Sometimes, just thinking you are receiving treatment is enough to make you feel better, a phenomenon known as the placebo effect. Scientists have long wondered what causes this outcome, the magnitude of which is not the same for all people. A new brain imaging study suggests that the body's natural painkillers, endorphins, play a significant role.

Read the article at ScientificAmerican.com

Consumers who are very skeptical about the truth of advertising claims are more responsive to emotionally appealing ads than ones peppered with information, according to a new study.

The finding comes from work by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle University, and Washington State University who examined consumers' responses to advertising, including brand beliefs, responses to informational and emotional appeals, efforts to avoid advertising, attention to ads and reliance on ads versus other information sources.

Read more at EurekAlert

By Rosalind C. Barnett and Caryl Rivers
There are ominous signs that new versions of biological determinism have returned, with the claim that women are not meant, by nature or by psyche, for achievement. Myths about gender difference now "prove" that women should be confined to jobs that use their special "relational" abilities, that women's brains are not designed for leadership, and that they "cheerfully choose" low-paying jobs. We hear that even when they do get good jobs, the smartest women reject them for home and hearth. The media have embraced this narrative with gusto, and there is a real danger that these ideas are seeping into law and public policy as well.

Read more at Brandeis News
20 July 2005

The new study by US psychologists found that people shown erotic or gory images frequently fail to process images they see immediately afterwards. And the researchers say some personality types appear to be affected more than others by the phenomenon, known as “emotion-induced blindness”.

12 August 2005
NewScientist.com news service
Gaia Vince

...but researchers say side effects, interactions largely unknown. Read more about pediatric polypharmacy in this HealthDay News article.

The efficacy of cognitive therapy was evaluated in a University of Pennsylvania study of 120 suicide attempters from an emergency room. Half of the subjects received cognitive therapy and half received standard therapy. Over the course of an 18 month follow-up, 24.1% of those who got cognitive therapy made a second suicide attempt, compared to 41.6% of those who got standard treatment. Subjects who had received cognitive therapy also scored significantly lower on measurements of depression. Read more about the study:

Cognitive Therapy Halves Risk of Second Suicide Attempt
By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter