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This Common Painkiller Does Some Interesting Things To Your Mind Besides getting rid of your headache, OTCs might change our responses to reminders of our death, the intensity of our mind wandering, or how much we value our possessions. Millions of people frequently take acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. By one account, 23 percent of American adults—that’s more than 50 million people— take it […]

From a headache to a head in the clouds: UBC psychologist investigates the mind wandering effects of Tylenol When you’re going through caffeine withdrawals, or when your brain has simply had enough of midterms, papers and the neighbour’s dog constantly yammering at every terrier, retriever and poodle that passes by, you can rely on Tylenol to fix up that headache temporarily. However, it turns out that acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol […]

The neuroscience of effective studying [In an article with Student Services, Dr. Handy] discussed how the “savvy student”, in his terms, can use neuroscience research to optimize their academic performance. According to Dr. Handy, “Bringing neuroscience into learning has really expanded our understanding of study strategies and what the smart, effective student can do to bring their A-game to the […]

Tylenol May Help Ease The Pain Of Hurt Feelings Nobody likes the feeling of being left out, and when it happens, we tend to describe these experiences with the same words we use to talk about the physical pain of, say, a toothache. “People say, ‘Oh, that hurts,’ ” says Nathan DeWall, a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky. DeWall and his […]

Strength in numbers when resisting forbidden fruit A new study from the University of British Columbia helps explain how people become obsessed with forbidden pleasures. The study, which will appear in an upcoming edition of Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience journal, shows that when people are forbidden from something, it takes on a new level of focus. Grace Truong, UBC Dept. of […]

WATCH: Global News report on ‘Chemo Brain’ WATCH:  Dr. Todd Handy confirms “chemo brain” is a real thing and discusses how cancer patients are affected by treatment. There’s hair loss, changes to your appetite and incessant fatigue – chemotherapy is a gruelling process. But new Canadian research is warning that another side effect is difficulty concentrating. In a new study, scientists out […]

‘Chemo Brain’ is real UBC research shows that chemotherapy can lead to excessive mind wandering and an inability to concentrate. Dubbed ‘chemo-brain,’ the negative cognitive effects of the cancer treatment have long been suspected, but the UBC study is the first to explain why patients have difficulty paying attention. Breast cancer survivors were asked to complete a set of […]

The painkiller acetaminophen may hamper your ability to notice errors It’s been known for more than a century that acetaminophen is an effective painkiller, but a new study shows it could also be impeding error-detection in the brain. The research, authored by a team including Dan Randles, a University of Toronto postdoctoral fellow, and Todd Handy and Steven Heine from the University of British Columbia, is […]