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<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News</span></td>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/what-makes-womens-lips-attractive-study-points-to-balance-over-volume/" 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;">What makes women’s lips attractive? Study points to balance over volume</a>
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<p><p>A study of lip attractiveness conducted in Lebanon found that when upper lip height exceeds 30% of the hemi-lip width (half the total lip width), faces are generally perceived as unaesthetic and unattractive. The most preferred ratio for upper lip height was between 20% and 25% of the hemi-width. The research was published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000006238"><em>Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery-Global Open</em></a>.</p>
<p>Lip fullness is one of the features that influences how people perceive youth, health, and sexual attractiveness in women. Across many cultures, fuller lips are seen as a desirable trait and are frequently highlighted in media and advertising. From an evolutionary perspective, full lips may signal fertility and reproductive fitness. But while moderate fullness tends to be rated as attractive, lips that are either too thin or overly augmented are often viewed as less appealing.</p>
<p>Lip augmentation procedures, especially the use of soft tissue fillers, have become increasingly popular among women seeking to enhance their appearance. These treatments are often shaped by shifting beauty trends, which can vary depending on age, ethnicity, and media exposure. At the same time, perceptions of lip attractiveness are influenced by how lip volume interacts with other facial features.</p>
<p>Lead author Bishara S. Atiyeh and colleagues aimed to identify the most aesthetically preferred lip characteristics by focusing on two specific measurements: the upper-to-lower lip height ratio and the upper lip height in proportion to the hemi-lip width (the width of the lip divided in half). This second measure served as an estimate of ideal lip volume.</p>
<p>To test these preferences, the researchers used artificial intelligence to generate a series of images of a White female face with digitally modified lips. In one set of images, the overall fullness of the lips varied while the upper-to-lower lip ratio was fixed at the golden ratio (approximately 0.618:1). In a second set, both the fullness and the ratio between upper and lower lips varied. Although the study was initially designed as an online survey, the researchers found limited online engagement and instead collected responses in person.</p>
<p>A total of 200 adults participated in the survey. Of these, 88 were men, and 52% were under the age of 25. Nearly all participants (99%) had completed university education. A majority (57%) were from medical fields—including medical students, interns, and plastic surgery residents—and most participants lived in the Middle East. Over 60% reported viewing celebrity photos or aesthetic procedures on social media either frequently or very frequently.</p>
<p>When evaluating the first set of images, participants consistently rated lips with upper lip height exceeding 30% of hemi-lip width as unattractive. The most favored proportions were those where upper lip height was 20% to 25% of the hemi-lip width. In the second image set, which varied the upper-to-lower lip ratio, participants most preferred lips with a ratio between 0.618:1 (the golden ratio) and 1:1. Faces with upper lips larger than lower lips (U > L) were generally rated less attractive, especially when combined with excessive fullness.</p>
<p>The study also found some gender differences. While both men and women preferred moderate fullness and balanced proportions, men were slightly more likely to favor fuller lips than women. Interestingly, participants who frequently used social media did not have substantially different preferences from those who used it rarely. Both groups tended to rate overinflated lips as unattractive, suggesting that social media alone does not fully explain the popularity of exaggerated lip augmentation.</p>
<p>The study authors discuss this in the context of aesthetic surgery interventions aimed at changing lip fullness and conclude: “Though social media have an influence on perception of beauty, data provided by the survey confirm that golden standards of aesthetics remain constant and that exaggerated requests of some patients may not be attributed solely to social media influence but probably to social media in combination with additional personal predisposing factors. Patients must be made aware that how they are perceived by others is essential for them to be satisfied with their appearance.”</p>
<p>The study contributes to the scientific knowledge about factors that determine attractiveness perceptions of female lips. However, it should be noted that the study used only a single female face with different lip sizes and shapes. Additionally, the vast majority of study participants were from the Middle East. Studies utilizing faces with different features and on other cultural groups might not yield identical results.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000006238">Lip Augmentation with Soft Tissue Fillers: Social Media, Perceptual Adaptation, and Shifting Beauty Trends beyond Golden Standard Ideals,</a>” was authored by Bishara S. Atiyeh, Paul T. Beaineh, Christopher R. A. Hakim, Kareem W. Makkawi, Natasha T. Habr, Jana H. Zeineddine, Saif E. Emsieh, Oussama B. Issa, Anika G. Gnaedinger, and Amir E. Ibrahim.