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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/surprising-hormone-found-to-protect-male-brains-from-stress/" 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;">Surprising hormone found to protect male brains from stress</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 8th 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study has found that the hormone estrogen plays a protective role against stress-induced, depression-like behaviors in male mice, a function previously thought to be primarily associated with testosterone. The research identified that estrogen’s effects are mediated through a specific protein called estrogen receptor beta within a distinct brain circuit linked to reward processing. The findings were published in the scientific journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03027-8" target="_blank">Molecular Psychiatry</a></em>.</p>
<p>The investigation was prompted by an existing puzzle in psychiatry. While low testosterone is linked to depression in some men, and testosterone replacement therapy can sometimes help, the treatment comes with serious side effects, and its exact mechanism in the brain has remained unclear. </p>
<p>A team of researchers led by Polymnia Georgiou wanted to explore an alternative explanation. In the male brain, an enzyme called aromatase converts a significant amount of testosterone into the potent estrogen known as 17β-estradiol. In females, estrogen is well-known to be involved in regulating mood and reward sensitivity. </p>
<p>The scientists hypothesized that the antidepressant effects attributed to testosterone in males might not come from testosterone itself, but from the estrogen it gets converted into within the brain. The team set out to determine if estrogen was responsible, which specific receptor it used, and what brain pathways were involved in protecting against stress.</p>
<p>To examine the interplay between hormones, stress, and behavior, the researchers employed a “two-hit” model in mice. The first “hit” was the reduction of sex hormones, and the second was exposure to a mild form of social stress. To lower hormone levels, male mice underwent an orchiectomy, a procedure to remove the testes, which are the primary source of testosterone. These mice were then subjected to a brief, subthreshold social defeat stress, a mild stressor that does not typically cause behavioral changes in healthy animals. </p>
<p>The researchers found that the combination of low hormones and stress made the male mice susceptible to developing maladaptive behaviors. Specifically, they exhibited social avoidance and anhedonia, which is a reduced interest in pleasurable activities. Anhedonia was measured by a test of the mice’s preference for the scent of female urine over male urine. It is important to note that mice with low hormones that were not stressed, and mice with normal hormone levels that were stressed, did not develop these behaviors. This suggests that both factors were needed to trigger the negative outcome.</p>
<p>Having established this link, the team tested whether estrogen could prevent these effects. In low-hormone male mice, a single administration of 17β-estradiol before the mild stress exposure successfully prevented the development of both social avoidance and anhedonia. This provided the first piece of evidence that estrogen was directly involved in stress resilience in males. The next step was to identify which of the body’s estrogen receptors was responsible for this protective effect. </p>
<p>The scientists used mice that were genetically modified to lack either estrogen receptor alpha or estrogen receptor beta. When exposed to stress, male mice without estrogen receptor alpha showed some social deficits but did not develop anhedonia. In contrast, male mice lacking estrogen receptor beta developed both social avoidance and anhedonia, mirroring the effects seen in the low-hormone mice. </p>
<p>This finding pointed to estrogen receptor beta as the key mediator of estrogen’s protective actions against stress in males. In a notable sex-specific difference, female mice that lacked estrogen receptor beta were found to be more resilient to stress, suggesting the receptor’s function differs between males and females.</p>
<p>The investigation then moved to pinpoint the exact brain circuitry involved. Using advanced viral tracing techniques, the researchers identified a strong neural pathway composed of cells containing estrogen receptor beta that extends from the basolateral amygdala, a brain region central to emotion processing, to the nucleus accumbens, a critical hub for reward and motivation. </p>
<p>To confirm that this circuit was directly involved, they used a combination of sophisticated methods. Using a technique called optogenetics, which uses light to control brain cells, they found that activating this specific basolateral amygdala to nucleus accumbens pathway was inherently rewarding for male mice. The animals would spend more time in a chamber where they received the light stimulation. This rewarding effect was not observed in female mice.</p>
<p>To further test the circuit’s role in stress, the team used a technology called fiber photometry to measure the real-time activity of these specific neurons in awake, behaving mice. They found that in low-hormone mice subjected to stress, the activity of the estrogen receptor beta pathway from the basolateral amygdala to the nucleus accumbens was significantly reduced during social interactions. This reduction in activity correlated with the animals’ social avoidance behaviors. </p>
<p>The scientists then showed they could directly manipulate these outcomes. Using optogenetics to artificially activate the circuit in low-hormone mice before stress exposure prevented the onset of social avoidance. Conversely, using a chemical method called chemogenetics to inhibit the circuit in healthy, unstressed mice made them vulnerable to social stress, causing them to develop social deficits. This established a causal link between the activity of this specific brain pathway and resilience to stress.</p>
<p>Finally, the researchers performed a series of pharmacological experiments to definitively separate the effects of testosterone from those of estrogen. They confirmed that giving testosterone back to low-hormone mice prevented the stress-induced behavioral problems. However, when they blocked the action of testosterone at its own receptors, the androgen receptors, in healthy mice, it had no effect on their resilience to stress. </p>
<p>In a critical experiment, they used a drug called letrozole, which blocks the aromatase enzyme that converts testosterone into estrogen. When healthy male mice were treated with letrozole, they became susceptible to stress and developed social avoidance and anhedonia, just like the low-hormone mice. This demonstrated that it is the absence of estrogen, not testosterone itself, that creates vulnerability to stress in males.</p>
<p>Recognizing that estrogen therapy is not a practical treatment for men due to side effects like gynecomastia, the team explored a novel therapeutic strategy. They tested a compound known as DHED, which is a prodrug that is inactive in the body but is converted into 17β-estradiol specifically within the brain. When they administered this brain-selective estrogen prodrug to low-hormone, stressed mice, it effectively prevented the development of social deficits and anhedonia. This was achieved without producing the peripheral side effects associated with standard estrogen treatment, offering a proof-of-concept for a new therapeutic approach.</p>
<p>The study has some limitations. The findings are based on rodent models, and further work is needed to determine if these mechanisms translate to humans. The research focused on one specific neural pathway, and while it proved to be a major player, other brain circuits containing estrogen receptor beta may also contribute to stress regulation. </p>
