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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/scientists-find-the-biological-footprint-of-social-anxiety-may-reside-partially-in-the-gut/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Scientists find the biological footprint of social anxiety may reside partially in the gut</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 17th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>New research published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.120597" target="_blank">Journal of Affective Disorders</a></em> provides evidence that the gut microbiome may play a functional role in the development of social anxiety disorder. The study found that transplanting gut bacteria from adolescents with social anxiety into newborn rats induced anxiety-like behaviors and altered brain chemistry in the animals. These findings suggest that specific alterations in the gut-brain axis could contribute to the pathology of social anxiety during adolescence.</p>
<p>Social anxiety disorder is a prevalent mental health condition characterized by an intense and persistent fear of social situations and negative evaluation by others. While psychological therapies and medications exist, they are not effective for every patient. This has led scientists to investigate alternative biological systems that might contribute to the disorder. </p>
<p>The gut-brain axis has emerged as a significant area of interest. This term refers to the bidirectional communication network between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. Previous studies have linked gut microbiota differences to various psychiatric conditions, including depression and autism spectrum disorder.</p>
<p>While earlier observations have indicated that people with social anxiety might have different gut bacteria than healthy individuals, it has been unclear if these microbial differences caused the symptoms or were merely a consequence of the disorder. A team of researchers led by Jinghong Chen of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine sought to move beyond simple correlation by using an experimental model to test for causality. They focused on adolescence because this is a critical period for brain development and is often when social anxiety symptoms first manifest.</p>
<p>“Our study was driven by both a pressing clinical reality and a compelling scientific inspiration,” explained co-author Junyu Lai, a member of <a href="https://www.smhc.org.cn/keylab" target="_blank">Chen’s research laboratory</a>. </p>
<p>“First, the real-world problem: Social anxiety disorder is a prevalent and often disabling condition that typically emerges during adolescence. As clinicians and researchers, we have long noticed that current first-line treatments—such as pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy—often show limited effectiveness and do not work for every child. We urgently need new therapeutic avenues that are safer and more accessible.”</p>
<p>“Second, we drew significant inspiration from the ‘gut-brain axis,’ particularly the high-impact research linking gut microbiota to the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder,” Lai explained. “Seeing how profound the gut’s influence is in autism, we asked ourselves: Could a similar disruption in the gut microbiome be driving social anxiety disorder?”</p>
<p>“This question motivated us to explore whether social anxiety disorder patients exhibit a distinct gut microbial environment. Our hope is that by confirming this link, we can pave the way for a new generation of treatments—interventions focused on maintaining gut health. We believe this could offer a more economical, safer, and sustainable long-term solution for managing social anxiety disorder symptoms, ultimately improving the quality of life for young patients.”</p>
<p>To conduct the study, the research team recruited 40 adolescents diagnosed with social anxiety disorder from the Shanghai Mental Health Center and local communities. They also enrolled 32 healthy control participants who were matched for age and gender. The researchers imposed strict inclusion criteria to ensure the results were not influenced by other factors. </p>
<p>All participants with social anxiety were experiencing their first episode of the disorder, had no other psychiatric comorbidities, and had never taken psychiatric medication. The team collected fecal samples from all participants to analyze the genetic composition of their gut bacteria.</p>
<p>The researchers used a fecal microbiota transplantation method to test the effects of these bacteria on brain development. They pooled the fecal samples from the anxiety group and the healthy group into two distinct composites. </p>
<p>They then administered these microbiota suspensions to newborn rats. The treatment began on the first day of life and continued daily until the rats reached late adolescence. This method differs from many similar studies that use adult rats treated with antibiotics to deplete their natural bacteria. The authors chose to colonize newborn rats to mimic the natural developmental process and avoid the potential side effects of high-dose antibiotics, which can independently cause anxiety in rodents.</p>
<p>Once the rats reached adolescence, the researchers evaluated them using a series of behavioral tests. They used an open field test to assess general anxiety and locomotor activity. In this test, anxious animals typically stick to the walls and avoid the center of the arena. </p>
<p>The researchers also employed an elevated plus maze, which consists of open and enclosed arms raised above the ground. Rats with lower anxiety levels typically explore the open arms, while anxious rats prefer the safety of the enclosed spaces. Finally, the team used a three-chamber social test to measure sociability and social novelty preference. This test observes how much time a rat spends interacting with a stranger rat compared to an empty cage or a familiar rat.</p>
<p>The analysis of the human samples revealed that the gut microbiota composition in adolescents with social anxiety differed from that of the healthy controls. While the overall diversity of the bacterial community was similar, specific bacterial genera showed significant variance. The anxiety group had higher levels of a genus called <em>Prevotella</em> and lower levels of <em>Parasutterella</em>.</p>
<p>“Unlike studies on autism, where the gut microbiota composition often shows drastic structural shifts, the changes we observed in social anxiety patients appeared relatively subtle,” Lai told PsyPost. “This initially raised concerns within our team about whether these microbial differences were sufficient to drive the pathology. However, the results from our animal models provided a compelling and encouraging turning point.”</p>
<p>The behavioral results in the rats mirrored the clinical picture seen in humans. The rats that received the microbiota from the social anxiety patients exhibited distinct anxiety-like behaviors. In the open field test, these rats spent less time exploring the center zone compared to the control group. </p>
<p>Similarly, in the elevated plus maze, the anxiety-colonized rats ventured into the open arms less frequently. In the social testing, these rats demonstrated a reduced preference for social novelty. While they still interacted with other rats, they did not show the typical preference for investigating a new, unfamiliar rat over a rat they had already met. This indicates a potential deficit in social processing.</p>
<p>Following the behavioral tests, the researchers analyzed the medial prefrontal cortex (MFC) of the rats. This brain region is essential for regulating emotions and processing social information. </p>
<p>The analysis revealed distinct metabolic changes in the brains of the rats colonized with anxiety-associated bacteria. The researchers identified alterations in several metabolites, including lower levels of beta-carotene and changes in amino acids such as threonine and aspartic acid. The researchers noted that the decline in <em>Parasutterella</em> in the gut was associated with changes in cholesterol and bile acid metabolism. These metabolic shifts in the brain were correlated with the anxiety-like behaviors observed during testing.</p>
<p>“The most significant takeaway is that social anxiety disorder appears to have a distinct biological footprint in the gut,” Lai explained. “Our study confirmed that the gut microbiota composition in adolescents with social anxiety disorder is different from that of healthy peers.” </p>
<p>“More importantly, we found that this is not just a correlation. When we transplanted this ‘anxiety-associated microbiota’ into rats, the animals began to exhibit anxiety-like behaviors and social deficits, mirroring the human symptoms. We even observed specific metabolic changes in the MFC, a brain region critical for social processing. This provides compelling evidence that the gut-brain axis plays a functional role in the pathology of social anxiety.”</p>
