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<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News Daily Digest (Unofficial)</span></td>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-neuroscience-research-shows-covid-19-leaves-mark-on-young-adult-brains/" 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;">New neuroscience research shows COVID-19 leaves mark on young adult brains</a>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2024.12.002" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brain, Behavior, and Immunity</a></em> has found that young adults who have recovered from COVID-19 show distinct patterns of brain activity during cognitive tasks, even if they perform normally on those tasks. These brain activity changes are similar to those seen in much older adults and are particularly pronounced in individuals reporting “brain fog.” The research suggests that COVID-19 may have subtle, yet significant, effects on brain function that are not always captured by standard cognitive tests.</p>
<p>Scientists have been increasingly concerned about the long-term effects of COVID-19, especially on cognitive function. Since the emergence of the virus in late 2019, it has spread globally, infecting hundreds of millions of people. While older adults and individuals with pre-existing conditions are known to be more vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19, young adults have been disproportionately affected by infection rates, partly due to the role of university campuses as potential hubs for virus transmission.</p>
<p>Adding to these concerns, a significant number of individuals who recover from COVID-19 report experiencing ongoing cognitive problems, including difficulty concentrating, memory issues, and mental fatigue—symptoms collectively known as “brain fog.” This is particularly worrisome for young adults, whose brains are still developing and who are at a critical stage in their education and career development.</p>
<p>Previous research has shown that other respiratory infections, like influenza and even the common cold, can temporarily impact cognitive function. Building on this knowledge, scientists began to investigate whether COVID-19 could also lead to lasting cognitive impairments. Initial studies focusing on individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 found evidence of problems with attention, memory, and executive functions, which are higher-level cognitive skills that include planning and decision-making.</p>
<p>Intriguingly, some research suggested that cognitive impairment after COVID-19 might be more prevalent or pronounced in younger, non-hospitalized individuals compared to older adults. This prompted scientists at the University of Otago in New Zealand to specifically investigate the cognitive effects of COVID-19 in a population highly representative of young adults: undergraduate university students.</p>
<p>“With so many people reporting ongoing issues related to COVID-19, we were keen to see if university students might show evidence of ongoing effects that they might not be aware of. Particularly as more and more of the population became infected, it seemed important to determine whether people show long-term effects,” said study author <a href="https://www.otago.ac.nz/psychology/staff/lianamachado" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liana Machado</a>, a professor of psychology and neuroscience.</p>
<p>To conduct their study, the researchers recruited 94 undergraduate students from the University of Otago. The average age of the participants was approximately 20 years old, with the age range spanning from 18 to 46 years. The majority of participants were female (89%). The researchers first gathered information about the students’ history of COVID-19 infection. They asked participants whether they had ever been infected with COVID-19, and if so, whether they had received a positive test result from a rapid antigen test or a polymerase chain reaction test, both used to confirm COVID-19 infection.</p>
<p>Based on their self-reports, the students were divided into two groups: those who had a confirmed past COVID-19 infection and those who did not. Among those with prior infection, the researchers also asked about the number of infections, the time since their last infection, any complications they experienced, and whether they had experienced brain fog as a result of COVID-19.</p>
<p>All participants then underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. This involved completing a series of computerized cognitive tests designed to measure various aspects of cognitive function, including basic reaction speed, attention, the ability to control impulses, the ability to switch between tasks, working memory (the ability to hold information in mind and manipulate it), and spatial memory. In addition to the cognitive tests, the students also completed mood questionnaires to assess their current emotional state, rating themselves on scales for feelings such as sadness, energy, tension, happiness, tiredness, and calmness.</p>
<p>During the cognitive testing, the researchers used a technique called near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to monitor brain activity. NIRS is a non-invasive brain imaging method that uses infrared light to measure changes in blood flow in the brain. It works by placing sensors on the scalp that emit and detect near-infrared light, which can penetrate the skull and measure the levels of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in the brain tissue beneath. Changes in hemoglobin levels reflect changes in brain activity, as active brain regions require more oxygen.</p>
<p>In this study, the NIRS device was positioned on the students’ foreheads to measure activity in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region at the front of the head that is heavily involved in higher-level cognitive functions. The researchers recorded brain activity both during rest periods before and after the cognitive tests and continuously throughout the cognitive tasks themselves. This allowed them to compare brain activity during cognitive engagement between students with and without a history of COVID-19.</p>
<p>The researchers found that while, on average, students with a history of COVID-19 performed similarly to uninfected students on the cognitive tests, a significant proportion of the COVID-19 group—37%—showed objective evidence of cognitive impairment. This was defined as scoring significantly below the average performance of the uninfected group on at least one cognitive test. However, Machado told PsyPost that a “more thorough analysis would be needed to clarify the significance of this.”</p>