<p>Future research could explore the roles of these other pathways and examine how they might interact. Studies could also investigate the development of selective estrogen receptor beta activators as potential new antidepressants for men, particularly for those with depression linked to low hormone levels. This work provides a new framework for understanding the biological basis of stress vulnerability in males and opens new avenues for developing targeted, sex-specific treatments for reward-related psychiatric disorders.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03027-8" target="_blank">Estradiol, via estrogen receptor β signaling, mediates stress susceptibility in the male brain</a>,” was authored by Polymnia Georgiou, Abagail F. Postle, Ta-Chung M. Mou, Liam E. Potter, Xiaoxian An, Panos Zanos, Michael S. Patton, Katherine J. Pultorak, Sarah M. Clark, Vien Ngyuyen, Chris F. Powels, Katalin Prokai-Tatrai, Antonis Kirmizis, Istvan Merchenthaler, Laszlo Prokai, Margaret M. McCarthy, Brian N. Mathur, and Todd D. Gould.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/childhood-trauma-appears-to-leave-a-lasting-metabolic-signature/" 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;">Childhood trauma appears to leave a lasting metabolic signature</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 8th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study provides evidence that childhood trauma may leave long-lasting traces on the body’s metabolism. Researchers found that adults who experienced trauma in childhood showed a consistent pattern of changes in their blood chemistry. These changes were observed even decades later and seemed to intensify with the severity of the trauma. The findings, published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.03.018" target="_blank">Biological Psychiatry</a></em>, suggest a biological link between early-life adversity and increased risk for physical and mental health conditions later in life.</p>
<p>The research team focused on the metabolome, which refers to the complete set of small molecules in the body known as metabolites. These include sugars, amino acids, lipids, and other chemical compounds that are produced as the body digests food, processes medications, or carries out routine functions such as repairing tissues or managing stress. </p>
<p>In essence, metabolites are the chemical fingerprints of all the biological processes happening in the body at a given time. They provide a snapshot of how the body is functioning — or malfunctioning — at the molecular level. Because they reflect real-time changes in the body’s internal state, metabolite levels can offer early clues about disease risk, inflammation, nutrient imbalances, and stress-related disruptions.</p>
<p>Studying the metabolome provides a way to understand how life experiences, including trauma, influence long-term health at the molecular level. Previous studies have shown that childhood trauma is linked to an increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, and mental illnesses such as depression. Although psychological and behavioral explanations exist, biological changes might also play a role. </p>
<p>However, earlier research in this area was limited in scope, often involving small groups of people and focusing on only a few types of trauma or specific metabolites. The current study aimed to address these limitations by analyzing a wide range of metabolites in a large sample of adults.</p>
<p>The researchers used data from nearly 3,000 adults who were part of a long-term health study in the Netherlands. Participants gave blood samples at two time points: once at the beginning of the study and again six years later. These samples were analyzed using a method that screened for over 800 metabolites in the blood.</p>
<p>Childhood trauma was assessed through interviews, which asked participants whether they had experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse or emotional neglect before the age of 16. Each participant received a score based on how many types of trauma they had experienced and how often.</p>
<p>The analysis found 18 metabolites that were significantly associated with childhood trauma. Nine were found at higher levels in individuals with trauma histories, and nine were found at lower levels. These differences tended to be larger in people who had experienced more severe trauma, suggesting a dose-response relationship.</p>
<p>Some of the metabolites that were elevated included compounds involved in the breakdown of fatty acids and certain amino acids. These compounds—such as 2-methylbutyrylcarnitine and propionylcarnitine—play a role in how the body generates energy and processes nutrients. Their increased levels may indicate changes in how the body handles fats and proteins, possibly hinting at mitochondrial inefficiency or other forms of metabolic stress.</p>
<p>Other altered metabolites were related to the body’s stress system. Cortisol and cortisone, two hormones released by the adrenal glands during stress, were found at lower levels in individuals with childhood trauma. These hormones are part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a system that helps regulate how the body responds to stress. Lower levels might reflect long-term changes in this system, which could contribute to physical and emotional health problems.</p>
<p>Some of the metabolites identified—such as stachydrine and 1-stearoyl-GPC—have previously been linked to conditions like cardiovascular disease or depression. But six of the 18 metabolites associated with childhood trauma had no clear links to depression in this study, suggesting that trauma may affect the body in ways that are not entirely explained by mental health conditions.</p>
<p>To check the reliability of their findings, the researchers repeated the analysis using a different trauma questionnaire given to the same participants four years later. They also looked at a separate group of 308 people who were related to the original participants. The results remained consistent, especially within the same group over time, though the replication in the second group was somewhat weaker.</p>
<p>The researchers also examined whether the observed metabolic changes might simply be due to related health behaviors or conditions, such as body weight or use of cholesterol-lowering drugs. When they adjusted for these factors, the results remained largely the same, suggesting the effects were not merely due to these other health-related variables.</p>
<p>Finally, the researchers compared the metabolomic signature of childhood trauma to the one associated with depression. While there was some overlap, many of the trauma-related changes were stronger or unique. This suggests that the biological effects of childhood trauma are not just a reflection of depression but may involve distinct pathways.</p>
<p>While the study had many strengths—including a large sample size, long-term follow-up, and replication using multiple methods—it also had some limitations. Most participants were of North-European descent, which limits how well the findings apply to other populations. In addition, the study grouped different types of trauma into a single score, which may have obscured whether specific types of trauma affect the metabolome in different ways.</p>
<p>The researchers did not account for dietary habits, which are known to influence metabolite levels and could differ between people with and without trauma histories. Since trauma can affect eating behaviors, this might have played a role in the observed differences.</p>
<p>Another limitation is that the study excluded individuals with psychiatric conditions other than depression or anxiety, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Since PTSD has been linked to metabolic dysfunction in other research, future studies might explore how it interacts with childhood trauma to affect the metabolome.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the findings provide evidence that early-life trauma leaves a lasting imprint on the body’s metabolism. The affected metabolites appear to involve energy production, fat and protein processing, and stress hormone regulation. These biological changes may help explain why people who experience childhood trauma are more likely to develop a range of health problems later in life.</p>
<p>Future research could explore whether these metabolite patterns can help identify individuals at risk for disease, and whether interventions—such as diet, exercise, or stress management—might reverse or reduce the biological effects of trauma. Understanding the long-term impact of childhood adversity on the metabolome could open new doors for prevention and treatment strategies targeting both mental and physical health.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.03.018" target="_blank">The Metabolomic Signature of Childhood Trauma</a>,” was authored by Camille Souama, Femke Lamers, Yuri Milaneschi, Rick Jansen, Christiaan H. Vinkers, Erik J. Giltay, Boadie W. Dunlop, Rima Kaddurah-Daouk, Brenda W.J.H. Penninx, and the Mood Disorder Precision Medicine Consortium.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/scientists-studied-ayahuasca-users-what-they-found-about-death-is-stunning/" 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 studied ayahuasca users—what they found about death is stunning</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 8th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>People who regularly use ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian psychedelic drink, may have a fundamentally different way of relating to death. A new study published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-025-06792-0" target="_blank">Psychopharmacology</a></em> indicates that long-term ayahuasca users tend to show less fear, anxiety, and avoidance around death—and instead exhibit more acceptance. These effects appear to be driven not by spiritual beliefs or personality traits, but by a psychological attitude known as “impermanence acceptance.”</p>