<p>There are some limitations to this study that affect how the results should be interpreted. The human participants were all Han Chinese adolescents, meaning the findings may not generalize to adults or people of other ethnicities. The study identified changes in the bacterial community as a whole but did not pinpoint the specific bacterial strains or metabolites responsible for the behavioral effects. Additionally, the researchers did not measure markers of the immune system or the stress response system, which are likely involved in transmitting signals from the gut to the brain.</p>
<p>“I want to be very clear about what this means—and what it doesn’t mean yet,” Lai said. “We haven’t found a ‘magic pill’ yet: We have not yet pinpointed the specific bacteria or metabolites responsible for these changes. We know the community has an effect, but we don’t know the exact ‘key players.'”</p>
<p>“Our study focused specifically on treatment-naïve Han Chinese adolescents to ensure a clean experimental baseline. We need further research to confirm if these findings apply to adults, other ethnicities, or broader populations. The picture is still incomplete: We have not yet fully mapped how this interacts with other body systems, such as the immune system or the HPA (stress) axis.”</p>
<p>Future research will need to address these gaps by examining larger and more diverse populations. The authors plan to investigate the specific bacterial species that drive these changes and explore the intermediate pathways, such as immune signaling. While the results are promising for understanding the biology of social anxiety, they do not yet provide a basis for clinical treatments.</p>
<p>“Our current study is just the beginning, and acknowledging our limitations points us directly toward our future research directions,” Lai explained. “We have mapped out three key steps.”</p>
<p>“First, we aim to move from ‘community’ to ‘specificity’. In this study, we observed the effects of the whole gut microbiota community. However, as noted in our limitations, we have not yet pinpointed the specific bacterial taxa or the precise metabolites responsible for the observed effects. Our next step is to isolate and identify the specific ‘key players’—whether it is a particular bacterial strain or a specific metabolic byproduct—that directly drives the metabolic changes we saw in the mPFC.”</p>
<p>“Second, we plan to map the full ‘communication highway’ between the gut and the brain,” Lai said. “While we confirmed the endpoint (mPFC metabolic changes) and the starting point (gut dysbiosis), our current study did not comprehensively measure the intermediate pathways, such as the immune system or the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis. In future studies, we intend to integrate these systemic factors to fully understand how the gut signals reach the brain—whether through immune activation, hormonal pathways, or direct neural routes.”</p>
<p>“Finally, we need to test the generalizability of our findings. Our current cohort consisted specifically of treatment-naïve Han Chinese adolescents. To ensure our findings are universally applicable, we plan to expand our research to larger, more diverse populations, including different age groups and ethnicities. This will help us determine if the gut-brain mechanisms we discovered are consistent across all SAD patients or specific to certain developmental stages.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.120597" target="_blank">Gut microbiota from adolescents with social anxiety disorder is associated with behavioral alterations and metabolic changes in the medial prefrontal cortex</a>,” was authored by Junyu Lai, Beibei Yang, Peijun Ju, Ying Sun, Xiujia Sun, Wenhong Cheng, and Jinghong Chen.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/the-thought-processes-of-cheaters-closely-resemble-those-of-criminals-study-suggests/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">The thought processes of cheaters closely resemble those of criminals, study suggests</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 17th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new qualitative study suggests that the motivations and rationalizations behind romantic infidelity closely mirror those found in criminal behavior. By analyzing online forum posts from self-identified cheaters, researchers found that individuals often turn to infidelity to cope with life stressors, utilize calculated strategies to avoid detection, and employ specific psychological justifications to alleviate guilt. The findings were published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2025.2584194" target="_blank">Deviant Behavior</a></em>.</p>
<p>Criminologists typically focus their attention on actions that violate the law. However, the distinction between illegal acts and behaviors that are merely deviant is often defined by social context rather than the nature of the act itself. </p>
<p>Infidelity serves as a prime example of this conceptual overlap. While generally legal in Western nations, it shares core characteristics with criminal offenses. It offers rewards to the perpetrator, causes significant harm to the victim, and carries the risk of severe personal or social consequences.</p>
<p>The authors of the new study, led by Timothy Dickinson of the University of Alabama, sought to determine if theories designed to explain criminal behavior could illuminate the thought processes behind extramarital affairs. They also aimed to explore if studying infidelity could provide feedback to improve criminological theories themselves. </p>
<p>“We started with a simple question: do people who commit infidelity think and act like criminals?” explained co-author Tova Cohen, a doctoral student at Rutgers University-Newark. “As far as we know, this has never been rigorously studied before, but we suspected that excuses from people who cheat (such as ‘I’m not appreciated by my current partner and she won’t know’) often sound like those made to justify crime (such as ‘I needed the cash and didn’t hurt anyone’). To approach this scientifically, we applied three criminological theories to our qualitative analysis of statements from self-identified cheaters. This could also help us learn more about the theories themselves.”</p>
<p>To conduct the investigation, the research team collected data from two popular online discussion forums: “Talk about Marriage” and “Surviving Infidelity.” These platforms allow users to discuss their relationships and transgressions anonymously. The researchers specifically targeted posts from the “Coping with Infidelity” and “Wayward Side” threads. They selected posts from users who self-identified as having engaged in sexual infidelity.</p>
<p>The researchers prioritized depth of information over quantity. To ensure the data was rich enough for meaningful analysis, they only included posts and associated comments that exceeded 250 words. The final sample consisted of 81 individuals. The researchers intentionally included more men than women to mirror the gender disparities often seen in criminal statistics. Specifically, 64 posts were authored by men and 17 by women. </p>
<p>The team then performed a detailed content analysis. They coded the text for themes related to three specific criminological frameworks: strain theory, restrictive deterrence, and neutralization theory.</p>
<p>The first major finding centered on general strain theory. This perspective posits that individuals engage in deviant behavior to cope with negative emotions resulting from adversity. The analysis suggests that strain plays a substantial role in motivating unfaithful behavior. Participants frequently cited negative life events as triggers. These included workplace stress, financial difficulties, or demanding family responsibilities.</p>
<p>Problems within the relationship also fueled the decision to cheat. Users complained about a lack of intimacy, often describing “dead bedrooms” or feeling their sexual needs were ignored. In these cases, the affair was framed as a corrective action to relieve the frustration of blocked goals. Some users described a sense of “cake-eating,” where they wished to maintain their marriage while simultaneously satisfying their needs elsewhere.</p>
<p>The study indicates that infidelity often generates new forms of strain rather than just resolving old ones. Cheaters reported significant anxiety about living a double life. They described feelings of guilt, confusion, and fear that their marriage might end. This paradox sometimes drove them to continue the affair for temporary relief from the very stress the affair was causing.</p>
<p>The second theoretical framework applied was restrictive deterrence. This concept refers to how offenders alter their behavior to avoid punishment or minimize consequences. The researchers found ample evidence of this among the cheaters. Participants employed sophisticated tactics to lower the certainty of getting caught. This included the use of “burner” phones, secret email accounts, or meeting in locations where they were unlikely to be recognized.</p>