<p>The most striking finding emerged from the brain activity data. The NIRS measurements revealed that students with a history of COVID-19 displayed distinct patterns of brain activity in the prefrontal cortex during the cognitive tasks. Specifically, they showed less of a decrease in oxygenated hemoglobin levels compared to the uninfected group.</p>
<p>In simpler terms, during cognitive tasks, brain activity typically leads to changes in blood flow and oxygen levels. In healthy young adults, this often appears as a decrease in oxygenated hemoglobin in the prefrontal cortex during these tasks—a pattern observed in the uninfected students in this study. However, students with prior COVID-19 infection showed less of this typical decrease, suggesting a different pattern of brain activation.</p>
<p>“I was quite surprised to find such strong hemodynamic effects, particularly in the context of the generally healthy young adult population,” Machado said. “Given that young adults are in their prime in terms of brain development, and thus tend to be fairly resilient, I was not necessarily expecting to see any significant long-term effects on the brain.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, this altered pattern of brain activity in the COVID-19 group was reminiscent of patterns previously observed in older adults, who often show increased or different brain activity during cognitive tasks compared to younger adults, possibly reflecting compensatory mechanisms or age-related changes in brain function. This altered brain activity pattern was particularly evident in the right side of the prefrontal cortex and was even more pronounced in students who reported experiencing brain fog following COVID-19.</p>
<p>“At this stage, the implications of the hemodynamic effects are unclear and I don’t have any reason to think that people should feel alarmed by them,” Machado clarified. “Nevertheless, the findings indicate that people may be experiencing some ongoing effects that we hope to get further insight about soon.”</p>
<p>The researchers acknowledge several limitations to their study. The sample was primarily composed of female psychology students from a single university, which might limit how broadly the findings can be applied to other populations. The control group of uninfected students was relatively small. It is also possible that some individuals in the control group might have had asymptomatic COVID-19 infections that were not detected.</p>
<p>For future research, the scientists suggest studying more diverse groups of people to see if these findings hold true in different populations. They also plan to investigate factors that might make some individuals more susceptible to cognitive changes after COVID-19 than others.</p>
<p>“This year we plan to run a study to determine whether the pattern of results replicates in another sample of university students, and hopefully gain more insight about factors that might be important in determining the extent to which people are affected,” Machado said. “In the future, I would like to run a similar study in older adults, who I anticipate will show stronger evidence of ongoing issues due to greater vulnerabilities, although we would first need to secure funding.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2024.12.002" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID-19 may Enduringly Impact Cognitive Performance and Brain Haemodynamics in Undergraduate Students</a>,” was authored by Ronan McNeill, Rebekah Marshall, Shenelle Anne Fernando, Olivia Harrison, and Liana Machado.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/scientists-find-brains-social-network-taps-into-ancient-emotional-core/" 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;">Scientists find brain’s social network taps into ancient emotional core</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 7th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>In a new study published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adp0453"><em>Science Advances</em></a>, researchers at Northwestern Medicine discovered that the brain regions used for thinking about other people’s thoughts are linked with ancient, emotion-related structures deep within the brain—specifically, the amygdala. Their work shows that a network involved in social understanding is directly connected to parts of the brain that guide emotional learning and social behavior—a finding that may one day lead to improved treatments for conditions such as anxiety and depression.</p>
<p>The researchers were motivated by a desire to understand the neural basis of social cognition, which is a fundamental aspect of human intelligence and is impaired in several psychiatric disorders. Prior research had established that a network of brain regions, often referred to as the “social cognition network,” becomes active when people engage in tasks that require thinking about others’ mental states.</p>
<p>Earlier work by these researchers had demonstrated this network to be separate from a similar, adjacent brain network that is instead recruited during episodic projection and scene construction, i.e., thinking about the past or future. Separately, extensive animal research had identified the amygdala, particularly its medial nucleus, as a core structure responsible for controlling behaviors such as aggression, parenting, and mating.</p>
<p>The current study aimed to bridge these two lines of research, asking how, or if, the social cognitive network that enables humans to so expertly navigate social interactions connects to this evolutionarily older area in the amygdala that has been shown to be crucial for social behaviors.</p>
<p>“A major part of our mental lives is taken up thinking about other people: what is she thinking? How are they feeling? What did he mean? How is she going to react? and so on,” said study authors <a href="http://www.bragalab.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rodrigo Braga</a>, (an assistant professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine) and <a href="https://donnisaedmonds.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donnisa Edmonds</a> (a PhD candidate at the Northwestern Interdepartmental Neuroscience program).</p>
<p>“There is a large-scale network called the social cognition network that becomes active when we engage in this kind of thinking. On the other hand, the amygdala is a brain structure that is implicated in many different psychiatric conditions. Multiple studies have linked the amygdala, particularly a small part called the medial nucleus, to the control of social behaviors including parenting, aggression, mating, etc.”</p>
