The Power of Suggestion: What We Expect Influences Our Behavior, for Better or Worse

A lucky rabbit foot. A glass of wine. A pill. What do these things all have in common? Their effects -- whether we do well on a test, whether we mingle at the cocktail party, whether we feel better -- all depend on the power of suggestion. In a new article, psychological scientists Maryanne Garry and Robert Michael of Victoria University of Wellington, along with Irving Kirsch of Harvard Medical School and Plymouth University, delve into the phenomenon of suggestion, exploring the intriguing relationship between suggestion, cognition, and behavior. The article is published in the June issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Over their research careers, Garry and Kirsch...

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Statistical Model Attempting to Estimate Level of Alcohol Consumption That Is 'Optimal' for Health

Cutting the amount we drink to just over half a unit a day could save 4,600 lives a year in England, according to a modelling study by Oxford University researchers published in the journal BMJ Open. Half a unit of alcohol is as little as a quarter of a glass of wine, or a quarter of a pint [Credit: © G.G. Lattek / Fotolia] Scientists have carried out a complex analysis in an attempt to determine the "optimal" level of alcohol consumption that is associated with the lowest rates of chronic disease in the UK. They conclude that the intake of about one-half of a typical drink per day would result in the healthiest outcomes, and the authors conclude that the recommended alcohol intake for the UK should be reduced from the current advised...

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To Quit Smoking, Try Eating More Veggies and Fruits

If you're trying to quit smoking, eating more fruits and vegetables may help you quit and stay tobacco-free for longer, according to a new study published online by University at Buffalo public health researchers. If you're trying to quit smoking, eating more fruits and vegetables may help you quit and stay tobacco-free for longer [Credit: © taviphoto / Fotolia] The paper, in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, is the first longitudinal study on the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and smoking cessation. The authors, from UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions, surveyed 1,000 smokers aged 25 and older from around the country, using random-digit dialing telephone interviews. They followed up with...

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Are You a Facebook Addict?

Are you a social media enthusiast or simply a Facebook addict? Researchers from Norway have developed a new instrument to measure Facebook addiction, the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. More and more people get addicted to social media, such as Facebook. Researchers at University of Bergen have created a scale to measure Facebook addiction [Credit: Colourbox] "The use of Facebook has increased rapidly. We are dealing with a subdivision of Internet addiction connected to social media," Doctor of Psychology Cecilie Schou Andreassen says about the study, which is the first of its kind worldwide. Andreassen heads the research project “Facebook Addiction” at the University of Bergen (UiB). An article about the results has just been published...

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Cocaine and the Teen Brain: New Insights Into Addiction

When first exposed to cocaine, the adolescent brain launches a strong defensive reaction designed to minimize the drug's effects, Yale and other scientists have found. Now two new studies by a Yale team identify key genes that regulate this response and show that interfering with this reaction dramatically increases a mouse's sensitivity to cocaine.  The findings may help explain why risk of drug abuse and addiction increase so dramatically when cocaine use begins during teenage years.  The results were published in the Feb. 14 and Feb. 21 issues of the Journal of Neuroscience.  Researchers including those at Yale have shown that vulnerability to cocaine is much higher in adolescence, when the brain is shifting from an...

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Smoking Zaps Healthy Bacteria In the Mouth

According to a new study, smoking causes the body to turn against its own helpful bacteria, leaving smokers more vulnerable to disease.  Despite the daily disturbance of brushing and flossing, the mouth of a healthy person contains a stable ecosystem of healthy bacteria. New research shows that the mouth of a smoker is a much more chaotic, diverse ecosystem -- and is much more susceptible to invasion by harmful bacteria.  As a group, smokers suffer from higher rates of oral diseases -- especially gum disease -- than do nonsmokers, which is a challenge for dentists, according to Purnima Kumar, assistant professor of periodontology at Ohio State University. She and her colleagues are involved in a multi-study investigation of...

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Moderate marijuana use doesn’t damage lung function

Occasional and low cumulative marijuana use is not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function, a new study has found.  Exposure to tobacco smoke causes lung damage with clinical consequences that include respiratory symptoms, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer.  Mark J. Pletcher and his colleagues from the University of California examined associations between marijuana, both current and lifetime exposure, and pulmonary function.  The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study is a longitudinal study collecting repeated measurements of pulmonary function and smoking over 20 years (March 1985-August 2006) in a group of 5,115 men and women in 4 U. S. cities.  Lifetime...

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Study evaluates effects of marijuana ingredients on brain functioning during visual stimuli

Different ingredients in marijuana appear to affect regions of the brain differently during brain processing functions involving responses to certain visual stimuli and tasks, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.  Sagnik Bhattacharyya, M.B.B.S., M.D., Ph.D, at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College in London, and colleagues studied 15 healthy men, who were occasional marijuana users, to examine the effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) on regional brain function during salience processing, which is how people perceive things around them.  The authors used functional MRI images to study each participant on three occasions...

