Tics, the repetitive and uncontrollable movements or sounds associated with Tourette syndrome and related disorders, rarely develop out of the blue in adults. But pandemic-related stress could be triggering new tics that emerge suddenly in adults with no prior history of tics, says Caroline Olvera, MD, a movement disorders fellow in the Department of Neurological […]
Feeling anxious can direct our attention and memory toward supernatural beings such as gods, a University of Otago study has found. Lead author Dr. Thomas Swan, of the Department of Psychology, says the research may help explain how religious beliefs are formed. For the study, published in the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, […]
Figurative language, by which the speaker intends to communicate something other than what is actually said by the words used, is commonplace in human communication. Some claim that metaphorical expressions such as “My home has become a prison” or “My daughter is a monster” are used on average six times during every minute of conversation. […]
For all the anticipation around new COVID-19 tests, therapeutics and vaccines, public health experts know that the end of the pandemic will depend also on a low-tech, tried-and-true tactic—contact tracing. Contact tracing sounds simple: alert anyone who has been in contact with an infected person and prevent them from spreading the disease to others. Yet […]