<p>“So, we were interested in understanding the link between these two, specifically which parts of the amygdala were connected to the social cognitive network and how specific these connections were,” the researchers explained. “Since the amygdala is a part of the brain that is typically difficult to study with fMRI, because of its small size and because of where it is positioned deep inside the brain, we reasoned that having high-resolution fMRI data might allow us to see connections between the amygdala and social cognitive network with greater specificity.”</p>
<p>Specifically, the researchers employed a high-powered brain imaging technique called 7 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging. This technology allowed them to acquire images with an exceptionally high resolution, enabling them to visualize brain activity in much finer detail than traditional fMRI. They used this technique to analyze brain activity in a small group of six participants. These participants had been extensively scanned as part of a larger project called the Natural Scenes Dataset. Each person underwent multiple scanning sessions, providing a large amount of data for each individual.</p>
<p>The researchers also used a second, independent sample of eight individuals, who were scanned using a more conventional 3 Tesla fMRI. The researchers focused primarily on “resting-state” brain activity, meaning the participants were not engaged in any specific task but were simply lying still in the scanner. This allowed the researchers to examine the intrinsic connections between brain regions, independent of any particular task demands.</p>
<p>In addition to the resting-state data, the second dataset of eight participants also included brain activity data recorded while they performed specific tasks designed to tap into social cognition. These tasks involved thinking about another person’s false belief (e.g., understanding that someone might believe something that isn’t true) or rating the emotional pain someone might experience in a given situation (e.g., after losing a pet).</p>
<p>These tasks allowed the researchers to compare the brain activity patterns observed during social cognition with the resting-state network connections. The participants in this second dataset also performed a task targeting episodic projection, which involved imagining and constructing scenes in their minds.</p>
<p>The fMRI data was analyzed using a technique called functional connectivity analysis. This method measures the degree to which the activity of different brain regions fluctuates together over time. Brain regions that show highly synchronized activity are considered to be functionally connected, suggesting that they work together as a network.</p>
<p>To identify brain networks, the researchers used a two-pronged approach: a “seed-based” method, where they started with a known brain region and mapped its connections, and a data-driven clustering method, which groups brain regions based on similar activity patterns. This dual approach, replicating previous findings, allowed them to reliably distinguish two distinct but closely intertwined brain networks: the social cognitive network and the episodic network, which supports processes such as recalling past events and mentally constructing scenes.</p>
<p>The researchers found that the social cognitive network is selectively connected to anterior portions of the medial temporal lobe, including regions within the amygdala. “There’s a group of brain regions, known as the social cognitive network, that work together when someone is thinking about other people’s thoughts and feelings,” Braga and Edmonds told PsyPost. “Our study shows that this network is connected to a number of structures within the amygdala, but in particular to the medial nucleus, which is a key structure that controls many social behaviors.”</p>
<p>In contrast, the network related to episodic memory was connected to more posterior portions of the medial temporal lobe. This separation suggests that even though the brain areas responsible for remembering past experiences and imagining future ones are adjacent to those involved in social thinking, they may serve different functions by linking with distinct deeper brain regions.</p>
<p>An especially interesting observation was that when the researchers placed seeds specifically in the amygdala regions identified as part of the social cognitive network, they reproduced the full distributed pattern of the network. In several cases, regions in the amygdala that were connected with the social network were bilateral. These areas appeared to be concentrated in parts of the amygdala known from studies in animals to be important for processing social signals.</p>
<p>“One surprising aspect was that the social cognitive network included multiple regions within the amygdala,” Braga and Edmonds said. “This is interesting because the amygdala comprises multiple nuclei with well-studied functions: some are input structures that take in information from many different brain regions, some are intermediate structures that help interpret this incoming information according to pre-learned behavioral relevance (e.g., linking a specific place to a negative past experience), and finally, there are output structures that control our physiological responses to that input information via the hypothalamus.”</p>
<p>“We saw that the social cognitive network potentially includes regions in each of these three levels: input, intermediate, and output. The output structure was really interesting because the main output nucleus of the amygdala is the central nucleus, however, we saw a connection between the social cognitive network and the other, less studied, output structure: the medial nucleus. This was surprising, and as we dove into the literature, we realized that there is a lot of past work linking the medial nucleus to the control of social behaviors. That really helped us make sense of the connections we were seeing: it makes a lot of sense that the regions we use to think about other people have this specific link to the medial nucleus that helps us navigate social interactions!”</p>
<p>To build further confidence in their results, the team compared findings across the two datasets—the one with many sessions per person and the other with several scanning sessions—and even looked at data from more than 4,000 participants in a separate large-scale study. In every case, the same pattern emerged: the brain network that helps us understand others is connected with deep, evolutionarily older regions of the brain, including parts of the amygdala and nearby areas that process emotions.</p>
