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Even Before Language, Babies Learn The World Through Sounds
It’s not just the words, but the sounds of words that have meaning for us. This is true for children and adults, who can associate the strictly auditory parts of language— vowels produced in the front or the back of the mouth, high or low pitch—with blunt or pointy things, large or small things, fast-moving or long-staying things. Do the same principles apply for young infants, and not just to things, but also to abstractions? A new study by Marcela Peña, Jacques Mehler, and Marina Nespor, working together at the International School for Advanced Studies, in Trieste, Italy and Catholic University of Chile, says yes.
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In Defense of Antidepressants
The New York Times: In terms of perception, these are hard times for antidepressants. A number of articles have suggested that the drugs are no more effective than placebos. Last month brought an especially high-profile debunking.
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Football players are smart, in their own way
Los Angeles Times: Christian Tupou is a student-athlete. He plays football, and more specifically he plays defensive tackle. The combination of these simple traits traps USC's Tupou in a series of stereotypes that thrust him to the bottom of the intellectual scale at a top-tier university. But listening to Tupou talk and watching him show his football skills muddies the water. The starting redshirt senior has boatloads of athletic intelligence in addition to school smarts. Read more: Los Angeles Times
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Money, mimicry send up warning signals: study
Victoria Times Colonist: What is a little money between friends? According to new research, at the very least, it's not going to stimulate bonding. Researchers have long known that mimicry strengthens social bonding between strangers. By subtly imitating a person's posture or gestures, you can create goodwill. But a new study looking at the psychological effects of money on our behaviour suggests this does not apply when money is involved. Mimic someone and he'll feel a warm glow; but mimic someone while he's being reminded of money and he'll feel threatened. Read more: Victoria Times Colonist
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Heartbreak Puts Brakes on Heart
HealthDay: Waiting for another person's opinion of you will slow your heart, and its rate will dip even further if you get rejected, a new Dutch study has found. "Unexpected social rejection could literally feel 'heartbreaking,' as reflected by a transient slowing of heart rate," the study authors wrote in a news release from the Association for Psychological Science. Read more: HealthDay
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Meditation helped Jane Anderson fight seasonal affective disorder
Zee News India: Landscape artist Jane Anderson struggled with seasonal affective disorder in the winter months. She tried meditation and noticed a change within a month. "My experience was a sense of calmness, of better ability to regulate my emotions," she says. Her experience inspired a new study which found changes in brain activity after only five weeks of meditation training, the journal Psychological Science reports. Read more: Zee News India