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/want-to-bridge-the-partisan-gap-new-research-points-to-a-key-social-factor/" 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;">Want to bridge the partisan gap? New research points to a key social factor</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 21st 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>As political tensions continue to divide Americans, new research sheds light on a factor that may ease the discomfort of engaging across partisan lines. A series of three studies published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506251348006" target="_blank">Social Psychological and Personality Science</a></em> found that liberals and conservatives were more open to befriending someone from the other side when that person had a politically diverse group of friends. Participants expected to be viewed more positively, felt more interested in learning about their partner, and were less likely to dehumanize them—suggesting that diverse social circles can improve how people anticipate and experience political conversations.</p>
<p>The United States has seen a deepening political divide in recent years. Surveys suggest that very few Americans have many friends from the opposing political party, and online echo chambers and residential segregation only reinforce this pattern. Prior studies have shown that cross-group friendships—particularly across racial lines—can reduce intergroup tension and improve perceptions. But research had not yet examined whether this idea applies in political contexts.</p>
<p>The new research was inspired by earlier findings that people expect to be treated more fairly and with less bias when their interaction partner has a racially diverse set of friends. The authors of the current study, <a href="https://www.kylemanderson.com/" target="_blank">Kyle Anderson</a>, Grace Flores-Robles, and Daryl Wout, sought to test whether similar patterns could be observed in political interactions. Specifically, they wanted to know whether being exposed to someone with politically diverse friends might reduce anxiety about being judged based on political identity—and, in turn, improve willingness to interact with them.</p>
<p>“Dr. Daryl Wout, my advisor and mentor over the past few years, invited me to pursue this topic,” said Anderson, who recently received a PhD from The Graduate Center, CUNY. “His work has primarily looked at the impact of friendship diversity on anticipated interactions. I have an evolving interest in intergroup relations, so exploring interpolitical friendship networks was a good fit for both of us.”</p>
<p>The researchers conducted three separate online experiments with a total of 696 U.S. participants, recruited through the online research platform Prolific. Participants self-identified as either liberal or conservative and were matched with a hypothetical interaction partner from the opposing political group. In each study, participants were given a brief profile of this person, which included details about their top friends’ political affiliations.</p>
<p>In the first two studies, White liberal (Study 1a) and White conservative (Study 1b) participants were shown one of three profiles: a political outgroup member with all same-party friends (homogeneous network), a mix of liberal and conservative friends (diverse network), or no political information about their friends. Participants were asked to imagine having a political conversation with the person and then rated how they thought the partner would perceive them (meta-perceptions) and how interested they were in becoming friends with that person.</p>
<p>In the third study (Study 2), the researchers expanded the sample to include people of multiple racial backgrounds and focused only on the diverse versus homogeneous friendship conditions. This time, participants were told to anticipate a conversation about a political topic and were asked to choose from several hot-button issues like abortion or gun control. They also responded to new measures, including their interest in learning from the conversation, how open they thought their partner would be, and how human they perceived the partner to be.</p>
<p>Across all three studies, participants consistently reacted more positively to outgroup members who had politically diverse friendships. In Studies 1a and 1b, both liberals and conservatives expected to be viewed more warmly and were more open to befriending someone from the other party if that person had a mix of liberal and conservative friends. These effects were stronger than in the homogeneous or no-information conditions.</p>
<p>For instance, White liberal participants who imagined a conservative with diverse friends had more positive expectations about how the person would view them, and showed greater willingness to befriend them. Conservatives in Study 1b showed a similar pattern when evaluating a liberal target.</p>
<p>“Political diversity in people’s friendship networks (having both liberal and conservative friends), as compared to only having friends from their political group, helps make people with different identities across the political divide feel more psychologically safe, and eases relations between liberals and conservatives in the United States,” Anderson told PsyPost.</p>
<p>Study 2 extended the findings to a more diverse sample of liberals and conservatives. This time, participants anticipated a political discussion and were told which specific hot-button issues might come up, such as abortion or voter fraud. Again, those who saw a political outgroup member with a diverse group of friends felt more positively about the interaction. They were more likely to expect to be seen in a favorable light, more willing to engage in the conversation, and more likely to believe the partner would be open to learning from the exchange. They also rated the outgroup member as less dehumanizing and immature.</p>
