Does your dog have social skills?

A study suggests that viewing the owner’s face works as a positive social reinforcement for dogs. Learn more about this and other surprising results about “man’s best friend”.

Can virtual reality reshape our self-representation?

In the scope of project 258/20 - In God's shoes: embodying the avatar of the supreme moral authority modulates psychophysiological indices of one's own morality, supported by the BIAL Foundation, Salvatore Aglioti and colleagues recruited a group of 54 volunteers, each of whom embodied three different avatars: one normal, one muscled and one omnipotent (an anthropomorphic representation of the Christian God). When embodying the omnipotent avatar, participants perceived adverse events as less threatening to their safety and thought they had more physical abilities, even when comparing to the muscled avatar. The authors concluded that the God-avatar may exert an influence on people’s perception of their own limits and capabilities. More information available in the article Embodying the avatar of an omnipotent agent modulates the perception of one’s own abilities and enhances feelings of invulnerability, published in Scientific Reports.

Award Ceremony of Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica 2022

The winning work of the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica 2023 and the honorable mentions will be announced in the Award ceremony that will take place on February 8, 2022, at 6 p.m. in Porto, and will be held in a hybrid format, so everyone can watch online. The event will be presided over by the President of the Republic.

Can prayer reduce pain intensity?

An affirmative answer was obtained to the question “Can prayer reduce pain intensity?” as result of the systematic review and meta-analysis conducted by Alexandra Ferreira-Valente’s team in the scope of project 188/18 - COping with PAin through Hypnosis, mindfulness and Spirituality (COPAHS), supported by the BIAL Foundation. Detailed results are available in the paper Are Prayer-Based Interventions Effective Pain Management Options? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, published in the Journal of Religion and Health.