Prenatal stress could enhance protective mechanisms of babies
May 13, 2016
Science Daily/Universität Basel
Maternal stress and depression during pregnancy may activate certain protective mechanisms in babies. Psychologists from the University of Basel together with international colleagues report that certain epigenetic adaptations in newborns suggest this conclusion. Their results have been published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
In their study, the researchers observed that increased concentrations of maternal stress hormones, depressive symptoms and general adversities during pregnancy were accompanied by epigenetic changes in the child. As a result of these changes the oxytocin receptor gene, which is important for social behavior and stress adaptations, is activated more easily. This mechanism could indicate that in these cases, the babies adapt to develop more resilience to cope with future challenges and adversities.
Switch reprogrammed
Whether a gene can be activated or not also depends on methyl groups that attach to the DNA and function as a switch. The researchers found that children from mothers with increased stress and depressive symptoms show a reduced methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene at birth. This results in the gene becoming more easily activated, which leads to a facilitated production of oxytocin receptors for oxytocin to react with and unfold its effects. Oxytocin not only has an important function in mother-child bonding and in induction of labor and lactation, it also influences social behavior.
For their study, the team of Prof. Gunther Meinlschmidt from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Basel examined 100 mothers and their babies during and after pregnancy. They collected umbilical cord blood from 39 newborns and assessed the stress hormone cortisol in saliva samples of the mothers. In addition, the researchers evaluated stressful life events and mental health of the mothers via questionnaires. Since the data were only analyzed up to the newborn phase, no conclusions were drawn with regard to the long-term consequences that the epigenetic programming of oxytocin receptors might have for the children.
"Resilience research only at the beginning"
Researchers from the University of Basel, Ruhr University Bochum, Exeter University, McGill University Montreal, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, University of Trier, Zurich University of Applied Sciences and the Stress Center Trier were involved in this study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Previous studies have shown, that adversities during pregnancy can increase the risk for mental disorders and physical diseases in the mother's offspring. However, science has so far dedicated much less attention to potential protective mechanisms of the child.
"Resilience research in this area is only at the beginning," explains Meinlschmidt. The observations made provide first evidence that an adverse environment during pregnancy could also activate protective mechanisms. "We need a comprehensive understanding of the psychological processes that allow humans to sustain long-term health even over generations despite adversities," says Meinlschmidt. Based on this knowledge, resilience processes could be promoted in order to try preventing the development of mental disorders and physical illnesses.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160513084542.htm
Depressed moms not ‘in sync’ with their children
May 5, 2016
Science Daily/Binghamton University, State University of New York
Mothers with a history of depression are not physiologically "in sync" with their kids, according to a new study. While researchers have known for a while that depression is associated with interpersonal problems with others, this is the first study to examine whether this is also evident physiologically.
"When people are interacting, sometimes you just feel like you're in sync with somebody, and you know the interaction is going really well and you're enjoying the conversation. We're trying to figure out, at the body level, in terms of your physiology, do you see this synchrony in moms and their kids, and then how is that impacted by depression?" said Brandon Gibb, professor of psychology at Binghamton University and director of the Mood Disorders Institute and Center for Affective Science.
Binghamton researchers measured heart rate variability, a physiological measure of social engagement, in children aged 7-11 and their mothers (44 with a history of depression, 50 with no history of depression) while they engaged in positive and negative discussions. In the first discussion, mother-child pairs planned a dream vacation together; in the second discussion, pairs addressed a recent topic of conflict between them (e.g. homework, using the TV or computer, being on time, problems at school, lying, etc.) While moms with no history of depression displayed physiological synchrony (similar increases or decreases in heart rate variability) as their children during negative discussion, depressed moms were not in sync with their children. Furthermore, children and mothers who were more sad during the interaction were more likely to be out of sync with one another. According to researchers, these results provide preliminary evidence that synchrony during interactions is disrupted at the physiological level in families with a history of maternal depression and may be a potential risk factor for the intergenerational transmission of depression.
"We found that mothers who had no history of depression were really matching their children's physiology in the moment," said graduate student and lead author of the study Mary Woody. "We saw most moment-to-moment matching in the conflict discussion, in which they were talking about something negative going on in their life. In this difficult discussion, we're seeing this protective physiological mechanism coming out. Whereas, with mothers with a history of depression and their kids, we're seeing the opposite -- they actually mismatched. As one person is getting more engaged, the other person is pulling away. So they were really missing each other in that moment and walking away from the discussion feeling sad."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160505105019.htm
New study finds shifted sleep-wake cycles affect women more than men
April 18, 2016
Science Daily/University of Surrey
A new study involved the assessment of performance in participants being placed on 28-hour days to shift the sleep-wake cycle out of phase with the brain (circadian) clock. Performance was more affected in women than in men, the results show. Researchers warn that this study has significant implications for female nightshift workers such as nurses, security guards and police officers.
Researchers placed 16 male and 18 female participants on 28-hour days in a controlled environment without natural light-dark cycles, at the Surrey Clinical Research Centre. This effectively desynchronised the sleep-wake cycle from the brain's 24-hour (circadian) clock, similar to jet lag or a shiftwork scenario.
Every three hours during the awake period, participants performed a wide range of tests, including self-reported assessments of sleepiness, mood and effort, and objective tests of cognitive performance which included measures of attention, motor control and working memory. Brain electric activity (EEG) was monitored continuously during sleep. The results revealed that in both men and women self-reported assessments were more sensitive to the effects of time awake and circadian clock than the many objective measures of performance. However, crucially, the circadian effect on performance was significantly stronger in women than in men such that women were more cognitively impaired during the early morning hours, which in the real world typically coincides with the end of a night shift.
Co-author, Dr Nayantara Santhi from the University of Surrey, said, "We show for the first time that challenging the circadian clock affects the performance of men and women differently. Our research findings are significant in view of shiftwork-related cognitive deficits and changes in mood. Extrapolation of these results would suggest that women may be more affected by night-shift work than men."
Senior author, Professor Derk-Jan Dijk, continued, "These results show that in both men and women circadian rhythmicity affects brain function and that these effects differ between the sexes in a quantitative manner for some measures of brain function."