<p>These effects were not influenced by the participant’s own political identity—liberals and conservatives responded similarly. The effects of friendship diversity were largely explained by changes in meta-perceptions, or beliefs about how the outgroup member would see them. When people thought they would be perceived as warm and competent, they were more open to conversation and friendship.</p>
<p>The study also found that improved meta-perceptions helped explain why participants reacted more positively. Feeling that they would be seen as competent or friendly helped participants feel safer and more open to engaging with someone from the other side.</p>
<p>“Given our present political climate, the effectiveness of friendship diversity in creating identity safety for both liberals and conservatives was surprising,” Anderson said. “The heightened political rhetoric surrounding the 2024 U.S. presidential election could have negated any benefits of safety cues, such as friendship diversity. The fact that friendship diversity served to improve anticipated interactions across political lines speaks to the importance of creating interaction contexts that minimize people’s concerns about how individuals across the political divide would perceive and treat them.”</p>
<p>While the findings suggest that friendship diversity can improve interpolitical relations, the researchers acknowledge some limitations. The interactions were hypothetical or anticipated—no real conversations took place. Future studies could involve actual political discussions to better assess how these impressions play out in real time.</p>
<p>Another limitation is the demographic makeup of the samples. The first two studies only included White participants, and while the third was more racially diverse, the generalizability of the findings to other racial groups remains uncertain. The researchers noted that political identity might intersect with racial and historical experiences of marginalization, which could influence how safe or threatened someone feels during cross-political interactions. </p>
<p>“I want to explore this and related work across different political and racial identities,” Anderson said. “I am especially interested in using expressions of gratitude to create psychological safety. I also want to explore whether there is an additive benefit to people expressing gratitude and people having diverse friends in friendship networks.</p>
<p>“If people want to read a copy of this paper, they can access the accepted version on my website, <a href="https://www.kylemanderson.com/" target="_blank">kylemanderson.com</a>, under the CV tab.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506251348006" target="_blank">How Liberal-Conservative Friendship Diversity Could Improve Interpolitical Relations in the United States</a>,” was published online June 24, 2025. </p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/cognitive-tests-suggest-psilocybin-impairs-thinking-but-the-tests-might-be-the-real-problem/" 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;">Cognitive tests suggest psilocybin impairs thinking—but the tests may not tell the full story</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 21st 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>New research published in the journal <em><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-024-06742-2" target="_blank">Psychopharmacology</a></em> shows that psilocybin—the psychedelic compound found in certain “magic” mushrooms—slows reaction time and impairs executive functioning during its acute effects. The study, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 experiments, found that people under the influence of psilocybin responded more slowly to cognitive tasks and, to a lesser extent, made more errors, particularly at higher doses.</p>
<p>Psilocybin has gained renewed attention in recent years due to its potential therapeutic effects for depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. While many studies have explored how the drug affects emotions and mood, far less is known about how it influences cognitive functioning—particularly executive functions such as working memory, attention, and self-control.</p>
<p>These abilities are vital to daily functioning and may also be relevant to therapeutic outcomes. For example, executive function deficits are common across many forms of mental illness. Understanding whether psilocybin worsens or improves these abilities is important for assessing both the safety and the therapeutic potential of the compound.</p>
<p>“Cognitive functions are a crucial but underexplored aspect of psychedelic science,” said study co-authors Morten Lietz and Parsa Yousefi, who are both PhD candidates affiliated with the <a href="https://molecularpsychiatry.ch/" target="_blank">Molecular Psychiatry Lab</a> at the University of Fribourg. </p>
<p>“Researching anything that involves structured tasks—like those requiring participants to sit and concentrate during a psychedelic experience—is inherently challenging. Since some of our future projects aim to assess cognitive functions in psychedelic trials, we wanted to get a comprehensive overview of the existing literature to understand where we can contribute meaningfully to the field.”</p>
<p>The researchers conducted a comprehensive review of existing studies that measured how psilocybin affects executive functions and attention during its acute effects—usually within four hours of administration. They searched several major research databases and selected peer-reviewed studies that tested participants under the influence of psilocybin using standardized cognitive tasks.</p>