<p>“The connection between the amygdala and the rest of the social cognitive network is important in the context of treatments for psychiatric conditions, as abnormal amygdala function is thought to underlie anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders,” the researchers told PsyPost. “Knowledge of this amygdala connection suggests that administering stimulation to the regions of the social cognitive network could indirectly modulate activity in the amygdala. This is worth investigating, especially as it is easier to target stimulation to the larger, social cognitive network than the amygdala which is small and deep within the brain.”</p>
<p>The study provides robust evidence for a link between the social cognition network and the amygdala, but there are some limitations to consider. The primary dataset used in the study, while providing high-quality, high-resolution data, included a relatively small number of participants (six). This is a common constraint in studies that require extensive scanning of each individual. The study was strengthened by the inclusion of a second dataset with eight participants, and further validated with an extremely large sample of thousands of participants.</p>
<p>Future research could explore the dynamics of this amygdala-network connection during different types of social tasks. It would also be valuable to investigate how this connection develops over time and how it might be altered in individuals with social cognitive impairments, such as those with autism or schizophrenia. Understanding these connections in greater detail could ultimately lead to new interventions and treatments for conditions that affect social functioning.</p>
<p>“One of our long-term goals is to look for connections between the amygdala and other brain networks outside of the social cognitive network,” Braga and Edmonds said. “In this paper, we report a connection between the social cognitive network and specific portions of the amygdala, but an open question is what other networks are connected to the amygdala, and what do the details of these connections tell us about the function of each network?”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp0453" target="_blank">The human social cognitive network contains multiple regions within the amygdala</a>,” was authored by Donnisa Edmonds, Joseph J. Salvo, Nathan Anderson, Maya Lakshman, Qiaohan Yang, Kendrick Kay, Christina Zelano, and Rodrigo M. Braga.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/how-psychologists-kick-started-ai-by-studying-the-human-mind/" 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;">How psychologists kick-started AI by studying the human mind</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 6th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>Many people think of psychology as being primarily about mental health, but its story goes far beyond that.</p>
<p>As the science of the mind, psychology has played a pivotal role in shaping artificial intelligence, offering insights into human cognition, learning and behaviour that have profoundly influenced AI’s development.</p>
<p>These contributions not only laid the foundations for AI but also continue to guide its future development. The study of psychology has shaped our understanding of what constitutes intelligence in machines, and how we can address the complex challenges and benefits associated with this technology.</p>
<h2>Machines mimicking nature</h2>
<p>The origins of modern AI can be traced back to psychology in the mid-20th century. In 1949, psychologist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_O._Hebb">Donald Hebb</a> proposed a model for how the brain learns: connections between brain cells grow stronger when they are active at the same time.</p>
<p>This idea gave a hint of how machines might learn by mimicking nature’s approach.</p>
<p>In the 1950s, psychologist Frank Rosenblatt <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/h0042519">built on Hebb’s theory</a> to develop a system called the <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2019/09/professors-perceptron-paved-way-ai-60-years-too-soon">perceptron</a>.</p>
<p>The perceptron was the <a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_334414">first artificial neural network</a> ever made. It ran on the same principle as modern AI systems, in which computers learn by adjusting connections within a network based on data rather than relying on programmed instructions.</p>
<h2>A scientific understanding of intelligence</h2>
<p>In the 1980s, psychologist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Rumelhart">David Rumelhart</a> improved on Rosenblatt’s perceptron. He applied a method called <a href="https://wiki.pathmind.com/backpropagation">backpropagation</a>, which uses principles of calculus to help neural networks improve through feedback.</p>
<p>Backpropagation was originally developed by Paul Werbos, who <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Roots_of_Backpropagation/WdR3OOM2gBwC?hl=en&gbpv=0">said</a> the technique “opens up the possibility of a scientific understanding of intelligence, as important to psychology and neurophysiology as Newton’s concepts were to physics”.</p>
<p>Rumelhart’s 1986 <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/323533a0">paper</a>, coauthored with Ronald Williams and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Hinton">Geoffrey Hinton</a>, is often credited with sparking the modern era of artificial neural networks. This work laid the foundation for deep learning innovations such as large language models.</p>
<p>In 2024, the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Hinton and John Hopfield for work on artificial neural networks. Notably, the Nobel committee, in its <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2024/11/advanced-physicsprize2024-3.pdf">scientific report</a>, highlighted the crucial role psychologists played in the development of artificial neural networks.</p>
<p>Hinton, who holds a degree in psychology, <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/news/his-words-geoffrey-hinton-reflects-his-nobel-prize-win">acknowledged</a> standing on the shoulders of giants such as Rumelhart when receiving his prize.</p>
<h2>Self-reflection and understanding</h2>
<p>Psychology continues to play an important role in shaping the future of AI. It offers theoretical insights to address some of the field’s biggest challenges, including reflective reasoning, intelligence and decision-making.</p>
