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People are quick to believe the worst when they are stressed – study

People are quick to believe the worst when they are stressed – study

Scientists identify abnormal neural replay of memories in people with schizophrenia

Scientists identify abnormal neural replay of memories in people with schizophrenia Neuroscientists at UCL have, for the first time, identified abnormalities in the way memories are replayed in the brains of people with schizophrenia; researchers say the pathbreaking study provides an entirely new basis for explaining many of the condition s core symptoms. Schizophrenia is a serious and debilitating mental disorder characterised by episodes of psychosis. Symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganised thinking. It affects around 20 million people globally, though the exact cause is unknown. In the study, published in the journal Cell, researchers used state-of-the-art brain imaging, known as magnetoencephalography (MEG), along with machine learning tools, to measure and assess neural activity corresponding to inner states of mind during rest periods when the brain is consolidating its prior experiences.

Abnormalities in how the brain reorganises prior experiences identified in schizophrenia

Decision-making ability in young people is linked to social function

Date Time Decision-making ability in young people is linked to social function Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and UCL have identified a general factor called ‘decision acuity’ that affects young people’s decision-making ability, independent of IQ, and is associated with good social functioning. The results have been published in the journal Neuron. Decision acuity underpins multiple types of decision-making and is a novel construct. “People with higher decision acuity do not always make the best decisions, but they go for specific decisions in a consistent way,” says corresponding author Dr Michael Moutoussis, researcher at Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry & Ageing Research and Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. “Low decision acuity is associated with poorer social function, and may be linked with mental illness symptoms.”