Microbiome confers resistance to cholera
Not everyone exposed to infectious diarrhea-causing bacteria gets sick
June 29, 2020
Science Daily/University of California - Riverside
Many parts of the world are in the midst of a deadly pandemic of cholera, an extreme form of watery diarrhea. Scientists have discovered specific gut bacteria make some people resistant to it -- a finding that could save lives.
Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated, and it sickens as many as 4 million people a year. In a new article in the journal Cell, researchers describe how gut bacteria helps people resist the disease.
Bacteria live everywhere on the planet -- even inside the human body. UCR microbiologist Ansel Hsiao studies whether the bacteria living in our bodies, collectively known as the human microbiome, can protect people from diseases caused by external bacteria such as Vibrio cholerae, which lives in waterways and causes cholera.
Hsiao's team examined the gut microbiomes from people in Bangladesh, where many suffer from cholera as a result of contaminated food, water and poor sanitation infrastructure. "When people get sick, the diarrhea gets flushed into water systems that people drink from, and it's a negative cycle," Hsiao explained.
His team wanted to see whether prior infections or other stresses, like malnutrition, make people more vulnerable, as compared to Americans who don't face these same pressures.
The findings surprised the group, which expected stressed Bangladeshi microbiomes would allow for higher rates of infection. Instead, they saw infection rates varied greatly among individuals in both populations, suggesting susceptibility is based on a person's unique microbiome composition -- not the place they're from.
Vibrio cholerae spends most of its time outside of humans in aquatic environments. It doesn't usually encounter bile, which mammals produce to help digest fats after a meal.
"Because bile is specific to the intestines of humans and animals, many microorganisms, including cholerae, have evolved ways to deal with it," Hsiao said.
Once Vibrio cholerae enters a body, the presence of bile and lack of oxygen in the gut triggers previously dormant genes that enable it to survive in its human host. These genes are responsible for cholera's virulence, helping Vibrio cholerae attach to intestinal walls and cause diarrhea.
Hsiao's team identified one bacterium in the human microbiome, Blautia obeum, that can deactivate the cholera bacterium's disease-causing mechanisms, preventing it from colonizing the intestines. They also figured out how this feat is accomplished.
Blautia obeum produces an enzyme that degrades salts in bile, which Vibrio cholerae uses as signals to control gene activity. When these bile salts are corrupted, the cholera-causing bacteria does not receive the signal to activate the dormant genes that cause infection.
Since it's become clear that more Blautia obeum makes people less susceptible to cholera, a focus of future studies will be how to increase its presence in the gut. "We are extremely interested now in learning which environmental factors, such as diet, can boost levels of obeum," Hsiao said.
Similar studies are also underway with regard to the virus causing another global pandemic -- SARS-CoV-2. Hsiao is collaborating with several groups trying to understand how the microbiome changes with COVID-19 infection.
"One day, we may also understand whether and how the microbiome affects COVID-19 and makes people resistant to other illnesses we don't currently have treatments for," Hsiao said.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200629132059.htm
The gut shields the liver from fructose-induced damage
June 29, 2020
Science Daily/University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
After one consumes food or a beverage containing fructose, the gastrointestinal system, or gut, helps to shield the liver from damage by breaking down the sugar before it reaches the liver, according to a new multi-center study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. However, the consumption of too much fructose -- particularly in a short period of time -- can overwhelm the gut, causing fructose to "spill over" into the liver, where it wreaks havoc and causes fatty liver, researchers discovered.
The findings, in mice, help to unravel longstanding questions about how the body metabolizes fructose -- a form of sugar often found in fruits, vegetables, and honey, as well as most processed foods in the form of high fructose corn syrup. Consumption of fructose has increased 100-fold over the last century, even as studies have shown that excessive consumption, particularly sweet drinks, are linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity and diabetes. The findings were published in Nature Metabolism.
"What we discovered and show here is that, after you eat or drink fructose, the gut actually consumes the fructose first -- helping to protect the liver from fructose-induced damage," said the study's corresponding author Zoltan Arany, MD, PhD, a professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Penn. "Importantly, we also show that consuming the food or beverage slowly over a long meal, rather than in one gulp, can mitigate the adverse consequences."
Studies have shown that the excessive consumption of fructose can be toxic to the liver. When large quantities of fructose reach the liver, the liver uses excess fructose to create fat, a process called lipogenesis. Eventually, people who consume too much fructose can develop nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which too much fat is stored in the liver cells.
Until now, it hasn't been clear whether the gut's role in processing the fructose prevents or contributes to fructose-induced lipogenesis and the development of liver diseases. For this study, the team of researchers, including Princeton University's Joshua Rabinowitz, MD, PhD, studied a key enzyme, called ketohexokinase, that controls how fast fructose is consumed. They showed, by genetically engineering mice, that lowering the levels of this enzyme in the gut led to fatty livers in the mice. Conversely, the team showed that increasing the level of ketohexokinase in the gut protected from fatty liver. Thus, the researchers found the breakdown of fructose in the gut mitigates the development of extra fat in liver cells in mice. They discovered that the rate at which the intestine can clear fructose determines the rate at which fructose can be safely ingested.
In addition, the team showed the same amount of fructose is more likely to result in the development of fatty liver when its consumed via a beverage versus food. Similarly, one faces an increased likelihood of developing fatty liver when consuming fructose in a single setting compared to several doses spread over 45 minutes.
"Collectively, our findings show fructose induces lipogenesis when the intake rate exceeds the gut's capacity to process fructose and protect the liver," Arany said. "In the modern context of excessive availability and consumption of processed foods, it is easy to see how the resulting fructose spillover would drive metabolic syndrome."
Researchers noted that more work is needed to determine the extent to which these findings in mice extend to humans. Additional Penn authors include Shogo Wada, Steven Yang and Bridget Gosis.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200629120250.htm
Wildfire smoke has immediate harmful health effects
June 24, 2020
Science Daily/University of British Columbia
Exposure to wildfire smoke affects the body's respiratory and cardiovascular systems almost immediately, according to new research from the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health.
In a study published today in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers found that exposure to elevated levels of fine particulate matter during wildfire seasons in British Columbia was associated with increased odds of ambulance dispatches related to respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, with increased ambulance dispatches occurring within only one hour after exposure. Among people with diabetes, the researchers found that the odds of health complications increased within 48 hours following exposure to wildfire smoke.
