Posts by Neil Petersen

Social media is a communication medium that comes with its own language, etiquette and unspoken “rules.”   But with a generation of children being raised in a culture of social media, it’s affecting us, our behavior and our habits in ways researchers are just beginning to understand. One phenomenon that is now ubiquitous to social media…

We’ve all known the kid, or been the kid, that has an even more limited diet than the 4 basic meals on every kids menu – pizza, chicken fingers, french fries and spaghetti  – who’s diets are limited to sugary cereal, frozen fried chicken, or even worse – certain brands of each. Picky eating behavior…

A new study from the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that a diet high in refined carbohydrates may lead to an increased risk for new-onset depression in postmenopausal women. Researchers examined data from more than 70,000 postmenopausal women who participated in the…

Most of us at some point in our careers have worked farther from home than we’d like and endured a commute to work that involves a car, bus or train – or all 3.  And while commuting may seem like a necessary evil on the path to building a career, or a nest egg, it…

An ongoing challenge for researchers has been a way to create bench top (suitable in size or configuration for study) brain tissue to study human brain function.  But now, researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) are one step closer – they’ve developed a 3-D printed layered structure that incorporates neural cells…

According to new research, it may be.   Procrastination is defined as more than just postponement in action, delays in activity or the occasional dilly-dallying that we all dabble in – but a chronic and irrational behavior pattern that involves putting off activities or responsibilities out of a habitual carelessness, with a sense of indecision when…

Experiencing a traumatic event is part of life for many people.  According to the US Department for Veteran’s Affairs, about 60% of men and 50% of women experience at least one trauma in their lives, defined as a shocking or scary event that you witness or that happens to you causing fear or a sense…

It’s not news that drinking on college campuses is widespread.  According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), about four out of five college students drink alcohol.  And, about half of those students who drink, also consume alcohol through binge drinking.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), producers of the…

Medical experts have come to understand that the bacteria that lives in our digestive tract has an impact on our overall health, it is generally accepted that the balance and variety of these bacteria affect gastrointestinal conditions like IBS and Crohn’s Disease, as well as skin issues, obesity and diabetes.  But interestingly, more and more…