To understand a psychiatric disorder we need to know why the pathology causes the behavioural disturbance, the neural structures implicated in the pathology and the cause of the dysfunction in the neural structures. With regard to psychopathy, we have clear indications regarding why the pathology gives rise to the emotional and behavioural disturbance and important insights into the neural systems implicated in this pathology. What remains unclear is why these neural systems are dysfunctional.
New York - Could it be that the "natural" mental decline that afflicts many older people is related to how much lead they absorbed decades before?
That's the provocative idea emerging from some recent studies, part of a broader area of new research that suggests some pollutants can cause harm that shows up only years after someone is exposed.
A paper published January 17 in a prestigious medical journal demonstrated in the starkest of terms how pharmaceutical companies tend to publish research that's favorable to their products and leave unfavorable results tucked away in their files. It's a problem that everyone outside the industry already recognizes, but the results of this most recent study should really set off alarms.
Providence, Rhode Island - The movement to ban artery-clogging trans fats from food has a new venue: cooking schools.
The places that train the people who will someday be feeding the rest of us are cutting back or eliminating artificial trans fats from their classrooms, saying they have a responsibility to teach students how to cook healthy foods.
A Democratic lawmaker in New Mexico wants to tax televisions and video games to raise funds to fight childhood obesity and improve education in the state, officials said Friday.
"I have asked our legislative council service to prepare the "Leave No Child Inside" bill and am hopeful that it will be ready for me to introduce on Monday," educator-turned-lawmaker Gail Chasey told AFP.
"Leave No Child Inside" -- a play on the federal education initiative "No Child Left Behind" -- is backed by grassroots environmental group, the Sierra Club.
Many try to identify with animals, gadgets, spiritual beliefs.
New research at the University of Chicago finds evidence for a clever way that people manage to alleviate the pain of loneliness: They create people in their surroundings to keep them company.
"Biological reproduction is not a very efficient way to alleviate one's loneliness, but you can make up people when you're motivated to do so," said Nicholas Epley, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. "When people lack a sense of connection with other people, they are more likely to see their pets, gadgets or gods as human-like."
Social scientists call this tendency "anthropomorphism." As a research topic, the phenomenon carries important therapeutic and societal implications, Epley said. He and his co-authors will publish their findings on anthropomorphism in the February issue of the journal Psychological Science. Also contributing to the research were Scott Akalis of Harvard University and the University of Chicago's Adam Waytz and John Cacioppo.
Study published in August 2007 issue of The Journal of Abnormal Psychology indicates that some traits correlating to adult psychopathy may be present as early as age 3.
Dr. Essi Viding of the London Kings College Institute of Psychiatry and colleagues have found
the tendency toward psychopathic behavior has a strong genetic component. (same press release
here)
Evidence is mounting in support of a genetic basis for anti-social behavior.
A study of twins, published in June 2005 issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, revealed that anti-social behavior is strongly inherited in children with psychopathic tendencies such as callousness and reduced emotional capacity.