<p>The findings come from researchers at the University of Haifa, who sought to better understand how psychedelics influence people’s thinking and behavior around mortality. According to their data, it is not belief in an afterlife or a shift in metaphysical views that predicts reduced death anxiety. Instead, the results suggest that learning to accept change and the transient nature of life may be central to how ayahuasca helps people relate more calmly to death.</p>
<p>Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew traditionally used by Indigenous Amazonian groups in healing and spiritual rituals. The drink contains the powerful hallucinogen DMT (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine) along with harmala alkaloids that make it orally active. Many users describe deeply emotional, and often death-themed, visions during their experiences. These may include the sensation of personal death, symbolic rebirth, contact with deceased individuals, or feelings of ego dissolution—the temporary loss of a sense of self.</p>
<p>The research team, led by Jonathan David and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yair-Dor-Ziderman" target="_blank">Yair Dor-Ziderman</a>, were interested in this recurring death-related content. Historical records, cultural traditions, and previous studies all suggest that ayahuasca frequently evokes visions or thoughts related to death. In one survey, over half of ayahuasca users said they had experienced what felt like a “personal death” during a session. Others described visions involving graves, spirits, or life-after-death themes.</p>
<p>Despite these consistent reports, empirical studies that systematically assess how ayahuasca affects death-related cognition and emotion remain rare. Past work has often relied on limited self-reports, lacked control groups, and overlooked possible mediating psychological factors. The current study aimed to address those gaps with a more rigorous design.</p>
<p>“We were motivated by the lack of research exploring how ayahuasca use might relate to the way people think about and come to terms with the most certain aspect of life: death. Most studies in this area have focused on other psychedelics and on short-term or clinical effects, while we wanted to explore longer-lasting, personality-level changes. We also wanted to understand why such changes might occur, which has been largely missing from the existing literature,” David told PsyPost.</p>
<p>“There is a hype in popular and scientific venues regarding the efficacy of psychedelics to affect a fundamental shift in our response to the theme of death. In particular, ayahuasca has long been described as the ‘vine of the dead’ (translation from <em>Quechua</em>) and death-related themes are pervasive in ayahuasca visions,” added Dor-Ziderman, a research director at the University of Haifa and visiting scholar at Padova University.</p>
<p>“However, there has been surprisingly little empirical work on how such encounters shape one’s relationship with mortality. Furthermore, most existing studies rely on single self-report scales and overlook the unconscious, behavioral, and cognitive layers of how humans process death. We wanted to provide a comprehensive, multidimensional assessment of “death processing,” and to identify the causal mechanisms which mediate, or account for, long-term differences in death processing between ayahuasca users and non-users.”</p>
<p>For their study, the researchers recruited 107 participants: 54 experienced ayahuasca users and 53 non-users. The groups were matched for age, gender, education, and mental health status. None of the non-users had any history of psychedelic use, while the ayahuasca group had used the brew an average of 56 times, often over the span of several years.</p>
<p>To examine how these individuals relate to death, the researchers administered a detailed set of questionnaires and behavioral tasks. These included measures of death anxiety, fear of personal death, death-avoidant behaviors, and death acceptance. They also used implicit tasks, such as response times to death-related words, to capture unconscious reactions. The idea was to get a broad, multi-dimensional picture of how people think and feel about mortality.</p>
<p>The researchers found statistically significant differences between the two groups. Compared to non-users, ayahuasca users scored lower on death anxiety, were less likely to avoid thinking about death, showed fewer fear responses, and expressed greater acceptance of mortality. These patterns held true across both self-report and behavioral measures. Notably, even the subtle response time tasks pointed in the same direction.</p>
<p>The effect sizes were moderate to large, suggesting these differences are not just statistical artifacts. The changes showed up in emotional, cognitive, and behavioral domains alike, which the authors interpret as evidence of a generalized shift in how ayahuasca users process the idea of death.</p>
<p>“Although these findings should be interpreted with caution, since this was a cross-sectional and mostly self-report study, our results suggest that ayahuasca use may help people feel less anxious about death and more accepting of it, especially among long-term users,” David said.</p>
<p>The researchers then looked at several possible explanations for these differences. They examined whether ayahuasca users held stronger beliefs in life after death, which could potentially make them less afraid of dying. They also tested for differences in personality traits, such as openness to experience or neuroticism, and trait mindfulness.</p>
<p>While ayahuasca users did score higher on all of these traits, none of them explained the group differences in death processing. In other words, although ayahuasca users were more open, less neurotic, more mindful, and more likely to believe in some form of existence after death, these factors did not statistically account for their lower death anxiety and higher acceptance.</p>
<p>Instead, one psychological variable stood out: impermanence acceptance. This concept refers to an attitude of openness toward the fact that all things—including life itself—are temporary. People who score high on impermanence acceptance tend to feel less distressed by change and more at ease with the idea that nothing lasts forever.”This is a cross-cultural concept found mainly in Buddhism that refers to the acceptance that everything is always changing, and that change is a natural part of life,” David explained.</p>
<p>Mediation analyses indicated that this variable alone explained the differences in death-related responses between ayahuasca users and non-users. In statistical terms, impermanence acceptance “carried the effect” of ayahuasca use on death anxiety, avoidance, and acceptance. Even after controlling for gender differences, this relationship remained significant.</p>
<p>Interestingly, simple awareness of impermanence—knowing that things change—was not enough to predict lower death anxiety. It was the emotional acceptance of this fact, rather than intellectual acknowledgment, that seemed to matter.</p>
<p>“Our results were more decisive than we expected,” Dor-Ziderman told PsyPost. “We anticipated ayahuasca users to fear death less, but we did not anticipate that impermanence acceptance—and not afterlife beliefs or personality—would emerge as the key mediator in all of the death processing indices we examined. That even self-identified materialists showed the same pattern, which challenges the common idea that psychedelic comfort with death depends on adopting metaphysical beliefs. This last point is important as it suggests that psychedelics can be beneficial regardless of ontological beliefs.”</p>
<p>The researchers also explored what aspects of ayahuasca experiences might shape this attitude toward impermanence. The researchers looked at various factors, including frequency of use, age at first use, and how recently participants had taken the substance. None of these usage patterns predicted impermanence acceptance.</p>
<p>However, one aspect of the ayahuasca experience did: ego dissolution. Participants who reported stronger episodes of ego dissolution—where their usual sense of self faded or broke down—also tended to score higher on impermanence acceptance. This suggests that certain acute, subjective experiences during ayahuasca sessions may help reorient people’s attitudes toward change and mortality.</p>