<p>Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91150606/bill-gates-ai-superintelligence">pointed out</a> a key limitation of today’s AI systems. They can’t engage in reflective reasoning, or what psychologists call metacognition.</p>
<p>In the 1970s, developmental psychologist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.906">John Flavell</a> introduced the idea of metacognition. He used it to explain how children master complex skills by reflecting on and understanding their own thinking.</p>
<p>Decades later, this psychological framework is <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.02478">gaining attention</a> as a potential pathway to advancing AI.</p>
<h2>Fluid intelligence</h2>
<p>Psychological theory is increasingly being applied to improve AI systems, particularly by enhancing their capacity for solving novel problems.</p>
<p>For instance, computer scientist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Chollet">François Chollet</a> highlights the importance of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence">fluid intelligence</a>, which psychologists define as the ability to solve new problems without prior experience or training.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.01547">2019 paper</a>, Chollet introduced a test inspired by principles from cognitive psychology to measure how well AI systems can handle new problems. The test – known as the <a href="https://arcprize.org/arc">Abstract and Reasoning Corpus for Artificial General Intelligence (ARC-AGI)</a> – provided a kind of guide for making AI systems think and reason in more human-like ways.</p>
<p>In late 2024, OpenAI’s o3 model demonstrated <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-sam-altman-interview/">notable success</a> on Chollet’s test, showing progress in creating AI systems that can adapt and solve a wider range of problems.</p>
<h2>The risk of explanations</h2>
<p>Another goal of current research is to make AI systems more able to explain their output. Here, too, psychology offers valuable insights.</p>
<p>Computer scientist <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376515428_Deep_Neural_Networks_Explanations_and_Rationality">Edward Lee</a> has drawn on the work of psychologist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Kahneman">Daniel Kahneman</a> to highlight why requiring AI systems to explain themselves might be risky.</p>
<p>Kahneman showed how humans often justify their decisions with explanations created after the fact, which don’t reflect their true reasoning. For example, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21482790/">studies</a> have found that judges’ rulings fluctuate depending on when they last ate — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12424">despite their firm belief in their own impartiality</a>.</p>
<p>Lee cautions that AI systems could produce similarly misleading explanations. Because rationalisations can be deceptive, Lee argues AI research should focus on reliable outcomes instead.</p>
<h2>Technology shaping our minds</h2>
<p>The science of psychology remains widely misunderstood. In 2020, for example, the Australian government proposed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/26/university-fee-rises-nationals-deal-psychology-social-work">reclassifying it as part of the humanities</a> in universities.</p>
<p>As people increasingly interact with machines, AI, psychology and neuroscience may hold key insights into our future.</p>
<p>Our brains are extremely adaptable, and technology shapes how we think and learn. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC18253/">Research</a> by <a href="https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/royal-society-fellowship">psychologist</a> and neuroscientist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Maguire">Eleanor Maguire</a>, for example, revealed that the brains of London taxi drivers are physically altered by using a car to navigate a complex city.</p>
<p>As AI advances, future psychological research may reveal how AI systems enhance our abilities and unlock new ways of thinking.</p>
<p>By recognising psychology’s role in AI, we can foster a future in which people and technology work together for a better world.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/248542/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
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<p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-psychologists-kick-started-ai-by-studying-the-human-mind-248542">original article</a>.</em></p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/masculine-lesbians-tend-to-have-higher-testosterone-levels-study-finds/" 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;">Masculine lesbians tend to have higher testosterone levels, study finds</a>
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<p><p>A new study from Brazil has uncovered differences in adult hormone levels between subgroups of lesbian women and heterosexual women. The research, published in <em><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-024-00248-z" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology</a></em>, found that lesbian women who described themselves as having a more masculine style had higher levels of free testosterone in their saliva compared to both feminine lesbian women and heterosexual women. At the same time, the study did not find differences in the ratio of the lengths of the index finger to the ring finger—a measurement thought to reflect early hormone exposure—across these groups.</p>
<p>Previous studies have suggested that the amount of certain hormones, such as testosterone, during early development may help shape the brain in ways that could influence sexual attraction later in life. Other work has noted that testosterone in adulthood can vary among women and might be associated with differences in behavior or self-expression.</p>
<p>However, earlier research has often treated lesbian women as a single, undifferentiated group, even though some identify with a more masculine style while others lean toward a feminine presentation. The new study was designed to explore whether there are biological differences in adult hormone levels and in a marker that is believed to indicate exposure to hormones before birth between these groups.</p>