"We have long known about the harmful health effects of wildfire smoke," says Jiayun Angela Yao, the study's lead author who conducted this research while completing her PhD in the UBC School of Population and Public Health. "But it's alarming to see just how quickly fine particular matter seems to affect the respiratory and cardiovascular system. And the acute effects for people with diabetes is relatively new to us."
Particulate matter, also called particle pollution, is made up of tiny pieces of dust, dirt, and smoke in the air. While larger particles can irritate the eyes and throat, fine particles are more dangerous as they can reach deep parts of the lungs and even enter the bloodstream.
For the study, the researchers used statistical modelling to evaluate the relationship between ambulance dispatches, paramedic assessments and hospital admissions related to respiratory, circulatory and diabetic conditions with levels of fine particulate matter during wildfire seasons in B.C. from 2010 to 2015. A total of more than 670,000 ambulance dispatch calls from more than 500,000 individuals were included in the study.
The researchers say this study adds to the limited previous evidence on how quickly exposure to wildfire smoke can have harmful health effects. The findings are especially timely now during the COVID-19 pandemic, as air pollution from wildfire smoke can make viral infections affecting the respiratory and cardiovascular systems even more severe.
With wildfire season quickly approaching in B.C., the researchers say their research underscores the need for rapid public health actions to limit exposure to wildfire smoke.
"It is vital that everyone start preparing for wildfire smoke events to ensure that they are ready, especially since COVID-19 still a serious public health threat in B.C.," says Yao. "Anyone with pre-existing heart and lung disease and diabetes is especially vulnerable and should consider purchasing air cleaners, and ensuring that they have adequate supplies of medication at home."
This study was supported by the Australian Research Council Linkage Program and the British Columbia Lung Association.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200624100045.htm
Pioneering research reveals certain human genes relate to gut bacteria
June 22, 2020
Science Daily/University of Bristol
The role genetics and gut bacteria play in human health has long been a fruitful source of scientific inquiry, but new research marks a significant step forward in unraveling this complex relationship. Its findings could transform our understanding and treatment of all manner of common diseases, including obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, and Alzheimer's disease.
The international study, led by the University of Bristol and published today in Nature Microbiology, found specific changes in DNA -- the chains of molecules comprising our genetic make-up -- affected both the existence and amount of particular bacteria in the gut.
Lead author Dr David Hughes, Senior Research Associate in Applied Genetic Epidemiology, said: "Our findings represent a significant breakthrough in understanding how genetic variation affects gut bacteria. Moreover, it marks major progress in our ability to know whether changes in our gut bacteria actually cause, or are a consequence of, human disease."
The human body comprises various unique ecosystems, each of which is populated by a vast and diverse array of microorganisms. They include millions of bacteria in the gut, known as the microbiome, that help digest food and produce molecules essential for life, which we cannot produce ourselves. This has prompted researchers to question if gut bacteria may also directly influence human health and disease.
Previous research has identified numerous genetic changes apparently related to bacterial composition in the gut, but only one such association has been observed consistently. This example involves a well-known single mutation that changes whether someone can digest the sugar (lactose) in fresh milk. The same genetic variation also predicts the prevalence of bacteria, Bifidobacterium, that uses or digests lactose as an energy source.
This study, the biggest of its kind, identified 13 DNA changes related to changes in the presence or quantity of gut bacteria. Researchers at Bristol worked with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel to analyse data from 3,890 individuals from three different population studies: one in Belgium (the Flemish Gut Flora Project) and two in Germany (Food Chain Plus and PopGen). In each individual, the researchers measured millions of known DNA changes and, by sampling their feces, also registered the presence and abundance of hundreds of gut bacteria.
Dr Hughes said: "It was exciting to identify new and robust signals across the three study populations, which makes the correlation of genetic variation and gut bacteria much more striking and compelling. Now comes the great challenge of confirming our observations with other studies and dissecting how exactly these DNA changes might impact bacterial composition."
Such investigations could hold the key to unlocking the intricate biological mechanisms behind some of the biggest health challenges of our time.
Study co-author Dr Kaitlin Wade, Lecturer in Epidemiology at the University of Bristol, said: "A strength here is that these findings provide a groundwork for causal analyses to determine, for instance, whether the presence of specific bacteria increases the risk of a disease or is a manifestation of it."
"The implications for our understanding of human health and our approach to medicine are far-reaching and potentially game changing."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200622133018.htm
Even 'low-risk' drinking can be harmful
June 15, 2020
Science Daily/Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
It's not just heavy drinking that's a problem -- even consuming alcohol within weekly low-risk drinking guidelines can result in hospitalization and death, according to a new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Moderate drinkers "are not insulated from harm," write researchers led by Adam Sherk, Ph.D., of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.
The Canadian government's low-risk drinking guidelines state that women should consume no more than about 10 drinks per week and men no more than 15. (A "drink" is 12 oz. of beer, 5 oz. of wine, or 1.5 oz. of liquor.) These limits are slightly higher than those in the United States and exceed those of most other high-income countries.
In their research, Sherk and colleagues found that, in British Columbia, a significant portion of alcohol-caused death and disability was experienced by those drinking within these guidelines. For example, more than 50 percent of cancer deaths resulting from alcohol use occurred in people drinking moderately. Further, 38 percent of all alcohol-attributable deaths were experienced by people drinking below the weekly limits or among former drinkers.
However, for women, alcohol consumption within the guidelines did offer some protection from death from heart attack, stroke and diabetes. Nonetheless, "[t]his protective effect did not appear to hold for men," the authors write, "who experienced harm at all drinking levels."
For their study, the investigators used a new, open-access model -- the International Model of Alcohol Harms and Policies (InterMAHP) -- which can be used to estimate alcohol harms in a country or state, in total or by drinking group. They used British Columbia-specific alcohol exposure data from substance use surveys, hospital data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information and mortality data from Statistics Canada's Vital Statistics. These sources were nonidentifying and for 2014.
Because of these results, Sherk and colleagues say that some national drinking guidelines, which are published by many countries to help drinkers make informed health decisions, may be too high. This may be particularly true in Canada, where the research was conducted.
Sherk suggests that guideline limits should be lowered to match those in the Netherlands: "Don't drink or, if you do, drink no more than one drink per day."
Overall, he says, the best advice for drinking is to err on the side of caution, "When it comes to alcohol use, less is better."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200615092744.htm
Adult stem cell study shows fish oil may help with depression
Researchers use stem cells from adults with depression to test treatments
June 11, 2020
Science Daily/University of Illinois at Chicago
A study published in Molecular Psychiatry shows that patient-derived adult stem cells can be used to model major depressive disorder and test how a patient may respond to medication.
