Last-minute exam stress can actually help students to form stronger memories

It runs counter to all the received wisdom about revision. But now scientists say cramming at the last minute could actually be better than spending months swotting up for exams.

According to the latest research, hormones produced under stress cause changes to our brain cells that can help memories to be stored more efficiently.

Stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline alter the way genes inside neurons function, researchers have discovered, enhancing their learning ability.

Professor Hans Reul, a neuroscientist at the University of Bristol, said that the findings suggest students' learning could actually be improved by studying when feeling the pressure of a deadline.

Cortisol and adrenaline appear to boost a mechanism known as epigenetic modification that 'reprograms' neural DNA, he said, increasing or decreasing the expression of certain genes.


Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1382936/Last-minute-exam-stress-actually-help-students-form-stronger-memories.html#ixzz1LGIzVdDj

Women Regret Lost Loves More Than Men, Study Finds

Frank Sinatra famously belted, “Regrets, I had a few ... too few to mention” -- but if they had to mention their greatest regret in life, women cited a lost love more than twice as often as men in a Northwestern University study.

The study conducted by a professor at the Kellogg School of Management showed 44 percent of women described a lost love as their biggest regret, compared to just 19 percent of men.

Men, at 24 percent, regretted work-oriented choices more than anything else.

“Past research on regrets focused on samples of college students, which made it difficult to glean insights into the wider population,” said Neal Roese, the researcher who, with a colleague, called 370 adult Americans during the study.

He said the study offers a more thorough look into the "psychology of regret to further understand how regret connects to life circumstances and its impact on decision making.”

The study also showed events that lead someone to inaction haunt people the longest.

Surely, there’s a Sinatra song for that one.

Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/23/study-woman-regret-lost-loves/#ixzz1HU41wP4l