"Overall the findings illustrate how important it is to include both men and women in research studies and to use a wide range of subjective and objective indicators of brain function," added Professor Dijk.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160418161622.htm
Removing digital devices from the bedroom can improve sleep for children, teens
November 2, 2017
Science Daily/Penn State
Removing electronic media from the bedroom and encouraging a calming bedtime routine are among recommendations researchers outline in a recent manuscript on digital media and sleep in childhood and adolescence.
The manuscript appears in the first-ever special supplement on this topic in Pediatrics and is based on previous studies that suggest the use of digital devices before bedtime leads to insufficient sleep.
The recommendations, for clinicians and parents, are:
1. Make sleep a priority by talking with family members about the importance of sleep and healthy sleep expectations;
2. Encourage a bedtime routine that includes calming activities and avoids electronic media use;
3. Encourage families to remove all electronic devices from their child or teen's bedroom, including TVs, video games, computers, tablets and cell phones;
4. Talk with family members about the negative consequences of bright light in the evening on sleep; and
5. If a child or adolescent is exhibiting mood or behavioral problems, consider insufficient sleep as a contributing factor.
"Recent reviews of scientific literature reveal that the vast majority of studies find evidence for an adverse association between screen-based media consumption and sleep health, primarily delayed bedtimes and reduced total sleep duration," said Orfeu Buxton, associate professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State and an author on the manuscript.
The reasons behind this adverse association likely include time spent on screens replacing time spent sleeping; mental stimulation from media content; and the effects of light interrupting sleep cycles, according to the researchers.
Buxton and other researchers are further exploring this topic. They are working to understand if media use affects the timing and duration of sleep among children and adolescents; the role of parenting and family practices; the links between screen time and sleep quality and tiredness; and the influence of light on circadian physiology and sleep health among children and adolescents.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171102121003.htm
Depression is on the rise in the US, especially among young teens
October 30, 2017
Science Daily/Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Depression is on the rise in the United States. From 2005 to 2015, depression rose significantly among Americans age 12 and older with the most rapid increases seen in young people. This is the first study to identify trends in depression by gender, income, and education over the past decade.
This is the first study to identify trends in depression by gender, income, and education over the past decade.
"Depression appears to be increasing among Americans overall, and especially among youth," said Renee Goodwin, PhD, of the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, who led the research. "Because depression impacts a significant percentage of the U.S. population and has serious individual and societal consequences, it is important to understand whether and how the prevalence of depression has changed over time so that trends can inform public health and outreach efforts."
The results show that depression increased significantly among persons in the U.S. from 2005 to 2015, from 6.6 percent to 7.3 percent. Notably, the rise was most rapid among those ages 12 to 17, increasing from 8.7 percent in 2005 to 12.7 percent in 2015.
Data were drawn from 607,520 respondents to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual U.S. study of persons ages 12 and over. The researchers examined the prevalence of past-year depression annually among respondents based on DSM-IV criteria.
The increase in rates of depression was most rapid among the youngest and oldest age groups, whites, the lowest income and highest income groups, and those with the highest education levels. These results are in line with recent findings on increases in drug use, deaths due to drug overdose, and suicide.
"Depression is most common among those with least access to any health care, including mental health professionals. This includes young people and those with lower levels of income and education," noted Goodwin. "Despite this trend, recent data suggest that treatment for depression has not increased, and a growing number of Americans, especially socioeconomically vulnerable individuals and young persons, are suffering from untreated depression. Depression that goes untreated is the strongest risk factor for suicide behavior and recent studies show that suicide attempts have increased in recent years, especialy among young women."
Depression frequently remains undiagnosed, yet it is among the most treatable mental disorders, noted the researchers. "Identifying subgroups that are experiencing significant increases in depression can help guide the allocation of resources toward avoiding or reducing the individual and societal costs associated with depression," said Goodwin.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171030134631.htm
Early age of drinking leads to neurocognitive and neuropsychological damage
October 30, 2017
Science Daily/Research Society on Alcoholism
Although drinking by U.S. adolescents has decreased during the last decade, more than 20 percent of U.S. high-school students continue to drink alcohol before the age of 14 years. This can have adverse effects on their neurodevelopment. Little is known about how the age of alcohol-use onset influences brain development. This is the first study to assess the association between age of adolescent drinking onset and neurocognitive performance, taking into account pre-existing cognitive function.
The researchers examined data from a longitudinal study on the neurocognitive effects of substance use in adolescents: 215 adolescents (127 boys, 88 girls) with minimal alcohol use experience were administered a neuropsychological test battery, which was repeated an average of 6.8 years later. Analyses examined whether earlier ages of onset for first and weekly alcohol use adversely affected neurocognition, controlling for substance-use severity, and familial and social environment factors.
Results showed that an earlier onset of drinking increases the risk for alcohol-related neurocognitive vulnerabilities, and that the initiation of any or weekly alcohol use at younger ages is a risk factor for poorer, subsequent neuropsychological functioning. More specifically, an earlier age of onset of first drinking predicted poorer performance in the domains of psychomotor speed and visual attention, and an earlier age of onset of weekly drinking predicted poorer performances on tests of cognitive inhibition and working memory. The authors suggested that these findings have important implications for public policies related to the legal drinking age and prevention strategies and further research on these effects is warranted.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171030131607.htm
Large declines seen in teen substance abuse, delinquency
Surveys over a decade indicate positive behavioral shifts
October 25, 2017
Science Daily/Washington University School of Medicine
In recent years, teens have become far less likely to abuse alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs, according to researchers. Teens also are less likely to engage in behaviors like fighting and stealing, and the researchers believe the declines in substance use and delinquency are connected.
More than a decade of data indicates teens have become far less likely to abuse alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs, and they also are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors, such as fighting and stealing, according to results of a national survey analyzed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The data come from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual survey of 12- to 17-year-olds from all 50 states that is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The data include information from 2003 through 2014, the last year for which survey numbers are available. A total of 210,599 teens -- 13,000 to 18,500 each year -- were part of the study.
The findings are reported Oct. 25 in the journal Psychological Medicine.
