'Aging well' greatly affected by hopes and fears for later life

January 21, 2021

Science Daily/Oregon State University

If you believe you are capable of becoming the healthy, engaged person you want to be in old age, you are much more likely to experience that outcome, a recent Oregon State University study shows.

"How we think about who we're going to be in old age is very predictive of exactly how we will be," said Shelbie Turner, a doctoral student in OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences and co-author on the study.

Previous studies on aging have found that how people thought about themselves at age 50 predicted a wide range of future health outcomes up to 40 years later -- cardiovascular events, memory, balance, will to live, hospitalizations; even mortality.

"Previous research has shown that people who have positive views of aging at 50 live 7.5 years longer, on average, than people who don't," said Karen Hooker, co-author of the study and the Jo Anne Leonard Petersen Endowed Chair in Gerontology and Family Studies at OSU.

Because self-perceptions of aging are linked to so many major health outcomes, Hooker and Turner wanted to understand what influences those perceptions. Their study looked specifically at the influence of two factors: self-efficacy associated with possible selves, meaning a person's perceived ability to become the person they want to be in the future; and optimism as a general personality trait.

The researchers measured self-perception of aging by having respondents say how strongly they agreed or disagreed with statements such as, "Things keep getting worse as I get older," "I have as much pep as I had last year," "As you get older, you are less useful." They measured optimism in a similar way, with respondents ranking their agreement with statements like "In uncertain times I usually expect the best."

To measure self-efficacy, the study used a dataset that compiled survey responses from older adults where they listed two "hoped-for" future selves and two "feared" future selves, and ranked how capable they felt of becoming the person they hoped to be and avoiding becoming the person they feared to be.

Among the "hoped for" selves were things like "A social person with a strong network of friends" and "A healthy, active person." Examples of "feared" selves were "Chronically sick and in pain," "Being dependent on others for my day-to-day needs" and "A cranky, angry old woman."

Results showed that, as predicted, higher optimism was associated with more positive self-perception of aging. Both "hoped-for" self-efficacy and "feared" self-efficacy were also significantly associated with self-perception of aging, above and beyond optimism as a trait.

A major factor in how people see their own aging selves is internalizing ageist stereotypes, the researchers said. Examples of such stereotypes include assumptions that older adults are bad drivers, or suffer memory problems, or are unable to engage in physical activity anymore.

"Kids as young as 4 years old already have negative stereotypes about old people," Hooker said. "Then, of course, if you're lucky enough to live to old age, they eventually apply to you."

Those stereotypes get reinforced every time an older adult forgets something and jokes, "Another senior moment!" But the researchers say these thought patterns can do real harm.

"People need to realize that some of the negative health consequences in later life might not be biologically driven. The mind and the body are all interwoven," Hooker said. "If you believe these bad things are going to happen, over time that can erode people's willingness or maybe even eventually their ability to engage in those health behaviors that are going to keep them as healthy as they can be."

A way to mitigate those negative stereotypes about aging is to promote intergenerational relationships, so younger people can see older adults enjoying happy, healthy lives.

"The more you're around older people, the more you realize that it's not all bad," Turner said. "Older people can do some things better than young people do. Increasing opportunities for intergenerational relationships is one way we can make people more optimistic about aging."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210121150929.htm

Older adults in wealthier countries drink more alcohol

December 1, 2020

Science Daily/Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

A new global study finds older people in wealthy countries consume more alcohol than their counterparts in middle-income countries, on average, although a higher cost of alcohol is associated with less frequent drinking. Across counties, people drink less as they get older, but at different rates and starting points. The study was led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center. Findings are published in the journal Addiction.

Alcohol consumption among older adults is trending higher across numerous countries, and alcohol use disorders among adults 65 and older have more than doubled in the last ten years. Moreover, there are signs that alcohol consumption is further increasing during the pandemic. Age-related changes that slow metabolism and increase the odds of medication interactions make alcohol consumption likely more harmful among older than younger adults.

