<table style="border:1px solid #adadad; background-color: #F3F1EC; color: #666666; padding:8px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; line-height:16px; margin-bottom:6px;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/nintendo-just-helped-scientists-blow-up-a-major-gaming-myth/" 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;">Nintendo just helped scientists blow up a major gaming myth</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 9th 2025, 10:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>A new study investigating the connection between video game playtime and mental health has found no meaningful relationship between the two. The research suggests that the sheer amount of time a person spends playing games does not predict their life satisfaction, mood, or symptoms of depression. Instead, the findings, published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.241174" target="_blank">Royal Society Open Science</a></em>, indicate that a player’s personal assessment of how gaming fits into their life is a much stronger indicator of their well-being than the hours they log.</p>
<p>The motivation for this research stems from a long-standing public and scientific debate over the effects of video games on mental health. Much of the discourse, from parental controls on consoles to national policies in countries like China, has centered on the idea that the quantity of time spent gaming is a primary factor influencing a person’s psychological state. </p>
<p>Nick Ballou of the University of Oxford and his colleagues recognized that this focus on playtime often relies on self-reported data, which can be highly inaccurate. People frequently struggle to recall their gaming hours correctly. Previous studies that used objective data, known as digital trace data, were often limited to a single game, which does not capture a person’s full gaming habits. The researchers aimed to overcome these limitations by obtaining data for all games played on a specific platform, providing a more holistic view of a player’s engagement.</p>
<p>To conduct their investigation, the researchers recruited 703 adults in the United States through the online platform Prolific. Participants first completed a screening survey to confirm they played games on a Nintendo Switch. Those who qualified were then guided through a process to share a unique, non-identifiable account code with the research team. This code was sent to Nintendo of America, which then provided the researchers with anonymized records of each participant’s playtime for all games published by Nintendo or its close partners. </p>
<p>This process yielded a massive dataset covering more than 140,000 hours of play across 150 different games. In addition to providing their game data, participants completed a series of established psychological surveys measuring their life satisfaction, current mood, depressive symptoms, and general mental well-being.</p>
<p>The study’s primary analysis focused on a common timeframe used in previous research: the two weeks leading up to the survey. The results showed no evidence that people who played more during this period had different well-being outcomes than those who played less. An additional hour of daily play was not associated with any significant change in life satisfaction, affect, depressive symptoms, or general mental health. </p>
<p>The statistical results were technically inconclusive, meaning the researchers could not definitively prove the complete absence of any effect. However, they concluded that any potential effect lasting more than two hours after gameplay is unlikely to be large enough to be practically meaningful in a person’s life.</p>
<p>Recognizing that the impact of gaming might operate on different schedules, the researchers also conducted an exploratory analysis across a wide variety of time windows. They examined the relationship between well-being and playtime accumulated over periods ranging from just one hour before the survey up to an entire year. This comprehensive look revealed a consistent pattern. Across all timescales, from the very short-term to the long-term, the amount of time people spent playing Nintendo games did not appear to be a predictor of their mental well-being.</p>
<p>There was a faint signal in the data suggesting that playing within one or two hours of completing the survey was associated with slightly higher reports of well-being. This could be interpreted in several ways. For example, people might feel better immediately after a leisure activity, or people who have the free time to play games right before a survey might simply be in a better situation than those who are busy with work or chores. Because very few participants had played so recently, the data was too sparse to support any strong conclusions about these immediate, short-lived feelings.</p>
<p>While playtime itself showed no connection to well-being, another factor emerged as highly significant. The researchers introduced a new measure they called “gaming life fit,” which asked players to rate whether their gaming habits supported or interfered with other important areas of their life, such as work, school, and social relationships. The study found a strong, direct link between this perception and mental health. Players who felt that gaming was a beneficial and well-integrated part of their lives reported substantially higher levels of well-being. This relationship was observed regardless of how many hours they actually played, suggesting that a person’s subjective experience of their hobby is more relevant than the objective time spent on it.</p>
<p>The researchers acknowledged some limitations to their work. A significant constraint was that their playtime data was incomplete. While they captured all activity for Nintendo-published games, they could not access data for third-party titles on the Switch, which accounted for 37% of the sample’s playtime. It is possible that games with different content or design could have different effects. The data was also limited to a single console. Participants reported playing on multiple platforms, so their Nintendo Switch activity represented only one piece of their total gaming engagement. A person who played little on the Switch may have played a great deal on a computer or mobile device.</p>
<p>The study sample was also specific, consisting of adults in the United States who were primarily casual players of Nintendo games. The average participant in the final sample played for about 1.4 hours per week on the platform. The findings may not be generalizable to younger players, individuals in other cultures, or highly engaged “hardcore” players who game for several hours each day. Finally, the well-being measures were collected at a single moment in time, which does not allow for tracking how changes in play might affect well-being from one day to the next.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study challenges the prevailing idea that time is the most important factor in the relationship between video games and well-being. The findings suggest that a simple focus on screen time may be misplaced. For future research, the authors recommend shifting attention from the quantity of play to the quality of the experience. They propose that understanding why people play, the social contexts in which they engage, and how they feel gaming fits into their broader life is a more promising direction. </p>