Using stem cells from adults with a clinical diagnosis of depression, the University of Illinois at Chicago researchers who conducted the study also found that fish oil, when tested in the model, created an antidepressant response.
UIC's Mark Rasenick, principal investigator of the study, says that the research provides a number of novel findings that can help scientists better understand how the brain works and why some people respond to drug treatment for depression, while others experience limited benefits from antidepressant medication.
"It was also exciting to find scientific evidence that fish oil -- an easy-to-get, natural product -- may be an effective treatment for depression," said Rasenick, UIC distinguished professor of physiology and biophysics and psychiatry at the College of Medicine.
Major depressive disorder, or depression, is the most common psychiatric disorder. Around one in six individuals will experience at least one depressive episode in their lifetime. However, antidepressant treatment fails in about one-third of patients.
In the study, the UIC researchers used skin cells from adults with depression that were converted into stem cells at Massachusetts General Hospital and then directed those stem cells to develop into nerve cells. The skin biopsies were taken from two types of patients: people who previously responded to antidepressant treatment and people who have previously been resistant to antidepressants.
When fish oil was tested, the models from treatment-sensitive and treatment-resistant patients both responded.
Rasenick says the response was similar to that seen from prescription antidepressants, but it was produced through a different mechanism.
"We saw that fish oil was acting, in part, on glial cells, not neurons," said Rasenick, who is also a research career scientist at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and president and chief scientific officer at Pax Neuroscience, a UIC startup company. "For many years, scientists have paid scant attention to glia -- a type of brain cell that surrounds neurons -- but there is increasing evidence that glia may play a role in depression. Our study suggests that glia may also be important for antidepressant action.
"Our study also showed that a stem cell model can be used to study response to treatment and that fish oil as a treatment, or companion to treatment, for depression warrants further investigation," Rasenick said.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200611143054.htm
Volunteerism: Doing good does you good
June 11, 2020
Science Daily/Elsevier
A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, takes a closer look at the benefits of volunteering to the health and well-being of volunteers, both validating and refuting findings from previous research. The results verify that adults over 50 who volunteer for at least 100 hours a year (about two hours per week) have a substantially reduced risk of mortality and developing physical limitations, higher levels of subsequent physical activity, and improved sense of well-being later on compared to individuals who do not volunteer.
"Humans are social creatures by nature. Perhaps this is why our minds and bodies are rewarded when we give to others. Our results show that volunteerism among older adults doesn't just strengthen communities, but enriches our own lives by strengthening our bonds to others, helping us feel a sense of purpose and well-being, and protecting us from feelings of loneliness, depression, and hopelessness. Regular altruistic activity reduces our risk of death even though our study didn't show any direct impact on a wide array of chronic conditions," explained lead investigator Eric S. Kim, PhD, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston; and Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
A growing body of research has linked volunteering to many health and well-being benefits, but there is still insufficient evidence to demonstrate the consistent and specific positive outcomes that are needed to develop public health interventions based on volunteerism. This large-scale study helps address this gap by evaluating 34 physical health and psychological/social well-being outcomes. This permitted direct comparisons of the potential size of effect that volunteering might have on various outcomes and also learn which outcomes volunteering does not appear to be influencing.
The study did not confirm links between volunteering and improvements to chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancer, heart disease, lung disease, arthritis, obesity, cognitive impairment, or chronic pain.
The analysis was based on data, face-to-face interviews, and survey responses from nearly 13,000 participants randomly selected from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States. The participants were tracked over four years in two cohorts from 2010-2016.
The growing older adult population possesses a vast array of skills and experiences that can be leveraged for the greater good of society via volunteering. While proposing further research to better understand this phenonmena, the study recommends the adoption of policies that encourage more volunteerism. Such interventions could simultaneously enhance society and foster a trajectory of healthy aging in the rapidly growing population of older adults. Further study is also needed to learn the underlying reasons for the divergence in some of the results from previous research.
A cautionary note is that these conclusions were drawn prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which makes social activity risky and unadvisable for the foreseeable future. However, Dr. Kim noted that "now might be a particular moment in history when society needs your service the most. If you are able to do so while abiding by health guidelines, you not only can help to heal and repair the world, but you can help yourself as well. When the COVID-19 crisis finally subsides, we have a chance to create policies and civic structures that enable more giving in society. Some cities were already pioneering this idea before the pandemic and quarantine, and I hope we have the willingness and resolve to do so in a post-COVID-19 society as well."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200611094136.htm
The dreaming brain tunes out the outside world
May 15, 2020
Science Daily/CNRS
Scientists from the CNRS and the ENS-PSL in France and Monash University in Australia have shown that the brain suppresses information from the outside world, such as the sound of a conversation, during the sleep phase linked to dreaming. This ability could be one of the protective mechanisms of dreams. The study, carried out in collaboration with the Centre du Sommeil et de la Vigilance, Hôtel-Dieu, AP-HP -- Université de Paris, is published in Current Biology on 14 May 2020.
While we dream, we invent worlds that bear no relation to the quietness of our bedroom. In fact, it is rather unusual for elements of our immediate environment to be incorporated into our dreams. To better understand how the brain protects itself from outside influences, researchers invited 18 participants to a morning nap in the lab. Morning sleep is rich in dreams. Dreams mostly occur during what is known as REM sleep, since the brain is somehow in a waking state during this phase of sleep, showing brain activity similar to that when a person is awake. The body, on the other hand, is paralysed, although not entirely. During certain phases of REM sleep, the eyes continue to move. Research has shown that such movements are related to dreaming.
To study how the dreaming brain interacts with external sounds, the scientists got volunteer sleepers to listen to stories in French mixed with meaningless language. By combining the electroencephalogram with a machine learning technique, they confirmed that, even when the brain is asleep, it continues to record everything that goes on around it. They also showed that, during light sleep, the brain prioritises meaningful speech, just as it does when in the waking state. However, such speech is actively filtered out during eye movement phases in REM sleep. In other words, our sleeping brain can select information from the outside world and flexibly amplify or suppress it, depending on whether or not it is immersed in a dream!
The team believe that this mechanism enables the brain to protect the dreaming phase, which is necessary for emotional balance and consolidation of the day's learning. Although dreams are predominant during periods of eye movement, they can also occur during other phases of sleep. Are they then accompanied by a similar suppression of sensations from the outside world?