The researchers analyzed survey data collected from 100,000 individuals age 50 and older in 17 countries in Europe, as well as China, Mexico, Israel, South Korea, and the United States. Average weekly alcohol consumption ranged from 0.59 units in Mexico to 6.85 units in the Netherlands. In the United States, older adults consumed 2.07 standard units per week. One standard unit is equivalent to a small shot glass of vodka or a 12oz glass of 5 percent beer.

The price of alcohol -- measured by the cost of a bottle of red label Smirnoff vodka -- varied from a low of $7.92 in Mexico to $38.06 in Ireland (4.96 standard units/week).

In most countries drinking decreased with age (U.S., China, Chile), but some countries had sharper age-related decreases (England, Ireland, Czech Republic) and others were fairly stable and had brief increases in drinking after age 50 (Denmark, France). This variation across age and countries is explained both by the health and socioeconomic status of older adults living in each country and country-level factors like economic development and alcohol prices.

Heavy drinking among older adults was highest in the Czech Republic and lowest in Israel, with levels of heavy drinking in most countries declining by age or slightly increasing then declining by older ages. Economic development and the cost of alcohol did not influence levels of heavy drinking, which may be driven by factors such as gender and cultural norms. Heavy drinking is defined for men as having more than three drinks per day or binging more than five drinks in a single occasion, and for women as having more than two drinks per day or binging more than four drinks in a single occasion.

"Public concern over drinking largely focuses on young people, but alcohol is also a serious threat to the health of older adults. In fact, the majority of alcohol-related deaths occur among older people," says first author Esteban Calvo, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology in the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center. "While some studies purport to show a benefit to drinking in old age, these findings are likely distorted by the fact that older drinkers tend to remain drinking if they are healthy, while recent abstainers (as opposed to lifetime abstainers) may only quit when they are sick."

"As countries develop economically and older people living there can afford to drink more, these countries should consider policies to regulate alcohol consumption, potentially combining minimum alcohol prices, taxation, sale and marketing regulations, and cessation programs," adds senior author Katherine M. Keyes, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201201091834.htm

Mothers, but not fathers, with multiple children report more fragmented sleep

Study tracks sleep patterns of first-time and experienced parents

January 12, 2021

Science Daily/McGill University

Mothers with multiple children report more fragmented sleep than mothers of a single child, but the number of children in a family doesn't seem to affect the quality of sleep for fathers, according to a study from McGill University.

A total of 111 parents (54 couples and 3 mothers of single-parent families) participated in the study published in the Journal of Sleep Research led by McGill doctoral student Samantha Kenny under the supervision of Marie-Hélène Pennestri, Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology.

Participants' sleep patterns were studied for two weeks. Mothers with one baby reported having less interrupted and better-quality sleep than mothers with more than one child, although the total amount of sleep did not differ depending on the number of children. No difference was noted in fathers.

"Experienced mothers perceived their sleep to be more fragmented than that of first-time mothers. Tension in the marital relationship may transpire if childcare is one-sided and not discussed collaboratively," says Pennestri, who is also a researcher at the Hôpital en santé mentale Rivière-des-Prairies (CIUSSS-NIM).

According to the researchers, interventions developed by healthcare providers targeting an equal distribution of daytime and nighttime childcare tasks could be helpful. These interventions should be tailored to each family member, depending on their situation.

As next steps, the researchers aim to explain the differences between mothers and fathers, and determine why mothers with more than one child report worse sleep.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210112163627.htm

Can a mother's stress impact children's disease development?

Environmental health researcher says there is a connection between trauma and DNA mutation

January 11, 2021

Science Daily/University of Cincinnati

Stress on an expectant mother could affect her baby's chance of developing disease -- perhaps even over the course of the child's life, UC researchers have found.

Psychosocial factors creating stress -- such as lack of social support, loneliness, marriage status or bereavement -- may be mutating their child's mitochondrial DNA and could be a precursor to a host of diseases, according to a University of Cincinnati study.

"There are a lot of conditions that start in childhood that have ties to mitochondrial dysfunction including asthma, obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism," says Kelly Brunst, PhD, assistant professor of environmental and public health sciences in the UC College of Medicine and lead author of the study.