<p>For clinicians, parents, and players themselves, this research suggests that a more useful conversation might center not on “how much” a person plays, but on how that play affects and integrates with the other important domains of their life.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.241174" target="_blank">Perceived value of video games, but not hours played, predicts mental well-being in casual adult Nintendo players</a>,” was authored by Nick Ballou, Matti Vuorre, Thomas Hakman, Kristoffer Magnusson, and Andrew K. Przybylski.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/psilocybin-therapy-linked-to-reduced-suicidal-thoughts-in-people-with-psychiatric-disorders/" 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;">Psilocybin therapy linked to reduced suicidal thoughts in people with psychiatric disorders</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 9th 2025, 08:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/20451253251372449" target="_blank">Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology</a></em> provides evidence that psilocybin therapy may reduce suicidal ideation in adults with psychiatric conditions. The findings come from a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials and suggest that the psychedelic compound, when paired with psychological support, may have a modest but measurable impact on decreasing thoughts of suicide. Although suicide attempts and deaths were not observed in these trials, the results point to the possibility that psilocybin could play a role in mental health treatment strategies aimed at reducing suicide risk.</p>
<p>Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms, sometimes called “magic mushrooms.” It affects the brain by stimulating serotonin receptors, particularly one known to play a role in mood regulation and emotional processing. When administered in controlled clinical settings alongside therapy, psilocybin has been shown to help relieve symptoms of depression, anxiety, and some forms of addiction.</p>
<p>Interest in psilocybin as a therapeutic agent has grown rapidly in recent years, especially for people who do not respond to standard treatments like antidepressants or talk therapy. Some smaller studies have suggested that psilocybin therapy might also reduce suicidal ideation, a symptom common in many psychiatric conditions. </p>
<p>Given suicide’s widespread toll on public health, researchers wanted to evaluate whether these early signs held up across multiple trials. To do this, they examined all available randomized controlled trials that reported on suicide-related outcomes in people undergoing psilocybin therapy.</p>
<p>“I was inspired to investigate the usage of psilocybin therapy to help treat my patients who suffer from treatment resistant depression. As I was reading the latest clinical trials at the time, there were some reports of increasing suicidal ideation. Increasing suicidal ideation would be a risk in this vulnerable population. When I was reviewing the literature, there was not much synthesized evidence which inspired me to pursue this study,” explained study author Stanley Wong, a general psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto.</p>
<p>To assess the potential impact of psilocybin therapy on suicidal ideation and behaviors, the research team carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis. A systematic review collects and evaluates all relevant studies on a specific topic using a structured and transparent process. A meta-analysis goes a step further by statistically combining results from multiple studies to estimate an overall effect. This method is often used in medicine to determine how well a treatment works by comparing evidence across different settings, sample sizes, and trial designs.</p>
<p>The team searched four major scientific databases for randomized controlled trials involving adults with psychiatric disorders who received psilocybin therapy and for whom suicide-related outcomes were reported. They identified nine studies with a total of 593 participants: 335 received psilocybin therapy, while 258 were assigned to control conditions. Seven of these studies provided usable data for the meta-analysis.</p>
<p>The researchers found that, on average, participants who received psilocybin therapy experienced a small reduction in suicidal ideation compared to those in the control groups. There was no evidence of publication bias, which suggests that the results were not skewed by the selective reporting of positive outcomes.</p>
<p>“We found a small but significant reduction in suicidal ideation in adults receiving psilocybin therapy compared to control,” Wong told PsyPost. “Clinically, this could mean a potential reduction in the frequency or intensity of suicidal thoughts, and people living with treatment resistant depression, which could greatly enhance their well-being in quality of life.”</p>
<p>Importantly, none of the studies reported suicide attempts or deaths during the course of the trials. However, one study did observe suicidal behavior in a small number of participants who received a higher dose of psilocybin. The difference was not statistically significant when compared to other groups.</p>
<p>“I was surprised and glad that there was no death by suicide in any of the trials conducted,” Wong said. “All the studies used standardized scales to follow the suicidal thoughts of their participants. This speaks to the degree of importance these studies placed on the safety of participants of not just physical adverse outcomes but also psychological ones as well.”</p>
<p>The analysis also explored whether factors like funding source, study location, or the use of blinding (in which participants and staff are kept unaware of who received the active drug) affected the results. No clear differences emerged between subgroups. Interestingly, studies that used a single dose of psilocybin showed a more consistent reduction in suicidal ideation than those using multiple doses, although the sample sizes for multiple-dose studies were smaller, making the findings harder to interpret.</p>
<p>While most trials were able to maintain the blind design on paper, two studies assessed whether staff could guess who had received psilocybin based on participants’ behavior. In nearly every case, they guessed correctly, raising concerns about the potential for bias. This issue is common in psychedelic trials, where the effects are often obvious to both participants and researchers, even when a placebo or active control is used.</p>