<p>In total, the researchers identified 13 studies that met their criteria, which together provided 42 separate comparisons between people who took psilocybin and those who received a placebo. The tasks measured five domains: working memory (such as updating information in mind), conflict monitoring (resolving interference between competing inputs), response inhibition (resisting impulsive actions), cognitive flexibility (shifting strategies), and attention.</p>
<p>The researchers used multilevel meta-analysis techniques to account for differences between studies and to examine moderators like dose, timing, and the type of task. A meta-analysis is a statistical method that combines data from multiple studies to identify overall patterns and effects. They focused on two core performance metrics: reaction time (how fast participants responded) and accuracy (how often they responded correctly).</p>
<p>Across all studies, psilocybin was associated with a large and statistically significant slowing of reaction time during its acute effects. The overall effect size was Hedges’ g = 1.13, meaning participants took noticeably longer to respond to cognitive tasks when on psilocybin compared to placebo.</p>
<p>The impact of psilocybin on accuracy was less clear. On average, accuracy was slightly lower under psilocybin (Hedges’ g = -0.45), but this result was not statistically significant. This suggests that while people under psilocybin take longer to respond, they do not necessarily make many more mistakes—though accuracy was reduced in some individual studies.</p>
<p>Importantly, the researchers found that the type of task influenced the size of the effect. Psilocybin’s impact on reaction time was more pronounced when tasks measured general performance rather than isolating a specific cognitive skill. For instance, tasks that required general attention and motor speed showed stronger effects than those that carefully controlled for these factors. This suggests that much of the impairment may stem from broad effects on attention, motivation, or motor control, rather than specific disruptions to higher-order executive functions.</p>
<p>The researchers noted that traditional lab tasks may not be well suited to measuring cognitive performance during a psychedelic experience. Many of these tests are repetitive and abstract, which may make them feel irrelevant or unengaging to people undergoing a deeply altered state of consciousness.</p>
<p>“In this project, we reviewed all available scientific papers that assessed cognitive functions during the acute effects of psilocybin,” Lietz and Yousefi told PsyPost. “We found that psilocybin tends to impair certain higher-order cognitive functions during that timeframe, largely independent of the dosage. Initially, this raised concerns—but our deeper analysis revealed something interesting: the less precise the cognitive tests were, the stronger the reported impairments.” </p>
<p>“This led us to question whether conventional cognitive tests—designed for sober individuals—are suitable for assessing cognition during altered states of consciousness. For example, participants under the influence of psilocybin may be less inclined to engage with repetitive computer tasks while undergoing what Griffiths et al. (2006) described as one of the most meaningful experiences of their lives.” </p>
<p>“Others may simply find it difficult to focus on identifying the color of a letter while immersed in intense, psilocybin-induced visual distortions,” the researchers explained. “Taken together, our results suggest that in order to understand how psilocybin truly affects cognition, we need new testing approaches—ones that work with the psychedelic experience, rather than against it.”</p>
<p>As with all research, the study has limitations. First, it only examined the short-term effects of psilocybin during the acute phase. There is some evidence that psilocybin may actually improve cognitive functioning in the days or weeks after use, but these long-term effects were not captured in this analysis.</p>
<p>Second, the included studies varied widely in their methods, participant samples, and cognitive tasks, contributing to statistical heterogeneity. Some studies had small sample sizes, and there was evidence of publication bias—meaning that studies showing no effects may have been less likely to be published.</p>
<p>“As a meta-analysis, we relied on data from original studies,” Lietz and Yousefi noted. “If those studies contained biases, our results would be influenced as well. Indeed, our risk-of-bias analysis revealed that some studies had potential limitations—most notably regarding blinding, which is a known challenge in psychedelic research.”</p>
<p>To address these limitations, the authors suggest that future research should explore psilocybin’s effects across longer time frames and use more naturalistic or engaging tasks. They also recommend incorporating tools like eye tracking or experience sampling to gain insight into real-world cognitive changes during and after the psychedelic experience.</p>
<p>“Our next goal is to explore how psychedelics might affect cognition in the long term—and whether they could potentially enhance learning, memory, executive functions, or creativity,” Lietz and Yousefi said.</p>
<p>The research team is pursuing several projects focused on psychedelics and cognition. One study is investigating creative thinking in healthy individuals, while another is exploring the combined use of neurofeedback and psilocybin to enhance cognitive performance. An ongoing study is also examining how LSD affects neuroplasticity and age-related cognitive function in older adults.</p>
