hope that their findings will pave the way for further investigations into the neurological effects of COVID-19 and other viral infections. By better understanding how inflammation in the brain affects physical and mental health, scientists may be able to develop more targeted treatments for long COVID and related conditions. The use of advanced MRI techniques like 7-Tesla scanners could also help monitor the effectiveness of treatments for other brain disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and dementia, where inflammation plays a key role.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awae215/7811070" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Quantitative susceptibility mapping at 7 T in COVID-19: brainstem effects and outcome associations</a>,” was authored by Catarina Rua, Betty Raman, Christopher T. Rodgers, Virginia F. J. Newcombe, Anne Manktelow, Doris A. Chatfield, Stephen J. Sawcer, Joanne G. Outtrim, Victoria C. Lupson, Emmanuel A. Stamatakis, Guy B. Williams, William T. Clarke, Lin Qiu, Martyn Ezra, Rory McDonald, Stuart Clare, Mark Cassar, Stefan Neubauer, Karen D. Ersche, Edward T. Bullmore, David K. Menon, Kyle Pattinson, and James B. Rowe on behalf of the Cambridge NeuroCOVID group, the CITIID-NIHR COVID-19 BioResource Collaboration and the Oxford CMORE-NEURO group.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
<p><strong>This information is taken from free public RSS feeds published by each organization for the purpose of public distribution. Readers are linked back to the article content on each organization's website. This email is an unaffiliated unofficial redistribution of this freely provided content from the publishers. </strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><s><small><a href="#" style="color:#ffffff;"><a href="https://blogtrottr.com/unsubscribe/565/DY9DKf">unsubscribe from this feed</a></a></small></s></p>