The researchers found that the number of substance-use disorders among 12- to 17-year olds had declined by 49 percent over the 12-year span, along with a simultaneous 34 percent decline in delinquent behaviors, such as fighting, assault, stealing, selling drugs or carrying a handgun.
The drop in substance abuse among teens parallels findings in other recent surveys, but until now no one has looked at how the drop-off may be linked to other behavioral issues.
"We've known that teens overall are becoming less likely to engage in risky behaviors, and that's good news," said first author Richard A. Grucza, PhD, a professor of psychiatry. "But what we learned in this study is that the declines in substance abuse are connected to declines in delinquency. This suggests the changes have been driven more by changes in adolescents themselves more than by policies to reduce substance abuse or delinquent behavior."
Other researchers have found that teens are delaying sex and using seat belts more often than their parents and grandparents. Grucza's team focused on substance-use disorders -- involving alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, opioids and the abuse of other prescription drugs or nonprescription drugs -- and delinquent behaviors.
"It's not clear what is driving the parallel declines," Grucza said. "New policies -- including things like higher cigarette taxes and stricter anti-bullying policies -- certainly have a positive effect. But seeing these trends across multiple behaviors suggests that larger environmental factors are at work. These might include reductions in childhood lead exposure, lower rates of child abuse and neglect, and better mental health care for children."
Although heroin and opioid abuse have become epidemic in many areas of the United States, the use among teens has fallen, according to the survey data.
"Opioid problems continue to increase among adults," he said. "But among the 12- to 17-year-old population, we saw a drop of nearly 50 percent."
Based on the survey data, Grucza and his team estimated that in 2014 there were nearly 700,000 fewer adolescents with substance-use disorders than in 2003. And because it's possible for a person to be addicted to nicotine while abusing alcohol or marijuana, the researchers estimate the total number of substance-use disorders among adolescents declined by about 2 million.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171025090515.htm
How toxic air clouds mental health
November 2, 2017
Science Daily/University of Washington
Researchers have found a link between air pollution and psychological distress. The higher the level of particulates in the air, the study showed, the greater the impact on mental health. The study is believed to be the first to use a nationally representative survey pool, cross-referenced with pollution data at the census block level, to evaluate the connection between toxic air and mental health.
There is little debate over the link between air pollution and the human respiratory system: Research shows that dirty air can impair breathing and aggravate various lung diseases. Other potential effects are being investigated, too, as scientists examine connections between toxic air and obesity, diabetes and dementia.
Now add to that list psychological distress, which University of Washington researchers have found is also associated with air pollution. The higher the level of particulates in the air, the UW-led study showed, the greater the impact on mental health.
The study, published in the November issue of Health & Place, is believed to be the first to use a nationally representative survey pool, cross-referenced with pollution data at the census block level, to evaluate the connection between toxic air and mental health.
"This is really setting out a new trajectory around the health effects of air pollution," said Anjum Hajat, an assistant professor of epidemiology in the UW School of Public Health. "The effects of air pollution on cardiovascular health and lung diseases like asthma are well established, but this area of brain health is a newer area of research."
Where a person lives can make a big difference to health and quality of life. Scientists have identified "social determinants" of physical and mental well-being, such as availability of healthy foods at local grocers, access to nature or neighborhood safety.
Air pollution, too, has been associated with behavior changes -- spending less time outside, for instance, or leading a more sedentary lifestyle -- that can be related to psychological distress or social isolation.
The UW study looked for a direct connection between toxic air and mental health, relying on some 6,000 respondents from a larger, national, longitudinal study, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Researchers then merged an air pollution database with records corresponding to the neighborhoods of each of the 6,000 survey participants. The team zeroed in on measurements of fine particulate matter, a substance produced by car engines, fireplaces and wood stoves, and power plants fueled by coal or natural gas. Fine particulate matter (particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) is easily inhaled, can be absorbed into the bloodstream and is considered of greater risk than larger particles. (To picture just how small fine particulate matter is, consider this: The average human hair is 70 micrometers in diameter.)
The current safety standard for fine particulates, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is 12 micrograms per cubic meter. Between 1999 and 2011, the time frame examined in the UW study, survey respondents lived in neighborhoods where fine particulates measured anywhere from 2.16 to 24.23 micrograms per cubic meter, with an average level of 11.34.
The survey questions relevant to the UW study gauged participants' feelings of sadness, nervousness, hopelessness and the like and were scored with a scale that assesses psychological distress.
The UW study found that the risk of psychological distress increased alongside the amount of fine particulate matter in the air. For example, in areas with high levels of pollution (21 micrograms per cubic meter), psychological distress scores were 17 percent higher than in areas with low levels of pollution (5 micrograms per cubic meter). Another finding: Every increase in pollution of 5 micrograms per cubic meter had the same effect as a 1.5-year loss in education.
Researchers controlled for other physical, behavioral and socioeconomic factors that can influence mental health, such as chronic health conditions, unemployment and excessive drinking.
But some patterns emerged that warrant more study, explained primary author Victoria Sass, a graduate student in the Department of Sociology.
When the data are broken down by race and gender, black men and white women show the most significant correlation between air pollution and psychological distress: The level of distress among black men, for instance, in areas of high pollution, is 34 percent greater than that of white men, and 55 percent greater than that of Latino men. A noticeable trend among white women is the substantial increase in distress -- 39 percent -- as pollution levels rise from low to high.
Precisely why air pollution impacts mental health, especially among specific populations, was beyond the scope of the study, Sass said. But that's what makes further research important.
"Our society is segregated and stratified, which places an unnecessary burden on some groups," Sass said. "Even moderate levels can be detrimental to health."
Air pollution, however, is something that can be mitigated, Hajat said, and has been declining in the United States. It's a health problem with a clear, actionable solution. But it requires the political will to continue to regulate air quality, Sass added.
"We shouldn't think of this as a problem that has been solved," she said. "There is a lot to be said for having federal guidelines that are rigorously enforced and continually updated. The ability of communities to have clean air will be impacted with more lax regulation."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171102121128.htm
Are some natural environments more psychologically beneficial than others?