<p>“We’re currently recruiting! We’re looking for healthy, German-speaking individuals over the age of 60 living in Switzerland for the LSD study,” the researchers added. “More information <a href="https://molecularpsychiatry.ch/participate-in-studies/" target="_blank">is available on our website</a>.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-024-06742-2" target="_blank">Acute effects of psilocybin on attention and executive functioning in healthy volunteers: a systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis</a>,” was authored by P. Yousefi, Morten P. Lietz, F. J. O’Higgins, R. C. A. Rippe, G. Hasler, M. van Elk, and S. Enriquez-Geppert.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/psychopathic-traits-linked-to-distinct-brain-networks-in-new-neuroscience-research/" 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;">Psychopathic traits linked to distinct brain networks in new neuroscience research</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 20th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70158" target="_blank">European Journal of Neuroscience</a></em> sheds light on how patterns of brain connectivity may relate to psychopathic traits and their association with externalizing behaviors such as aggression and rule-breaking. By analyzing brain scans from young adults, researchers found that individuals with higher levels of psychopathic traits showed distinctive patterns of structural connections in the brain. These patterns, in turn, were associated with behaviors that involve acting out, suggesting that the brain’s wiring might help explain some of the behavioral tendencies linked to psychopathy.</p>
<p>Psychopathy is often associated with impulsivity, aggression, and antisocial behavior. While past studies have focused heavily on how different brain regions function in people with psychopathic traits, less is known about how these regions are structurally connected. Structural connectivity refers to the physical links between brain areas—similar to the brain’s wiring system. The researchers aimed to go beyond earlier work that focused only on specific brain circuits and instead look across the entire brain to identify any structural patterns linked to psychopathy.</p>
<p>The researchers were especially interested in understanding whether structural differences in the brain might explain the relationship between psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors. Previous models have suggested two possible brain-based explanations for these behaviors. One theory emphasizes problems in how people process emotional threats, while another highlights difficulties in attention control. Both theories have some support, but no study had comprehensively examined how structural brain networks might connect psychopathy with real-world behavioral problems.</p>
<p>The research team analyzed data from 82 young adults who participated in the Leipzig Mind-Brain-Body study. All participants were screened to rule out medical or psychological conditions that might affect the results. Psychopathic traits were assessed using a questionnaire designed to capture both interpersonal-affective characteristics (like manipulation and lack of empathy) and behavioral traits (like impulsivity and rule-breaking). Externalizing behaviors were also measured with a separate questionnaire that included items on aggression, defiance, and similar tendencies.</p>
<p>Each participant underwent high-resolution brain imaging using diffusion MRI, a technique that maps the white matter tracts—essentially the brain’s wiring—connecting different regions. The researchers used a method called connectome-based predictive modeling, which relies on machine learning to identify patterns in the brain’s structural connectivity that relate to individual differences in behavior.</p>
<p>This method allowed them to identify two kinds of networks: positive networks, where stronger connections were linked to higher psychopathy scores, and negative networks, where weaker connections were related to those same scores. They also tested whether specific connections within these networks helped explain the relationship between psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors.</p>
<p>The results showed that psychopathic traits were significantly associated with both stronger and weaker connections in different parts of the brain. The positive network—made up of connections that increased with psychopathy—was better at predicting psychopathic traits than the negative network alone. But when both networks were combined, the prediction became even more accurate.</p>
<p>Many of the connections in the positive network were located within the brain’s frontal and parietal lobes, which are involved in decision-making, emotional processing, and attention. These connections included pathways like the uncinate fasciculus, which links the frontal cortex with areas involved in emotion, and the arcuate fasciculus, which supports language and auditory processing. Other connections involved the cingulum bundle, associated with emotional regulation and social behavior, and the posterior corticostriatal pathway, which plays a role in reward processing and learning.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the negative network involved fewer connections, notably in regions like the superior longitudinal fasciculus and the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus on the left side of the brain. These tracts are important for attention control and integrating information across different senses.</p>
<p>The researchers then looked at whether specific connections in these networks could explain the link between psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors. They found that one connection in the right hemisphere—part of a tract involved in emotion recognition—was associated with both psychopathy and higher levels of externalizing behavior. A second connection in the left hemisphere—related to attention control—was linked to both psychopathy and lower levels of these behaviors. Mediation analyses suggested that these two connections acted as pathways through which psychopathic traits might influence externalizing behaviors.</p>