<p>The study provides a useful snapshot of the current evidence but also highlights several limitations. Most trials included small numbers of participants, which can make findings less reliable and more vulnerable to overestimating the benefits of treatment. </p>
<p>None of the trials were designed specifically to study suicide prevention, so suicide-related outcomes were often recorded as secondary measures or adverse events. There was also considerable variation in how suicidal ideation was measured across trials, with some using dedicated suicide assessment tools and others relying on a single item within broader depression scales.</p>
<p>Another important issue is that people with high levels of suicidal ideation or a history of suicide attempts were often excluded from participating in these trials. This makes it difficult to generalize the findings to individuals at the highest risk, who may have the most to gain or lose from a new treatment. Additionally, while psilocybin therapy appeared to reduce suicidal thoughts in the short term, long-term follow-up data were limited, leaving questions about whether the benefits last over time.</p>
<p>“In adults with psychiatric diagnoses (mainly treatment resistant depression), psilocybin therapy may reduce suicidal ideation through its antidepressive effects,” Wong said. “However, further research is required to understand the long-term effects of psilocybin therapy on suicidal thoughts.”</p>
<p>There is also the issue of how psilocybin therapy exerts its effects. Researchers suspect that the reduction in suicidal ideation is likely tied to the therapy’s broader antidepressant properties. Psilocybin interacts with serotonin systems in the brain, modulates activity in regions involved in emotion, and may promote neural plasticity. </p>
<p>Some scientists also believe the experience itself—often described as intense, emotional, or personally meaningful—may help people shift their perspective and find new meaning in life. Others point to the possibility that psilocybin reduces hopelessness, a known risk factor for suicide. However, none of these explanations have been specifically tested in the context of suicide-related outcomes.</p>
<p>Future research could explore these potential mechanisms more directly, perhaps by examining brain scans, molecular markers, or psychological changes before and after treatment. Studies could also include participants with higher baseline risk for suicide and follow them for longer periods to better understand safety and durability.</p>
<p>“Psilocybin therapy, like most emergent therapies being invested gained, are conducted in smaller sample sizes for many reasons, including safety and cost,” Wong told PsyPost. “As such, the true effect size of the reduction in suicidal ideation is still yet to be determined. However, the findings from our study points towards a positive finding for those suffering from treatment resistant depression.”</p>
<p>“I would like to further investigate whether or not the reduction in suicidal ideation is maintained in long-term follow up studies. I would also like to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms in which psilocybin therapy reduces suicidal ideation.”</p>
<p>“Psilocybin therapy has really opened doors for potential treatment options for those who suffer from treatment resistant depression – I am excited to see what the future has in store for this emerging field of psychedelic psychiatry,” Wong added.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/20451253251372449" target="_blank">Effect of psilocybin therapy on suicidal ideation, attempts, and deaths in people with psychiatric diagnoses: a systematic review and meta-analysis</a>,” was authored by Stanley Wong, Gray Meckling, Nicholas Fabiano, Sanghun Lee, Brett D. M. Jones, Risa Shorr, Aroldo Dargel, Alan K. Davis, Jess G. Fiedorowicz, Marco Solmi, Joshua D. Rosenblat, Benoit H. Mulsant, Daniel M. Blumberger, and Muhammad Ishrat Husain.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/albumin-and-cognitive-decline-common-urine-test-may-help-predict-dementia-risk/" 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;">Albumin and cognitive decline: Common urine test may help predict dementia risk</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 9th 2025, 06:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>Higher levels of a protein in urine may signal an increased risk of developing dementia, particularly forms related to blood vessel damage in the brain. A large Swedish study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.70022" target="_blank">Journal of Internal Medicine</a></em> suggests that measuring this protein, known as albumin, could help doctors identify older adults who are more likely to experience cognitive decline.</p>
<p>The findings point to a relatively simple and non-invasive way to flag people at greater risk for certain types of dementia. Since treatments that lower albumin in the urine are already available, this research could help inform early prevention strategies, especially for conditions that are difficult to diagnose in early stages.</p>
<p>Dementia is a broad term that refers to a decline in cognitive function severe enough to interfere with daily life. It includes conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and mixed forms that share features of both. As the population ages, researchers have been working to identify early markers that might predict who will develop these diseases.</p>
<p>While kidney disease has already been linked to a range of health problems, recent evidence suggests it might also be connected to brain function. Two main indicators are often used to assess kidney health: the estimated glomerular filtration rate, which measures how well the kidneys are filtering waste, and albuminuria, which indicates the presence of albumin protein in urine. This protein is usually retained in the bloodstream, so its appearance in urine can be a sign that small blood vessels are damaged.</p>
<p>Although earlier studies have explored the relationship between kidney function and dementia, many focused only on the filtration rate and overlooked albuminuria. The researchers behind this new study wanted to know whether albuminuria on its own could predict who might develop dementia, and whether this risk held true for specific types of the disease.</p>
<p>“Dementia currently has no cure, so it is crucial to identify people at risk for prevention or early intervention,” said study author <a href="https://research.rug.nl/nl/persons/li-luo" target="_blank">Li Luo</a>, a postdoctoral researcher at the University Medical Center Groningen. “Chronic kidney disease is reported to increase dementia risk. Albuminuria is a urine marker of early kidney damage in chronic kidney disease, it can be treated, but its role in dementia is not well understood. We therefore want to examine the risk of all-cause and type-specific dementia associated with albuminuria.”</p>
