Small measures can be a big help for children of mothers with depression

Several new studies among Syrian refugee families in Turkey and families with infants in Sweden and Bhutan show that children of mothers in poor mental health risk falling behind in their cognitive development. However, very small changes can suffice to break this correlation and enable the children to return to their normal developmental level. Having plenty of people around them and an available community are two of the most important factors for helping children, in all three countries.

Mindfulness can get wandering thoughts back on track

Mindfulness -- the ability to intentionally focus attention on the present moment -- can be effective for reducing mind wandering, though results do differ depending on the research methodology.

Despite understanding the concept of mindfulness, people are applying it incorrectly, research finds

Mindful awareness is about both accepting and engaging with life's challenges, and that's what popularized concepts of mindfulness tend to miss, new research has found.

Psychologists create body-maps of hallucinations

Psychologists have created body-maps of the sensations which arise during hallucinations in people experiencing psychosis.

Which types of brain activity support conscious experiences?

Our subjective experience appears to us in a continuous stream of integrated information, and researchers now explore the question: Which characteristics should brain activity have to support this type of conscious experiences? The group searched for integrated structures that encompass most of the brain but change configuration from time to time. Their hypothesis was these structures should vanish during states of deep unconsciousness, such as deep sleep or while under general anesthetics.

Psychedelic spurs growth of neural connections lost in depression

In a new study, researchers show that a single dose of psilocybin given to mice prompted an immediate and long-lasting increase in connections between neurons. The findings are published July 5 in the journal Neuron.

Study finds novel evidence that dreams reflect multiple memories, anticipate future events

Dreams result from a process that often combines fragments of multiple life experiences and anticipates future events, according to novel evidence from a new study.

Explanatiion of how religious beliefs may be formed

Feeling anxious can direct our attention and memory toward supernatural beings such as gods, a new study has found.

Our dreams' weirdness might be why we have them, argues new AI-inspired theory of dreaming

Why we dream is a divisive topic within the scientific community, and the neuroscience field is saturated with hypotheses. Inspired by techniques used to train deep neural networks, a neuroscience researcher argues for a new theory of dreams: the overfitted brain hypothesis. The hypothesis suggests that the strangeness of our dreams serves to help our brains better generalize our day-to-day experiences.

Meditative practice and spiritual wellbeing may preserve cognitive function in aging

It is projected that up to 152 million people worldwide will be living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by 2050. To date there are no drugs that have a substantial positive impact on either the prevention or reversal of cognitive decline. A growing body of evidence finds that targeting lifestyle and vascular risk factors have a beneficial effect on overall cognitive performance. A new review examines research that finds spiritual fitness, a new concept in medicine that centers on psychological and spiritual wellbeing, and Kirtan Kriya, a simple 12-minute meditative practice, may reduce multiple risk factors for AD.

Predicting who may do best with psychedelic-assisted therapy

As psychedelics gain ground as a potential therapy for mental health disorders, there remains a pressing concern that patients in clinical trials may have adverse effects to the drugs. New research identifies personality traits that have been associated with positive and negative experiences on psychedelics in previous studies, information that could help predict how future clinical trial participants will respond to the drugs.

The role of adult playfulness in romantic life

While play and playfulness have been studied well in children, their structure and consequences are understudied in adults. A new article highlights available research on this topic and also examines why playfulness is important in romantic relationships.

Atheists and believers both have moral compasses, but with key differences

A new study suggests that, while atheists and theists share moral values related to protecting vulnerable individuals, atheists are less likely to endorse values that promote group cohesion and more inclined to judge the morality of actions based on their consequences.

Real-time dialogue with a dreaming person is possible

Dreams take us to what feels like a different reality. They also happen while we're fast asleep. So, you might not expect that a person in the midst of a vivid dream would be able to perceive questions and provide answers to them. But a new study shows that, in fact, they can.

Happy childhood? That's no guarantee for good mental health

It's well understood that a difficult childhood can increase the likelihood of mental illness, but according to new research, a happy and secure childhood does not always protect a child from developing a mental illness later in life.

Mindfulness can improve mental health and wellbeing -- but unlikely to work for everyone

Mindfulness courses can reduce anxiety, depression and stress and increase mental wellbeing within most but not all non-clinical settings, say a team of researchers. They also found that mindfulness may be no better than other practices aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing.

Religion, psychology share methods for reducing distress, study finds

Religious people facing life crises rely on emotion-regulation strategies that psychologists also use, a new study finds. They look for positive ways of thinking about hardship, a practice known to psychologists as 'cognitive reappraisal.' They also tend to have confidence in their ability to cope with difficulty, a trait called 'coping self-efficacy.' Both have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.