<p>The findings suggest that structural differences in how the brain is connected may play a role in how psychopathic traits are expressed behaviorally. Some connections—especially those involved in emotion and reward processing—may contribute to difficulties in recognizing and responding to social and emotional cues, which could make aggressive or impulsive behaviors more likely. Other connections, especially those related to attention control, may affect a person’s ability to process competing information, potentially influencing how they respond in complex or emotionally charged situations.</p>
<p>Importantly, the study found that people with higher psychopathic traits did not always show weaker brain connections. In fact, some brain networks showed increased connectivity. This is different from earlier findings that have mostly focused on reduced structural integrity in white matter. The current study used a different measurement—counting the number of streamlines between regions—which may capture broader patterns of connection rather than subtle changes in tissue structure.</p>
<p>The researchers also emphasized that the results support a dual-pathway model of psychopathy. One pathway involves problems with emotional processing, and the other involves attention control. These two types of brain circuits may work independently or together to influence how psychopathic traits are expressed.</p>
<p>While the findings offer new insight into the brain’s role in psychopathy, there are several limitations. The participants in the study were young adults from the general population, and most had relatively low levels of externalizing behaviors. This limits how much the results can be applied to people with more severe or clinical forms of psychopathy.</p>
<p>The study also did not include behavioral or cognitive tasks that could directly link the brain’s structural features to performance in real-world situations. Including such tasks in future studies could help clarify how these brain differences translate into specific deficits in emotional or attentional processing.</p>
<p>Another limitation is that the study treated psychopathy as a single dimension. But research suggests that different components of psychopathy—such as callousness versus impulsivity—may be linked to different brain circuits. Future studies could look at how structural connectivity relates to specific traits or subtypes of psychopathy.</p>
<p>Finally, the study’s sample size was relatively small, and the findings need to be replicated in larger and more diverse populations, including those with higher levels of psychopathic traits or histories of criminal behavior.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70158" target="_blank">The Role of Structural Brain Networks in Psychopathy and Its Relation to Externalizing Behaviors</a>,” was authored by Peiyang Guo, Cheng Cheng, and Xiangyi Zhang.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/attention-deficits-may-linger-for-months-in-covid-19-survivors-even-after-physical-recovery/" 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;">Attention deficits may linger for months in COVID-19 survivors, even after physical recovery</a>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.06.009" target="_blank">Journal of Psychiatric Research</a></em> has found that many individuals who were hospitalized with COVID-19 continue to show signs of impaired attention up to three months after discharge. Even patients who had recovered physically and did not require intensive care showed measurable deficits in sustained attention and reaction time. While some cognitive recovery occurred over time, a substantial portion of patients still displayed signs of attentional dysfunction months later.</p>
<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of survivors began reporting persistent issues with memory, focus, and concentration—symptoms that often fall under the umbrella of “brain fog.” Researchers have attempted to better understand the cognitive consequences of infection, especially those related to attention, a core function that influences many aspects of daily life. Since attention underpins tasks ranging from driving to decision-making, identifying which aspects of attention are most affected—and how long those effects might last—has become a public health priority.</p>
<p>The study was led by a team of researchers in Brazil at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, with contributions from institutions in the Netherlands, the United States, and Israel. Their goal was to determine whether hospitalized COVID-19 patients continued to experience attentional deficits after discharge, and whether these impairments persisted after three months—a time window often used to define the condition known as long COVID. </p>
<p>Their focus was on patients who had not been admitted to the intensive care unit and had recovered their physical functions at the time of hospital release. This allowed them to isolate the effects of COVID-19 itself rather than complications arising from more severe illness or invasive treatment.</p>
<p>To assess attention, the researchers used the Continuous Visual Attention Test, or CVAT. This 90-second computerized task requires individuals to respond as quickly as possible to certain shapes while ignoring others. It measures four specific subdomains of attention: focused attention (omission errors), response inhibition (commission errors), intrinsic alertness (mean reaction time), and sustained attention (variability in reaction time). Unlike many traditional neuropsychological tools, the CVAT is short, simple, and less affected by a person’s education level, making it especially useful in a clinical setting.</p>