<p>Deception played a central role in this risk management. Many participants described acting “normal” or even being more attentive to their spouses to deflect suspicion. Some went as far as “gaslighting” their partners, making them question their own intuition regarding the affair. These strategies mirror how criminals might try to blend in with lawful society to avoid drawing the attention of law enforcement.</p>
<p>When discovery seemed imminent or had already occurred, the strategy shifted to managing the severity of the consequences. A common tactic identified was “minimizing” or “trickle truthing.” This involves admitting to a minor transgression, such as a kiss, while hiding the full extent of a sexual affair. Others agreed to counseling not necessarily to heal the relationship, but to demonstrate penitence and reduce the anger of the betrayed partner. This behavior is comparable to a criminal defendant expressing remorse in court to secure a lighter sentence.</p>
<p>The third area of focus was neutralization theory. This framework explains how individuals suppress feelings of guilt to protect their self-image. The study highlighted how cheaters use specific psychological techniques to neutralize their internal moral censors. One common method was the denial of responsibility. Men in the study frequently appealed to biological drives, claiming they had needs that simply had to be met.</p>
<p>Participants also engaged in the denial of the victim. They often blamed their spouse for being cold, abusive, or withholding sex. By framing the spouse as the antagonist, the cheaters could view their own actions as a justified reaction rather than a betrayal. This effectively argues that the partner brought the infidelity upon themselves.</p>
<p>Another technique observed was the denial of injury. Cheaters convinced themselves that as long as the partner did not find out, no harm was actually done. This rationale allowed them to frame the affair as a victimless act. Some participants justified their secrecy as a form of kindness, arguing that confessing would only cause unnecessary pain to their spouse.</p>
<p>“Cheaters frequently described their lies and concealment as a way to not only protect themselves, but also to ‘protect’ their partners from harm,” Cohen told PsyPost. “Regardless of whether these claims reflect their self-interested motives or genuine concern for their partners, the cheaters consistently used strategies aimed at reducing the likelihood of discovery. </p>
<p>“This became even more fascinating when we considered whether there are crimes perpetrated by offenders who claim the moral thing is for them to not get caught because that way their victim would not know they were even victimized. For example, is robbery, fraud, and theft sometimes hidden by perpetrators who believe it is kinder to the victim if they never know why their money or property suddenly disappeared – which then functions as a neutralization to make offending easier?”</p>
<p>Some users justified their actions by appealing to higher loyalties. This often manifested as falling in love with the affair partner. By elevating the affair to the status of “true love,” they could frame their betrayal of the spouse as a necessary pursuit of happiness. Others distanced their current identity from their past actions. They would describe their past selves in derogatory terms, implying they had since evolved into a different, more moral person who should not be blamed for the old behavior.</p>
<p>The interaction between these theories provides further insight. The study suggests that the experience of strain often informs the specific neutralizations used. For example, the pain of a sexless marriage becomes the justification for the denial of responsibility. Furthermore, the strategies of restrictive deterrence, such as hiding the affair, reinforce the denial of injury by ensuring the victim remains unaware of the harm.</p>
<p>“The motivations and thought processes of criminals are not necessarily different from those of people who engage in other harmful but legal behavior,” Cohen said. “The same processes—strain, risk management, and moral justification—can shape behavior across both domains. For anyone who has been cheated on and felt like they were victimized by their cheating partners, or believe their partners acted like criminals, our findings provide support for that comparison.”</p>
<p>But as with all research, there are some limitations. The research relied on qualitative data from online forums. This provides anonymity and potentially greater honesty, but it limits how much the findings can be generalized to all cheaters. The sample was heavily skewed toward men, which was a deliberate choice by the authors but may obscure gender differences in motivations. The researchers cannot verify the true identity of the posters or the objective truth of their stories.</p>
<p>For future inquiries, the authors suggest applying these criminological theories to other forms of legal but harmful behavior. They also note that criminologists could learn more about criminal concealment by studying how non-criminals hide their tracks. The parallels suggest that the line between the criminal mind and the average person may be thinner than commonly believed.</p>
<p>“It would be interesting to look into how these criminological theories extend to other lawful yet deviant behaviors that involve harm, concealment, and moral negotiation (e.g., workplace misconduct, financial deception within families, digital exploitation, or violations of professional norms),” Cohen explained. “Additionally, it may be pertinent to analyze the present infidelity study alongside current studies—and future ones—that examine crimes of sexual deviance (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102544" target="_blank">Lankford et al., 2024</a>).”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2025.2584194" target="_blank">Examining Infidelity Through Strain, Restrictive Deterrence, and Neutralizations</a>,” was authored by Timothy Dickinson, Tova Cohen, Adam Lankford, and Katy Lankford.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/deep-sleep-reorganizes-brain-networks-used-for-memory-recall/" 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;">Deep sleep reorganizes brain networks used for memory recall</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 16th 2025, 18:00</div>
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<p><p>A study using electroencephalography found that the extent of memory retention after sleep is associated with time spent in slow wave sleep. The location where the brain shows neural activity associated with successful memory recall shifted from the parietal areas to the anterior temporal lobe after sleep. The paper was published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109267"><em>Neuropsychologia</em></a>.</p>
<p>Slow wave sleep is the deepest stage of non-REM sleep, characterized by large, slow brain waves and a highly reduced level of consciousness. During this stage, the brain significantly alters its activity, allowing neurons to rest and recover from daytime demands. It plays a central role in consolidating memories, especially facts and skills learned throughout the day.</p>
<p>Slow wave sleep also supports physical restoration by promoting the release of growth hormone and facilitating tissue repair. The immune system becomes more active during this phase, helping the body fight infections and maintain long-term health. Because the brain is less responsive to external stimuli, slow wave sleep provides the most uninterrupted and restorative rest.</p>
<p>This stage helps clear metabolic waste from the brain, contributing to long-term cognitive health. People who get too little slow wave sleep experience reduced attention, poorer memory, and diminished emotional regulation the following day. Slow wave sleep also helps stabilize neural circuits, making future learning easier.</p>
<p>Study author Simon Faghel-Soubeyrand and his colleagues wanted to assess how sleep may support the reorganization of memory recall networks in the brain. They note that our memories are not static, but that they change in both strength and quality over time. Previous studies indicate that, as these changes happen, the location of brain activity during recall changes. The optimal time for this consolidation to occur is during sleep, when the brain is sheltered from external stimulation. They conducted a study to examine this using high-density electroencephalography (EEG).</p>
<p>Study participants were 24 university students. Their average age was roughly 23 years. Five of them were male.</p>
