Author: dispatchtimes news

A new US study has found that shared book reading at home is linked to stronger language skills in young autistic children, while screen time shows no clear association with language abilities. The research, published in Autism Research, suggests that reading together may help explain why children from higher‑income families tend to display stronger communication skills, although it does not indicate that screen use harms or helps development on its own. Language development among children on the autism spectrum varies widely. Autistic individuals experience a broad spectrum of language outcomes, from delays in spoken language to skills that rival or…

A 10-minute session of watering indoor plants produced measurable health benefits for a group of older women in Shanghai, lowering blood pressure and reducing anxiety compared with a computer-based leisure activity. The trial, conducted with 100 participants and published in the Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy, compared tending plants with playing Klondike Solitaire on a computer and found distinct physiological and psychological advantages for horticultural activity. The study took place in a nursing care facility in Shanghai, with participants averaging 68 years of age. All were in good physical health and without cognitive impairments. Researchers used a crossover design…

A landmark international study has found that subtle differences in the brain structure of people currently taking antidepressants are largely explained by the severity of their depression, rather than the medications themselves. The research, pooling data from 32 cohorts and involving almost 8,700 participants, also found age-related patterns, with younger patients showing distinct structural differences. The findings appear in Molecular Psychiatry. Major depressive disorder remains a leading cause of disability worldwide, and antidepressants are commonly prescribed to treat it, though the precise brain mechanisms at play are not fully understood. The new analysis sought to separate the effects of illness…

A new meta-analysis has found that lithium supplementation does not slow cognitive decline in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment. The study pooled data from six randomized, placebo-controlled trials involving 435 participants and found no significant cognitive benefit from commonly used inorganic lithium salts, such as lithium carbonate, compared with placebo. The research appears in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder characterised by memory loss, confusion and difficulties with daily tasks, underpinned by the accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques and tau tangles in the brain. Mild cognitive impairment represents an intermediate stage of…

A new piece of psychology research suggests that dark personality traits—specifically psychopathy and sadism—are linked to a broader endorsement of political violence, beyond any single side of the Israel–Hamas conflict. The study, published in Personality and Individual Differences, reports that these traits predict support for violent actions by both Israel and Hamas in two online studies conducted with European and British participants. In political psychology, researchers have long argued that people judge violence through the lens of group identity and ideology. When confronted with a highly polarised conflict, the expectation is that individuals support violence from one side while opposing…

A new psychological survey has been developed to measure the unpaid, emotional labour women perform to organise and sustain the social lives of their romantic partners. The research introduces a scale designed to quantify how women experience the effects of men’s shrinking friendships, offering researchers a standardised way to study its impact on relationship satisfaction and personal well‑being. The study centres on a concept called mankeeping, which describes the efforts women make to compensate for declines in their male partners’ social networks. It includes actions like arranging social gatherings, urging men to reconnect with friends, and providing the primary or…

A large analysis published in Nature Human Behaviour finds that everyday physical activity is linked to a major boost in energy and mood in daily life, and that improvements in well-being can also prompt people to be more active afterwards. The study defines physical activity as more than organised exercise, including walking, household movement, commuting and other everyday movements, while affective well-being covers momentary feelings such as happiness, energy, calmness and general mood. Led by Johanna Rehder of the University of Salzburg, the team pooled 67 datasets from 14 countries, encompassing 8,223 participants with an average age of about 36.3…

A new study suggests measuring brain activity before starting depression treatment could help doctors predict which patients will experience sexual side effects from antidepressants. The research points to a serotonin-related brainwave pattern that forecast whether a patient might struggle to reach orgasm after taking common SSRIs, and was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. Sexual difficulties are a frequent challenge for people with major depressive disorder. Across the condition’s spectrum, between 40 and 60 per cent experience sexual disturbances. While improving mood can sometimes help the sex life, the medications themselves often create new problems, particularly with desire, arousal…

A teenager from Poland diagnosed with a rare memory condition has been shown to experience an unusually high rate of involuntary memories, even when engaged in a simple, repetitive task. In a study published in Cortex, researchers report that a 16-year-old boy, identified in the study as KCL, demonstrated a marked propensity for spontaneous autobiographical memories to intrude on his thoughts far more often than a control group. Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) is a rare condition in which individuals can recall past personal events with extraordinary detail. While much of the prior work has focused on deliberate recollection in…