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200515131915.htm
Gut microbiome influences ALS outcomes
Scientists identify gut-brain connection in ALS
May 13, 2020
Science Daily/Harvard University
Scientists have identified a new gut-brain connection in the neurodegenerative disease ALS. Researchers found that in mice with a common ALS genetic mutation, changing the gut microbiome using antibiotics or fecal transplants could prevent or improve disease symptoms. The findings provide a potential explanation for why only some individuals carrying the mutation develop ALS, and point to a possible therapeutic approach based on the microbiome.
Harvard University scientists have identified a new gut-brain connection in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The researchers found that in mice with a common ALS genetic mutation, changing the gut microbiome using antibiotics or fecal transplants could prevent or improve disease symptoms.
Published in the journal Nature, the findings provide a potential explanation for why only some individuals carrying the mutation develop ALS. They also point to a possible therapeutic approach based on the microbiome.
"Our study focused on the most commonly mutated gene in patients with ALS. We made the remarkable discovery that the same mouse model -- with identical genetics -- had substantially different health outcomes at our different lab facilities," said Kevin Eggan, Harvard professor of stem cell and regenerative biology. "We traced the different outcomes to distinct gut microbial communities in these mice, and now have an intriguing hypothesis for why some individuals carrying this mutation develop ALS while others do not."
Different facilities, different outcomes
The researchers initially studied the ALS genetic mutation by developing a mouse model at their Harvard lab facility. The mice had an overactive immune response, including inflammation in the nervous system and the rest of the body, which led to a shortened lifespan.
In order to run more detailed experiments, the researchers also developed the mouse model in their lab facility at the Broad Institute, where Eggan is the director of stem cell biology at the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research. Unexpectedly, although the mice had the same genetic mutation, their health outcomes were dramatically different.
"Many of the inflammatory characteristics that we observed consistently and repeatedly in our Harvard facility mice weren't present in the Broad facility mice. Even more strikingly, the Broad facility mice survived into old age," said Aaron Burberry, postdoctoral fellow in the Eggan lab and lead author of the study. "These observations sparked our endeavor to understand what about the two different environments could be contributing to these different outcomes."
Searching the gut microbiome
Looking for environmental differences between the mice, the researchers honed in on the gut microbiome. By using DNA sequencing to identify gut bacteria, the researchers found specific microbes that were present in the Harvard facility mice but absent in the Broad facility mice, even though the lab conditions were standardized between facilities.
"At this point, we reached out to the broader scientific community, because many different groups have studied the same genetic mouse model and observed different outcomes," Burberry said. "We collected microbiome samples from different labs and sequenced them. At institutions hundreds of miles apart, very similar gut microbes correlated with the extent of disease in these mice."
The researchers then tested ways to change the microbiome and improve outcomes for the Harvard facility mice. By treating the Harvard facility mice with antibiotics or fecal transplants from the Broad facility mice, the researchers successfully decreased inflammation.
Gut-brain connection
By investigating the connection between genetic and environmental factors in ALS, the researchers identified an important gut-brain connection. The gut microbiome could influence the severity of disease -- whether individuals with the genetic mutation develop ALS, the releated condition frontotemporal dementia, or no symptoms at all -- and could be a potential target for therapy.
"Our study provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying ALS, including how the most common ALS genetic mutation contributes to neural inflammation," Eggan said. "The gut-brain axis has been implicated in a range of neurological conditions, including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Our results add weight to the importance of this connection."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200513111432.htm
Evidence that human brains replay our waking experiences while we sleep
May 5, 2020
Science Daily/Cell Press
When we fall asleep, our brains are not merely offline, they're busy organizing new memories -- and now, scientists have gotten a glimpse of the process. Researchers report in the journal Cell Reports on May 5 the first direct evidence that human brains replay waking experiences while asleep, seen in two participants with intracortical microelectrode arrays placed in their brains as part of a brain-computer interface pilot clinical trial.
During sleep, the brain replays neural firing patterns experienced while awake, also known as "offline replay." Replay is thought to underlie memory consolidation, the process by which recent memories acquire more permanence in their neural representation. Scientists have previously observed replay in animals, but the study led by Jean-Baptiste Eichenlaub of Massachusetts General Hospital and Beata Jarosiewicz, formerly Research Assistant Professor at BrainGate, and now Senior Research Scientist at NeuroPace, tested whether the phenomenon happens in human brains as well.
The team asked the two participants to take a nap before and after playing a sequence-copying game, which is similar to the 80s hit game Simon. The video game had four color panels that lit up in different sequences for the players to repeat. But instead of moving their arms, the participants played the game with their minds -- imagining moving the cursor with their hands to different targets one by one, hitting the correct colors in the correct order as quickly as possible. While the participants rested, played the game, and then rested again, the researchers recorded the spiking activity of large groups of individual neurons in their brains through an implanted multi-electrode array.
"There aren't a lot of scenarios in which a person would have a multi-electrode array placed in their brain, where the electrodes are tiny enough to be able to detect the firing activity of individual neurons," says co-first author Jarosiewicz. Electrodes approved for medical indications, like those for treating Parkinson's disease or epilepsy, are too big to track the spiking activity of single neurons. But the electrode arrays used in the BrainGate pilot clinical trials are the first to allow for such detailed neural recordings in the human brain. "That's why this study is unprecedented," she says.
BrainGate is an academic research consortium spanning Brown University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Case Western Reserve University, and Stanford University. Researchers at BrainGate are working to develop chronically implanted brain-computer interfaces to help people with severe motor disabilities regain communication and control by using their brain signals to move computer cursors, robotic arms, and other assistive devices.
In this study, the team observed the same neuronal firing patterns during both the gaming period and the post-game rest period. In other words, it's as though the participants kept playing the Simon game after they were asleep, replaying the same patterns in their brain at a neuronal level. The findings provided direct evidence of learning-related replay in the human brain.
"This is the first piece of direct evidence that in humans, we also see replay during rest following learning that might help to consolidate those memories," said Jarosiewicz. "All the replay-related memory consolidation mechanisms that we've studied in animals for all these decades might actually generalize to humans as well."
The findings also open up more questions and future topics of study who want to understand the underlying mechanism by which replay enables memory consolidation. The next step is to find evidence that replay actually has a causal role in the memory consolidation process. One way to do that would be to test whether there's a relationship between the strength of the replay and the strength of post-nap memory recall.