"The fetal and infant period is a vulnerable time for environmental exposure due to heightened development during these periods," says Brunst. "We don't just wake up one day and have asthma or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The programming effects resulting from environmentally induced shifts occur over time and likely start during gestation at the molecular and cellular level. These shifts alter physiological states that likely play a role in who is going to go on and develop adverse health outcomes."

As part of the study, researchers sequenced the mitochondrial genome and identified mutations in 365 placenta samples from birth mothers in Boston and New York City from 2013-18. A multivariable regression model was used to look at maternal lifetime stress in relation to the number of gene mutations in the placenta mitochondrial genome.

Women experiencing increased psychosocial stress -- that can range from sexual assault, domestic violence or serious injury to incarceration, physical or mental illness and family hardship -- over their lifetime exhibited a higher number of placental mitochondrial mutations. The strongest associations were observed among Black women. Higher stress-related DNA mutations in the placenta were seen in Black and white women, but not in Hispanic women.

The study's findings were published in the scholarly journal Biological Psychiatry.

"The idea behind this work is about understanding how our environment, in this case maternal stress and trauma, impact mitochondrial function and ultimately neurobehavioral development," says Brunst. "The hope is to gain insight as to why certain children are vulnerable to developing a range of complex conditions previously linked to environmental exposures such as chronic stress or air pollution."

"We ask about events that might have occurred prior to their pregnancy even during the mother's own childhood as part of our study," says Brunst. "So what this is telling us is that the stress that a woman has experienced even before she is pregnant might have an impact on the fetal mitochondrial genome."

Brunst said there are some diseases for which Black women are more at risk -- obesity, diabetes and certain cancers -- so they might be more affected by stress and subsequently develop these diseases which have also been linked to stress."

"What was interesting about the study was that Hispanics exposed to stress had fewer placental mitochondrial DNA mutations," says Brunst.

She says one explanation could be what researchers call the "Hispanic paradox." It is the epidemiological phenomenon documenting better health and lower mortality relative to non-Hispanic whites despite greater risk and lower socioeconomic status for Hispanics."

"Despite exposure to more stress and trauma, sociocultural dynamics specific to Hispanics may attenuate experiences of stress which in turn has downstream effects on psychophysiological mechanisms and better outcomes," says Brunst. "This is just one possible explanation."

Other co-authors of this study are Xiang Zhang, PhD, and Li Zhang, PhD, both associate professors in the UC College of Medicine, along with Andrea Baccarelli, MD, PhD, and Tessa Bloomquist, both of Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, and Rosalind Wright, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute under grants R01HL095606 and R01HL114396; the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences under grants R00ES024116, P30ES006096 and P30ES023515.

Brunst led a previous research study that looked at the correlation between exposure to traffic-related air pollution and childhood anxiety, by looking at the altered neurochemistry in pre-adolescents. She is also recipient of a recent $2.9 million five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health for the research project, "Epigenetics, air pollution, and childhood mental health."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210111143418.htm

Link between dietary fiber and depression partially explained by gut-brain interactions

New study suggests that higher daily dietary fiber intake is linked to lower risk for depression in premenopausal women

January 6, 2021

Science Daily/The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)

Fiber is a commonly recommended part of a healthy diet. That's because it's good for your health in so many ways -- from weight management to reducing the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer. A new study also finds that it might be linked with a reduced risk of depression, especially in premenopausal women. Study results are published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

Depression is a common and serious mental health condition that not only affects a person's ability to perform daily activities but can also lead to suicide. It's estimated that more than 264 million people worldwide have depression, with numbers increasing over time. This debilitating condition is much more common in women, and there are a number of theories as to why this is the case. Changes in hormone levels in perimenopausal women have been linked to depression.

Because of the serious consequences and prevalence of depression, numerous studies have been undertaken to evaluate treatment options beyond the use of antidepressants. Lifestyle interventions, including diet, exercise, and mindfulness, may help to reduce the risk for depression. In this new study involving more than 5,800 women of various ages, researchers specifically sought to investigate the relationship between dietary fiber intake and depression in women by menopause status. Dietary fiber is found mainly in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.