October 31, 2017
Science Daily/University of Surrey
Spending time in rural and coastal locations is more psychologically beneficial to individuals than time spent in urban green spaces, a new study reports.
During this innovative study, researchers from the University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Plymouth and Plymouth Marine Laboratory worked with Natural England to examine the experiences of over 4,500 people when spending time in nature and investigated for the first time how different environmental settings and their quality impacted on psychological wellbeing.
Asking participants to describe their visit and to evaluate their overall encounter, researchers discovered that those who visited rural and coastal locations reported greater psychological contentment than those who spent time in urban green spaces, such as city gardens and parks. It was also found that visits to natural areas of protected or designated status i.e. national parks, also resulted in improved mental wellbeing.
Researchers found these visits to nature (especially those to protected sites and to coastal and rural green settings) were associated with both greater feelings of relaxation and refreshment but also stronger emotional connections to the natural world. Interestingly it was discovered that visits longer than 30 minutes were associated with a better connection and subsequently had greater psychological benefits.
Socio-economic status was also found not to be a factor in enjoyment of nature, demonstrating the importance of providing free/affordable entrance to sites. This will help prevent socio-economic inequality in accessing nature.
Lead author of the paper Dr Kayleigh Wyles, who undertook the research whilst at Plymouth Marine Laboratory and now Lecturer in Environmental Psychology at the University of Surrey, said:
"We've demonstrated for some time that nature can be beneficial to us, but we're still exploring how and why. Here we have found that our mental wellbeing and our emotional bond with nature may differ depending on the type and quality of an environment we visit.
"These findings are important as they not only help unpick the mechanisms behind these psychological benefits, but they can also help to prioritise the protection of these environments and emphasise why accessibility to nature is so important."
Professor Mel Austen, Head of the Sea and Society Science Area at Plymouth Marine Laboratory said: "It was surprising to learn that the extent of protection of marine environments also affects the extent of mental health benefits that people gain from their interactions with the sea.
"People's health is likely to become an increasingly important aspect to consider as we manage our coasts and waters for the benefit of all users."
The positive benefits of interaction with nature are well documented with numerous studies reporting a reduction of stress levels in participants and an increase in overall wellbeing in those spending time in nature. This is the first study of its kind which shows that different types of natural environments have more of an impact on psychological wellbeing than others.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171031202451.htm
Regular marijuana use linked to more sex
October 27, 2017
Science Daily/Stanford University Medical Center
Despite concerns among physicians and scientists that frequent marijuana use may impair sexual desire or performance, the opposite appears more likely to be the case, new research indicates.
The jury's still out on rock 'n' roll. But the link between sex and at least one drug, marijuana, has been confirmed.
A study by investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine indicates that, despite concerns among physicians and scientists that frequent marijuana use may impair sexual desire or performance, the opposite appears more likely to be the case.
The findings, to be published online Oct. 27 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, are based on an analysis of more than 50,000 Americans ages 25-45. And they're unambiguous.
"Frequent marijuana use doesn't seem to impair sexual motivation or performance. If anything, it's associated with increased coital frequency," said the study's senior author, Michael Eisenberg, MD, assistant professor of urology. The lead author is Andrew Sun, MD, a resident in urology.
Hint of a causal connection
The study does not establish a causal connection between marijuana use and sexual activity, Eisenberg noted. But the results hint at it, he added. "The overall trend we saw applied to people of both sexes and all races, ages, education levels, income groups and religions, every health status, whether they were married or single and whether or not they had kids."
The study is the first to examine the relationship between marijuana use and frequency of sexual intercourse at the population level in the United States.
"Marijuana use is very common, but its large-scale use and association with sexual frequency hasn't been studied much in a scientific way," Eisenberg said.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 20 million adult Americans are current marijuana users. With the drug's legalization for medical or recreational use in 29 states, that number is climbing. But despite marijuana's growing status as a recreational drug, its status as a procreational drug remains ambiguous: On one hand, there are reports of erectile dysfunction in heavy users, and rigorous studies have found reduced sperm counts in men who smoke it; on the other hand, experiments conducted in animal models and humans indicate that marijuana stimulates activity in brain regions involved in sexual arousal and activity.
Looking at survey responses
To arrive at an accurate determination of marijuana's effect on intercourse frequency, Eisenberg and Sun turned to the National Survey of Family Growth, sponsored by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey, which provides data pertaining to family structures, sexual practices and childbearing, reflects the overall demographic features of the U.S. population. Originally conducted at regular intervals, the survey is now carried out on an annual basis. It explicitly queries respondents on how many times they've had intercourse with a member of the opposite sex in the past four weeks, and how frequently they've smoked marijuana over the past 12 months.
The investigators compiled answers to those questions for all years since 2002, when the survey first began collecting data on men as well as women. They included data from respondents ages 25-45 and excluded a small percentage (fewer than 3 percent) of respondents who had failed to answer one or more relevant questions.
In all, Eisenberg and Sun obtained data on 28,176 women averaging 29.9 years of age and 22,943 men whose average age was 29.5. They assessed these individuals' self-reported patterns of marijuana use over the previous year and their self-reported frequency of heterosexual intercourse over the previous four weeks.
Some 24.5 percent of men and 14.5 percent of women in the analysis reported having used marijuana, and there was a positive association between the frequency of marijuana use and the frequency of sexual intercourse. This relationship applied to both sexes: Women denying marijuana use in the past year, for example, had sex on average 6.0 times during the previous four weeks, whereas that number was 7.1 for daily pot users. Among men, the corresponding figure was 5.6 for nonusers and 6.9 for daily users.
In other words, pot users are having about 20 percent more sex than pot abstainers, Eisenberg noted.
Positive association is universal
Moreover, Eisenberg said, the positive association between marijuana use and coital frequency was independent of demographic, health, marital or parental status.
In addition, the trend remained even after accounting for subjects' use of other drugs, such as cocaine or alcohol. This, Eisenberg said, suggests that marijuana's positive correlation with sexual activity doesn't merely reflect some general tendency of less-inhibited types, who may be more inclined to use drugs, to also be more likely to have sex. In addition, coital frequency rose steadily with increasing marijuana use, a dose-dependent relationship supporting a possible active role for marijuana in fostering sexual activity.