<p>The researchers used data from the Stockholm Creatinine Measurements (SCREAM) project, which includes health records for nearly all residents in Stockholm, Sweden. They focused on over 132,000 people aged 65 and older who had at least one test for urine albumin between 2006 and 2019 and no prior diagnosis of dementia.</p>
<p>The participants were followed for a median of nearly four years. During that time, about 7 percent developed dementia. To analyze the connection between albumin levels and dementia risk, the researchers grouped participants based on the amount of albumin in their urine, measured as a ratio with creatinine, another waste product. They used three categories: low (<30 mg/g), moderately high (30–299 mg/g), and high (≥300 mg/g).</p>
<p>After adjusting for age, sex, education, existing health conditions, and kidney filtration rate, they found that people with moderately high levels of albumin had a 25 percent higher risk of developing any form of dementia compared to those with low levels. Those with high albumin had a 37 percent higher risk.</p>
<p>“Our research found that people with albuminuria above 300 mg/g have nearly a 40% higher risk of developing dementia,” Luo told PsyPost. “This is particularly relevant for those aged over 65, who often have conditions like heart disease or diabetes that already involve albuminuria testing. Our results suggested these tests can also provide meaningful insights into brain health.”</p>
<p>“The kidneys and the brain may seem like very different organs, but they share an important characteristic: both depend on a delicate network of small blood vessels. When the blood vessels in the kidneys are damaged, the same process often occurs in the brain,” added senior author <a href="https://ki.se/en/people/hong-xu-2" target="_blank">Hong Xu</a>, an assistant professor at Karolinska Institutet.</p>
<p>The findings indicate that “albuminuria is a non-invasive marker that can help identify people at higher risk of dementia, potentially allowing for early interventions that may help prevent or delay its onset,” Luo said.</p>
<p>These elevated risks were particularly tied to vascular dementia and mixed forms that involve both vascular and Alzheimer’s-related changes. Specifically, those with moderately high albumin had a 33 percent greater risk of vascular dementia, and those with high levels had a 25 percent greater risk. The same patterns were found for mixed and unspecified forms of dementia.</p>
<p>The researchers did not find a statistically significant link between albumin levels and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease on its own. This suggests that albumin in urine may be more closely related to damage in blood vessels, which is a known driver of vascular and mixed dementias.</p>
<p>“We were surprised to find that albuminuria is more strongly associated to vascular dementia than Alzheimer’s disease,” Luo said. “This aligns with its role as a marker of endothelial dysfunction, highlighting its relevance to vascular pathways in dementia development.”</p>
<p>To confirm these findings, they repeated the analysis using another common method of measuring urine protein: a dipstick test. Even with this simpler method, the relationship between higher urine protein and increased dementia risk remained.</p>
<p>The team also tested for other possible explanations. For instance, they excluded early dementia cases that occurred within one year of the albumin test to rule out the possibility that the disease was already developing. They also looked for signs that unmeasured health issues might have influenced the results but found no strong evidence of this.</p>
<p>Importantly, they compared people with different levels of kidney filtration and found that the link between albumin and dementia held steady, regardless of how well the kidneys were functioning overall. This suggests that albumin in urine may be telling us something distinct from what kidney function alone can show.</p>
<p>This study provides evidence that protein in urine, specifically albumin, is linked to an increased risk of developing dementia. However, several limitations should be taken into account.</p>
<p>The participants were drawn from a Swedish healthcare database, so the findings may not apply to people in other countries with different health systems, genetics, or lifestyles. Also, the study relied on clinical diagnoses of dementia, which may miss early or mild cases, especially among frailer individuals. Some participants were diagnosed with unspecified dementia, which could mean that the exact type was unclear due to incomplete testing.</p>
<p>Another issue is that albuminuria may not be the cause of dementia but rather a signal of broader vascular damage happening throughout the body. While the findings are strong, observational studies like this one cannot prove cause and effect.</p>
<p>“Albuminuria is often seen as only a kidney marker, but it can actually indicate broader organ damage,” Luo noted. “This is particularly relevant for diseases in which vascular dysfunction plays a role, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia suggested in this study.”</p>
<p>The researchers also noted that they did not have data on some potentially important factors, such as diet, physical activity, or early signs of memory problems. More detailed testing and brain imaging could help clarify the pathways between kidney and brain health.</p>
<p>Even so, the results suggest that measuring albumin in urine could offer a useful clue in identifying people at risk for vascular-related forms of dementia. Since albumin levels can be lowered with medications and lifestyle changes, the authors are planning future studies to examine whether these interventions might also reduce the risk of cognitive decline.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.70022" target="_blank">Albuminuria is associated with increased risk of dementia, independent of eGFR: The SCREAM project</a>,” was authored by Li Luo, Ron T. Gansevoort, Lyanne M. Kieneker, Yuanhang Yang, Alessandro Bosi, Rudolf A. de Boer, Casper F. M. Franssen, Maria Eriksdotter, Juan-Jesus Carrero, and Hong Xu.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/people-are-more-likely-to-honk-at-bad-drivers-with-political-bumper-stickers/" 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;">People are more likely to honk at bad drivers with political bumper stickers</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, 18:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>New research published in Frontiers in Political Science has found that people are more likely to react with hostility to drivers who display bumper stickers from a rival political party, especially when those drivers behave poorly behind the wheel. The study found that drivers were more inclined to honk their horns at bad drivers if those drivers had political bumper stickers supporting the opposite party. The researchers argue that this indicates political identity can shape behavior even in everyday, seemingly apolitical situations like driving.</p>