<p>The participants completed two separate sessions of word-image memory tasks. Word-image memory tasks require people to learn and later recall or recognize associations between written words and corresponding pictures. The two sessions were 7–8 days apart. One set of sessions was “object sessions,” where the images participants learned to associate with words were either a car or a guitar. The other set of sessions was “scene sessions,” where participants associated words with either a house or a corridor. Within a session, images were paired with 100 unique verbs.</p>
<p>Each of these sessions was followed by two recall sessions. One recall session happened before sleep, while the second happened after sleep. In general, the first recall session happened in the evening. The participants then slept through the night. The experimenter would wake them at 7:30 the next morning, and after a few minutes to fully awaken, they would again try to recall what they learned. During these activities, study authors took EEG recordings of the participants’ brain activity.</p>
<p>Results showed that the location in the brain where the strongest signs of recall activity occurred shifted from before to after sleep. While the primary activity during memory recall was in the parietal area of the brain before sleep, it moved towards the anterior temporal lobe after sleep. Individuals who spent more time in slow wave sleep tended to recall more of what they learned after sleep, and the shift in the location of brain activity during recall tended to be greater in these individuals.</p>
<p>Overall, results indicated that the profiles of brain activity during successful recall of memories changed overnight and that the extent of these changes was higher in individuals who spent more time in slow wave sleep.</p>
<p>“Together, these findings suggest a link between SWS [slow wave sleep] and the consolidation and functional reorganisation of episodic memory networks,” study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study contributes to the scientific understanding of the way memory retention and recall function. However, the study was conducted on a small sample of students. Results on other demographic groups and older individuals might differ.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109267">Slow wave sleep is associated with a reorganisation of episodic memory networks</a>,” was authored by Simon Faghel-Soubeyrand, Polina Perzich, and Bernhard P. Staresina.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/volume-reduction-in-amygdala-tracks-with-depression-relief-after-ketamine-infusions/" 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;">Volume reduction in amygdala tracks with depression relief after ketamine infusions</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 16th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>Researchers have identified a specific structural change in the brain that appears to track with the relief of depressive symptoms following ketamine treatment. In a group of patients with treatment-resistant depression, a reduction in the volume of a specific sub-region of the amygdala was linked to a decrease in feelings of unhappiness and unease. These findings were published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.08.017" target="_blank">Journal of Psychiatric Research</a></em>.</p>
<p>Major depressive disorder is a pervasive condition that affects millions of individuals globally. Standard treatments, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are effective for many. However, roughly thirty percent of patients do not experience adequate relief even after trying multiple different medications. This condition is categorized as treatment-resistant depression.</p>
<p>Ketamine has emerged in recent years as a potent alternative for these difficult-to-treat cases. It is an anesthetic drug that functions differently from traditional antidepressants. Clinical trials have repeatedly demonstrated that it can provide rapid relief for severe depression. Despite its proven efficacy, the precise biological mechanisms by which ketamine alters the brain to improve mood remain largely unknown.</p>
<p>The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped structure located deep within the temporal lobes of the brain. It is widely recognized as a central hub for processing emotions, particularly fear and negative stimuli. In people suffering from depression, this brain region often exhibits excessive activity. Neuroscientists have long suspected that this hyperactivity contributes to the persistent negative emotional state associated with the disorder.</p>
<p>Previous research using functional magnetic resonance imaging has supported this idea. Studies have shown that ketamine administration can dampen this excessive activity in the amygdala. However, the relationship between the physical size, or volume, of the amygdala and the therapeutic effects of ketamine has been less clear.</p>
<p>Past attempts to measure amygdalar volume in depressed patients have yielded inconsistent results. Some studies reported shrinkage, while others reported enlargement. A potential reason for these discrepancies is that the amygdala is not a single, uniform object. It is a complex of multiple distinct nuclei, or subfields. These subfields have different cellular structures and connect to different parts of the brain.</p>
<p>The research team was led by Kengo Yonezawa and Shinichiro Nakajima from the Department of Neuropsychiatry at Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. They hypothesized that looking at the amygdala as a whole might obscure important changes occurring within its specific internal structures. They proposed that changes in the volume of specific subfields might correlate with how well a patient responds to ketamine.</p>
<p>To test this hypothesis, the investigators utilized data from a rigorous clinical trial. The study was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. This design is the gold standard in medical research because it minimizes bias. Participants were adults between the ages of 20 and 59 who had failed to respond to at least two different antidepressants.</p>
<p>The study enrolled 34 participants with treatment-resistant depression. These individuals were randomly assigned to receive either intravenous ketamine or a saline placebo. The infusions were administered twice a week for a period of two weeks.</p>
<p>The researchers used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging to scan the brains of the participants. Scans were taken at two specific time points. The first scan occurred before the treatment began. The second scan took place approximately five to six days after the final infusion.</p>
<p>The team employed advanced software called FreeSurfer to analyze the brain images. This automated tool allowed them to digitally segment the amygdala into three distinct functional sub-regions. These were the laterobasal nuclei, the centromedial nuclei, and the superficial nuclei.</p>
<p>The laterobasal nuclei are considered the primary input centers of the amygdala. They receive sensory information from the cortex and other brain areas. The centromedial nuclei act as the output center, sending signals to the brainstem to trigger behavioral responses. The superficial nuclei are connected to the olfactory cortex.</p>
<p>Depressive symptoms were measured using the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. The researchers looked at the total score, but they also broke the scores down into subdomains. These subdomains included dysphoria, which covers sadness and pessimistic thoughts; retardation, which covers lethargy and lack of feeling; and vegetative symptoms, such as sleep and appetite changes.</p>
<p>The analysis revealed a specific statistical interaction. In the group of patients who received ketamine, there was a positive association between the change in volume of the right laterobasal nuclei and the change in dysphoria scores. Specifically, as the volume of this brain region decreased, the patients’ reported feelings of sadness and unease also decreased.</p>
<p>This correlation was exclusive to the ketamine group. Patients in the placebo group did not show this relationship between brain structure and symptom improvement. This distinction suggests that the observation is not merely a general feature of feeling better. It implies a specific neurobiological effect induced by the drug.</p>
<p>The researchers did not find similar associations in the other subfields of the amygdala. The left side of the amygdala also did not show this specific correlation. The connection was isolated to the right laterobasal nuclei and the improvement of dysphoric symptoms.</p>
<p>These findings align with the theory that the amygdala is overactive in depression. The laterobasal nuclei receive inputs from the prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain responsible for higher-order thinking and regulation. In depression, the communication between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala is often impaired.</p>