Nevertheless, Eisenberg cautioned, the study shouldn't be misinterpreted as having proven a causal link. "It doesn't say if you smoke more marijuana, you'll have more sex," he said.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171027085539.htm
Smell sensitivity varies with circadian rhythm
October 26, 2017
Science Daily/Brown University
A person's ability to smell may vary throughout the day in accordance with their circadian rhythm, according to new evidence in a small study by researchers who are looking at how sleep may influence eating patterns in teens.
It has always been apparent that some individuals have a better sense of smell than others, but a new study of 37 teens provides the first direct evidence that within each person, smell sensitivity varies over the course of each day. The pattern, according to the data, tracks with the body's internal day-night cycle, or circadian rhythm.
"This finding is very important for olfactory perception science," said Rachel Herz, lead author of the study in Chemical Senses and an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. "This hadn't been known before and this is the first clear, direct evidence."
As one of the five senses, smell is an important ability, Herz noted, not only for experiencing and enjoying the world, but also for receiving information about danger, such as nearby fire or spoiled food, and for basic functions like eating. Changes in the sense during the day can affect all these capabilities.
Indeed Herz, an expert in the sense of smell, made the findings in collaboration with sleep expert Mary Carskadon, a Brown professor of psychiatry and human behavior. Carskadon is conducting a larger study with a hypothesis that circadian timing and sleep habits may affect the eating habits of teens, potentially contributing to obesity. Smell is associated with food consumption, notes Herz -- who has authored the upcoming book "Why You Eat What You Eat" -- so the researchers devised an experiment to determine whether smell varies with circadian rhythm.
28-hour 'days'
To conduct the study, the researchers asked the 21 boys and 16 girls, all between ages 12 and 15, to sleep on a fixed schedule for two weeks before reporting to the Bradley Hospital sleep lab. After an adaptation night in the lab, the teens began a week of 28-hour days where their sleep was shifted four hours later each "night."
All along, they lived indoors in dim light, socializing and participating in fun activities with each other and staff members. The goal was to separate them temporarily from typical sleep disruptions and from external cues of circadian timing. In this way, Carskadon said, their inherent, internal circadian rhythms could be measured, as could the sensitivity of their sense of smell at all times throughout their rhythms (in addition to other measures, such as food intake).
The team measured circadian rhythm by detecting levels of the sleep-cueing hormone melatonin in their saliva. Melatonin secretion begins about an hour before the urge to sleep hits. They assessed smell sensitivity using "Sniffin' Sticks," a common test for measuring odor detection thresholds. Each time they used the sticks, the researchers could determine the threshold concentration of the odor that the teens could detect. Smell was assessed every three hours while teens were awake.
The rhythm of smell
Individuals varied substantially in how much their smell sensitivity varied over a circadian cycle and in when it peaked. But there were clear patterns individually and overall. One was that the variance showed a circadian rhythm, and the other was that smell sensitivity was never strongest well into the "biological night," or the period well after melatonin onset when people are most likely to be asleep and least likely to be eating. In clock terms, it's from about 3 to 9 a.m.
"So we have 84 tests done on each child, and each one has a circadian phase associated with it," Carskadon said. "There is a rhythm here, and it's not flat or that you smell the same all the time. Your sense of smell changes in a predictable manner, though it's not the same for every child."
Carskadon said the findings should be of note to clinicians and researchers who seek to assess a patient's sense of smell. The study suggests that sensitivity might be inherently higher at an afternoon appointment than in the early morning.
Herz noted that there could be implications for fire safety as well. A decade ago she and Carskadon had found that the sense of smell all but shuts down during sleep. Now there is evidence that the sense of smell is relatively weak during a quarter of the circadian cycle. This emphasizes, Herz said, the value of audible smoke alarms, since smell may be a poor indicator of that danger at least in the early morning hours.
On average, the peak of smell sensitivity was at the beginning of biological night, or about 9 p.m. for the teens.
Herz said she can only speculate about why smell sensitivity might peak, on average, in the late evening. From an evolutionary standpoint, it might be to ensure the greatest sense of satiety during the important end of day meal, it might be a way of increasing mating desire, or perhaps a way of scanning for nearby threats before bedding down for the evening.
For each individual, she said, knowing when during the day smell their sensitivity might peak could be a way of identifying the time when sensory experiences could be most pleasant.
For less ancient health concerns, however, Carskadon says more data from the experiments is coming to help the team determine whether the circadian fluctuations of smell sensitivity helps determine food choices and eating behaviors among teens.
"The sense of smell changes across the 24 hours of the day," Carskadon said. "We don't know if that difference will affect what or how people eat. There is more to come."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171026103130.htm
'Ridiculously healthy' elderly have the same gut microbiome as healthy 30-year-olds
October 11, 2017
Science Daily/University of Western Ontario
In one of the largest microbiota studies conducted in humans, researchers have shown a potential link between healthy aging and a healthy gut.
With the establishment of the China-Canada Institute, the researchers studied the gut bacteria in a cohort of more than 1,000 Chinese individuals in a variety of age-ranges from 3 to over 100 years-old who were self-selected to be extremely healthy with no known health issues and no family history of disease. The results showed a direct correlation between health and the microbes in the intestine.
"The aim is to bring novel microbiome diagnostic systems to populations, then use food and probiotics to try and improve biomarkers of health," said Gregor Reid, professor at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute. "It begs the question -- if you can stay active and eat well, will you age better, or is healthy ageing predicated by the bacteria in your gut?"
The study, published this month in the journal mSphere, showed that the overall microbiota composition of the healthy elderly group was similar to that of people decades younger, and that the gut microbiota differed little between individuals from the ages of 30 to over 100.
"The main conclusion is that if you are ridiculously healthy and 90 years old, your gut microbiota is not that different from a healthy 30 year old in the same population," said Greg Gloor, the principal investigator on the study and also a professor at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute. Whether this is cause or effect is unknown, but the study authors point out that it is the diversity of the gut microbiota that remained the same through their study group.