<p>In recent years, political polarization in the United States has expanded beyond elections and policy debates. It now plays a growing role in how people interpret and respond to one another in daily life. While earlier research has explored how political identity influences decisions about friendship, dating, or economic exchanges, less is known about its effects in more fleeting and anonymous interactions, such as encounters on the road.</p>
<p>The researchers behind this study aimed to understand whether political identity could influence behavior in these brief but emotionally charged moments. Driving, they note, is often a routine activity, but one that can quickly become frustrating when other drivers behave unpredictably or recklessly. Previous studies have shown that people tend to respond more strongly to negative events while driving. This environment, the researchers suggest, could be fertile ground for partisan hostility to surface.</p>
<p>They hypothesized that political bumper stickers would not always influence behavior. Instead, the effect would likely emerge during negative driving interactions. In other words, a driver might not care about another car’s bumper sticker under normal conditions—but if that car cuts them off or drives poorly, and displays a sticker from the opposing party, that political signal could amplify their frustration. The researchers also explored whether these reactions would be stronger when other social identities, such as race, intersected with political signals.</p>
<p>To investigate this, the researchers used an online survey experiment. Nearly 900 participants viewed a short, computer-generated video simulating dashcam footage from the perspective of a driver. In these videos, another car appeared and either drove smoothly or made dangerous maneuvers, such as swerving or forcing the viewer to brake suddenly. The other car either had no bumper sticker, a neutral sticker (“I Love My Dog”), a Democratic sticker, or a Republican sticker.</p>
<p>After watching the video, participants were shown an image of a driver’s license for the person in the other car. These licenses were digitally created to display the race and sex of the hypothetical driver, allowing researchers to test whether demographic information changed how people responded.</p>
<p>The key measurement came after these exposures: participants were asked how likely they would be to honk their horn at the other driver. They also rated their feelings toward the driver on a scale known as a “feeling thermometer,” which captures general warmth or hostility.</p>
<p>When the other driver was behaving well, the presence or absence of a bumper sticker—whether political or not—had little impact. But when the other driver was behaving badly, partisan identity mattered. Specifically, participants were more likely to say they would honk at a bad driver if that driver had a sticker supporting the opposing party. This response was significantly stronger than reactions to bad drivers with no sticker, a neutral sticker, or even a sticker from the participant’s own party.</p>
<p>The feeling thermometer results followed a similar pattern. Participants felt significantly colder toward bad drivers who displayed opposing party stickers. Good drivers, by contrast, were generally rated more warmly, regardless of what was on their bumper.</p>
<p>These findings support the idea that political signals can act as triggers for negative reactions in frustrating situations, even when politics itself is not directly involved. The presence of an opposing party sticker did not provoke hostility on its own, but when combined with negative driving behavior, it seemed to amplify feelings of anger and hostility.</p>
<p>The researchers also explored whether race shaped these responses, particularly when the viewer was white and the other driver was Black. They found suggestive evidence that white participants were slightly more likely to honk at Black drivers who displayed out-party stickers, but this effect was not statistically strong. The researchers interpret this finding as a possible indication that race can influence these dynamics, but emphasize that more research is needed to understand the interaction.</p>
<p>The study provides evidence that political identity can affect driving behavior. As with all research, however, there are some caveats. One major constraint is the reliance on self-reported behavior rather than real-world observation. Asking people how likely they are to honk at another driver is not the same as measuring what they would actually do behind the wheel. Although self-reports are common in this area of research, they may be influenced by social desirability or people’s own misjudgments about their behavior.</p>
<p>In addition, the researchers were unable to test more extreme reactions, such as road rage or physical confrontations. Their focus was on the most common and accessible form of hostile driving—honking the horn—but they acknowledge that more serious incidents could also be influenced by political cues.</p>
<p>The study also touched on race and gender but did not include a wide enough range of variations to fully explore these intersections. Future research could look more closely at how other identities—such as vehicle type, region, or economic status—interact with political symbols to shape behavior on the road.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2025.1617785" target="_blank">How do drivers react to partisan bumper stickers? Understanding polarization in apolitical settings</a>,” was authored by Rachel Suzanne Torres and Benjamin David Farrer.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/children-with-more-autistic-traits-show-increased-vulnerability-to-ptsd-in-early-adulthood/" 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;">Children with more autistic traits show increased vulnerability to PTSD in early adulthood</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, 16:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>A new large-scale longitudinal study suggests that children who exhibit a higher number of autistic traits are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by the age of 18. The findings indicate this elevated risk is not simply because these children are more likely to experience trauma, but because they may have a greater vulnerability to developing the disorder after a traumatic event. The research was published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14163" target="_blank">Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</a></em>.</p>
<p>Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in social communication, interaction, and the presence of restricted or repetitive behaviors and interests. Beyond a clinical diagnosis, autistic traits exist on a continuum throughout the general population, with many people exhibiting some of these traits to varying degrees without meeting the criteria for a diagnosis. </p>