<p>The authors suggest that ketamine may help restore normal function to the prefrontal cortex. This restoration allows for better “top-down” control of the amygdala. The observed reduction in volume might represent a physical manifestation of this reduced hyperactivity. Essentially, as the region becomes less overactive, it may undergo subtle structural changes that reflect a more normalized state.</p>
<p>It is worth noting that the study did not find a significant difference in the average volume change between the ketamine group and the placebo group when looking at the participants as a whole. The effect was only visible when looking at the correlation with symptom improvement. This means ketamine did not simply shrink the amygdala in everyone. Rather, the shrinkage tracked with who got better.</p>
<p>There are several limitations to this study that require consideration. The sample size was relatively small. Due to logistical issues and dropouts, the final analysis included eleven patients in the ketamine group and fifteen in the placebo group. Small sample sizes can sometimes lead to results that are not reproducible in larger populations.</p>
<p>Another limitation is that the participants remained on their standard antidepressant medications during the trial. While this reflects real-world clinical practice, it introduces a variable. It is theoretically possible that the background medications influenced the brain structure in some way.</p>
<p>The study was also exploratory in nature. The researchers examined multiple brain regions and symptom scores. While they used statistical methods to validate their findings, larger studies are needed to confirm these results.</p>
<p>Additionally, the study did not include a healthy control group. Without healthy subjects for comparison, it is difficult to know if the amygdalar volumes in these patients were abnormal to begin with. It is also unclear whether the volume reduction represents a return to a “normal” size or a change to a new state.</p>
<p>The duration of the study was short. The second MRI scan was taken less than a week after the final treatment. It remains unknown whether these structural changes persist over time. It is also unclear if the volume of the amygdala would return to its previous state if the depressive symptoms recurred.</p>
<p>Despite these caveats, the research offers a new perspective on how ketamine treats depression. It moves beyond general ideas of “chemical imbalance” to look at specific structural changes in emotional processing centers. The identification of the right laterobasal nuclei as a region of interest provides a target for future investigations.</p>
<p>Understanding these biological markers is essential for the development of personalized medicine in psychiatry. If doctors can identify which brain structures need to change for recovery to occur, they may be able to predict which patients will respond to ketamine. This could spare patients from undergoing treatments that are unlikely to work for their specific biology.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.08.017" target="_blank">The association between amygdalar volume changes and depressive symptom improvements after repeated ketamine infusion in treatment-resistant depression: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with the following open-label study</a>,” was authored by Kengo Yonezawa, Shinichiro Nakajima, Nobuaki Hondo, Yohei Ohtani, Kie Nomoto-Takahashi, Taisuke Yatomi, Sota Tomiyama, Nobuhiro Nagai, Keisuke Kusudo, Koki Takahashi, Shiori Honda, Sotaro Moriyama, Takashige Yamada, Shinsuke Koike, Hiroyuki Uchida, and Hideaki Tani.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/couples-share-a-unique-form-of-contagious-forgetting-new-research-suggests/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Couples share a unique form of contagious forgetting, new research suggests</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 16th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>Couples often finish each other’s sentences. New research suggests they may also help edit each other’s memories. A study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218251367720" target="_blank">Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology</a></em> provides evidence that romantic partners synchronize their brain activity during storytelling. This neural alignment leads to a specific type of shared forgetting that does not occur between strangers.</p>
<p>The research indicates that the closeness of a relationship fundamentally alters how two people process information together. When one partner selectively remembers certain details of an event, the other partner tends to forget related but unmentioned details. This phenomenon suggests that memory is not just an individual archive but a collaborative system shaped by social bonds.</p>
<p>Psychologists have long understood that human memory is reconstructive rather than reproductive. When a person tries to recall a specific piece of information, their brain must actively select that target memory. In doing so, the brain suppresses competing memories that might interfere with the retrieval.</p>
<p>For example, if a person tries to remember “Fruit-Orange,” they may temporarily suppress the memory of “Fruit-Banana” to avoid confusion. This process is known as retrieval-induced forgetting. It is a standard mechanism that helps keep cognitive processes efficient and focused.</p>
<p>However, this pruning process is not confined to a single mind. Previous research has identified a phenomenon called socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting. This occurs when a listener experiences the same memory suppression as the speaker.</p>
<p>If a speaker recalls “Fruit-Orange,” a listener who is paying attention will also involuntarily suppress “Fruit-Banana.” Later, that listener will find it harder to recall “Banana” than if they had never heard the speaker at all. The current study aimed to see if this “contagious” forgetting is stronger between people who love each other.</p>
<p>Huan Zhang, the study’s first author, conducted this research with colleagues at Tianjin Normal University in China. The team posited that romantic partners share a unique cognitive reality. Over time, couples develop aligned patterns of thinking and communicating.</p>
<p>The researchers hypothesized that this deep connection would make partners more susceptible to influencing each other’s memory systems. To test this, they designed two experiments involving heterosexual couples and pairs of strangers.</p>
<p>The first experiment focused on whether the type of memory mattered. The researchers recruited 38 adults forming 19 romantic couples. These participants had been in relationships for at least six months.</p>
<p>The researchers used cue words to trigger autobiographical memories. Some cues prompted “joint” memories, which were events the couple experienced together. Other cues prompted “non-joint” memories, which were private events unknown to the partner.</p>
<p>During the learning phase, participants studied these memories. Then, they entered a retrieval practice phase. One partner acted as the speaker and the other as the listener. The speaker practiced recalling specific details of the memories while the listener simply listened.</p>
<p>Later, both participants performed a final recall test individually. They tried to remember all the details associated with the original cues. This included the items the speaker practiced and the related items the speaker skipped.</p>
<p>The results showed a clear pattern of forgetting. Listeners struggled to recall the unmentioned details related to what the speaker had practiced. This happened for both shared memories and private memories. The connection between the partners seemed to facilitate this effect regardless of the content.</p>
<p>The researchers then expanded the study to include strangers. In a second experiment, they recruited 76 participants. These included 20 romantic couples and 18 pairs of strangers who were introduced just before the test.</p>
<p>To ensure a fair comparison, all pairs used non-joint memories. This eliminated the advantage couples might have from knowing their partner’s past. The procedure remained the same, with one person speaking and the other listening.</p>
<p>The findings revealed a divergence between the groups. Romantic partners again exhibited socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting. When the speaker recalled specific details, the listening partner forgot the related, unmentioned details.</p>
<p>In contrast, the pairs of strangers did not show this effect. The listeners in the stranger group did not experience significant memory suppression. This result differs from some prior studies that found effects among strangers, but it highlights the potential power of intimacy.</p>
<p>The researchers propose that romantic partners have a higher motivation to align their thinking. Listeners in a relationship may simulate the speaker’s retrieval process more intensely. This leads to the same suppression mechanisms triggering in the listener’s brain.</p>