"This demonstrates that maintaining diversity of your gut as you age is a biomarker of healthy aging, just like low-cholesterol is a biomarker of a healthy circulatory system," Gloor said. The researchers suggest that resetting an elderly microbiota to that of a 30-year-old might help promote health.
"By studying healthy people, we hope to know what we are striving for when people get sick," said Reid.
The study also found a distinct anomaly in the group aged 19 to 24 that has not been observed in large-scale analyses of other populations and they suspect may be unique to this healthy cohort in China. The distinct gut microbiota of this group was a surprising finding and requires further study.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171011123728.htm
Yoga and aerobic exercise together may improve heart disease risk factors
Study shows significant improvement in heart health when patients practice both activities
October 19, 2017
Science Daily/American College of Cardiology
Heart disease patients who practice yoga in addition to aerobic exercise saw twice the reduction in blood pressure, body mass index and cholesterol levels when compared to patients who practiced either Indian yoga or aerobic exercise alone, according to new research.
Lifestyle intervention has been shown to aid in reducing the risk of death and heart disease comorbidities when used alongside medical management. Indian yoga is a combination of whole exercise of body, mind and soul, and a common practice throughout India. Researchers in this study looked specifically at Indian yoga and aerobic training's effect on the coronary risk factors of obese heart disease patients with type 2 diabetes.
The study looked at 750 patients who had previously been diagnosed with coronary heart disease. One group of 225 patients participated in aerobic exercise, another group of 240 patients participated in Indian yoga, and a third group of 285 participated in both yoga and aerobic exercise. Each group did three, six-month sessions of yoga and/or aerobic exercise.
The aerobic exercise only and yoga only groups showed similar reductions in blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, weight and waist circumference. However, the combined yoga and aerobic exercise group showed a two times greater reduction compared to the other groups. They also showed significant improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction, diastolic function and exercise capacity.
"Combined Indian yoga and aerobic exercise reduce mental, physical and vascular stress and can lead to decreased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity," said Sonal Tanwar, PhD, a scholar in preventative cardiology, and Naresh Sen, DM, PhD, a consultant cardiologist, both at HG SMS Hospital, Jaipur, India. "Heart disease patients could benefit from learning Indian yoga and making it a routine part of daily life."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171019100951.htm
Tai chi holds promise as cardiac rehab exercise
October 11, 2017
Science Daily/American Heart Association
The slow and gentle movements of Tai Chi -- which can increase in pace -- hold promise as an alternative exercise option for patients who decline traditional cardiac rehabilitation. The study is the first to suggest that Tai Chi may improve exercise behaviors in this high-risk group.
After a heart attack, more than 60 percent of patients decline participation in cardiac rehabilitation. Although the reasons include financial concerns and distance to a rehab center, many patients stay away because they perceive physical exercise as unpleasant, painful or impossible given their current physical condition.
This is the first study suggesting that Tai Chi may improve exercise behaviors in this high-risk population.
"We thought that Tai Chi might be a good option for these people because you can start very slowly and simply and, as their confidence increases, the pace and movements can be modified to increase intensity," said Elena Salmoirago-Blotcher, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor of medicine at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. "Tai Chi exercise can reach low-to-moderate intensity levels. The emphasis on breathing and relaxation can also help with stress reduction and psychological distress."
Researchers adapted a Tai Chi routine for use in heart disease patients from a protocol previously used in patients with lung disease and heart failure. They compared the safety and compliance of two regimes: LITE, a shorter program with 24 classes over 12 weeks and PLUS, a longer program with 52 classes over 24 weeks. All participants received a DVD to use for home practice during and after receiving the classes.
The study was conducted at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island and included 29 physically inactive heart disease patients (8 women and 21 men, average age 67.9 years) who expressed an interest in a Tai Chi program. Although the majority had experienced a previous heart attack (58.6 percent) or procedure to open a blocked artery (PCI -- 82.8 percent; CABG -- 31 percent), all had declined cardiac rehabilitation and continued to have many high-risk characteristics, including current smoker (27.6 percent), diabetes (48.3 percent), high cholesterol (75.9 percent), and overweight (35 percent) or obese (45 percent). All had received physician clearance to undergo Tai Chi training and none had orthopedic problems (such as recent joint replacement surgery) that would preclude doing Tai Chi.
Researchers found Tai Chi:
- · was safe, with no adverse events related to the exercise program except for minor muscular pain at the beginning of training;
- · was well liked by participants (100 percent would recommend it to a friend);
- · was feasible, with patients attending about 66 percent of scheduled classes;
- · did not raise aerobic fitness on standard tests after 3 months of either the programs; and
- · did raise the weekly amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (as measured by a wearable device) after three and six months in the group participating in the longer program, but not in those who took part in the shorter program.
"On its own, Tai Chi wouldn't obviously replace other components of traditional cardiac rehabilitation, such as education on risk factors, diet and adherence to needed medications," said Salmoirago-Blotcher. "If proven effective in larger studies, it might be possible to offer it as an exercise option within a rehab center as a bridge to more strenuous exercise, or in a community setting with the educational components of rehab delivered outside of a medical setting."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171011091747.htm
Living close to green spaces is associated with better attention in children
An ISGlobal study analyses for the first time lifelong residential exposure to greenness in children
October 25, 2017
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
How do green spaces affect cognitive development in children? A new study concludes that children with more greenness around their homes may develop better attention capacities.
Natural surroundings, including green spaces, may be beneficial for brain development in children, but evidence is still limited. A previous ISGlobal study already indicated that green spaces within and surrounding schools could enhance cognitive development in children between 7 and 10 years of age. In the current study, the authors expanded on this finding by evaluating the impact of greenness surrounding all the residential addresses of children since birth and characterizing cognitive development at earlier stages in life.
The analysis, published in Environment Health Perspectives, was based on data from 1,500 children of the INMA -- Environment and Childhood Project cohort in Sabadell and Valencia, collected during 2003-2013. The ISGlobal team analysed residential surrounding greenness -- at 100, 300 and 500 metres distance- at birth, 4-5 years and 7 years of age. Two types of attention tests were performed at 4-5 and 7 years of age. The research shows that children with higher greenness around their homes had better scores in the attention tests.