<p>Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event, with symptoms that include intrusive memories, avoidance of reminders of the event, negative changes in mood and thinking, and heightened arousal.</p>
<p>Researchers have previously observed that autistic adults report higher rates of traumatic experiences and PTSD. This led scientists to question whether a connection might begin earlier in life. The rationale for the study was based on several lines of evidence suggesting children with more autistic traits might be at greater risk. </p>
<p>For instance, cognitive characteristics often associated with autism, such as a tendency to focus on details, sensory sensitivities, and difficulties with emotion regulation, are also recognized as risk factors for developing PTSD after a traumatic experience. The study aimed to investigate if childhood autistic traits could predict trauma exposure, a PTSD diagnosis, and other mental health and functional difficulties in early adulthood.</p>
<p>To conduct their investigation, the researchers utilized data from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative project that has followed a cohort of 2,232 twins born in England and Wales during 1994 and 1995. This long-term study allowed the scientists to look at information collected at different points in the participants’ lives. The current analysis focused on a subset of 1,504 participants for whom they had data on both childhood autistic traits and later-life outcomes.</p>
<p>The primary measure of autistic traits was the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test, a questionnaire completed by the participants’ parents when the children were 8, 9, or 12 years old. When the participants reached age 18, they were interviewed in person. During this interview, they were asked about their lifetime exposure to traumatic events. Those who reported experiencing trauma were then assessed for a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD. </p>
<p>The researchers also collected information on their overall mental health using a composite measure called the “p-factor,” which reflects a general liability for psychopathology across eleven different mental health conditions. Finally, they recorded whether each participant was “not in employment, education or training,” a common measure of functional impairment in young adults.</p>
<p>The researchers used statistical models to test for associations between the level of autistic traits in childhood and these four outcomes at age 18. Critically, their analyses accounted for other factors known to influence these outcomes, including the participant’s sex, their family’s socioeconomic status, and their intelligence quotient measured in early childhood. This step was important to ensure that any observed links were not simply explained by these other variables. </p>
<p>To distinguish between a higher risk of experiencing trauma and a higher vulnerability to its effects, they performed the analyses twice: once on the entire sample and a second time on only the subgroup of participants who had reported experiencing a traumatic event.</p>
<p>The results showed that children with higher levels of autistic traits were more likely to report having experienced a traumatic event by age 18. However, this association was no longer statistically significant after the researchers accounted for family socioeconomic status, suggesting that living in more disadvantaged circumstances might help explain this increased exposure to trauma.</p>
<p>The study found a strong and consistent link between childhood autistic traits and a later diagnosis of PTSD. Children with more autistic traits had a significantly higher likelihood of meeting the diagnostic criteria for PTSD by age 18. This connection remained robust even after controlling for sex, intelligence quotient, and socioeconomic status. </p>
<p>When the researchers looked only at the group of young people who had experienced trauma, the association held true. This finding suggests that the increased risk for PTSD is not just a consequence of being exposed to more trauma, but reflects a greater susceptibility to developing the disorder after an event occurs.</p>
<p>Regarding overall mental health, higher autistic traits in childhood were associated with a higher general psychopathology score at age 18 in the full sample. This connection also remained significant after adjusting for the potential confounding variables. This indicates that autistic traits may be a risk factor for a wider range of mental health challenges in early adulthood, beyond PTSD alone.</p>
<p>The analysis of functional impairment found that children with more autistic traits were more likely to be not in employment, education, or training at age 18. However, similar to the finding on trauma exposure, this link disappeared after the researchers accounted for the influence of intelligence quotient and socioeconomic status. This suggests that these other factors play a larger role in shaping educational and employment outcomes for these young people.</p>
<p>The study’s authors acknowledged several limitations. The measure of autistic traits was based on a parent-report screening tool, not a clinical diagnosis of autism, so the findings may not be generalizable to all diagnosed autistic children. Trauma exposure was self-reported retrospectively at age 18, which can be subject to memory biases. While the analysis controlled for key variables, it is possible that other unmeasured factors could have influenced the results. The use of a twin cohort might also limit how broadly the findings can be applied, although the authors note that rates of psychiatric conditions in this sample are comparable to non-twin populations.</p>
<p>Future research should aim to replicate these findings in samples of clinically diagnosed autistic young people. Further investigation is also needed to identify the specific mechanisms that contribute to this heightened vulnerability to PTSD. Understanding which cognitive or emotional characteristics associated with autistic traits drive this risk could help in developing targeted interventions.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14163" target="_blank">Autistic traits in childhood and post-traumatic stress disorder as young adults: a cohort study</a>,” was authored by Alice M.G. Quinton, Freya Rumball, Angelica Ronald, Helen L. Fisher, Louise Arseneault, Francesca Happé, and Andrea Danese.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/study-finds-a-synergy-between-caffeine-and-music-for-athletes/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Study finds a synergy between caffeine and music for athletes</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, 14:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>An experimental study of elite male taekwondo athletes in Tunisia found that combining low doses of caffeine with warm-up music enhances their performance in simulated taekwondo combat. Athletes who drank a caffeine drink and listened to music before the fight had extended attack times and increased attack and defensive actions compared to those who just listened to music or just took caffeine. Other indicators of effectiveness were improved as well. The paper was published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-025-06766-2" target="_blank">Psychopharmacology</a></em>.</p>