<p>To understand the biology behind this, the team conducted a third experiment using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. This is a non-invasive imaging technique. It uses light to measure blood flow and oxygen levels in the brain.</p>
<p>The researchers focused on the prefrontal cortex. This brain region is associated with executive control and memory regulation. They attached sensors to the foreheads of 38 pairs of participants, comprising both couples and strangers.</p>
<p>The brain imaging data showed higher overall activation in the prefrontal cortex for romantic couples compared to strangers. This suggests that couples engaged more cognitive resources during the collaborative task.</p>
<p>More revealing was the analysis of neural synchronization. The researchers looked at how the brain waves of the speaker and listener matched up over time. They found a high degree of interpersonal neural synchronization in the romantic pairs.</p>
<p>Specifically, the signals in the lateral prefrontal cortex of the listeners synced with those of the speakers. This synchronization was significantly stronger in couples than in stranger pairs. The brains of the partners effectively began to operate in rhythm.</p>
<p>The researchers then looked for a link between this brain activity and the memory test results. They found a statistical correlation. The stronger the neural synchronization between a couple, the more the listener experienced memory forgetting.</p>
<p>This suggests that the synchronization is not just a side effect of being together. It appears to be the mechanism that allows one partner’s memory process to reshape the other’s. The brain data explained about 10 percent of the variation in the forgetting effect.</p>
<p>The authors argue that this synchronization helps couples build a “shared reality.” By aligning what they remember and what they forget, partners maintain a coherent shared view of the world. This comes at the cost of losing some individual details.</p>
<p>There are caveats to these findings. The study participants were Chinese university students. Cultural factors regarding relationships and social influence could play a role. The results might differ in Western cultures where independence is often prioritized over social alignment.</p>
<p>The experimental setup was also artificial. Participants had fixed roles as speakers or listeners. Real conversations are dynamic, with partners swapping roles rapidly. Future research needs to examine these effects in naturalistic settings.</p>
<p>The imaging technique also has limitations. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy only measures the surface of the brain. It cannot reach deeper structures that might be involved in memory. It also has lower spatial resolution than MRI scans.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study offers a new perspective on social cognition. It provides biological evidence that romantic love creates a neural link between partners. This link facilitates the updating and pruning of memories across two brains.</p>
<p>The findings imply that our memories are not entirely our own. Who we spend our time with helps determine what we remember and what we forget. In a romantic relationship, the price of harmony may be the loss of specific unshared details.</p>
<p>Future research aims to explore different types of relationships. It remains to be seen if close friends or family members show similar synchronization. The researchers also hope to see if this effect holds true for emotional memories versus neutral ones.</p>
<p>For now, the data suggests that becoming a couple involves a convergence of minds. This convergence is visible in the blood flow of the prefrontal cortex. It manifests as a synchronized reshaping of the past.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218251367720" target="_blank">The role of romantic relationships in socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting: Cognitive and neural evidence</a>,” was authored by Huan Zhang, Yuyao Chang, Shamali Ahati, Jiaying Pu and Tour Liu.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/naturalistic-study-reveals-nuanced-cognitive-effects-of-cannabis-on-frequent-older-users/" 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;">Naturalistic study reveals nuanced cognitive effects of cannabis on frequent older users</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 16th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811251370975" target="_blank">Journal of Psychopharmacology</a></em> suggests that older adults who frequently use cannabis experience specific acute declines in cognitive function, particularly in processing speed and executive functioning. The findings indicate that while these individuals experience strong subjective feelings of intoxication, the impact on their mental performance is nuanced and does not affect all cognitive domains equally.</p>
<p>The demographic of adults over the age of 65 represents the fastest-growing group of cannabis users in the United States and Canada. Despite this rapid increase in prevalence, scientific understanding of how the drug acutely affects the aging brain remains limited. Older adults undergo physiological changes in metabolism and body composition that could theoretically make them more sensitive to the effects of drugs.</p>
<p>On the other hand, many older adults who consume cannabis have done so for decades. This long-term experience might build a tolerance that lessens the cognitive impact of the drug. The research team sought to clarify these uncertainties by observing older adults in a controlled laboratory setting. They aimed to determine how the drug impacts specific mental skills like memory, attention, and problem-solving in a population that is often excluded from clinical trials.</p>
<p>“Since legalization for non-medical purposes in Canada in 2018, use of cannabis is on the rise. This increase is greatest is older adults, and adults over the age of 65 are the fastest growing group of cannabis users. Despite this, there are only a handful of studies on the effects of cannabis in older adults,” said study author Patricia DiCiano, a scientist with the Institute for Mental Health and Policy Research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and an associate professor at the University of Toronto.</p>
<p>To investigate these effects, the researchers recruited 31 adults between the ages of 65 and 78. All participants had normal cognitive function and were current cannabis users. Most reported using cannabis frequently, with many consuming it daily or multiple times a week. The study utilized a naturalistic design to mimic real-world habits.</p>
<p>Participants were invited to bring their own legally purchased cannabis products to the laboratory. They smoked their preferred amount to reach a desired level of intoxication. This approach contrasts with traditional clinical trials that assign specific, often lower, doses of the drug. It allows scientists to observe the effects of the actual products people use in their daily lives.</p>
<p>One novel aspect of this study is that we invited people to smoke their preferred legally sourced cannabis,” DiCiano said. “Canada has a unique regulatory structure which allows for the testing of retail cannabis in the lab. This lends real world credibility to the findings.”</p>
<p>The experiment followed a counterbalanced, crossover design involving two separate testing sessions. In one session, participants smoked their cannabis. In the other session, they simply relaxed in the same environment without consuming any substances. This structure allowed the researchers to compare the same person in a sober state versus an intoxicated state.</p>
<p>The researchers administered tests measuring different mental skills at 60 minutes and 210 minutes after smoking. These included the Trail Making Test, which measures visual search speed, scanning, speed of processing, and mental flexibility. They also used the Useful Field of View test for visual attention and a verbal free recall task to assess learning and memory.</p>
<p>In addition to cognitive testing, the team collected blood samples to measure levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. They also administered surveys to gauge the participants’ subjective experiences. These surveys asked individuals to rate feelings such as how “high” they felt, their level of sedation, and any changes in mood.</p>
<p>The results showed that smoking cannabis produced robust subjective effects. Participants reported feeling intoxicated and experienced the typical sensations associated with the drug. These feelings peaked around 30 minutes after smoking and remained elevated for hours.</p>