Payam Dadvand, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the study, emphasizes "this is the first time that the impact of lifelong residential exposure to green spaces on attention capacity in children has been studied." These results "underline the importance of green areas in cities for children's health and brain development," says Dadvand.
Jordi Sunyer, study coordinator and head of the Child Health Programme at ISGlobal, points out that "the possibility that exposure to different types of vegetation might have different impacts on neurodevelopment remains an open question." Therefore, Sunyer considers further studies should be done in other settings with different climates and vegetation.
"Green spaces in cities promote social connections and physical activity and reduce exposure to air pollution and noise, and are therefore essential for the development of the future generations' brains" adds the study coordinator.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171025103123.htm
A quarter of problematic pot users have anxiety disorders, many since childhood
Regional data also suggest some teens who abuse pot outgrow habit in adulthood
October 24, 2017
Science Daily/Duke University Medical Center
About a quarter of adults whose marijuana use is problematic in early adulthood have anxiety disorders in childhood and late adolescence, according to new data.
The findings, publishing this week in the November issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, also shed light on an estimated 4 percent of adults who endured childhood maltreatment and peer bullying without resorting to chronic marijuana abuse, only to develop problems with the drug between the ages of 26 and 30.
"Given that more states may be moving towards legalization of cannabis for medicinal and recreational purposes, this study raises attention about what we anticipate will be the fastest growing demographic of users -- adults," said lead author Sherika Hill, Ph.D., an adjunct faculty associate at the Duke University School of Medicine. "A lot of current interventions and policies in the U.S. are aimed at early adolescent users. We have to start thinking about how we are going to address problematic use that may arise in a growing population of older users."
The findings are based on data from 1,229 participants in the Great Smoky Mountains Study, a long-term study of residents in 11 counties near the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina, where Hispanics and Latinos are underrepresented and Native Americans are overrepresented compared to the rest of the U.S.
A cohort of children in the study were enrolled as young as age 9 and have now reached their 30s. From 1993 to 2015, researchers tracked data in numerous areas of interest, including mental health, education, work attainment, and use of drugs and alcohol.
The researchers defined problematic cannabis or marijuana use as daily consumption or a habit that meets diagnostic guidelines for addiction. They tracked participants' patterns of use from the college years (ages 19-21) into adulthood (ages 26-30).
They found more than three-fourths (76.3 percent) of participants didn't use or develop a problem with marijuana during this period.
The remaining quarter developed problems that researchers grouped into three profiles -- those with limited problems, persistent problems and delayed problems.
Limited users (13 percent)
· Limited problematic users had trouble with marijuana either while in school before age 16 or in their late teens and early 20s, but their habits dropped off as they aged.
· Researchers were somewhat surprised that this group reported the highest levels of family conflict and instability during childhood as compared to others in the study; these factors are often associated with more drug use.
· "When this group of children left home, they seemed to do better," Hill said. "They didn't have as many children at a young age, and they went further in their education when they were 19 to 21 compared to those with persistent and delayed profiles."
Persistent users (7 percent)
· This group had trouble with marijuana beginning as young as 9 years old and their chronic use continued into their late 20s and early 30s, the data showed.
· Large portions of this group had anxiety disorders in both childhood (27 percent) and at ages 19-21 (23 percent).
· They had the highest rates of psychiatric disorders and involvement in the criminal justice system, and most said the majority of their friends were drug users, too.
· "This suggests that a focus on mental health and well-being could go a long way to prevent the most problematic use," Hill said.
Delayed users (4 percent)
· This was a small but unique group that made it through adolescence and early adulthood without problematic marijuana use, only to become habitual users between ages 26 and 30.
· Blacks were five times as likely as whites to be delayed problematic users in the late 20s and early 30s after not having trouble with the between the ages 19-21 -- a peak time for most marijuana users.
· More than half of delayed users were both bullied by peers and mistreated by caregivers as children, yet also had lower rates of anxiety, alcohol use, and other hard drug use compared to persistent users.
· "What we don't yet understand is how childhood maltreatment didn't prompt earlier problematic use of cannabis between ages 19 and 21 -- how individuals could be resilient to that kind of adverse experience for so long," Hill said. "One theory is that they were somewhat protected by having fewer peers in late adolescence who were substance users, but this is one of the questions we will continue to seek answers for."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171024141720.htm
Depression strongly linked to higher long-term risk of early death for both women, men
Science Daily/October 23, 2017
Canadian Medical Association Journal
Despite increased awareness about mental illness, depression remains strongly linked to a higher risk of early death -- and this risk has increased for women in recent years -- according to results from the 60-year Stirling County Study.
"There is less stigma associated with depression, better treatments are available, but depression's link to mortality still persists," said Dr. Stephen Gilman of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. "At first, the association was limited to men, but in later years it was seen for women as well."
The Stirling County Study, begun in 1952 in Atlantic Canada, is well-known internationally as one of the first community-based studies on mental illness. A researcher from the original study, Dr. Jane Murphy with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, is a coauthor on this latest research study.
An international team of researchers looked at 60 years of mental health data on 3410 adults during 3 periods (1952-1967, 1968-1990 and 1991-2011) from a region in Atlantic Canada and linked the data to deaths in the Canadian Mortality Database. They found that the link between depression and an increased risk of death was observed in all decades of the study among men, whereas it emerged among women beginning in the 1990s. The risk of death associated with depression appeared strongest in the years following a depressive episode, leading the authors to speculate that this risk could be reversed by achieving remission of depression.
The mean age of participants at enrolment in the study was about 49 years. "The lifespan for young adults with depression at age 25 was markedly shorter over the 60-year period, ranging from 10 to 12 fewer years of life in the first group, 4 to 7 years in the second group and 7 to 18 fewer years of life in the 1992 group," says Dr. Ian Colman, Canada Research Chair in the School of Epidemiology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. "Most disturbing is the 50% increase in the risk of death for women with depression between 1992 and 2011."
Though depression has also been linked with poorer diet, lack of exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption -- all factors that can result in chronic health conditions -- these did not explain the increased risk of death associated with depression in this study.
Societal change may help explain the emergent risk of death for women with depression.