Previous studies have already suggested the benefits of fiber for mental health, but this is the first known study to categorize the association in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. It also included a broader range of ages in participants and involved women who underwent natural, as well as surgical, menopause.

The study confirmed an inverse association between dietary-fiber intake and depression in premenopausal women after adjusting for other variables, but no significant difference was documented in postmenopausal women. Research has suggested that estrogen depletion may play a role in explaining why postmenopausal women don't benefit as much from increased dietary fiber, because estrogen affects the balance of gut microorganisms found in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The link between dietary fiber and depression may be partially explained by gut-brain interactions, because it is theorized that changes in gut-microbiota composition may affect neurotransmission. Fiber improves the richness and diversity of gut microbiota.

Results are published in the article "Inverse association between dietary fiber intake and depression in premenopausal women: a nationwide population-based survey."

"This study highlights an important link between dietary fiber intake and depression, but the direction of the association is unclear in this observational study, such that women with better mental health may have had a healthier diet and consumed more fiber, or a higher dietary fiber intake may have contributed to improved brain health by modulating the gut microbiome or some combination. Nonetheless, it has never been more true that 'you are what you eat,' given that what we eat has a profound effect on the gut microbiome which appears to play a key role in health and disease," says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, NAMS medical director.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210106111952.htm

Researchers find 'missing link' between stress and infertility

December 4, 2020

Science Daily/University of Otago

Otago researchers have found the "missing link between stress and infertility."

Published in The Journal of Neuroscience, and led by Professor Greg Anderson of the Centre for Neuroendocrinology, the research has confirmed in laboratory testing that a population of nerve cells near the base of the brain -- the RFRP neurons -- become active in stressful situations and then suppress the reproductive system.

"A revolutionary step forward that has become available to neuroscientists in recent years is the ability to control the activity of selected groups of neurons -- to either silence or ramp up their activity, and then monitor the outcomes," Professor Anderson says.

"We used cutting edge transgenic techniques to show that when the activity of the RFRP cells is increased, reproductive hormones are suppressed -- in a similar manner to what happens during stress, or during exposure to the stress hormone cortisol.

"Amazingly, when we used cortisol to suppress the reproductive hormones but also silenced the RFRP neurons, the reproductive system continued to function as if cortisol wasn't there at all -- proving that the RFRP neurons are a critical piece of the puzzle in stress-induced suppression of reproduction."

The reaction was most evident in females.

Professor Anderson started researching the role of RFRP neurons in controlling fertility in mammals about a decade ago.

"I became interested in whether these neurons might be what causes fertility to be suppressed during chronic stress, after reading that these cells become active during stress. This is a question that has remained stubbornly unanswered over the past decades.

"Although it is known that stress steroids -- like cortisol -- are probably part of the mechanism involved, it is also known that the brain cells that control reproduction are unable to respond to cortisol, so there seemed to be a missing link in the circuit somewhere.

"We have now shown that the RFRP neurons are indeed the missing link between stress and infertility. They become active in stressful situations -- perhaps by sensing the increasing levels of cortisol -- and they then suppress the reproductive system."

It is possible drugs could be used to block the actions of the RFRP neurons, and that will be the focus of further research for Professor Anderson.

"We'd like to see if we can overcome stress-induced infertility using drugs which block the actions of the RFRP neurons.

"For women struggling with infertility, drugs which block the actions of the RFRP neurons may prove to be a novel therapy. From what we know about these neurons, such a drug wouldn't have any side-effects.

"There are such drugs available, but they're not approved for human use and they would likely need refining," he says.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201204110230.htm

Mothers' stress may lead to preterm births, faster aging in children

How stress before and during pregnancy may adversely affect offspring

November 30, 2020

Science Daily/University of California - Los Angeles

Why do some people age faster than others? One potential answer, a new UCLA-led study indicates, is that a mother's stress prior to giving birth may accelerate her child's biological aging.