<p>“I think one common misinterpretation is that people who use cannabis frequently will not feel the effects of the drug or the drug will have less of an effect,” DiCiano told PsyPost. “In this study the participants were for the most part frequent users of cannabis and we found that they reported that they felt high, and cannabis had an effect on cognition. All users of cannabis should exercise caution.”</p>
<p>Regarding cognitive performance, the researchers found specific impairments. On the Trail Making Test, participants were slower 60 minutes after smoking compared to their sober session. This test requires connecting numbered dots in order or alternating between numbers and letters. The slower performance suggests a temporary decline in executive function and information processing speed.</p>
<p>The results for memory presented a more complex picture. On the verbal free recall test, participants were read a list of words and asked to repeat them. Later, they were asked to recall as many words as possible. The data showed that the percentage of words retained was higher in the cannabis condition compared to the sober condition.</p>
<p>“We were surprised by the fact that some measures were worse in the no cannabis condition than in the cannabis condition,” DiCiano said. “Some interpret this as an improvement in performance after cannabis, while others posit that cannabis may just reverse fatigue or withdrawal that may become apparent over the course of a day. Participants were for the most part frequent users and these findings would need to be replicated in people who use cannabis less frequently and also with different routes of administration.”</p>
<p>Performance on the Useful Field of View test, which measures the ability to visually attend to central and peripheral information, showed no significant differences between the two conditions. This lack of impairment contrasts with previous studies in younger adults, which often find that cannabis reduces visual attention. It is possible that the older adults in this study had developed a specific tolerance to this effect.</p>
<p>The researchers also analyzed the relationship between blood THC levels and cognitive performance. They found that the correlation was inconsistent and sometimes counterintuitive. For example, higher doses of THC were associated with better performance on a divided attention task at 60 minutes. This contradicts the assumption that higher drug levels always lead to greater impairment.</p>
<p>This study was part of <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2814053" target="_blank">a larger project</a> that also examined driving abilities in the same group of older adults. The companion paper focused on how these same participants performed in a driving simulator. In that portion of the research, the data showed that participants demonstrated increased weaving within their lane and reduced driving speed 30 minutes after smoking.</p>
<p>The cognitive impairments found in the current study, specifically the slowed processing speed on the Trail Making Test, align with the driving difficulties observed. Slower executive functioning can make it harder to react to changes on the road or maintain consistent lane position. The driving study also found that participants reduced their speed, which may be a compensatory strategy to manage their perceived impairment.</p>
<p>“The participants in this study were for the most part frequent users of cannabis and it is important to note that cannabis still had effects on them,” DiCiano explained. “Some people think that frequent users would not be impacted, but the evidence for a diminished impact in frequent users is not well established. Frequent use of cannabis seems to produce a tolerance to some effects of cannabis, but not all.”</p>
<p>Both the cognitive and driving components of the project highlight a disconnect between biological markers and functional ability. Just as blood THC did not predict cognitive decline in a straightforward way, the driving study found no clear link between blood THC concentration and the degree of driving impairment. This suggests that for frequent older users, blood tests may not accurately reflect their level of functional intoxication.</p>
<p>Some limitations affect the generalizability of these findings. The sample size was relatively small and consisted mostly of white males who used cannabis frequently. This makes it difficult to apply the results to occasional users, women, or more diverse populations. The study also relied on participants bringing their own cannabis, meaning the potency and ratio of cannabinoids varied from person to person.</p>
<p>Additionally, the study did not include a placebo group. Participants were aware of when they were consuming the drug and when they were not. This knowledge can influence performance and subjective ratings through expectancy effects. The frequent nature of the participants’ cannabis use also raises the possibility that the “sober” day involved minor withdrawal symptoms, which could affect the comparison.</p>
<p>Future research should aim to compare older adults directly with younger control groups to better understand age-related differences. Scientists also need to investigate other methods of consumption, such as edibles and vaping, which are becoming increasingly popular among older demographics. These methods introduce THC into the body differently and may result in different cognitive effects.</p>
<p>Understanding the chronic versus acute effects of cannabis in this population is also a priority. As more older adults turn to cannabis for medical or recreational purposes, clarity on how it affects their daily functioning is essential for public safety. Large-scale studies could help clarify the complex relationship between tolerance, age, and drug potency.</p>
<p>“Older adults have different cognitive abilities and different body compositions that may affect the way cannabis works; cannabis may produce a greater impact on them,” DiCiano told PsyPost. “On the contrary, they may feel the effects of cannabis less than younger adults due to the fact that they may have more prolonged experience with cannabis. Future research really needs to compare the impact<br>
of cannabis in older adults compared to younger ones.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811251370975" target="_blank">The effects of naturalistic cannabis use on cognition and subjective experience in older adults with normal cognitive function</a>,” was authored by P. Di Ciano, B. Le Foll, S. Zhao, P. Byrne, Y. Elzohairy, J.R. Brubacher, M. McGrath, B. Brands, S. Chen, W. Wang, P. Kaduri, C.M. Wickens, and T.K. Rajji.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-study-identifies-five-strategies-women-use-to-detect-deception-in-dating/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">New study identifies five strategies women use to detect deception in dating</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 16th 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-025-00454-2" target="_blank">Evolutionary Psychological Science</a></em> identifies five distinct strategies that women employ to detect or prevent deception from potential romantic partners. The findings indicate that introducing partners to family members and taking relationships slowly are the most common methods women use to verify a man’s honesty. These behaviors appear to function as evolutionary counter-measures against the risks of sexual exploitation in mating contexts.</p>
<p>Humans face a fundamental adaptive challenge in the realm of mating known as exploitation. One individual might attempt to enhance their own reproductive success at the expense of another’s fitness. This dynamic often involves deception, where a person misrepresents their intentions or background to gain sexual access.</p>
<p>Evolutionary theory suggests that women have historically faced higher costs from such deception than men have. This disparity stems from biological realities regarding parental investment. Women are obligated to invest substantial metabolic resources into offspring through gestation and lactation.</p>
<p>Men, conversely, can theoretically achieve reproduction with a minimal investment of time and resources. This asymmetry means that a man could walk away after a sexual encounter with few immediate consequences. A woman in the same situation would be left with the burdens of pregnancy and child-rearing without partner support.</p>
<p>This discrepancy likely created strong selection pressures for women to develop specific defenses. Researchers view this interaction as a form of evolutionary arms race. As men developed deceptive tactics to secure short-term mating opportunities, women likely co-evolved detection strategies to protect themselves.</p>
<p>“The core concept draws from the evolutionary arms race between measures of exploitation and counter-exploitation, as previously examined in studies of rape avoidance mechanisms that mitigate the high costs of rape as an exploitative strategy. A milder form of intersexual conflict manifests in sexual deception, yet a key research gap persisted regarding women’s specific counter-strategies to this form of exploitation,” said study author Peyman Sayyad of the Shams Higher Education Institute.</p>