<p>The study included 40 COVID-19 patients and 36 control participants who had not been infected with the virus. All COVID-19 patients had been hospitalized but did not need intensive care or experience delirium. The control group consisted of workers from a local healthcare facility who were screened to ensure they had not contracted COVID-19. Both groups were tested twice using the CVAT—once at baseline (for COVID-19 patients, this was the day of discharge) and again three months later. </p>
<p>The researchers also used a reference group of over 200 healthy individuals who had previously passed a national exam for driver fitness, which allowed the team to evaluate whether a person’s test performance was in the typical range.</p>
<p>At the time of discharge, COVID-19 patients showed worse performance than controls in three out of four CVAT measures: reaction time, variability in reaction time, and omission errors. These impairments reflected difficulties with alertness, sustained attention, and focused attention. The patients’ responses were slower and more inconsistent, and they were more likely to miss relevant targets during the test. </p>
<p>Commission errors, which indicate impulsive responding, were not significantly different between groups. This pattern suggests that the deficits were not related to difficulty inhibiting responses, but rather to problems staying focused and alert.</p>
<p>Three months later, the COVID-19 group showed signs of improvement. Reaction times and their variability had decreased, and omission errors were reduced as well. However, these gains did not return patients to the same level as the control group. On average, COVID-19 patients continued to show deficits in focused attention and intrinsic alertness compared to controls. Importantly, the control group’s performance remained stable across both testing sessions, ruling out the possibility that improvement among COVID-19 patients was simply due to familiarity with the test.</p>
<p>A closer look at the data revealed that 77% of COVID-19 patients had clinically significant impairments in at least one attention subdomain at the time of discharge. After three months, 40% still showed deficits. These rates were far higher than what was seen in the control group, suggesting that the impairments could not be explained by normal variation in the general population.</p>
<p>The CVAT scores were also compared to those of the reference group, which consisted of healthy individuals who were deemed mentally fit to drive. Using a statistical cut-off based on the 5th percentile of this reference group, the researchers found that 73% of COVID-19 patients fell below the threshold in at least one attention measure at discharge. This number dropped to 39.5% at follow-up, but it still represented a substantial portion of the sample. In contrast, very few controls scored below this threshold at either time point.</p>
<p>The most affected CVAT variable was sustained attention, measured by how much a person’s reaction times fluctuated during the test. This was followed by slower reaction times and increased omission errors. The researchers also calculated a measure called the coefficient of variability, which adjusts for baseline reaction time, and still found significant group differences. These findings indicate that the impairments in attention were not solely due to slower responses but also involved inconsistency in cognitive performance.</p>
<p>One implication of these findings is that people recovering from COVID-19—even those who seem physically well enough to go home—may not be cognitively ready to resume all daily activities. The researchers highlighted traffic safety in particular, noting that impairments in attention, reaction time, and focus are known risk factors for motor vehicle accidents. Tasks like driving, operating machinery, or making rapid decisions may be affected in ways that are not outwardly visible. While the study did not directly measure real-world outcomes like crash rates or workplace errors, the results suggest a need for caution and perhaps formal evaluation before individuals resume such activities after hospitalization.</p>
<p>The study has several strengths. By excluding patients with delirium, mechanical ventilation, or intensive care stays, the researchers were able to focus on a population that is often assumed to have fully recovered. The use of a short, accessible attention test like the CVAT also allowed for clear measurement of specific attention domains, minimizing confounding factors such as educational background or fatigue.</p>
<p>However, the researchers acknowledged limitations. The sample size was relatively small, which may limit generalizability. They also could not fully control for differences in educational level between groups, although statistical adjustments were made. Additionally, the study did not include neuroimaging or biomarker data, so the biological mechanisms underlying the attention deficits remain unclear. It is also unknown whether these impairments persist beyond the three-month window, or whether they are linked to other long-term symptoms like fatigue or depression.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the findings highlight the importance of cognitive assessments in COVID-19 recovery. A routine, short attention test like the CVAT could help clinicians identify individuals who may benefit from closer monitoring or cognitive rehabilitation. As the world continues to deal with the long-term impact of COVID-19, these kinds of tools could play a role in helping patients return to safe and functional daily living. Further research is needed to determine whether these attention deficits are temporary or part of a longer-term pattern of post-infection cognitive change.