<p>Taekwondo is a Korean martial art that emphasizes fast, powerful kicks, precise strikes, and disciplined mental focus. It combines elements of self-defense, sport, and philosophy, promoting respect, perseverance, and self-control.</p>
<p>Performance in taekwondo depends on a mix of physical abilities, technical skills, psychological characteristics, and tactical factors. While physical abilities and technical skills are largely a matter of long-term training, psychological factors such as confidence, focus, and emotional state can change much more rapidly. They strongly affect competition outcome. Tactical judgements, deciding when and how to attack or defend, also play a major role.</p>
<p>Study author Slaheddine Delleli and his colleagues wanted to examine the combined effects of consuming a low dose of caffeine and listening to preferred music during warm-up on subsequent taekwondo combat outcomes and psycho-physiological responses of male taekwondo athletes. The authors hypothesized that taking a low-dose caffeine drink (3 mg / kg of caffeine) followed by listening to preferred music during warm-up would have a synergistic effect on athletes’ performance in taekwondo combat.</p>
<p>Study participants were 16 male taekwondo athletes who were members of the Tunisian national team or had competed in the top tier of national competition for at least five years. On average, study participants had been training taekwondo for 9 years.</p>
<p>Study authors prepared two types of drinks – one containing 3 mg/kg of caffeine and one containing flour instead of caffeine (placebo). Both were administered dissolved in 200 ml of water. To prevent bias, neither the participants nor the researchers administering the drinks knew which supplement was being given. The drinks were prepared by a researcher not directly working with study participants (double blinding).</p>
<p>There were 6 treatment conditions – not taking a drink and not listening to music (control), taking a caffeine drink without music, taking a flour drink without music, taking a caffeine drink with music, taking a flour drink with music, and only listening to music but taking no drink. In the scope of the study, participants would first drink their assigned drink (in treatment conditions that involved a drink). 50 minutes later, they would perform a standard warm-up session with or without music (depending on the treatment condition) and then participate in simulated taekwondo combat. The fights consisted of three 2-minute rounds interspersed with 1-minute rest periods.</p>
<p>Each participant went through all 6 conditions in a different, randomized order. There was a 7-day pause (a “washout period”) between experimental conditions. The simulated fights were between participants in the same treatment condition – each treatment condition was completed by either 2 or 4 athletes at the same time.</p>
<p>Results showed that a combination of a caffeine drink and warm-up music was the most effective in enhancing participants’ combat performance. Compared to conditions that involved just a drink or just music, participants who took both caffeine and listened to music showed shortened skip and pause times, extended attack time. When undergoing the caffeine+music treatment, participants also had increased attack and defensive actions, their heart rates were reduced (suggesting greater cardiovascular efficiency), and they reported feeling better after the fight.</p>
<p>“Combining low dose of CAF [caffeine] and warm-up music could be an effective strategy to enhance taekwondo combat performance in male athletes,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study contributes to the scientific understanding of psycho-physiological factors affecting taekwondo performance. However, it should be noted that the study participants were exclusively top male athletes. Therefore, these findings may not be generalizable to female athletes, recreational participants, or individuals from the general population.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-025-06766-2">Combined effects of low-dose caffeine and warm-up music enhance male athletes’ performance in simulated Taekwondo combat: a double-blind, randomized crossover trial,</a>” was authored by Slaheddine Delleli, Ibrahim Ouergui, Hamdi Messaoudi, Florin Cazan, Christopher Garrett Ballmann, Luca Paolo Ardigò, and Hamdi Chtourou.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="font:13px Helvetica, sans-serif; border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; -webkit-border-radius:4px; background-color:#fff; padding:8px; margin-bottom:6px; border:1px solid #adadad;" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/blackcurrant-juice-increases-blood-flow-in-the-brains-prefrontal-cortex/" 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;">Blackcurrant juice increases blood flow in the brain’s prefrontal cortex</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, 12:00</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#494949;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;">
<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2025.2538062" target="_blank">Nutritional Neuroscience</a></em> provides evidence that drinking blackcurrant juice may increase blood flow in the brain’s frontal regions during both rest and mental effort. The study, conducted in healthy young adults, found that those who drank a polyphenol-rich blackcurrant juice showed significant changes in blood oxygen levels in the prefrontal cortex, a brain area involved in decision-making and attention. However, these changes did not translate into improved performance on mental tasks.</p>
<p>Blackcurrants are rich in compounds called polyphenols, especially anthocyanins. These natural plant chemicals have been linked to improved heart and blood vessel health in past studies. There is also growing interest in whether polyphenols can influence brain function, particularly by improving blood flow to key areas involved in thinking and memory.</p>
<p>“This project is part of a larger body of work that I’ve been undertaking for the past 10 years investigating potential effects of blackcurrants on brain health,” said study author Anthony Watson, the principal investigator of <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/research-themes/hnerc/" target="_blank">the Human Nutrition and Exercise Research Centre</a> at Newcastle University. </p>