Although scientists don't fully understand how learning and memory consolidation work, a cascade of animal and human studies has shown that sleep plays a vital role. Getting a good night's sleep "before a test and before important interviews" is beneficial for good cognitive performance, said Jarosiewicz. "We have good scientific evidence that sleep is very important in these processes."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200505121711.htm
To make a good impression, leave cell phone alone during work meetings
June 17, 2020
Science Daily/University of Kansas
To get on the good side of a new boss, colleague or acquaintance in a business meeting, leave your cell phone stashed in your pocket or purse.
That is the implication of a new study conducted by University of Kansas Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Cameron W. Piercy and doctoral candidate Greta R. Underhill. It is titled "Expectations of technology use during meetings: An experimental test of manager policy, device use, and task acknowledgment" and was published in the journal Mobile Media & Communication.
Looking at your phone during a meeting is akin to "phubbing," or snubbing your interlocutor, in a strictly social setting, the study found.
The authors prepared video vignettes of people using either a paper notebook, a cell phone or a laptop computer while participating in a business meeting. They refer to this scenario as "multicommunication." Then they asked 243 viewers to rate the distracted meeting member's competence and the effectiveness of the meeting.
Other variables studied included the meeting manager's expectations for technology use in the workplace and whether the user apologized later that their technology use was work-related.
It mattered not whether the cell phone user stipulated afterward that their usage was strictly business-related. Viewers still rated them down, and to a significant degree more than those who used a computer or notepad.
In a recent interview, Piercy said the results can largely be attributed to a phenomenon known to social scientists as "introspective illusion."
"We know you can do work on your phone," Piercy said. But he added that because we also know phones can be used to scroll idly through social-media feeds, "we assume that you're not working when we see you're using it."
This is true even of people who themselves use a mobile device during a business meeting.
"We can always infer our own thoughts and motives, but we can't ever know a partner's thoughts and motives, so we make negative assumptions about others, and we make excuses for ourselves," Piercy said.
In line with this new concept, the mobile introspective illusion, people did not rate the technology user any differently if they apologized for using their device. Piercy said, "People expect that technology is used for ill, even when the person using the technology says their use is related to the topic of conversation."
A manager's attitude toward technology in the workplace does seem to matter somewhat, in terms of viewers' evaluations.
"When the manager articulated a policy, those who acknowledged their multicommunication were evaluated higher and seen as more competent," the authors write in their paper. "In the absence of a policy, the pattern is reversed. Finally, the means for communicator evaluation and competence were highest in the pro-technology policy condition. In all, when the manager's policy is matched by employee's behavior, outcome means tend to be higher."
"The manager articulating a clear policy about expectations of technology use ought to affect the way that people engage with technology in the workplace," Piercy said. "But so is the idea that people would be excused if they apologize for using technology. And in that case, we didn't find a significant effect."
However, the effect of cell phone use on viewers' perceptions was dramatic.
"The effect for the phone is ginormous," Piercy quipped. "It's as big an effect as you'll ever see in a social-science study -- 30% of the variance. You can just look at the numbers and see it. But the notebook was less of a problem than the computer, which was less of a problem than the phone. So even if you were to use a laptop in the meeting, you'd be better off than using your phone because there was this big spike in all the numbers that are associated with using the phone, relative to the other two."
Piercy noted that the study asked viewers to judge the interactions they saw on screen, simulating a meeting with a new person or boss. Attitudes might change, he said, in a situation where all the participants know each other -- and the boss's expectations -- well.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200617145932.htm
Why do so many of us feel guilty about taking a lunch break?
June 17, 2020
Science Daily/Staffordshire University
New research from health psychologists at Staffordshire University explores why some employees feel guilty about taking their legally entitled breaks.
The paper's lead author Dr Mike Oliver explained: "The legally required minimum time for a lunch break at work is 20 minutes, however there is a growing trend nationally for large numbers of people not to take breaks at work, with surveys reporting that between 66% and 82% of workers don't always take their breaks.
"So, how have we got to the point where some people feel guilty about taking their legally allowable break? We were curious to look at the psychological and social behaviours of office workers to understand the enablers and barriers."
With many employees now working from home during the lockdown, Mike believes that some people may find it even harder to take breaks.
"We found that one of the best ways to make sure that you take breaks is to take them with your work colleagues, or to be encouraged to take them by your boss. If they are not physically near you, we may find it harder to act on these social prompts."
For the research, groups of office workers at a large employer of differing levels of seniority were asked about their lunch break habits.
The analysis identified five key themes:
1. People's behaviours depend on various factors -- it is not as simple as having those who do take breaks and those who don't.
2. The influence of social and work relationships -- if your colleagues take breaks then you are more likely to yourself and vice-versa.
3. Faced with a choice when they're really busy, even if someone wants to take a break, then work "wins."
4. Contradictory feelings -- lots of people feel anxious and guilty about taking breaks, although some simply don't.
5. Being 'fair game' for work related matters if you remain at your desk at break times.
Mike, who completed his Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology at Staffordshire University last year, said: "This paper highlights the complex relationships that people have with taking breaks, with others and with their physical environment. Some participants did recognise the importance of taking a break in the middle of the day, but others appeared to convince themselves that by doing a less intense work activity, such as responding to emails, whilst eating their lunch at their desk, would actually be taking a break.
"The greater importance that people appear to be placing on completing their work over the time they give themselves for breaks, or simply the sheer volume and pressure of work, may go some way to explaining this pattern of behaviour."
Mike and colleagues recommend further research and organisational changes to support improved workplace health and wellbeing.
He added: "There is mounting concern about the amount of time people spend sitting down at work and not being physically active, so it is really important that people don't put work ahead of breaks and their own physical and psychological health."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200617121453.htm
Walking or cycling to work associated with reduced risk of early death and illness
May 19, 2020
Science Daily/Imperial College London
People who walk, cycle and travel by train to work are at reduced risk of early death or illness compared with those who commute by car.
These are the findings of a study of over 300,000 commuters in England and Wales, by researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge.
The researchers say the findings suggest increased walking and cycling post-lockdown may reduce deaths from heart disease and cancer.
The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, used Census data to track the same people for up to 25 years, between 1991-2016.
It found that, compared with those who drove, those who cycled to work had a 20 per cent reduced rate of early death, 24 per cent reduced rate of death from cardiovascular disease (which includes heart attack and stroke) during the study period, a 16 per cent reduced rate of death from cancer, and an 11 per cent reduced rate of a cancer diagnosis.
Walking to work was associated with a 7 per cent reduced rate in cancer diagnosis, compared to driving. The team explain that associations between walking and other outcomes, such as rates of death from cancer and heart disease, were less certain. One potential reason for this is people who walk to work are, on average, in less affluent occupations than people who drive to work, and more likely to have underlying health conditions which could not be fully accounted for.
