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Does CBD Work for Pain Relief?

While the scientific research behind CBD for pain relief is still lacking, what we do know is very promising. Believe it or not, marijuana has been used to treat pain as far back as 2900 B.C. More recently, scientists have started to discover that specific compounds found in marijuana, including CBD, are to thank for its pain-relieving effects.

Many studies suggest that how CBD works to relieve pain all comes down to the brain. Essentially it boils down to neurotransmitters in the brain. One theory is that it desensitizes a certain receptor that is known to be involved in pain – the TRPV1. This is the receptor that creates a kind of burning sensation of pain that you could feel from something like nerve damage. This is one particular type of pain that CBD could affect, and one which researchers are trying to learn more about.

Rebecca Craft.
Rebecca Craft

There is plenty of anecdotal proof when it comes to CBD and pain relief. Thus researchers have often focused on figuring out if that’s because of the placebo effect, says Rebecca M. Craft, professor of psychology and the director of the Experimental Psychology Doctoral Program at Washington State University

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Salon

Study: Officer Fatigue Raises Likelihood of Citizen Complaints

Fatigue and sleepiness on the job significantly raise the odds of officers drawing citizen complaints during their shift, according to a newly published study by a team of sleep specialists.

Their first-of-its-kind analysis finds that public complaints are roughly seven times more likely to occur on shifts with a traditionally high probability of officer tiredness—primarily, night shifts.

Samantha Riedy.
Riedy

The study was led by Samantha Riedy, a PhD candidate in experimental psychology and a graduate research assistant at the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University (WSU). Joining her were Dr. Drew Dawson, a prominent sleep investigator with Central Queensland University in Australia, and WSU’s Dr. Bryan Vila, the foremost authority on the impact of sleep deprivation on police performance whose dataset from his classic “Tired Cops” research was used in this study.

“This [pattern] is not surprising,” Riedy writes, “given that night shift work is associated with greater fatigue; daytime sleep between night shifts tends to be reduced and less restorative than nighttime sleep; and off-duty court hours further restrict sleep between consecutive night shifts.”

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Law Officer Magazine

Foley Fellows: Faculty to share research across the state

Five Washington State University faculty will be speaking around the state about their research in a new partnership of the Thomas S. Foley Institute of Public Policy and Public Service and Humanities Washington, a nonprofit that aims to foster thoughtful conversation and critical thinking.

For the next two years, WSU’s “Foley Fellows” will be among more than 30 speakers that provide free public presentations on science, politics, music, philosophy, spiritual traditions, and more in dozens of communities throughout Washington.

The collaboration is the brainchild of Cornell Clayton, director of the Foley Institute and himself a former member of the Humanities Washington speakers bureau.

“It just fits so nicely with the Foley Institute mission,” Clayton said. In addition to engaging students in public service, the institute educates students and the public on public affairs and supports academic research on public policy and democratic institutions.

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WSU Insider

How different cultures shape children’s personalities in different ways

Masha Maria Gartstein.
Gartstein

As early as the fifth century B.C., the Greek historian Thucydides contrasted the self-control and stoicism of Spartans with the more indulgent and freethinking citizens of Athens.

Today, unique behaviors and characteristics seem ingrained in certain cultures.

Italians wildly gesticulate when they talk. Dutch children are notably easygoing and less fussy. Russians rarely smile in public.

As developmental psychologists, we’re fascinated by these differences, how they take shape and how they get passed along from one generation to the next.

Our work explores the way a society’s values influences the choices parents make — and how this, in turn, influences who their kids become. Although genetics certainly matter, the way you behave isn’t hard-wired.

In the past two decades, researchers have shown how culture can shape your personality.

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The Washington Post

WSU smart home tests first elder care robot

A robot created by Washington State University scientists could help elderly people with dementia and other limitations live independently in their own homes.

The Robot Activity Support System uses sensors embedded in a WSU smart home to determine where its residents are, what they are doing, and when they need assistance with daily activities.

It navigates through rooms and around obstacles to find people on its own, provides video instructions on how to do simple tasks, and can even lead its owner to objects like their medication or a snack in the kitchen.

Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe.
Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe

For the last decade, Diane Cook, Regents professor of electrical engineering and computer science and director of the WSU Center for Advanced Studies in Adaptive Systems, and Maureen Schmitter‑Edgecombe, a WSU professor of psychology, have led CASAS researchers in the development of smart home technologies that could enable elderly adults with memory problems and other impairments to live independently.

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WSU Insider
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