<p>The authors speculate that temporarily losing one’s sense of a fixed identity may help the brain “train” for death in a psychological sense. The mind may learn that even its most stable perceptions—like the boundaries of the self—are not permanent. This realization may generalize to a broader understanding of impermanence and eventually reduce existential fear.</p>
<p>“People who regularly engage in ayahuasca ceremonies show a quieter, less defended relationship with death: less fear and anxiety of death, less suppression of death-related thoughts, and less behavioral avoidance of real-life death-related encounters,” Dor-Ziderman explained. “However, what really stood out was that this difference in death processing wasn’t due to personality, mindfulness, or ontological afterlife beliefs—it was explained by impermanence acceptance, the felt understanding that everything changes and passes.” </p>
<p>“This suggests—unlike what is commonly believed in the literature—that it’s not belief in an afterlife that softens death anxiety, but rather the experiential embrace of transience itself. Finally, we found that impermanence acceptance was correlated with the strength of ego dissolution experienced during ayahuasca ceremonies. So ego dissolution experiences induce an acceptance of impermanence which, in turn, mediates how our mind-brain addresses its mortality.”</p>
<p>But like all research, this study has limitations. It was cross-sectional, meaning it captured a snapshot in time rather than tracking changes over time. This makes it difficult to determine causality. It is possible, for example, that people who are already more accepting of death are more drawn to ayahuasca. Longitudinal studies would help clarify this.</p>
<p>The sample size, while reasonable, was relatively small. Also, while participants were carefully selected to isolate the effects of ayahuasca, many had also tried other psychedelics, such as psilocybin or LSD, which may have influenced the results. And because the sample consisted of healthy, experienced users, the findings may not generalize to first-time users or those with psychiatric conditions.</p>
<p>Another question is whether these changes apply only to ayahuasca, or whether similar effects would appear with other psychedelics. The authors are already running a follow-up study with psilocybin users, and preliminary results suggest a similar pattern, pointing toward a broader effect across psychedelic substances.</p>
<p>“It is important to acknowledge that the sample size of the study was relatively small (a little more than 100 participants overall), and like any other study—results need to be replicated,” Dor-Ziderman told PsyPost. “In the this regard we can already report that we are currently working on a replication study, this time with psilocybin (magic mushrooms) users, and it appears our results replicate. That our results replicate to an independent sample which consume a different psychedelic indicates that our results are solid, and furthermore, that they relate to psychedelics in general and not just ayahuasca.”</p>
<p>“Overall, our effect sizes were moderate to large, and consistent across both explicit and implicit measures of death processing. These group changes show up in attitudes, emotions, and behavior alike. This coherence suggests a genuine restructuring in how mortality is represented and felt, rather than a temporary mood or belief shift.”</p>
<p>The researchers are now studying how experiences like ego dissolution during psychedelic use or meditation affect the brain’s way of understanding the self over time. Their goal is to find out whether these experiences can help the brain become more flexible with the idea of change, including the reality of death.</p>
<p>“We have a new study coming out (the preprint can be accessed here: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/osf/my9sd_v1" target="_blank">https://osf.io/preprints/osf/my9sd_v1</a>) where we show that despite the results shared above—a more ‘relaxed’ death processing system in long-term ayahuasca users, there seems to be a limit to the transformative potential of ayahuasca,” Dor-Ziderman added. “We administered to these same participants <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31401240/)" target="_blank">an electrophysiological visual mismatch response task</a> that indexes an unconscious death-denial mechanism operating at millisecond resolution, categorizing death as relating to others but not to one self. </p>
<p>“The results indicated that in this regard, ayahuasca users were no different that healthy controls—their denial mechanism seemed to be intact. This finding was somewhat surprising as <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2025/1/niaf002/8046166" target="_blank">in another study</a> we found that long-terms meditators’ brains did evidence a shift from death denial to acceptance, and our initial assumption was that self/ego-dissolution (which both populations experienced) were the causal mechanism. So there is something to be said for training the mind and arriving at certain experiences rather than taking pharmacological ‘shortcuts’—at least in regard to deeply rooted long-term effects. However, we are still investigating this and are seeking to replicate these findings, so stay tuned.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-025-06792-0" target="_blank">Embracing change: impermanence acceptance mediates differences in death processing between long-term ayahuasca users and non-users</a>,” was authored by Jonathan David, Aviva Berkovich-Ohana, and Yair Dor-Ziderman.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/neuroscientists-reveal-five-distinct-sleep-patterns-linked-to-health-and-cognition/" 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;">Neuroscientists reveal five distinct sleep patterns linked to health and cognition</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 7th 2025, 19:45</div>
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<p><p>A new study has identified five distinct profiles that link a person’s sleep patterns with their health, cognitive abilities, and lifestyle factors, each with a unique signature in the brain. The research suggests that a one-size-fits-all approach to sleep health is insufficient and that understanding these individual profiles could lead to more personalized support for well-being. The findings were published in the scientific journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003399" target="_blank">PLOS Biology</a></em>.</p>
<p>For decades, scientists have understood that sleep is connected to a wide array of biological, psychological, and social factors. Research has consistently linked poor or insufficient sleep to negative outcomes like cognitive difficulties, poor mental health, and increased risk for physical diseases. However, many studies have tended to simplify sleep into categories like “good” versus “poor” or “short” versus “long.” This approach fails to capture the complex, multidimensional nature of sleep, which includes aspects like duration, quality, regularity, and daytime alertness.</p>
<p>Researchers, led by Aurore A. Perrault of Concordia University, recognized this gap. They wanted to move beyond single-association studies and use a more holistic approach. The team aimed to see if they could identify naturally occurring patterns, or profiles, that connect the many dimensions of sleep with an equally broad range of health, cognitive, and lifestyle measures. By also looking at brain imaging data, they hoped to find the neurobiological underpinnings of these different sleep experiences.</p>
<p>To conduct their investigation, the researchers utilized a large, publicly available dataset from the Human Connectome Project. Their final sample included 770 healthy young adults, aged between 22 and 36. Participants had completed a detailed sleep questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, which assesses seven different dimensions of sleep, including satisfaction, the time it takes to fall asleep, sleep duration, disturbances, and use of sleep aids.</p>
<p>The team paired this sleep data with 118 other measures collected from the same individuals. These biopsychosocial measures covered a wide territory, including self-reported mental health, personality traits, emotional states, substance use, lifestyle habits, and performance on cognitive tasks that tested functions like memory and attention. </p>
<p>The researchers then applied a sophisticated statistical method called canonical correlation analysis, a technique designed to uncover the strongest relationships between two complex sets of variables. This allowed them to identify latent patterns that optimally linked the seven sleep dimensions with the 118 biopsychosocial factors.</p>