<p>Earlier research by the same team found that blackcurrants might impact neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2018.1525950" target="_blank">by blocking the enzyme monoamine oxidase</a>. This enzyme is known to break down these brain chemicals, and blocking it may help maintain their levels. The researchers had also shown that blackcurrants <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2017.1420539" target="_blank">can influence brain wave activity</a>, particularly in the frontal cortex. Based on these earlier findings, they hypothesized that blackcurrant juice might improve blood flow in the same part of the brain, possibly supporting mental performance.</p>
<p>To test their theory, researchers used a controlled experiment involving 20 healthy adults aged 18 to 35. Each participant visited the lab on two different days. On one day, they drank a special blackcurrant juice made from a variety known as “Blackadder,” which had been processed to contain 500 milligrams of polyphenols. On the other day, they consumed a placebo drink that looked and tasted the same but did not contain polyphenols. The study followed a crossover design, meaning all participants tried both drinks in a random order.</p>
<p>After consuming the drink, participants rested for one hour to allow the polyphenols to enter the bloodstream. During this rest period and afterward, their brain blood flow was measured using a non-invasive technique called near-infrared spectroscopy. This method shines light through the skull to track changes in oxygen levels in the blood, providing a picture of how much blood is flowing in the brain’s surface areas.</p>
<p>Following the rest period, participants completed a series of mentally demanding tasks designed to activate the prefrontal cortex. These included two types of arithmetic problems and a task that required monitoring rapidly changing numbers on a screen. Participants also rated their feelings of mental fatigue.</p>
<p>The most striking result was that drinking the blackcurrant juice led to a measurable change in blood flow in the brain. Specifically, oxygenated hemoglobin—an indicator of blood carrying fresh oxygen—increased in the left side of the prefrontal cortex during mental tasks. At the same time, levels of deoxygenated hemoglobin dropped, suggesting more efficient oxygen delivery and use. These patterns began to appear around 35 minutes after drinking the juice and continued through the end of the session.</p>
<p>Interestingly, this change was not seen on the right side of the brain, indicating a possible lateralized effect. This aligns with earlier imaging studies suggesting that the left prefrontal cortex is more active during tasks involving working memory.</p>
<p>The researchers also observed that total hemoglobin, which reflects overall blood volume in the area, increased slightly in the left hemisphere following juice consumption. These findings are consistent with increased blood flow to that region, possibly due to a response known as neurovascular coupling. This process involves blood vessels expanding in response to increased brain activity, ensuring the area gets enough oxygen and nutrients.</p>
<p>Despite these physiological changes, participants did not perform any better on the mental tasks after drinking the blackcurrant juice. Their speed, accuracy, and self-reported fatigue were similar whether they consumed the juice or the placebo.</p>
<p>The lack of improvement in task performance suggests that simply increasing blood flow may not be enough to boost cognition in healthy young adults who already have optimal brain function. It is possible that these individuals were already performing near their best, leaving little room for improvement. Another possibility is that the mental tasks used, while demanding, were not sensitive enough to detect small differences in cognitive performance.</p>
<p>The left-sided increase in blood flow raises questions about how blackcurrant polyphenols affect the brain. One idea is that the anthocyanins or other compounds in the juice may promote the release of nitric oxide, a molecule that helps widen blood vessels. Another possible explanation is that the juice’s effect on neurotransmitters like dopamine or serotonin may play a role. Dopamine, in particular, has been linked to blood flow regulation in animal studies and may help explain the observed changes.</p>
<p>This study was small, with only 20 participants, and focused on a very specific age group—young adults in good health. The researchers acknowledge that this group may not benefit as much from blood flow changes as older adults or individuals with impaired circulation. Larger studies involving different age groups or people with reduced cognitive function could help determine whether blackcurrant juice offers more obvious mental benefits in those populations.</p>
<p>Another limitation is that only the prefrontal cortex was examined. While this region is important for attention and decision-making, it is just one part of a much larger brain network involved in cognition. It’s not clear whether blackcurrant juice would have similar effects elsewhere in the brain.</p>
<p>The researchers also did not measure levels of vitamins or minerals in the juice, which could have contributed to the observed effects. Blackcurrants are naturally high in vitamin C and other nutrients, which may also influence blood flow. Future studies might aim to control for these factors more precisely.</p>
<p>Finally, the researchers note that participants’ diets were not closely monitored. Regular intake of polyphenols may influence how the body responds to a single dose, so future work may need to consider habitual dietary patterns.</p>
<p>“The current paper is another small piece of a jigsaw of evidence which demonstrates the influence blackcurrant consumption can have on the brain,” Watson said. “Our work continues and, if funding applications are successful, the next project will use MRI to understand the effects blackcurrant have on the brain.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2025.2538062" target="_blank">Effects of blackcurrant juice on pre-frontal cortical haemodynamics and cognition in healthy young adults</a>,” was authored by Anthony W. Watson, Arjan Scheepens, David O. Kennedy, and Crystal F. Haskell-Ramsay.</p></p>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:13px; text-align: center; color: #666666; padding:4px; margin-bottom:2px;"></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
<p><strong>This information is taken from free public RSS feeds published by each organization for the purpose of public distribution. Readers are linked back to the article content on each organization's website. This email is an unaffiliated unofficial redistribution of this freely provided content from the publishers. </strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><s><small><a href="#" style="color:#ffffff;"><a href='https://blogtrottr.com/unsubscribe/565/DY9DKf'>unsubscribe from this feed</a></a></small></s></p>