"During the last 20 years of the study in which women's risk of death increased significantly, roles have changed dramatically both at home and in the workplace, and many women shoulder multiple responsibilities and expectations," says Dr. Colman.
The authors suggest that family physicians should monitor patients for mood disturbances, especially recurrent episodes of depression, so that they may offer treatment and support.
Limitations include a long interval between participant interviews which prevented determining the exact timing of depression and the participants' experiences of recurrent episodes of depression between interviews.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171023094625.htm
Want to control your dreams? Here's how you can
October 19, 2017
Science Daily/University of Adelaide
New research has found that a specific combination of techniques will increase people's chances of having lucid dreams, in which the dreamer is aware they're dreaming while it's still happening and can control the experience.
Although many techniques exist for inducing lucid dreams, previous studies have reported low success rates, preventing researchers from being able to study the potential benefits and applications of lucid dreaming.
Dr Denholm Aspy's research in the University of Adelaide's School of Psychology is aimed at addressing this problem and developing more effective lucid dream induction techniques.
The results from his studies, now published in the journal Dreaming, have confirmed that people can increase their chances of having a lucid dream.
The study involved three groups of participants, and investigated the effectiveness of three different lucid dream induction techniques:
1. reality testing -- which involves checking your environment several times a day to see whether or not you're dreaming.
2. wake back to bed -- waking up after five hours, staying awake for a short period, then going back to sleep in order to enter a REM sleep period, in which dreams are more likely to occur.
3. MILD (mnemonic induction of lucid dreams) -- which involves waking up after five hours of sleep and then developing the intention to remember that you are dreaming before returning to sleep, by repeating the phrase: "The next time I'm dreaming, I will remember that I'm dreaming." You also imagine yourself in a lucid dream.
Among the group of 47 people who combined all three techniques, participants achieved a 17% success rate in having lucid dreams over the period of just one week -- significantly higher compared to a baseline week where they didn't practise any techniques. Among those who were able to go to sleep within the first five minutes of completing the MILD technique, the success rate of lucid dreaming was much higher, at almost 46% of attempts.
"The MILD technique works on what we call 'prospective memory' -- that is, your ability to remember to do things in the future. By repeating a phrase that you will remember you're dreaming, it forms an intention in your mind that you will, in fact, remember that you are dreaming, leading to a lucid dream," says Dr Aspy, Visiting Research Fellow in the University's School of Psychology.
"Importantly, those who reported success using the MILD technique were significantly less sleep deprived the next day, indicating that lucid dreaming did not have any negative effect on sleep quality," he says.
"These results take us one step closer to developing highly effective lucid dream induction techniques that will allow us to study the many potential benefits of lucid dreaming, such as treatment for nightmares and improvement of physical skills and abilities through rehearsal in the lucid dream environment," Dr Aspy says.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171019100812.htm
Life in the city: Living near a forest keeps your amygdala healthier
MRI study analyzes stress-processing brain regions in older city dwellers
October 18, 2017
Science Daily/Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
A new study examined the relationship between the availability of nature near city dwellers' homes and their brain health. Its findings are relevant for urban planners among others.
Noise, pollution, and many people in a confined space: Life in a city can cause chronic stress. City dwellers are at a higher risk of psychiatric illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia than country dwellers. Comparisons show higher activity levels in city dwellers' than in country dwellers' amygdala -- a central nucleus in the brain that plays an important role in stress processing and reactions to danger. Which factors can have a protective influence? A research team led by psychologist Simone Kühn has examined which effects nature near people's homes such as forest, urban green, or wasteland has on stress-processing brain regions such as the amygdala. "Research on brain plasticity supports the assumption that the environment can shape brain structure and function. That is why we are interested in the environmental conditions that may have positive effects on brain development. Studies of people in the countryside have already shown that living close to nature is good for their mental health and well-being. We therefore decided to examine city dwellers," explains first author Simone Kühn, who led the study at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and now works at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE).
Indeed, the researchers found a relationship between place of residence and brain health: those city dwellers living close to a forest were more likely to show indications of a physiologically healthy amygdala structure und were therefore presumably better able to cope with stress. This effect remained stable when differences in educational qualifications and income levels were controlled for. However, it was not possible to find an association between the examined brain regions and urban green, water, or wasteland. With these data, it is not possible to distinguish whether living close to a forest really has positive effects on the amygdala or whether people with a healthier amygdala might be more likely to select residential areas close to a forest. Based on present knowledge, however, the researchers regard the first explanation as more probable. Further longitudinal studies are necessary to accumulate evidence.
The participants in the present study are from the Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II) -- a larger longitudinal study examining the physical, psychological, and social conditions for healthy aging. In total, 341 adults aged 61 to 82 years took part in the present study. Apart from carrying out memory and reasoning tests, the structure of stress-processing brain regions, especially the amygdala, was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In order to examine the influence of nature close to peoples' homes on these brain regions, the researchers combined the MRI data with geoinformation about the participants' places of residence. This information stemmed from the European Environment Agency's Urban Atlas, which provides an overview of urban land use in Europe.
"Our study investigates the connection between urban planning features and brain health for the first time," says co-author Ulman Lindenberger, Director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. By 2050, almost 70 percent of the world population is expected to be living in cities. These results could therefore be very important for urban planning. In the near future, however, the observed association between the brain and closeness to forests would need to be confirmed in further studies and other cities, stated Ulman Lindenberger.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171018113515.htm
Anxiety and depression linked to migraines
October 18, 2017
Science Daily/Wiley
In a study of 588 patients who attended an outpatient headache clinic, more frequent migraines were experienced by participants with symptoms of anxiety and depression. In the Headache study, poor sleep quality was also found to be an independent predictor of more severe depression and anxiety symptoms.
The study's investigators noted that factors such as emotional distress and frequency of headache may influence each other through a common pathophysiological mechanism. For example, emotional responses have the potential to alter pain perception and modulation through certain signaling pathways.
"These findings potentially suggest that adequate medical treatment to decrease headache frequency may reduce the risk of depression and anxiety in migraine patients," said Dr. Fu-Chi Yang, corresponding author of the study and an investigator in the Department of Neurology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taiwan.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171018090209.htm