<p>The analysis revealed five distinct sleep-biopsychosocial profiles. The first profile was the most dominant, explaining a large portion of the relationship between sleep and the other factors. It was characterized by a general pattern of poor sleep, including low sleep satisfaction, taking a long time to fall asleep, frequent sleep disturbances, and daytime impairment. This pattern was strongly associated with general psychopathology, including symptoms of depression, anxiety, and negative emotions like fear and anger.</p>
<p>The second profile also showed a strong connection to psychopathology, particularly attention problems and low conscientiousness. However, in a stark contrast to the first profile, individuals fitting this pattern did not report general sleep difficulties, only feelings of daytime impairment. The researchers termed this profile “sleep resilience,” suggesting some individuals may maintain seemingly healthy sleep patterns even in the face of mental health challenges.</p>
<p>“Our study showed that different aspects of sleep are related, but can also be separable domains with specific connections to biopsychosocial factors (lifestyle, mental and physical health and cognitive performances). This highlights the importance of considering the full picture of an individual’s sleep to help clinicians make more accurate assessments and guide treatment,” said Perrault.</p>
<p>The remaining three profiles were driven by more specific aspects of sleep. The third profile was defined by the use of sleep-aid medication. This was linked not to poor mental health, but to high satisfaction with social relationships. At the same time, these individuals showed poorer performance on visual memory and emotion recognition tasks.</p>
<p>The fourth profile was characterized almost exclusively by short sleep duration, with individuals reporting sleeping less than six to seven hours per night. This lack of sleep was not strongly tied to mental health complaints but was associated with worse performance across multiple cognitive tasks, including those involving emotional processing, language, and problem-solving. This profile was also linked to higher levels of aggressive behavior.</p>
<p>The fifth profile was centered on sleep disturbances, which can include waking up frequently, breathing issues, or pain during the night. Like the first profile, this pattern was connected to mental health issues, specifically anxiety and thought problems. It was also associated with substance use, including alcohol and cigarettes, and poorer performance on cognitive tasks related to language and working memory.</p>
<p>“The dominance of mental health markers in most of the profiles is not surprising as sleep is one of the five key domains of human functioning likely to affect mental health,” explained Valeria Kebets, a co-author of the study.</p>
<p>The researchers then examined resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from the participants to see if these five profiles were reflected in brain organization. They found that each profile was associated with a distinct pattern of brain network connectivity. For example, the first profile of poor sleep and psychopathology was linked to increased communication between deep brain structures and the somatomotor network, which is involved in processing bodily sensations and movement. The “sleep resilience” profile, on the other hand, showed a different brain signature, perhaps indicating a neural mechanism that protects sleep quality.</p>
<p>“The different sleep profiles were also supported by unique patterns of brain function measured with MRI, suggesting that sleep experiences are reflected not just in health and behavior, but also in the brain’s wiring and activity,” noted Perrault. Alterations in the somatomotor network appeared in several of the profiles, suggesting this brain system may play a significant role in the relationship between sleep, health, and behavior.</p>
<p>The study has some limitations that the authors acknowledge. The sleep and health data were primarily based on self-reports, which can sometimes differ from objective measurements. Future research could incorporate data from wearable devices or lab-based sleep studies to see if these profiles hold. Also, because the study was a snapshot in time, it cannot determine cause and effect. It is unclear if poor sleep leads to health problems, if health problems disrupt sleep, or if another factor influences both. The study population was also limited to healthy young adults, so these specific profiles may not apply to other age groups or clinical populations.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the research provides a more nuanced understanding of how sleep relates to overall well-being. By identifying these distinct profiles, the study moves beyond simplistic labels and offers a framework for recognizing the varied ways individuals experience sleep and its consequences. This approach could eventually equip both researchers and clinicians with better tools to support individual health by tailoring interventions to a person’s specific sleep-biopsychosocial profile.</p>
<p>“The current study emphasizes that by using a multidimensional approach to identify distinct sleep-biopsychosocial profiles, we can begin to untangle the interplay between individuals’ variability in sleep, health, cognition, lifestyle, and behavior—equipping research and clinical settings to better support individuals’ well-being,” the researchers concluded. “Future investigations into how the multifaceted relationships between sleep and biopsychosocial factors differ or change according to age, sex, and other demographics would likely benefit from data-driven approaches.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003399" target="_blank">Identification of five sleep-biopsychosocial profiles with specific neural signatures linking sleep variability with health, cognition, and lifestyle factors</a>,” was authored by Aurore A. Perrault, Valeria Kebets, Nicole M. Y. Kuek, Nathan E. Cross, Rackeb Tesfaye, Florence B. Pomares, Jingwei Li, Michael W. L. Chee, Thien Thanh Dang-Vu, and B. T. Thomas Yeo.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/public-opinion-shifts-affect-cardiovascular-responses-during-political-speech/" 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;">Public opinion shifts affect cardiovascular responses during political speech</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 7th 2025, 18:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.70140" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Psychophysiology</a></em> has found that shifts in public opinion can influence how people physiologically respond to speaking about politically charged topics like immigration. Specifically, whether individuals experience this stress as a psychological challenge or a threat appears to depend on both the direction of social change and their political ideology. The findings suggest that individuals feel more empowered when public opinion moves in their favor, and more threatened when it moves against them—changes that are reflected not only in self-reports but also in cardiovascular patterns.</p>
<p>Public conversations about migration often trigger emotional and physiological reactions. These discussions are not just about abstract policy—they often touch on deeply held values and social identities. Previous studies have shown that people’s political beliefs can influence how they respond to changes in social norms and group status, particularly when these changes affect perceptions of belonging and control.</p>
<p>The researchers aimed to understand how such social shifts, especially those related to migration, affect people not only at a psychological level but also at a physiological one. More specifically, they wanted to explore how people on the left and right of the political spectrum react when they learn that public opinion is either becoming more aligned with their views or moving in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>“People often feel stress when engaging with contentious sociopolitical issues,” said study author <a href="https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/feiteng-long" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Feiteng Long</a>, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Neuropolitics Research Lab at the University of Edinburgh. “However, less is known about when this stress can be adaptive, termed challenge, and when it can be maladaptive, termed threat. Our research aimed to answer this question using a biopsychosocial approach. We sought to introduce cardiovascular measures into political psychology research to better understand how polarisation affects us at our ‘heart.’</p>