<p>To investigate these questions, the research team conducted their study in the metropolitan area of Belém, the capital of the state of Pará in Brazil, between 2013 and 2015. The participants were women between 18 and 39 years old who were in their reproductive years. The study carefully selected women who either identified as exclusively heterosexual or predominantly or exclusively homosexual.</p>
<p>The researchers also asked the participants to rate their own level of masculinity or femininity based on how they saw their behavior, style, and self-expression. Women who rated themselves on the lower end of a nine-point scale were categorized as having a more feminine style, while those who rated themselves on the higher end were considered to have a more masculine style. This approach allowed the study to compare not only heterosexual women with lesbian women in general but also to compare lesbian women who describe themselves as more masculine with those who describe themselves as more feminine.</p>
<p>To assess prenatal testosterone exposure, the researchers used the well-established method of measuring the 2D:4D finger length ratio. This involved using a caliper to precisely measure the length of the index finger (2nd digit) and the ring finger (4th digit) on both hands. The ratio was then calculated by dividing the index finger length by the ring finger length. Lower ratios are generally associated with higher prenatal testosterone exposure.</p>
<p>To measure current testosterone levels, saliva samples were collected from a subset of the participants. The researchers took care to control for potential fluctuations in testosterone levels due to the menstrual cycle by collecting samples only during a specific window of time (days 23-27). They also provided participants with instructions to avoid factors that could influence testosterone levels, such as alcohol consumption and strenuous activity, in the 24 hours prior to sample collection.</p>
<p>The findings of the study were clear in some respects and less so in others. When the researchers looked at the finger ratio, they did not find significant differences between heterosexual women, feminine lesbian women, and masculine lesbian women. This result suggests that the marker thought to reflect hormone exposure during fetal development did not vary in the way that some theories had predicted.</p>
<p>On the other hand, when the team examined free testosterone levels in saliva, they observed that lesbian women who identified as more masculine had higher testosterone levels than both their feminine lesbian counterparts and heterosexual women. In contrast, the testosterone levels in feminine lesbian women and heterosexual women did not differ significantly from one another. In addition, the researchers did not find a link between the finger ratio and the testosterone levels in saliva, meaning that these two measures did not seem to be related in the sample examined.</p>
<p>The results support the idea that adult hormone levels may be linked to the behavioral and self-presentation differences observed within the lesbian community. Although testosterone levels in adulthood are not thought to cause sexual orientation, the differences in hormone levels may help explain why some lesbian women have a more masculine or butch style while others have a more feminine or femme style. This finding adds to previous research that has hinted at a biological underpinning for the differences seen among lesbian women.</p>
<p>But the study has some limitations that need to be considered. First, the sample size, especially for the masculine lesbian group, was relatively small. This could have limited the study’s ability to detect subtle differences in the 2D:4D ratio. A larger sample size might reveal different results. The research team also noted that using a convenience sample might not fully represent the broader population of women. There were challenges in recruiting participants, and some potential participants dropped out at various stages of the study, partly because of discomfort with aspects of the data collection process.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, the researchers suggest that further studies should include a larger number of participants to improve the ability to detect smaller differences, particularly in measures that might indicate early hormone exposure. Future work might also benefit from using additional or alternative methods to measure hormones in the body, and from screening participants for other health conditions that could affect hormone levels.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the current study suggests that there are measurable biological differences between subgroups of lesbian women, specifically in terms of adult testosterone levels. This highlights the importance of recognizing the diversity within the lesbian community and not treating it as a single, homogenous group.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-024-00248-z" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Testosterone Concentrations and 2D:4D Digit Ratio in Heterosexual and Masculine and Feminine Lesbian Women</a>,” was authored by Vivianni Veloso, Ana Catarina Miranda, Cibele Nazaré Câmara Rodrigues, Nelson Corrêa Medrado, Maria Cecília Silva Nunes, Mauro Dias Silva Júnior, and Marie Odile Monier Chelini.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/the-power-of-the-point-the-science-of-donald-trumps-gestures/" 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;">The power of the point: The science of Donald Trump’s gestures</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 6th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2024.2442992" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social Semiotics</a></em> sheds light on how President Donald Trump uses pointing gestures to connect with his audience, emphasize his message, and reinforce his populist identity. The research shows that different types of pointing gestures are associated with specific words and phrases, creating a distinct communication style. This approach allows Trump to appear relatable, engaging, and authoritative all at once.</p>
<p><a href="https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/christopherhart/">Christopher Hart</a>, a professor of linguistics at Lancaster University, conducted the study to better understand the role of body language, specifically hand gestures, in political communication. While much research has focused on the words politicians use, less attention has been paid to the nonverbal aspects of their speeches and public appearances.</p>