The paper also revealed that compared with those who drove to work, rail commuters had a 10 per cent reduced rate of early death, a 20 per cent reduced rate of death from cardiovascular disease, and a 12 per cent reduced rate of cancer diagnosis. This is likely due to them walking or cycling to transit points, although rail commuters also tend to be more affluent and less likely to have other underlying conditions, say the team.
Dr Richard Patterson from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge who led the research said: "As large numbers of people begin to return to work as the COVID-19 lockdown eases, it is a good time for everyone to rethink their transport choices. With severe and prolonged limits in public transport capacity likely, switching to private car use would be disastrous for our health and the environment. Encouraging more people to walk and cycle will help limit the longer-term consequences of the pandemic."
The study also assessed whether the benefits of each mode of travel differed between occupational groups and found that potential health benefits were similar across these groups.
The team used data from the UK Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study of England and Wales, a dataset that links data from several sources including the Census of England and Wales, and registrations of death and cancer diagnoses.
The data revealed overall 66 per cent of people drove to work, 19 per cent used public transport, 12 per cent walked, and 3 per cent cycled. Men were more likely than women to drive or cycle to work, but were less likely to use public transport or walk.
Dr Anthony Laverty, senior author from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London explained: "It's great to see that the government is providing additional investment to encourage more walking and cycling during the post-lockdown period. While not everyone is able to walk or cycle to work, the government can support people to ensure that beneficial shifts in travel behaviour are sustained in the longer term. Additional benefits include better air quality which has improved during lockdown and reduced carbon emissions which is crucial to address the climate emergency."
The team add that the benefits of cycling and walking are well-documented, but use of Census data in this new study allowed large numbers of people to be followed up for a longer time. They explain that these analyses were unable to account for differences in participants' dietary intakes, smoking, other physical activity or underlying health conditions. However, they add these findings are compatible with evidence from other studies.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200519190206.htm
Is your job killing you? Stress, lack of autonomy, ability can lead to depression, death
May 19, 2020
Science Daily/Indiana University
As millions continue working from home during the pandemic or are required to report to jobs as essential employees, many have raised questions about how these work conditions impact our health -- and not just as they relate to COVID-19.
A new study from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business finds that our mental health and mortality have a strong correlation with the amount of autonomy we have at our job, our workload and job demands, and our cognitive ability to deal with those demands.
"When job demands are greater than the control afforded by the job or an individual's ability to deal with those demands, there is a deterioration of their mental health and, accordingly, an increased likelihood of death," said Erik Gonzalez-Mulé, assistant professor of organizational behavior and human resources at the Kelley School and the paper's lead author.
"We examined how job control -- or the amount of autonomy employees have at work -- and cognitive ability -- or people's ability to learn and solve problems -- influence how work stressors such as time pressure or workload affect mental and physical health and, ultimately, death," he said. "We found that work stressors are more likely to cause depression and death as a result of jobs in which workers have little control or for people with lower cognitive ability."
On the other hand, Gonzalez-Mulé and his co-author, Bethany Cockburn, assistant professor of management at Northern Illinois University, found that job demands resulted in better physical health and lower likelihood of death when paired with more control of work responsibilities.
"We believe that this is because job control and cognitive ability act as resources that help people cope with work stressors," Gonzalez-Mulé said. "Job control allows people to set their own schedules and prioritize work in a way that helps them achieve their work goals, while people that are smarter are better able to adapt to the demands of a stressful job and figure out ways to deal with stress."
The study, "This Job Is (Literally) Killing Me: A Moderated-Mediated Model Linking Work Characteristics to Mortality," appears in the current issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology. It is a follow-up to previous research the pair published in 2017, which was the first study in the management and applied psychology fields to examine the relationship between job characteristics and mortality.
The researchers used data from 3,148 Wisconsin residents who participated in the nationally representative, longitudinal Midlife in the United States survey. Of those in their sample, 211 participants died during the 20-year study.
"Managers should provide employees working in demanding jobs more control, and in jobs where it is unfeasible to do so, a commensurate reduction in demands. For example, allowing employees to set their own goals or decide how to do their work, or reducing employees' work hours, could improve health," Gonzalez-Mulé said. "Organizations should select people high on cognitive ability for demanding jobs. By doing this, they will benefit from the increased job performance associated with more intelligent employees, while having a healthier workforce.
"COVID-19 might be causing more mental health issues, so it's particularly important that work not exacerbate those problems," Gonzalez-Mulé said. "This includes managing and perhaps reducing employee demands, being aware of employees' cognitive capability to handle demands and providing employees with autonomy are even more important than before the pandemic began."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200519165842.htm
Multitasking in the workplace can lead to negative emotions
Study finds constant email interruptions create sadness and fear
May 11, 2020
Science Daily/University of Houston
From writing papers to answering emails, it's common for office workers to juggle multiple tasks at once. But those constant interruptions can actually create sadness and fear and eventually, a tense working environment, according to a new study aimed at understanding what shapes the emotional culture of a workplace.
"Not only do people experience stress with multitasking, but their faces may also express unpleasant emotions and that can have negative consequences for the entire office culture," said study senior author Ioannis Pavlidis, director of the Computational Physiology Laboratory at the University of Houston.
Pavlidis, along with Gloria Mark at the University of California Irvine and Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna at Texas A&M University, used a novel algorithm, based on co-occurrence matrices, to analyze mixed emotions manifested on the faces of so-called knowledge workers amidst an essay writing task. One group answered a single batch of emails before they began writing, thus limiting the amount of distraction, while the other group was frequently interrupted to answer emails as they came in.
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
"Individuals who engaged in multitasking appeared significantly sadder than those who did not. Interestingly, sadness tended to mix with a touch of fear in the multitasking cohort," Pavlidis said. "Multitasking imposes an onerous mental load and is associated with elevated stress, which appears to trigger the displayed sadness. The simultaneous onset of fear is intriguing and is likely rooted to subconscious anticipation of the next disruption," he added. Because multitasking is a widespread practice, the display of these negative emotions can persist throughout the workday for many people. It is this ubiquitous, continuous and persistent character of the phenomenon that renders it such a dangerous `climate maker', the researchers emphasized.
The facial expressions of the workers who answered emails in one batch remained mostly neutral during the course of their uninterrupted writing task. However, there was an element of anger during the separate email task, perhaps attributed to the realization of the amount of work needed to process all the emails in one session, the researchers theorize. The good news is that email batching is localized in time and thus its emotional effects don't last long. Solutions are possible in this case; the team suggests addressing the email batch at a later time when responding to emails is the only task, recognizing that won't always be possible due to office pressure.