<p>The biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat distinguishes between two kinds of stress responses: <em>challenge</em>, which occurs when people feel equipped to handle a difficult situation, and <em>threat</em>, which occurs when they feel overwhelmed. These states are not only felt emotionally, but also registered in the body through cardiovascular signals.</p>
<p>The researchers recruited 203 Dutch university students and randomly assigned them to one of three experimental conditions. Participants were told about a (fabricated) national survey indicating that public opinion on migration had either become more progressive, more conservative, or stayed the same over the past decade. After reading this information, participants were asked to give a one-to-three-minute speech reflecting on the future of interethnic relations in the Netherlands. Throughout the task, the researchers recorded cardiovascular responses using multiple tools to track heart rate, blood pressure, and other physiological indicators.</p>
<p>These physiological measurements allowed the researchers to calculate what they called a Threat–Challenge Index. This index was based on two key signals: total peripheral resistance, which indicates the level of constriction in blood vessels, and cardiac output, which reflects how much blood the heart is pumping. Higher cardiac output and lower vascular resistance are considered signs of a challenge state. The reverse pattern suggests a threat response.</p>
<p>The key finding was that participants’ physiological responses depended on both the direction of the reported public opinion shift and their own political leanings. Participants who identified as politically left-leaning exhibited cardiovascular patterns associated with challenge when they were told public opinion on migration had become more progressive. In contrast, participants who leaned to the right showed a pattern indicative of threat under the same condition.</p>
<p>“The effect size is moderate,” Long told PsyPost. “However, it’s meaningful since we get to know something ‘under the skin.’ On contentious topics like migration, people may not be willing to express their real thoughts due to social desirability bias, and even if they honestly do so, they have no insights into their automatic, unconscious psychological processes. In this study, we therefore used cardiovascular measures in additional to traditional self-reports in psychology.”</p>
<p>“We distinguished between positive and negative cardiovascular stress responses, termed challenge and threat respectively. Challenge is an approach-oriented motivational state marked by dilation in arteries and increased cardiac output, while threat is an avoidance-oriented motivational state marked by constriction in arteries and decreased cardiac output. Drawing on these, we were able to look into something beyond what people explicitly reported.”</p>
<p>These physiological responses were matched by self-reported appraisals of the situation. Left-leaning participants in the progressive change condition felt they had more resources to handle the speech task and also reported less prejudice toward migrants. Right-leaning participants, on the other hand, expressed more prejudice toward migrants when told that public opinion had shifted in either a progressive or conservative direction, compared to when they were told it had remained stable.</p>
<p>“The main results were actually in line with what we preregistered,” Long said. “What was a bit surprising was a side finding that both progressive and conservative changes in public opinion, compared to a stability control condition, increased right-leaning individuals’ self-reported prejudice towards migrants. This may have reflected rightists’ tendencies to maintain the status quo and resist social change.”</p>
<p>In other words, a shift in either direction may be perceived as disruptive—either as a threat to existing norms (in the case of progressive change) or as a license to express views more openly (in the case of conservative change), which could explain the increase in self-reported prejudice in both cases.</p>
<p>“The key takeaway is, whether social change feels like an opportunity or a threat depends strongly on which ideological group one identifies with,” Long told PsyPost. “When public opinion on migration shifts to be more progressive, left-leaning individuals tend to show a more adaptive ‘challenge’ cardiovascular pattern in talking about future relations between migrants and the host society; they are also less prejudiced towards migrants in this case. However, such progressive changes lead right-leaning individuals to show a maladaptive ‘threat’ cardiovascular pattern and increase their prejudice.”</p>
<p>As with all research, there are some limitations to consider. One key issue is that the participant sample was primarily composed of left-leaning Dutch university students. This demographic may not represent the full range of ideological views present in the broader population, which limits the generalizability of the findings.</p>
<p>Another consideration is that the manipulation of conservative social change was not as effective as that of progressive change. Participants in the conservative change condition did not perceive as much of a shift in public opinion compared to those in the progressive change condition.</p>
<p>Finally, the study focused on a single type of speech task in a lab setting. Real-world political conversations often involve dialogue rather than monologue and may occur in more emotionally charged or less controlled environments.</p>
<p>The researchers plan to continue this line of work by studying how physiological stress responses unfold in more naturalistic discussions. They also aim to examine how these physiological states translate into actual behavior, which could have important implications for understanding polarization and resilience in politically divided societies.</p>
<p>“I aim to extend this line of research into field and online settings,” Long explained. “For example, I plan to combine focus groups with physiological measures to examine how polarization coincides with cardiovascular responses in more naturalistic, face-to-face discussions. I also intend to use remote PPG techniques to capture heart rate via webcams, enabling large-scale online studies with culturally diverse samples. Second, because challenge and threat responses are fundamentally motivational states, I aim to understand how and under what circumstances these responses translate into actual behaviors in future research.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.70140" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leftists and Rightists Differ in Their Cardiovascular Responses to Changing Public Opinion on Migration</a>,” was authored by Feiteng Long, Ruthie Pliskin, and Daan Scheepers.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/internet-use-is-linked-to-better-cognitive-health-in-older-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;">Internet use is linked to better cognitive health in older adults</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 7th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>New research has found that digitally included older adults—that is, those capable of using the Internet and digital communication methods—have better cognitive functioning than their digitally excluded peers, who are not capable of using modern means of communication. The digitally excluded older adults also tended to have more severe depressive symptoms. The paper was published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.07.039"><em>Journal of Psychiatric Research</em></a>.</p>
<p>As people age, their cognitive functioning changes. Many cognitive abilities gradually decline, although some tend to remain stable. Processing speed, or the ability to quickly take in and respond to information, slows down with age. Working memory, the ability to hold and manipulate information in the short term, also tends to decline. Episodic memory, or the recall of specific events and experiences, becomes less reliable in older adulthood.</p>
<p>In contrast, semantic memory, which involves knowledge of facts and language, usually remains stable or can even improve. Older adults also tend to show declines in executive functions such as multitasking, planning, and inhibiting irrelevant information. Attention becomes more difficult to sustain, especially when distractions are present. However, crystallized intelligence, which reflects accumulated knowledge and expertise, typically remains strong throughout life. In response to these changes, many older adults develop compensatory strategies, such as relying on experience or external aids, to maintain their functioning.</p>