<p>“I am interested in what defines the communicative style of right-wing populism more generally. While much has been written about the language of right-wing populism, much less has been written about the non-verbal ways that right-wing populists communicate,” explained Hart, the author of<em> <a href="https://amzn.to/3CHDf0b">Language, Image, Gesture: The Cognitive Semiotics of Politics.</a></em></p>
<p>“One thing that has been observed is that populist politicians make greater use of the body as a communicative resource than non-populist politicians. And this is particularly the case for Donald Trump. The present study is part of a larger research programme looking at co-speech gestures in the spoken performances of right-wing populist politicians. I focussed here on Trump as a canonical example of a right-wing populist whose body-movements have attracted the attention of media commentators but which not been systematically analysed from a scientific perspective.”</p>
<p>“However, advances in gesture research within language-related cognitive science make it possible to properly investigate the non-verbal or co-verbal aspects of political communication. Pointing was of particular interest for several reasons, including the frequency with which it occurs in Trump’s live performances but also its essential functions in identifying people, groups and places which are obviously important for politics.”</p>
<p>To carry out his study, Hart selected a sixty-minute video recording of a campaign rally held in Buffalo, New York, on April 18, 2016, during the primaries leading up to the presidential election. This rally, with its more than eleven thousand attendees, offered a lively setting where Trump’s style could be observed in full display.</p>
<p>Hart chose this event in part because New York is a familiar environment for Trump, which meant that his unique mix of language and body language—often associated with the local culture—was particularly evident. The video, which is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6uBYaXFLrw">publicly available online</a>, provided a rich source of data because it captured the full range of Trump’s spontaneous gestures in a high-energy, less controlled setting compared to formal television debates.</p>
<p>The video, approximately 60 minutes long, was analyzed using a “gesture-first” approach. Hart identified every instance of hand-pointing, excluding gestures that didn’t seem to have a clear target or weren’t directly related to the meaning of Trump’s words. He then categorized these pointing gestures based on their direction: outward (away from the body), inward (toward the body), upward, and downward. He also noted other features, such as whether the gesture involved one or both hands, whether the fingers were spread or together, and whether the hand made contact with the body.</p>
<p>To understand the meaning and function of these gestures, Hart also analyzed the words Trump spoke at the same time. He identified the specific words or phrases that coincided with each pointing gesture and categorized them based on their grammatical and functional role. These categories included things like first-person pronouns (“I,” “me”), second-person pronouns (“you”), third-person references (“he,” “she,” “they”), location words (“here,” “there”), and words related to time, numbers, or comparisons. Another researcher also analyzed the video to ensure that the analysis was reliable.</p>
<p>The study’s findings reveal a strong and systematic relationship between Donald Trump’s pointing gestures and the content and purpose of his speech, supporting the idea that these gestures are not random but rather integral to his communication style.</p>
<p>“Trump is an avid pointer, which sets him apart from other non-populist leaders,” Hart told PsyPost. “His use of pointing in a live setting has probably been carried over from his previous career in the entertainment industry.”</p>
<p>One of the most prominent findings was the association between the direction of the pointing and the grammatical person being referenced. When Trump pointed outward, away from his body, he was most often referring to either the audience directly (“you”) or to third parties (“they,” “them,” specific individuals or groups like the media or protesters). This outward pointing created a dynamic of direct engagement, drawing the audience into the conversation while also enabling Trump to physically single out targets for praise, criticism, or ridicule.</p>
<p>Conversely, inward pointing, directed towards Trump’s own body, was strongly associated with first-person singular pronouns (“I,” “me,” “my”). This occurred particularly when Trump was emphasizing his personal qualities, his commitment to his supporters, or his differences from other politicians.</p>
<p>“Self-pointing is functionally redundant so might not be expected to occur frequently but Trump uses them to contrast himself with other politicians,” Hart said. “Self-points in other contexts do not normally make contact with the chest but Trump’s self-points do make contact with the chest the majority of the time. This might imply sincerity and allow Trump to connect with his audience on an emotional level.”</p>
<p>Downward pointing gestures were frequently linked to locative expressions – words indicating place, such as “here,” “this country,” or “Buffalo.” By pointing downwards, often directly at the ground, Trump connected his broader political messages to the specific location of the rally, making his points feel more immediate and relevant to the audience present.</p>
<p>Beyond these directional patterns, the study also identified the significance of looping gestures – circular pointing motions. These gestures typically occurred with plural pronouns (“we,” “us”) or when referring to the local community. The looping motion appeared to encompass both Trump and his audience, creating a visual representation of inclusivity and shared identity. This aligns with the populist strategy of presenting the leader as “one of the people,” united with them in a common cause.</p>
<p>Finally, pointing gestures, such as repeated “hopping” motions, were often used when discussing time, numbers, sequences, or comparisons, suggesting a visual representation of timelines or comparative scales.</p>
<p>The findings highlight that “pointing is not random: pointing direction (outward, inward, upward, downward) correlates systematically with specific speech categories and serves specific functions,” Hart explained. “For example, points directly down to the ground occur with locative expressions and reinforce the relevance of political policies for the live audience by highlighting the location (‘here’) where their impact is or will be felt.”</p>