Negative displayed emotions -- especially in open office settings -- can have significant consequences on company culture, according to the paper. "Emotional contagion can spread in a group or workplace through the influence of conscious or unconscious processes involving emotional states or physiological responses."
Upon return to normalcy following the COVID-19 crisis, the results suggest organizations should pay attention to multi-tasking practices to ensure a cohesive working environment. "Currently, an intriguing question is what the emotional effect of multitasking at home would be, where knowledge workers moved their operation during the COVID 19 pandemic," said Pavlidis.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200511154850.htm
Feeling burned out? The contributors could be more related to depression than you think
April 29, 2020
Science Daily/Medical University of South Carolina
Researchers found that similar factors cause both medical intern burnout and depression. These findings can be used to identify and treat burnout as well as mitigate the risk of burnout by modifying workplace factors.
An article published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine looks at the relationship between burnout and depressive symptoms in medical interns.
The article is authored by Constance Guille, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina, and Lisa Rotenstein, M.D., an internal medicine resident at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital, among others.
According to Rotenstein, these findings help correct a long-held misconception about burnout and depression.
"There is a long-standing thought that burnout is associated with workplace factors and that depressive symptoms are associated with workplace factors but also heavily influenced by personal factors," explained Rotenstein. "We found that the factors that drive burnout are much more closely related to the factors that drive depressive symptoms than previously realized."
In this study, Rotenstein and Guille uncover that there is substantial overlap between the factors that predict burnout and depressive symptoms. The study surveyed 1,552 medical interns entering residency programs at 68 different institutions about depressive symptoms, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, as well as about potential contributing factors. Depressive symptoms were measured by a standard 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, while emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were measured with a 9-item abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory. Workload and learning environment satisfaction were assessed with a standardized instrument. Personal factors assessed included age, gender, ethnicity, relationship status, sexual orientation, parenting status, specialty, self-reported history of depression, early life stress and neuroticism score.
The study found significant overlap between factors that contribute to depressive symptoms and those that contribute to burnout, with about two-thirds of variance in both depressive symptoms and burnout attributable to personal factors, and one-third of the variance in these measures attributable to workplace factors.
With more than 142 definitions circulating in the literature, the definition of burnout has historically been unclear. This lack of clear definition has led to highly variable rates of burnout being reported among medical interns, residents and attending physicians. In contrast, depressive symptoms are well-defined and have been clinically validated. The results of this study suggest that assessing for depressive symptoms may be a validated, standardized alternative to assessing for burnout among medical personnel. They also underscore that interventions that help address burnout may be effective in addressing depressive symptoms and vice versa. Examples of such interventions include leveraging resources such as scribes to address documentation burdens, time banking for physician service and resources such as childcare to take stress off those physicians with familial obligations.
For Guille, the takeaway message from this study is clear.
"Previous to this work, depression and burnout were conceptualized as separate entities with different factors contributing to these outcomes," explained Guille. "This work suggests there is substantial overlap between both workplace and personal factors that contribute to an increase in both depressive symptoms and burnout."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200429105914.htm
Work-related stress linked to increased risk for peripheral artery disease
April 28, 2020
Science Daily/American Heart Association
People who reported work-related stress were more likely to be hospitalized for peripheral artery disease compared to those who did not report work-related stress, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association. The article appears in a special spotlight issue exploring different aspects of the complex relationships between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular health.
Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, is a cardiovascular disease that occurs when cholesterol or other fatty substances in the blood build up in the blood vessels away from the heart, usually the legs, impeding blood flow. Symptoms often include leg pain while walking. Left untreated, peripheral artery disease increases the likelihood of heart disease and stroke. Worldwide, peripheral artery disease affects more than 200 million people, including more than 8.5 million in the United States. Despite the considerable burden of peripheral artery disease, the evidence on specific risk factors, including potential primary preventive targets, for this disease is scarce, according to researchers.
Work-related stress, or job strain, refers to psychological and social stress at work, often from high expectations combined with lower levels of personal control. Previous studies have linked work-related stress to other forms of atherosclerotic disease; however, few have specifically analyzed its effects on peripheral artery disease. This study focused on the relationship between work-related stress and hospital treatment for peripheral artery disease.
The researchers evaluated the records of 139,000 men and women (36.4% men; average age of study participants range 39-49) participating in 11 separate studies from 1985-2008 in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Participants included in the analysis had no previous history of peripheral artery disease when the respective studies began. Individual information for each participant included age, sex, BMI, smoker or nonsmoker, alcohol consumption, physical activity level, diabetes status, socioeconomic position, data on hospitalizations and the questionnaire on work-related stress.
During an average 12.8 years of follow up, 667 people (0.2 to 1.8% of participants) were hospitalized for peripheral artery disease. Researchers found that people with work-related stress were 1.4 times as likely as those without work-related stress to have a record of peripheral artery disease in the hospitalization register, after adjusting for age, sex and lifestyle variables.
"Our findings suggest that work-related stress may be a risk factor for peripheral artery disease in a similar way as it is for heart disease and stroke," said lead study author Katriina Heikkilä, Ph.D., senior researcher at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm.
Stress is associated with increased inflammation and higher blood glucose levels. So, although there is limited evidence linking work-related stress to heart disease, stress could be contributing to complications and exacerbations of peripheral artery disease.
The investigators measured work-related stress based on participants' ratings of statements to describe psychosocial aspects of their job. This information was compared to records on peripheral artery disease hospitalizations across nearly 13 years of hospital records.
Overall, nearly one-fourth of participants with no previous hospitalization for peripheral artery disease reported work-related stress at the beginning of the 11 studies.
Researchers noted increased risk among men, those with high socioeconomic position and smokers, but noted such subgroup analysis was limited by the small number of people with peripheral artery disease.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200428093515.htm
Job insecurity negatively affects your personality
New research shows that experiencing chronic job insecurity can change your personality for the worse
February 26, 2020
Science Daily/RMIT University
Drawing on Cybernetic Big Five Theory, this study proposes that chronic job insecurity is associated with an increase in neuroticism and decreases in agreeableness and conscientiousness.
The study, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, found those exposed to job insecurity over more than four years became less emotionally stable, less agreeable, and less conscientious.
Report co-author Dr Lena Wang from RMIT University's School of Management said the study built on a growing evidence base about the negative consequences of job insecurity.