<p>Study author Zi-Mu Chen and her colleagues note that recent research has highlighted a significant association between social isolation and cognitive impairment in older adults. Social isolation is also known to be associated with depressive symptoms. In modern society, where a large share of communication happens via the Internet and other digital means, being able to use these tools is key to maintaining social connections. However, many older adults are not proficient in using them. This suggests that older adults who are unable to use the Internet may be at a greater risk of social isolation and depressive symptoms.</p>
<p>For this study, the authors defined “digitally excluded” older adults as those who did not use the Internet or digital communication, while “digitally included” adults used at least some of these tools. They then compared the cognitive functioning and severity of depressive symptoms between these two groups.</p>
<p>They analyzed data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a nationwide, population-based prospective cohort survey of adults aged 45 years or older. The initial survey was conducted in 2011 on 17,708 individuals recruited from 450 villages and residential communities in 28 provinces across China. Data collection was repeated four more times through 2020, with surveys conducted every two to three years. Data from 9,436 participants were used in this analysis. The sample size was reduced primarily because the authors matched digitally included and excluded participants on key demographic characteristics to ensure comparable groups.</p>
<p>The study authors used data on cognitive functioning (obtained using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status) and the severity of depressive symptoms. They divided participants into digitally excluded and digitally included groups based on six types of online activities: chatting, reading news, watching videos, playing games, managing money, and other specific Internet activities. Those who engaged in none of these activities were considered digitally excluded, while those who participated in at least one were considered digitally included.</p>
<p>Results showed that digitally included participants, on average, exhibited higher levels of global cognition, including better executive functioning and episodic memory, compared to the digitally excluded group. In contrast, the digitally excluded group had more severe depressive symptoms.</p>
<p>“Digital exclusion is significantly associated with more severe depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment among older adults. The central and bridge symptoms should be prioritized in developing treatment strategies for older adults with depression and cognitive decline,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study sheds light on the links between the use of the Internet and cognitive functioning in older adults. However, it should be noted that the design of this study does not allow any definitive causal inferences to be derived from the results. While it is possible that using the Internet contributes to slowing cognitive decline and preventing depression, it is also possible that individuals experiencing substantial cognitive decline and mental health issues are less able to use the Internet.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.07.039">Association between depressive symptoms and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older adults across digital divide,</a>,” was authored by Zi-Mu Chen, Meng-Yi Chen, Qinge Zhang, Sha Sha, Zhaohui Su, Teris Cheung, Gabor S. Ungvari, Robert D. Smith, Chee H. Ng, and Yu-Tao Xiang.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/white-people-may-dance-worse-under-stereotype-threat/" 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;">White people may dance worse under stereotype threat</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 7th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2024.2442029" target="_blank">The Journal of Social Psychology</a></em> has found that White Americans tend to perform worse on tasks requiring rhythmic ability when reminded of the stereotype that they “have no rhythm.” The research suggests that when this stereotype is made mentally prominent, White participants scored lower on a rhythm-based video game and reported lower enjoyment of dancing compared to peers not exposed to the stereotype. The findings indicate that stereotype threat can influence behavior even in domains often treated as humorous or lighthearted, such as dancing.</p>
<p>The stereotype that White Americans lack rhythm is a recurring theme in popular culture, comedy, and media. Although often portrayed as harmless humor, the persistence of this stereotype raises questions about its psychological impact.</p>
<p>While many studies have explored how negative stereotypes affect the performance of marginalized groups, such as the stereotype that women struggle with math or that Black students underperform academically, less research has looked at how stereotypes affect individuals who are not typically seen as disadvantaged. The new study aimed to explore whether White individuals could experience stereotype threat in a context where they are negatively stereotyped, in this case, rhythmic ability.</p>
<p>The research team sought to answer two main questions. First, does making the stereotype about White people’s lack of rhythm salient actually impair their rhythmic performance? Second, does it lead them to disengage from activities related to rhythm, such as dancing?</p>
<p>The study included 118 non-Hispanic White American college students from a Midwestern university. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group was told that the task they would complete—a rhythm-based video game—was designed to measure their rhythmic ability. The other group was told that the game was being used to inform future video game development and was not a test of ability.</p>
<p>The game involved keeping time with a metronome by pressing the spacebar in rhythm. After 10 seconds, the metronome stopped, and participants had to continue the beat on their own. Their timing accuracy was scored, with 1,000 points as the maximum.</p>
<p>Participants also completed several questionnaires. They rated their enjoyment of dancing, their level of anxiety, and their familiarity with stereotypes about different groups, including the one suggesting that White people cannot dance. Additional questions assessed their prior musical experience and video game habits, allowing the researchers to control for these factors in the analysis.</p>
<p>The results showed that participants who were told the game measured their rhythmic ability—those in the stereotype threat condition—performed worse than those in the control group. On average, they scored about 714 out of 1,000, compared to roughly 760 for those not exposed to stereotype threat. This performance gap suggests that simply drawing attention to the stereotype may be enough to impair rhythmic accuracy.</p>
<p>In addition to performance differences, the researchers found that participants in the stereotype threat condition reported liking dancing less than those in the control group. While both groups still expressed moderate enjoyment of dancing, the threat condition reported significantly lower enthusiasm. This result indicates a tendency toward what psychologists call domain disengagement, where individuals distance themselves from areas in which they feel stereotyped.</p>
<p>One possible explanation for these effects is that stereotype threat causes anxiety, which then interferes with performance. However, this study did not find evidence for that pathway. Participants in both conditions reported similar levels of state anxiety, and statistical tests did not support the idea that anxiety mediated the relationship between stereotype threat and performance. This finding is consistent with mixed results from previous research, which have shown that anxiety sometimes—but not always—acts as a mechanism for stereotype threat.</p>
<p>Although the results are statistically significant, the study does have some limitations. One limitation is the short-term nature of the experiment. It measured immediate effects of stereotype threat, but did not assess how repeated exposure might influence people over time. Prior research suggests that long-term exposure to stereotype threat can lead to domain disidentification, where people stop identifying with an activity or role altogether. Future studies could follow participants over longer periods to explore whether White individuals who frequently experience rhythmic stereotype threat eventually stop dancing or avoid rhythmic activities.</p>