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Researchers Create Healthier Cigarette

From a health care perspective, the best cigarette is no cigarette, but for the millions of people who try to quit smoking every year, researchers from Cornell University may have found a way to make cigarette smoking less toxic.  Using natural antioxidant extracts in cigarette filters, the researchers were able to demonstrate that lycopene and grape seed extract drastically reduced the amount of cancer-causing free radicals passing through the filter. The research will be the 1500th article published in the ground-breaking Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), the only peer-reviewed, PubMed indexed video-journal.  "The implications of this technique can help reduce the hazardous effects of tobacco smoke," said Dr. Boris...

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One trait has huge impact on whether alcohol makes you aggressive

Drinking enough alcohol to become intoxicated increases aggression significantly in people who have one particular personality trait, according to new research. But people without that trait don't get any more aggressive when drunk than they would when they're sober. That trait is the ability to consider the future consequences of current actions.  "People who focus on the here and now, without thinking about the impact on the future, are more aggressive than others when they are sober, but the effect is magnified greatly when they're drunk," said Brad Bushman, lead author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University.  "If you carefully consider the consequences of your actions, it is unlikely...

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Making Big Tobacco pay smokers' health bills: lessons from the United States

Reports that Nicola Roxon plans to encourage state governments to consider legal action to recover around A$31 billion in smoking-related health-care costs from the tobacco industry highlight the incoming attorney-general’s commendable commitment to reducing the impact of smoking-related illness and mortality.  The legacy of the US Master Settlement Agreement holds significant lessons for policy makers in Australia [Credit: Razvan Caliman] Such litigation is a potentially powerful way of countering the tobacco industry, but has been largely limited to the United States to date. As part of preliminary work on the proposal, Roxon has brought Matthew Myers, president of the leading US tobacco control organisation, Campaign for Tobacco-Free...

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Cannabis harms the brain - but that's not the full story

For the first time, scientists have proven that cannabis harms the brain. But the same study challenges previously-held assumptions about use of the drug, showing that some brain irregularities predate drug use.  Professor Dan Lubman, from Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre and Monash University, along with a team of researchers from Melbourne University have conducted a world-first study examining whether these brain abnormalities represent markers of vulnerability to cannabis use.  “Previous evidence has shown that long-term heavy cannabis use is associated with alterations in regional brain volumes,” Professor Lubman said.  “Although these changes are frequently attributed to the neurotoxic effects of cannabis, no...

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New strain of lab mice mimics human alcohol consumption patterns

A line of laboratory mice developed by a researcher from the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis drinks more alcohol than other animal models and consumes it in a fashion similar to humans: choosing alcohol over other options and binge drinking. Credit: Robin Hutton Animal models previously available to alcohol abuse and alcoholism researchers do not get as drunk as the new strain, unless alcohol is the only choice of fluids, or alcohol is administered by the experimenter. When given the option, previously bred mouse lines continue to drink water even when they can select alcohol.  These new mice, selectively bred over 40 generations at the School of Science at IUPUI to prefer alcohol over all...

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Erasing The ‘Memory’ Of Cocaine: A Breakthrough In Treating Addiction

Unlike many other drugs, cocaine does not trigger a physical addiction. It can however cause a psychological one in some 20% of its users, which can push them to lose control over their consumption, and can often lead to dire consequences.  Hooked on the memory [Credit: andronicusmax] It is also that psychological addiction that lasts even after rehab, because the brain will forever remember having taken the drug   Now, neuroscience researchers from Geneva University may have found a way to erase that memory through a new laser technique that they have successfully tested on mice.  The scientists focused on a part of the nervous system called the “reward circuit.” The main function of this network of brain cells is associating...

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Study IDs new genetic links to impulsivity, alcohol problems in men

Being impulsive can lead us to say things we regret, buy things we really don't need, engage in behaviors that are risky and even develop troublesome addictions. But are different kinds of hastiness and rashness embedded in our DNA? A new study suggests the answer is yes -- especially if you're a man.  The research, led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln assistant professor of psychology Scott Stoltenberg, found links between impulsivity and a rarely researched gene called NRXN3. The gene plays an important role in brain development and in how neurons function.  The newly discovered connection, which was more prevalent among men than women in the study, may help explain certain inclinations toward alcohol or drug dependence,...

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The serotonin system in women's brains is damaged more readily by alcohol

After only four years of problem drinking, a significant decrease in the function of the serotonin system in women's brains can be seen. This is the system that regulates such functions as impulse control and mood. It takes 12 years before a corresponding decrease is seen in men. This is the conclusion of multidisciplinary research carried out at the Department of Psychology and the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.  The research group in the multidisciplinary project Gothenburg Alcohol Research Project (GARP) has studied for the first time three of the major neurotransmitter substances in the brain in a single individual. They have studied a group of women and a group of men with alcohol dependence. The...

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Moderate drinking and cardiovascular health: here comes the beer

Beer could stand up alongside wine regarding positive effects on cardiovascular health. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by Research Laboratories at the Fondazione di Ricerca e Cura "Giovanni Paolo II", in Campobasso, Italy. Both for wine and beer the key is moderate and regular drinking.  The research, published today on line by the European Journal of Epidemiology, using the statistic approach of meta-analysis, pooled different scientific studies conducted worldwide in previous years to achieve a general result. This way it has been possible to examine data concerning over 200,000 people, for whom alcohol drinking habits were associated with cardiovascular disease.  Results confirm what was already known about wine:...

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