<p>The researchers sought to catalog women’s specific anti-deception tactics. They aimed to understand how these behaviors are structured and what personality traits influence their use. The researchers conducted two separate investigations to explore this topic.</p>
<p>The first study utilized a qualitative approach to generate a broad list of potential behaviors. The research team recruited 147 female undergraduate students from a large public university in the Southeastern United States. The average age of these participants was approximately 19 years old.</p>
<p>Participants answered open-ended questions about what actions they or other women take to avoid being deceived in dating contexts. They were asked to describe specific things they might do, such as asking friends for verification. They also listed things they might avoid doing, such as rushing into intimacy.</p>
<p>The researchers and a graduate student independently analyzed these written responses. They worked to eliminate vague or redundant answers to create a consolidated list. This process resulted in the identification of 43 distinct anti-deception acts that women might perform.</p>
<p>The second study involved a new group of 249 female participants recruited from the same university setting. The sample was predominantly White, though it included participants from various ethnic backgrounds. Approximately 44 percent of the sample reported being in a relationship at the time of the study.</p>
<p>These participants reviewed the list of 43 behaviors identified in the first phase. They rated how likely they would be to perform each action on a scale ranging from “to no extent” to “to a very high extent.” This allowed the researchers to quantify which strategies are most prevalent.</p>
<p>The researchers also administered standard psychological questionnaires to assess individual personality differences. Participants completed the Mate Value Scale to rate their own self-perceived desirability as a partner. </p>
<p>They also completed the revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory. This inventory measures an individual’s willingness to engage in uncommitted sexual activity. It assesses past sexual behavior, attitudes toward casual sex, and sexual desire. Higher scores on this measure indicate a more unrestricted sociosexuality, meaning a preference for short-term mating.</p>
<p>The researchers also measured attachment styles using the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale. This specifically looked at avoidant attachment, which involves discomfort with intimacy. Finally, the researchers assessed neuroticism using a short form of the Big Five Inventory.</p>
<p>Statistical analysis of the survey responses revealed that the anti-deception tactics clustered into five main categories. The researchers labeled the first and most frequently considered category as “Integration.” This domain involves introducing a potential partner to family members or meeting his family.</p>
<p>Integration serves as a robust vetting mechanism. Involving family allows a woman to verify a partner’s background and intentions through the scrutiny of kin. This finding aligns with historical patterns where families played a central role in mate selection.</p>
<p>The second most common domain was labeled “Reticence.” This strategy focuses on slowing down the pace of the relationship to prevent premature emotional attachment. Tactics in this category include avoiding rushing into commitment or delaying sexual intimacy until trust is firmly established.</p>
<p>By maintaining distance, a woman can observe a partner’s behavior over time. This reduces the risk of overlooking red flags due to the blinding effects of infatuation. It provides a longer window for deceptive signals to become apparent.</p>
<p>The third domain identified was “Social Media.” This involves researching a partner’s online presence or checking the profiles of his friends. Women might look for inconsistencies between what a man says and what his digital footprint reveals.</p>
<p>The fourth category was “Religion Matching.” This entails seeking partners with shared religious beliefs or ensuring a partner is a practicing believer. This strategy relies on the heuristic that religious individuals may adhere to stricter moral codes regarding honesty and fidelity.</p>
<p>The least common strategy was labeled “Distrust.” This category includes more active and confrontational tactics. For example, a woman might ask questions to which she already knows the answer to test a partner’s honesty.</p>
<p>“Women might employ diverse strategies to counter sexual deception in mating and dating contexts,” Sayyad told PsyPost. “These include familial oversight, religion, and modern cultural mechanisms like social media.”</p>
<p>The researchers also found associations between these strategies and individual personality traits. Women who were more open to short-term mating were less likely to use Integration or Religion Matching tactics. This suggests that women focused on casual relationships may prioritize these long-term vetting mechanisms less.</p>
<p>For women pursuing short-term mating, the goal is often immediate sexual access rather than long-term resource provisioning. As a result, the deep vetting provided by family integration or religious alignment may be viewed as unnecessary obstacles.</p>
<p>Additionally, the researchers found a link between attachment style and behavior. Women with higher levels of avoidant attachment were more likely to use Reticence tactics. These individuals often feel uncomfortable with intimacy and may use distance as a protective mechanism.</p>
<p>This tendency to hold back serves a dual purpose for avoidantly attached women. It protects them from the emotional risks of intimacy while simultaneously guarding against deception. By not committing quickly, they minimize their vulnerability to exploitation.</p>
<p>Contrary to the researchers’ expectations, a woman’s self-perceived mate value did not predict which tactics she used. High mate value is often associated with being a target for deception. The authors hypothesized that these women would be more vigilant, but the data did not support this link.</p>
<p>Similarly, neuroticism did not show a significant connection to any specific anti-deception domain. Neuroticism is characterized by higher sensitivity to threat and negative emotion. The researchers expected this trait to correlate with increased vigilance, but the results were null.</p>
<p>There are some limitations to consider. The sample consisted entirely of undergraduate women. This demographic is relatively young and may have limited mating experience compared to older adult populations.</p>
<p>The specific context of the study also matters. The research focused on a modern Western environment where women have free choice in mating. This differs from ancestral environments or cultures where family members play a dominant role in arranging marriages.</p>
<p>The study also relied on self-reported intentions rather than observed behaviors. Participants indicated what they would do, which may not perfectly align with their actions in a real-world scenario. Future research is needed to determine the actual effectiveness of these tactics in detecting lies.</p>
<p>“This study investigates women’s counter-strategies to sexual deception within a free-choice mating context that minimizes parental involvement, diverging from ancestral conditions prevalent across much of human history,” Sayyad noted. “Moreover, such defenses may rely on domain-general adaptations to exploitation rather than deception-specific mechanisms, warranting more tests in future research. These caveats highlight opportunities for extensions.”</p>
<p>It is also possible that men have evolved counter-counter-strategies. If women use these specific tactics to detect deception, men may have developed ways to bypass these checks. This ongoing co-evolutionary dynamic suggests that the repertoire of deception and detection is likely complex.</p>
<p>The findings provide a structured framework for understanding how women navigate the risks of modern dating. They highlight that skepticism is not a singular trait but manifests through diverse behavioral strategies. These strategies appear to be deployed selectively based on a woman’s mating goals and attachment style.</p>
<p>“Assessing the role of parents in offspring intersexual conflicts offers a promising avenue for future research,” Sayyad added.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-025-00454-2" target="_blank">Women’s Anti-Deception Tactics in Mating: A Preliminary Investigation</a>,” was authored by Peyman Sayyad, Mazyar Bagherian, Farid Pazhoohi, and Mitch Brown.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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