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An apparent phenomenon which occurred at a recent Lana Del Rey concert has left conspiracy theorists chomping at the bit. Rey’s performance took place at the Foro Sol arena in Mexico City on August 15, but it wasn’t until the weekend that footage of the jaw-dropping occurrence exploded across social media. Recordings of the incident show swathes of the crowd suddenly toppling to the ground after being hit by what viewers called a “mysterious energy wave”. The bizarre sweep was filmed from numerous angles and, indeed, looks like a dramatic full-body Mexican wave involving hundreds of people. X/Twitter users were quick to demand explanations for the strange happening and, inevitably, the responses came in thick and fast. “Someone's TESTING something without informed consent,” one theorist suggested. “Probably crowd control device.” “Evil spirits and demonic energy exists,” offered another ominously. “I’ve seen Holy Spirit do this, as strange as this will sound to most,” wrote a third, who describes himself as a “Jesus Person”. However, others were quick to shrug it off as just an example of the so-called “domino effect”. This was explained by crowd science expert Keith Still, who told The Messenger: “It’s called a progressive crowd collapse, where the momentum of one person knocking into another, increases significantly. “I think the phrase ‘domino effect’ is quite appropriate,” he added. And yet, scores of viewers remained unconvinced by this idea. “Progressive Crowd Falls do happen BUT NOT LIKE THIS,” responded one. “Anyone who’s been to a big show can tell the difference,” they added. “[One] big difference in my mind: when the progressive crowd thing happens it’s usually stopped when smaller people bump into the bigger people. “This though, this looks like everyone was pushed nearly simultaneously. That doesn’t happen, like ever.” Another agreed, saying: “I’ve been to hundreds of gigs before, never seen this.” Meanwhile, most people accepted the logical explanation. “Some girl was interviewed and said a person up near the front was crawling on the ground looking for something, caused a few people right above them to fall backwards into the tightly packed crowd causing a domino effect,” wrote one. And others joked that the crowd had simply been bowled over by the power of Rey’s voice. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Playing with dolls could help the social development of children - including those with neurodiverse conditions such as autism, according to a study. The research, from Cardiff University, found children exhibiting higher levels of autism traits showed increased brain activity in a key region associated with social processing when engaging in conversations with individuals during doll play. The new findings suggested that broader social engagement with others while engaging in doll play was a unique pathway to social development for these children. This was in contrast to what was observed in neurotypical children, who were more likely to discuss the dolls’ thoughts and emotions. However, researchers said that despite this difference, it showed that both groups may be able to benefit from doll play by using it as a tool for practising social scenarios and developing social skills, such as empathy. The findings are the latest release from a multi-year study by the Centre for Human Developmental Science at the university’s School of Psychology. Previous years have focused on neurotypical children and found wide-ranging social and developmental benefits of playing with dolls. Now, in its third year, the research team has replicated those results with a more diverse range of participants, including children aged between four and eight displaying both high and low levels of traits associated with autism. Lead researcher Dr Sarah Gerson said: “Our study shows that doll play can encourage social processing in children, regardless of their neurodevelopmental profile. “The findings show that all children, even those who display neurodivergent traits commonly associated with autism, may use doll play as a tool for practicing social scenarios and developing social skills, such as empathy.” State-of-the-art functional, near-infrared spectroscopy equipment was used to explore brain activation while children played with dolls and on tablets, both by themselves and with another person, replicating conditions from the first year of the study. While observing children, researchers saw increased brain activity in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) region - which is heavily involved in social and emotional processing such as empathy - when playing with dolls, for both play with a social partner and during solo doll play, but less so during solo tablet play. The study’s results suggest that doll play could support social processing, regardless of a child’s neurodevelopmental profile, but through different pathways. For children displaying fewer autistic traits in the research, talking about the mental states and emotions of the dolls they were playing with was associated with increased pSTS activity. In contrast, for those displaying more autistic traits, talking with others during doll play, even when playing by themselves, led to more social processing on a neural level. Other research has shown that social processing and empathy skills are important determinants in children’s future emotional, academic, and social success. The study was a collaboration with the Wales Autism Research Centre. ‘Create a more inclusive and supportive environment for their development’ Its director Dr Catherine Jones said: “The study reinforces how it is important that that we acknowledge and value neurodiversity. “This means recognising and valuing the diverse ways in which children’s brains work and approaching social development in a way that is inclusive and accommodating for all children, regardless of their neurodivergence. “By embracing all ways that children choose to play, we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment for their development.” Since the landmark publication of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the effects of play have been thought to be positive for kids’ social skills and creativity, but this has never been scientifically evidenced at the brain level. The multi-year long-term study, commissioned by Barbie, is the first time key Piaget theories on play have been scientifically evidenced via brain imaging and the first to use neuroimaging evidence with natural doll play, meaning there was no prescribed storyline to show how the brain is activated during doll play. Michael Swaisland, head EMEA of insight and analytics, Mattel, said: “We are proud to know that when children, regardless of their neurodevelopmental profile, play with Barbie, their playtime may benefit their development. “As Barbie continues to inspire the limitless potential in every child, we are delighted to know, through neuroscience, that playing with dolls may encourage the development of social skills such as empathy in children, including those who display neurodivergent traits commonly associated with autism. “We look forward to uncovering even more benefits of doll play through our long-term partnership with Cardiff University as we look to shine a light on the benefits the play pattern has towards development, that parents might not have been aware of.” Parents and caregivers can visit here to learn more about the research and access resources. Read More Toys children play with can have an effect on their success in adulthood The best exclusive discount codes this payday Many parents of under 5s on less than £50k ‘quit work due to childcare costs’ – survey

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