Psychologon / Rešerše How does income affect childhood brain development? "As a neuroscientist, one of things I find most exciting about the human brain is that our experiences change our brains. Now, this concept, known as neuroplasticity, means that these differences in children's brain structure don't doom a child to a life of low achievement. The brain is not destiny. And if a child's brain can be changed, then anything is possible."

www.ted.com / 8. 4. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše The two kinds of stories we tell about ourselves "Our identities and experiences are constantly shifting, and storytelling is how we make sense of it. By taking the disparate pieces of our lives and placing them together into a narrative, we create a unified whole that allows us to understand our lives as coherent — and coherence, psychologists say, is a key source of meaning."

www.ted.com / 20. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše Is Psychedelic Medicine on the Horizon? "New research suggests that, if used properly, psychedelic compounds may be able to help patients with treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders. (...) “There is a lot of excitement about psychedelics in some circles now, but we need to remain in the right frame of mind and not get too enthusiastic or skeptical about their place in psychiatry,” Espi added. “But I do think there is enough evidence to say these compounds deserve to be in the conversation.”"

Psychiatric News / 19. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše Why more men than women die by suicide "Tragically, suicide is not as rare as one might think. In 2016, the last year global data is available from the World Health Organization (WHO), there were an estimated 793,000 suicide deaths worldwide. Most were men. (...) Why are men struggling – and what can be done about it?"

BBC / 18. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše Our dangerous quest to perfect ourselves "Now, research shows that all three elements of perfectionism associate with compromised mental health, including things like heightened depression, heightened anxiety and suicide ideation. But, by far, the most problematic element of perfectionism is socially prescribed perfectionism. That sense that everyone expects me to be perfect. This element of perfectionism has a large correlation with serious mental illness."

www.ted.com / 15. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše The complicated truth about social media and body image "Much has been made over the years about how mainstream media presents unrealistic beauty standards in the form of photoshopped celebrities or stick-thin fashion models. Now that influencers fill up our feeds, it's easy to imagine that social media, too, is all bad when it comes to body image. But the reality is more nuanced, and there may be ways to curate your Instagram feed to make you feel happier in your own skin – or, at least, stop you feeling worse."

BBC / 14. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše The "dementia village" that's redefining elder care "What we saw every day was that the people that lived in our nursing home were confused about their environment, because what they saw was a hospital-like environment, with doctors and nurses and paramedics in uniform, and they lived on a ward. And they didn't understand why they lived there. And they looked for the place to get away. They looked and hoped to find the door to go home again. And we said what we are doing in this situation is offering these people that already have a confused brain some more confusion. We were adding confusion to confusion. And that was not what these people needed."

www.ted.com / 12. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše Study suggests humor could be an emotion regulation strategy for depression "“As such, it appears that humor could broaden depressed individuals’ repertoire of adaptive tools of dealing with potentially depressogenic experiences, and in the long run, enhance their resilience. The study also demonstrated that creating humor in the face of adversity is difficult and requires from vulnerable individuals substantial effortful, which may potentially lead to their reluctance and lack of success in applying this strategy,” Braniecka said."

PsyPost / 11. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše How brain biases prevent climate action "We lack the collective will to address climate change because of the way our brains have evolved over the last two million years.  "Humans are very bad at understanding statistical trends and long-term changes,” says political psychologist Conor Seyle, director of research at One Earth Future Foundation, a programme incubator that focuses on fostering peace long-term. “We have evolved to pay attention to immediate threats. We overestimate threats that are less likely but easier to remember, like terrorism, and underestimate more complex threats, like climate change.”"

BBC / 9. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše How your language reflects the senses you use "Humans are often characterised as visual beings. If you are a native English speaker, you may intuitively agree. After all, English has a rich vocabulary for colours and geometric shapes, but few words for smells. However, a recent global study suggests that whether we mainly experience the world by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or feeling varies hugely across cultures. And this preference is reflected in our language."

BBC / 6. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše Brain clue to 'broken heart' syndrome "Your heart can be damaged after a sad event and it may be your brain's doing, experts believe. (...) Also known as takotsubo syndrome - referring to the shape of the heart in people with this condition, which resembles a Japanese pot with the same name - broken heart syndrome can be brought on by shock. It's different to a heart attack caused by blocked blood vessels, but has similar symptoms, including breathlessness and chest pain. Often, an unhappy event is the trigger, but exciting big events, such as a wedding or new job, have been linked with it too."

BBC / 5. 3. 2019

Psychologon / Rešerše Why Do So Many College Students Have Anxiety Disorders? "Some explanations might be early childhood trauma, a biochemical imbalance, or the stress of economic insecurity and political polarization in today’s world. And yet earlier generations managed to thrive during the Depression, World War II, Watergate, and the Vietnam War. Research points to three changes in our culture that could be undermining the mental health of today’s college students."

www.psychologytoday.com / 2. 3. 2019