<p>Another limitation is the use of a single survey item to measure participants’ enjoyment of dancing. While single-item measures can be appropriate when questions are straightforward, they do not capture the full complexity of attitudes. Future studies might use more detailed scales to better understand how stereotype threat influences attitudes toward rhythm-related domains.</p>
<p>The rhythm task itself also raises questions about real-world relevance. Pressing a spacebar in time with a beat is simpler and less socially demanding than, for example, performing a dance routine in front of others. Nonetheless, the fact that performance differences appeared even in this relatively simple task suggests that stronger effects could emerge in more realistic or socially charged situations, such as dancing at a party or auditioning for a performance.</p>
<p>The context in which stereotype threat occurs also seems to matter. The researchers note that rhythmic stereotype threat might be especially likely to occur in multicultural settings or when White individuals engage with genres associated with other racial groups, such as hip-hop or afrobeats. In contrast, rhythm-related activities associated more strongly with White identity, like country music line dancing, may not trigger the same effects. Future work could explore these contextual factors more deeply.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2024.2442029" target="_blank">Fighting the beat and winning: stereotype threat and White people’s rhythmic performance</a>,” was authored by Simon Howard and Alex M. Borgella.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/a-sense-of-shared-power-predicts-a-healthier-sex-life-in-married-couples/" 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;">A sense of shared power predicts a healthier sex life in married couples</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 7th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study finds that when both husbands and wives feel they have a voice and influence in their relationship, it is linked to a more positive and less inhibited sexual life for both partners over time. The research, published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075251350075" target="_blank">Journal of Social and Personal Relationships</a></em>, suggests that the dynamics of everyday decision-making and communication can have long-lasting connections to a couple’s sexual well-being.</p>
<p>Sexual passion is a recognized component of a healthy romantic relationship, but researchers have only recently begun to explore what factors within a marriage might predict its expression. Ashley Forbush of The University of Texas at Austin and her colleagues were interested in exploring the link between relational power and sexual motivations. They wanted to understand if the way couples negotiate influence and decisions could shape the type of passion partners feel in their sexual relationship over the course of several years.</p>
<p>The researchers based their work on self-determination theory, a framework for understanding human motivation. This theory suggests that people are most fulfilled when their actions are self-chosen and align with their own values, a state known as intrinsic motivation. In a sexual context, this can be thought of as harmonious sexual passion, where sex is well-integrated into a person’s life and identity. </p>
<p>In contrast, when people feel pressured or controlled, their motivation becomes extrinsic, which can lead to reluctance or avoidance. This is similar to inhibited sexual passion, where a person might hesitate to act on their sexual desires. The researchers proposed that a sense of shared power would create an environment that supports autonomy, which is the feeling of being in control of one’s own actions and decisions. This increased autonomy in the sexual domain could then foster more harmonious passion and less inhibited passion.</p>
<p>To investigate these connections, the research team analyzed data from a large, nationally representative sample of 1,668 newly married, different-sex couples in the United States. These couples were part of the Couple Relationships and Transition Experiences study and completed surveys at three different time points, roughly one year apart. This longitudinal approach allowed the scientists to observe how perceptions of power at one point in time were associated with sexual passion in subsequent years.</p>
<p>In the surveys, participants answered questions designed to measure their perceptions of shared power in their marriage. These questions focused on communication and decision-making processes, such as whether they felt their partner listened to their perspective or if they talked through problems until they reached a mutual agreement. </p>
<p>Participants also reported on their sexual passion, responding to items that distinguished between harmonious passion, like feeling their sexual interests were well-integrated into their relationship, and inhibited passion, like feeling reluctant to act on sexual urges with their partner. </p>
<p>Finally, they assessed their sexual autonomy by indicating how free they felt to be themselves and express their needs within their sexual relationship. The researchers used a statistical approach that allowed them to see how one partner’s perceptions affected their own outcomes and also how they affected their partner’s outcomes.</p>
<p>The results showed a clear link between a sense of shared power and better sexual outcomes for both husbands and wives. Individuals who reported more shared power in their relationship also reported greater harmonious sexual passion at the same time point. This perception of shared power also predicted increases in their own harmonious passion two years later. Similarly, feeling more shared power was associated with having less inhibited sexual passion at the same time and predicted a decrease in inhibited passion one year later.</p>
<p>The study also revealed that one partner’s feelings about the relationship’s power dynamics could affect the other partner. A person’s perception of shared power was not only linked to their own harmonious passion but was also associated with their partner having greater harmonious passion, both at the same time and one year later. </p>
<p>This suggests that when one person feels the relationship is balanced and supportive, it can benefit the sexual well-being of both individuals. This partner effect was not observed for inhibited passion; a person’s sense of shared power was only linked to a reduction in their own feelings of inhibition, not their partner’s.</p>
<p>The researchers also examined whether sexual autonomy could explain the connection between shared power and sexual passion. They found that at a single point in time, the link was present. People who felt more shared power also reported greater sexual autonomy, and this sense of autonomy was in turn associated with more harmonious and less inhibited passion. </p>
<p>However, this explanatory role did not extend over time. A person’s feeling of shared power at the beginning of the study did not predict an increase in their sexual autonomy a year later. This finding suggests that the influence of shared power on sexual autonomy may be more immediate rather than a gradually building effect.</p>
<p>For the most part, the study found that these patterns were similar for both husbands and wives. The way that shared power connected to sexual passion did not significantly differ by gender. This indicates that creating a relationship environment where both partners feel they have influence is equally important for the sexual motivations of both men and women in these newly married couples.</p>
<p>The study has some limitations. The findings are based on a sample of newly married, different-sex couples, so the results may not be generalizable to same-sex couples, cohabiting couples, or couples who have been married for a longer period. The research identifies strong associations between these concepts but cannot definitively prove that shared power causes changes in sexual passion. The researchers also noted that the measure of sexual autonomy could be expanded in future studies to capture the concept more fully.</p>
<p>Future research could explore these dynamics in different types of couples and examine whether the connection flows in the opposite direction, for instance, whether a more harmonious sexual relationship might lead couples to develop a greater sense of shared power over time. </p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075251350075" target="_blank">Power and passion: An exploration of the relationship between marital power processes and sexual passion styles</a>,” was authored by Ashley Forbush, Dean Busby, Jeremy Yorgason, and Erin Holmes.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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