The researchers found evidence that maternal stress adversely affects the length of a baby's telomeres -- the small pieces of DNA at the ends of chromosomes that act as protective caps, like the plastic tips on shoelaces. Shortened telomeres have been linked to a higher risk of cancers, cardiovascular and other diseases, and earlier death.

The findings are reported this month in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

"Research on aging is beginning to identify some factors that might put a person on an accelerated aging path, potentially leading to diseases of aging such as metabolic disorder and cardiovascular disease much earlier in life than would be expected," said the study's lead author, Judith Carroll, an associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, part of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. "What our research tells us is that we may have early environmental and maternal factors influencing where a person starts in life, which may set them on course to age faster."

While several studies have reported that telomere length is shorter in newborns whose mothers reported high stress during either the first or third trimester of pregnancy, the new study tracked maternal stress prior to conception and followed up in the second and third trimesters. The researchers identified an especially important period in the third trimester -- but not earlier -- during which children are at higher risk for shortened telomeres.

Overall, the study followed 111 mothers and their children from preconception into early childhood. The women were from seven counties in North Carolina, one in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Between the ages of 3 and 5, the children provided cell samples from inside their cheeks, from which the researchers extracted DNA, including telomeres. The team was then able to compare childhood telomere length with the stress measurements they had taken while the children were in utero.

"This allows us to determine the contribution of stress at each of these times on the child's telomere length," Carroll said. "Past studies looked at newborn telomere length, and our findings look years later, when the child is 3 to 5 years old. We see evidence into childhood that telomere length continues to be shorter in those children exposed in utero to maternal stress. We think this finding is quite notable."

How does maternal stress alter cellular aging?

"We have hypotheses," Carroll said. "We know that stress can activate inflammation and metabolic activity, both of which, in high amounts, can contribute to damage to DNA. Telomeres are vulnerable to damage and, if unrepaired before cell division, they can become shortened by this damage. During in utero development, we know there is rapid cell replication, and we suspect there is increased vulnerability to damage during this time."

High maternal stress often leads to preterm births

A second UCLA-led study from the same research group found that women suffering from high stress during the months and even years before conception -- defined as feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope -- had shorter pregnancies than other women. Women who experienced the highest levels of stress gave birth to infants whose time in utero was shorter by one week or more.

"Every day in the womb is important to fetal growth and development," said Christine Dunkel Schetter, a distinguished professor of psychology and psychiatry and senior author of both studies. "Premature infants have higher risk of adverse outcomes at birth and later in life than babies born later, including developmental disabilities and physical health problems."

Dunkel Schetter, who heads the Stress Processes in Pregnancy Lab, which conducted the studies, noted that premature birth rates are unusually high in the U.S., compared to other nations with similar resources, and that low-income and African American women have higher rates of preterm birth. "Preventing preterm birth, with its adverse consequences for mothers and children worldwide and in the U.S., is a top priority," she said.

These results, which appear in the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine, are based on extensive in-home interviews with 360 mothers from largely low-income, racially diverse areas, many of whom live near or below the poverty level. In addition to collecting data on these women's general stress levels, the interviewers obtained information about various types of environmental stress, including financial worries, job loss, a lack of food, chronic relationship troubles, parenting challenges, interpersonal violence and discrimination.

The researchers found that women who were exposed to the lowest or highest amounts of stress in their environment had the shortest pregnancies, while women who had a moderate level of environmental stress before conception had the longest pregnancies.

"Women exposed to moderate stressors in their environment may have developed coping strategies that serve them well both before and during pregnancy, while exposure to more severe stress challenges even women who normally cope very effectively," said lead author Nicole Mahrer, who conducted the research as a UCLA postdoctoral scholar in health psychology and is now an assistant professor of psychology at the University of La Verne. She is also a co-author of the other study.

A moderate amount of stress in utero may help prepare the developing fetus for the environment to come, Mahrer said, especially if the mother has developed effective coping strategies.