<p>“When looping is added to a point it signals inclusivity and defines Trump and his audience as belonging to the same place or social group. Through pointing, Trump is able to entertain his audience, direct their attention, build rapport with them and align himself with them as a man of the people.”</p>
<p>But the study, like all research, has limitations. The investigation focused solely on a single campaign rally of one particular politician, which means that the findings may not fully capture the full range of gestural behavior across different settings or among other political figures. It’s unclear whether these patterns are unique to Trump, common to all populist politicians, or simply a feature of this particular type of speaking situation.</p>
<p>“The study is part of a broader research programme exploring the role of gesture in political communication,” Hart explained. “A follow-up study will explore another gestural form that Trump makes particularly frequent use of: the shrug. Future research will also explore gestural features in the communicative style of other right-wing populist politicians in Europe.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2024.2442992" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What’s the point of Donald Trump? Deictic gestures in the service of right-wing populism</a>,” was published December 24, 2024.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/exercise-eases-internet-addiction-in-chinese-college-students/" 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;">Exercise eases internet addiction in Chinese college students</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 6th 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A recent study examining the effects of exercise interventions on Internet addiction among college students in China found that exercise reduces symptoms of Internet addiction. Additionally, exercise was found to reduce anxiety, loneliness, stress, feelings of inadequacy, and fatigue, as well as depression, while improving overall mental health. The paper was published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108159"><em>Addictive Behaviors</em></a>.</p>
<p>Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Internet has revolutionized the way people live. The percentage of the population using the Internet has exploded, changing the way people communicate, work, and spend their free time. It has made the world’s knowledge easily accessible to everyone and allowed people to connect regardless of geographical distances. However, despite its innumerable benefits, the Internet has also led to some adverse outcomes, such as Internet addiction.</p>
<p>Internet addiction is defined as a compulsive need to use the Internet excessively, leading to negative effects on daily life, relationships, and mental health. It can involve activities such as social media use, gaming, online shopping, or excessive web browsing. People with Internet addiction struggle to control their online time, which can result in the neglect of responsibilities, sleep disturbances, and emotional distress. This condition is linked to dopamine-driven reward mechanisms in the brain, similar to other behavioral addictions.</p>
<p>Study author Yan Yan and his colleagues aimed to assess the efficacy of exercise interventions in managing and improving symptoms of Internet addiction. They also sought to identify specific factors relevant to the outcomes of such interventions and to explore the impact of these interventions on other psychological symptoms. Exercise interventions for Internet addiction involve structured physical activities, such as aerobic exercise, strength training, or sports.</p>
<p>The authors searched databases of published scientific articles (Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wan Fang) for experimental studies (randomized controlled trials) conducted on students with Internet addiction or similar addictions (e.g., smartphone addiction). They looked for studies that compared the effects of the intervention to no intervention and that were published in English or Chinese.</p>
<p>The initial search yielded 3,102 results. After reviewing these results, the authors identified 14 studies that met all their criteria. These 14 studies presented the results of 19 experimental trials and included 760 students with Internet addiction. All of the studies were conducted in mainland China.</p>
<p>There were three categories of exercise interventions: open motor skills, closed motor skills, and a combination of both. Open motor skill exercises involve movements performed in unpredictable environments where individuals must react to external changes, such as in basketball or soccer. Closed motor skill exercises take place in controlled, stable settings with repetitive movements, such as running, swimming, or weightlifting.</p>
<p>The duration of these interventions ranged from 4 to 18 weeks, with 2 to 5 sessions per week at moderate intensity, each session lasting between 50 and 120 minutes. Control groups did not receive any intervention and continued their lives as usual.</p>
<p>Results showed that exercise interventions had strong effects on reducing symptoms of Internet addiction. They also resulted in significant reductions in anxiety, loneliness, stress, and feelings of inadequacy, along with an overall improvement in mental health. Reductions in fatigue and depressive symptoms were moderate.</p>
<p>“This current review demonstrated that exercise-based interventions can effectively reduce the level of Internet addiction and improve the psychological symptoms of college students with Internet addiction. The optimal types of exercise for college students suffering from Internet addiction are open motor skill and the combination of both open and closed skill,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study integrates the results of research investigating the effects of exercise on Internet addiction among college students. However, it should be noted that all the studies were conducted in China. Results for other cultural groups and demographic groups other than students might differ. Additionally, the results reported by the individual studies included in this analysis were quite heterogeneous.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108159">Effects of exercise interventions on Internet addiction among college students: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials,</a>” was authored by Yan Yan, Xiangrong Qin, Liangru Liu, Weiyang Zhang, and Bowen Li.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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