A study led by the UAB has analysed the brains of women during pregnancy for the first time using neuroimaging techniques. The study included non-pregnant mothers, whose partners were pregnant, to distinguish biological effects from those caused by the experience of being a mother. The research shows that there is a reduction and partial recovery of almost 5% of grey matter in 94% of the total grey matter volume of the brain, especially in regions linked to social cognition.

 

People who speak with accents perceived as ‘working-class’ including those from Liverpool, Newcastle, Bradford and London risk being stereotyped as more likely to have committed a crime, and becoming victims of injustice, a new study suggests.

Scientists studying the dynamics involved in voice identity parades show that the accent-based assumptions people make about behaviors or values also translate into assumptions about how likely a person is to have committed a crime. Accents accorded higher status were rated less likely to have committed crimes. If these biases are repeated in real-life voice identity parades and other interactions with the justice system, this could negatively affect defendants’ chances of a fair trial. However, some positive assumptions were also made about accents associated with specific criminal or ambiguous behaviors, while some negative assumptions were made about prestigious accents.