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.06.009" target="_blank">Long-COVID-19 and Cognition: Persistent attention deficits after hospital discharge</a>,” was authored by Aureo do Carmo Filho, Max Kopti Fakoury, Guilherme Janeiro Schmidt, Ana Lucia Taboada Gjorup, André Casarsa Marques, Júlio Cesar Tolentino Junior, Juliana Janeiro Schmidt, Andreza Maia, Eelco van Duinkerken, Kai-Uwe Lewandrowski, Kenneth Blum, and Sergio Luis Schmidt.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/romantic-breakups-can-trigger-trauma-like-brain-activity-in-young-adults/" 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;">Romantic breakups can trigger trauma-like brain activity in young adults</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 20th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A study of emerging adults who experienced a breakup (dissolution of a romantic relationship) as a traumatic event found heightened reactivity in the hippocampus and amygdala when participants were shown images related to their breakup, including photos of their actual ex-partner. This increased brain activity depended on specific characteristics of the breakup—such as who initiated it or whether participants felt betrayed. The research was published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.04.059"><em>Journal of Affective Disorders</em></a>.</p>
<p>Romantic relationships play a central role in emerging adulthood, a period marked by identity exploration and emotional development. During this stage, many individuals experience their first serious, long-term partnerships, which can offer emotional support, intimacy, and a sense of stability.</p>
<p>However, breakups are also common during this time and can be deeply distressing. Emerging adults may experience intense emotional pain, grief, and lowered self-esteem after a breakup. These events can lead to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and, in some cases, post-traumatic stress—particularly when the relationship was highly meaningful. Breakups may also disrupt trust in future partners or affect beliefs about love and commitment. </p>
<p>At the same time, some individuals experience personal growth and greater clarity about relationship needs. The psychological impact of a breakup depends on several factors, including relationship quality, the circumstances of the breakup, and available social support.</p>
<p>Lead author A.S.J. Van der Watt and colleagues investigated how emerging adults who perceived a breakup as psychologically traumatic responded to breakup-related stimuli in an fMRI scanner. Specifically, they examined blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) responses in the amygdala, hippocampus, and insula—brain regions involved in emotional memory, threat detection, and salience processing. The researchers hypothesized that participants would show increased activation in these areas when viewing breakup-related images compared to neutral ones.</p>
<p>The study included 94 participants aged 18 to 25 who reported experiencing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Participants were divided into three groups: 42 who reported a romantic breakup as their most traumatic experience, 20 who identified a physical or sexual assault, and 32 who reported another stressful event that did not meet DSM-5 criteria for trauma. Participants completed assessments of PTSS, depression, childhood adversity, attachment style, and thoughts about their past relationships.</p>
<p>During the fMRI scan, participants viewed a mix of neutral, positive, and trauma-related images. These included stock photos representing relationship breakups or assaults, as well as personal photos of each participant’s own ex-partner. The researchers compared neural responses to these images with responses to neutral images.</p>
<p>Participants who had experienced a breakup showed increased activation in the hippocampus and amygdala when viewing images of their ex-partner, and this pattern of activation was comparable to those who viewed images related to physical or sexual assault. No significant differences were found between the breakup and trauma groups in terms of activation in these brain regions. The insula showed less consistent effects.</p>
<p>The study also found that individual differences affected brain responses. In the breakup group, greater hippocampal and amygdala activation was associated with being the person who did not initiate the breakup, feeling betrayed, or still holding positive thoughts about the ex-relationship. Attachment style, childhood neglect, and sexual orientation were also linked to differences in brain activation.</p>
<p>“RRDs [romantic relationship dissolutions] should be considered as potentially traumatic events. Breakup characteristics are risk factors for experiencing RRDs as traumatic,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study shows that romantic breakups among emerging adults can be traumatic events. However, the study was conducted on a small group of young adults. Results on other demographic groups might not be identical.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.04.059">Hippocampus, amygdala, and insula activation in response to romantic relationship dissolution stimuli: A case-case-control fMRI study on emerging adult students,</a>” was authored by A.S.J. Van der Watt, S. Du Plessis, F. Ahmed, A. Roos, E. Lesch, and S. Seedat.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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