"What we have not known until now," Dunkel Schetter said, "is whether a mother's psychosocial health before conception matters for her birth outcomes. This study is among the first to point out that, yes, it does matter.

"It may even be more influential than prenatal health because some of what is put in motion before conception may be hard to stop during pregnancy," she added. "For example, a mother with dysregulated immune function due to stress may be at risk when she becomes pregnant. The abundance of stress for low-income parents is potent and potentially high risk for them and their children."

These findings, Dunkel Schetter said, support the case for devoting more resources to programs for preconception health and well-being.

Both studies were funded by the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute for Nursing Research.

The scientists say their research just scratches the surface of the impact of mothers' preconception health and the fetal environment on biological factors that affect children's health.

"An important takeaway from this work is that prenatal and preconception maternal health and well-being are critically important for the health of the infant," Carroll said. "If we as a society can make changes to help give pregnant women the resources they need and provide them with a safe and supportive environment before and during pregnancy, we may have a significant impact on the health of their children."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201130131427.htm

Air pollution poses risk to thinking skills in later life

Exposure to air pollution in childhood is linked to a decline in thinking skills in later life

February 2, 2021

Science Daily/University of Edinburgh

A greater exposure to air pollution at the very start of life was associated with a detrimental effect on people's cognitive skills up to 60 years later, the research found.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh tested the general intelligence of more than 500 people aged approximately 70 years using a test they had all completed at the age of 11 years.

The participants then repeated the same test at the ages of 76 and 79 years.

A record of where each person had lived throughout their life was used to estimate the level of air pollution they had experienced in their early years.

The team used statistical models to analyse the relationship between a person's exposure to air pollution and their thinking skills in later life.

They also considered lifestyle factors, such as socio-economic status and smoking.

Findings showed exposure to air pollution in childhood had a small but detectable association with worse cognitive change between the ages of 11 and 70 years.

This study shows it is possible to estimate historical air pollution and explore how this relates to cognitive ability throughout life, researchers say.

Dr Tom Russ, Director of the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh, said: "For the first time we have shown the effect that exposure to air pollution very early in life could have on the brain many decades later. This is the first step towards understanding the harmful effects of air pollution on the brain and could help reduce the risk of dementia for future generations."

Researchers say until now it has not been possible to explore the impact of early exposure to air pollution on thinking skills in later life because of a lack of data on air pollution levels before the 1990s when routine monitoring began.

For this study researchers used a model called the EMEP4UK atmospheric chemistry transport model to determine pollution levels -- known as historical fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations -- for the years 1935, 1950, 1970, 1980, and 1990. They combined these historical findings with contemporary modelled data from 2001 to estimate life course exposure

The participants were part of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study, a group of individuals who were born in 1936 and took part in the Scottish Mental Survey of 1947.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210202113744.htm

Teaching pupils empathy measurably improves their creative abilities

February 2, 2021

Science Daily/University of Cambridge

Teaching children in a way that encourages them to empathise with others measurably improves their creativity, and could potentially lead to several other beneficial learning outcomes, new research suggests.

The findings are from a year-long University of Cambridge study with Design and Technology (D&T) year 9 pupils (ages 13 to 14) at two inner London schools. Pupils at one school spent the year following curriculum-prescribed lessons, while the other group's D&T lessons used a set of engineering design thinking tools which aim to foster students' ability to think creatively and to engender empathy, while solving real-world problems.

Both sets of pupils were assessed for creativity at both the start and end of the school year using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking: a well-established psychometric test.

The results showed a statistically significant increase in creativity among pupils at the intervention school, where the thinking tools were used. At the start of the year, the creativity scores of pupils in the control school, which followed the standard curriculum, were 11% higher than those at the intervention school. By the end, however, the situation had completely changed: creativity scores among the intervention group were 78% higher than the control group.

The researchers also examined specific categories within the Torrance Test that are indicative of emotional or cognitive empathy: such as 'emotional expressiveness' and 'open-mindedness'. Pupils from the intervention school again scored much higher in these categories, indicating that a marked improvement in empathy was driving the overall creativity scores.

