Monitor - September 2013

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20 MONITOR ON PSYCHOLOGY • SEPTEMBER 2013

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n Exercise appears to reorganize the brain to be more resilient under stress, according to a study conducted at Princeton University. The researchers exposed two groups of mice — one that exercised regularly and another that was sedentary — to cold water to simulate a stressor. Exercise served to prevent stress-induced protein expression in particular neurons in the ventral hippocampus, a brain region known to regulate anxiety. In the same region, exercise also enhanced inhibitory mechanisms, which may calm excitatory circuits that lead to anxiety (Journal of Neuroscience, May 1).

n People with schizophrenia and those with bipolar disorder both have a specific brain disruption, finds research led by scientists at the Yale School of Medicine. Investigators used fMRI

to examine the interactions between the thalamus and other areas of the brain and found that communication was significantly altered between the thalamus and prefrontal cortical areas in people with either disorder, adding to evidence that distinct mental illnesses may have biological similarities (Cerebral Cortex, online July 3).

n Women are perceived as better leaders than men, suggests a study led by a Spring Arbor University psychology professor. The researchers used a

360-degree feedback evaluation tool to examine how 1,546 male and 721 female leaders from 204 for-profit, nonprofit, large and small organizations perceived themselves and were perceived by colleagues, including supervisors, employees and peers. Participants were rated on 10 relational behaviors,

including communication, trust, coaching and participation, and 10 task-oriented behaviors, such as goal setting, planning, strategy and decisiveness. Female leaders were rated significantly higher than males on most of the skills (Performance Improvement Quarterly, April/May/June).

n Newlywed women who believe their marriages will improve over time show the steepest declines in marital satisfaction, suggests a study by psychologists at the University of California, Los Angeles. The researchers asked 502 newlyweds to predict how their feelings about their relationships would change over the ensuing four years, and then followed the couples for that period. Nearly all couples predicted that their marital satisfaction would remain stable or improve, yet researchers found that it declined among nearly all couples. The researchers also found that wives with the most optimistic forecasts showed the steepest declines in marital satisfaction (Journal of Family Psychology, online June 24).

n U.S. intelligence agents may be more prone to biased decision-making than college students and post-college adults, according to a study conducted by a Cornell University psychologist. In the study, researchers tested 36 agents from an unnamed federal agency, as well as a group of college students and post-college adults on a series of framing problems to assess their tendency to make risky choices. For example, the researcher asked them if, in a hypothetical scenario of a population facing a disease outbreak, they would