"Traditionally, we've thought about the short-term consequences of job insecurity -- that it hurts your well-being, physical health, sense of self-esteem," Wang said.
"But now we are looking at how that actually changes who you are as a person over time, a long-term consequence that you may not even be aware of."
The study used nationally representative data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey in relation to answers about job security and personality for 1,046 employees over a nine-year period.
It applied a well-established personality framework known as the Big Five, which categorises human personality into five broad traits: emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion and openness.
The study results showed that long-term job insecurity negatively affected the first three traits, which relate to a person's tendency to reliably achieve goals, get along with others, and cope with stress.
Wang said the results went against some assumptions about job insecurity.
"Some might believe that insecure work increases productivity because workers will work harder to keep their jobs, but our research suggests this may not be the case if job insecurity persists," Wang said.
"We found that those chronically exposed to job insecurity are in fact more likely to withdraw their effort and shy away from building strong, positive working relationships, which can undermine their productivity in the long run."
Previous research has shown that insecure work -- including labour hire practices, contract and casual work, and underemployment -- is on the rise in Australia and globally.
The HILDA data drew on responses from employees from a broad cross-section of professions and jobs, who were asked about how secure they perceived their jobs to be.
Study lead author Professor Chia-Huei Wu from Leeds University Business School said types of job insecurity might include short-term contracts or casual work, jobs threatened by automation, and positions that could be in line for a redundancy.
Importantly, said Wu, there are ways that employers can support workers who are feeling worried about their jobs.
"This is as much about perceived job insecurity as actual insecure contracts," Wu said.
"Some people simply feel daunted by the changing nature of their roles or fear they'll be replaced by automation.
"But while some existing jobs can be replaced by automation, new jobs will be created.
"So employers have the ability to reduce that perception, for example by investing in professional development, skills and training, or by giving career guidance."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200226151958.htm
Mindfulness combined with hypnotherapy aids highly stressed people
'Novel intervention' may be as effective -- or more so -- as existing treatments
June 15, 2020
Science Daily/Baylor University
A new treatment for stress which combines mindfulness with hypnotherapy has shown positive results in a Baylor University pilot study.
The intervention is called "mindful hypnotherapy."
"Mindfulness is a type of meditation that involves focusing attention on present moment awareness. It can help people cope with stress, but can require months of practice and training," said researcher Gary Elkins, Ph.D., director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory at Baylor University. "Hypnosis also involves focusing attention, but it includes mental imagery, relaxation and suggestions for symptom reduction."
Hypnosis interventions are typically brief and have been used in pain and symptom management in clinical practice.
The study's basic premise is that using hypnosis to deliver mindfulness goals could have many advantages, Elkins said.
"Combining mindfulness and hypnotherapy in a single session is a novel intervention that may be equal to or better than existing treatments, with the advantage of being more time-effective, less daunting and easier to use," he said. "This could be a valuable option for treating anxiety and stress reduction."
As a brief intervention, mindful therapy could be widely disseminated and is an innovative new mind-body therapy, he said.
The study is published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.
Elkins noted that while mindfulness by itself can be an effective treatment for stress and anxiety for some people, it typically is provided in eight weekly sessions that last two hours or more each week and include an all-day retreat of eight or more hours. That amount of time -- more than 24 therapy hours -- may be a burden in cost and time for some people. Also, research has not shown that mindfulness-based treatments are consistently superior to standard cognitive behavioral therapy, he said.
For the study of mindful hypnotherapy, the Baylor research team recruited 42 individuals with self-reported high stress. Half took part in an intervention of one-hour weekly individual sessions that included hypnosis inductions and suggestions for greater mindfulness. Participants also were given self-hypnosis audio recordings lasting about 20 minutes, each with suggestions for a hypnotic induction, relaxation and greater mindfulness.
The second group did not take part in the intervention.
Intervention material focused on present-moment awareness, nonjudgmental awareness of the five senses, nonjudgmental awareness of thoughts and feelings, self-hypnosis, compassion for self and others, awareness of personal values and meaning in life and transition to long-term practice of mindful hypnotherapy, Elkins said.
At study's end, the intervention group reported a large decrease in stress and a significant increase in mindfulness. Most were highly satisfied with the number of sessions, the ease of home practice and the clarity of content, Elkins said. The average participant practiced almost every day, and overall satisfaction with the intervention was 8.9 on a scale of 10.
In comparison, those who did not participate in the intervention reported no significant difference between pre- and post-study stress level.
A limitation of the study was its small sample size, Elkins said. Future studies of a larger number of people could be of value, as well as testing mindful hypnotherapy for such concerns as anxiety, depression or chronic pain, he said.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200615184150.htm
Mindfulness improves decision-making, attention in
June 3, 2020
Science Daily/Rutgers University
School-based mindfulness programs can improve decision-making skills and teach children with autism to focus attention and react less impulsively through breathing exercises that will allow them to reduce anxiety, according to Rutgers researchers.
The study, published in the journal Research in Developmental Disabilities, is the first to examine the effectiveness of a school-based mindfulness program that emphasizes self-awareness and controlled breathing in children on the autism spectrum.
Mindfulness practice trains people to focus their attention on awareness of the present moment. In neurotypical children, it has been shown to improve decision-making skills and to be effective in reducing anxiety, a common condition in the one in 68 children nationwide diagnosed with autism.
The researchers administered an eight-week mindfulness program to 27 high-functioning students with autism ages 10 to 17 at Newmark, a private school for children with special needs in New Jersey. Students were introduced to the basic tenets of mindfulness, then taught specific practices such as mindful breathing or focusing attention on the body, thoughts and emotions.
The students were tested on their impulse control, attention and decision-making before and after the program. "We found that the children improved their executive functions like controlling emotions, maintaining self-control, focusing attention and being flexible in changing their perspectives," said lead investigator Helen Genova, a research assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and director of the Social Cognition and Neuroscience Laboratory at Kessler Foundation. "As in previous studies on school-based mindfulness programs and typically functioning children, we found that the practice taught the students to take a moment to stop and breathe. This reduced impulsiveness and allowed them to make better decisions."
Regina Peter, co-executive director of Newmark, said the school promotes mindfulness every morning and before tests and competitions. "Practicing mindfulness teaches our students the important skill of treating the moment as something that needs to be attended to and to let everything else go," she said. "The wonderful thing about mindfulness is that it is a tool they can take out when they need it. It is not a medication with side effects, and it's free."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200603100501.htm