The study's authors suggest that encouraging empathy not only improves creativity, but can deepen pupils' general engagement with learning. Notably, they found evidence that boys and girls in the intervention school responded to the D&T course in ways that defied traditional gender stereotypes. Boys showed a marked improvement in emotional expression, scoring 64% higher in that category at the end of the year than at the start, while girls improved more in terms of cognitive empathy, showing 62% more perspective-taking.

The research is part of a long-term collaboration between the Faculty of Education and the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge called 'Designing Our Tomorrow' (DOT), led by Bill Nicholl and Ian Hosking. It challenges pupils to solve real-world problems by thinking about the perspectives and feelings of others.

The particular challenge used in the study asked pupils at the intervention school to design an asthma-treatment 'pack' for children aged six and under. Pupils were given various creative and empathetic 'tools' in order to do so: for example, they were shown data about the number of childhood asthma fatalities in the UK, and a video which depicts a young child having an attack. They also explored the problem and tested their design ideas by role-playing various stakeholders, for example, patients, family-members, and medical staff.

Nicholl, Senior Lecturer in Design and Technology Education, who trains teachers studying on the University's D&T PGCE course, said: "Teaching for empathy has been problematic despite being part of the D&T National Curriculum for over two decades. This evidence suggests that it is a missing link in the creative process, and vital if we want education to encourage the designers and engineers of tomorrow."

Dr Helen Demetriou, an affiliated lecturer in psychology and education at the Faculty of Education with a particular interest in empathy, and the other researcher involved in the study, said: "We clearly awakened something in these pupils by encouraging them to think about the thoughts and feelings of others. The research shows not only that it is possible to teach empathy, but that by doing so we support the development of children's creativity, and their wider learning."

The gender differences charted in the study indicate that the intervention enabled students to overcome some of the barriers to learning that assumed gender roles often create. For example, boys often feel discouraged from expressing emotion at school, yet this was one of the main areas where they made significant creative gains according to the tests.

In addition to the Torrance Tests, the researchers conducted in-depth interviews with pupils at both the intervention school and a third (girls-only) school who also undertook the asthma challenge. This feedback again suggested that pupils had empathised deeply with the challenges faced by young asthma-sufferers, and that this had influenced their creative decisions in the classroom.

Many, for example, used phrases such as 'stepping into their shoes' or 'seeing things from another point of view' when discussing patients and their families. One boy told the researchers: "I think by the end of the project I could feel for the people with asthma... if I was a child taking inhalers, I would be scared too."

Another responded: "Let's say you had a sister or brother in that position. I would like to do something like this so we can help them."

Overall, the authors suggest that these findings point to a need to nurture 'emotionally intelligent learners' not only in D&T classes, but across subjects, particularly in the context of emerging, wider scientific evidence that our capacity for empathy declines as we get older.

"This is something that we must think about as curricula in general become increasingly exam-based," Demetriou said. "Good grades matter, but for society to thrive, creative, communicative and empathic individuals matter too."

Nicholl added: "When I taught Design and Technology, I didn't see children as potential engineers who would one day contribute to the economy; they were people who needed to be ready to go into the world at 18. Teaching children to empathise is about building a society where we appreciate each other's perspectives. Surely that is something we want education to do."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210202192751.htm

Drink and drug risk is lower among optimistic pupils with 'happy' memories

Students who are nostalgic are less likely to use marijuana or skip class

January 25, 2021

Science Daily/Taylor & Francis Group

Teenagers with happy childhood memories are likely to drink less, take fewer drugs and enjoy learning, according to research published in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction Research & Theory.

The findings, based on data from nearly 2,000 US high school students, show a link between how pupils feel about the past, present and future and their classroom behavior. This in turn influences their grades and risk of substance misuse, according to the study.

The authors say action is needed now because Covid-19 has left many teenagers struggling with online study, suffering mentally and turning to drink and drugs.

They are calling on teachers -- and parents -- to help students develop more positive mindsets and become motivated to learn so they are less likely to binge drink or use marijuana.

"School often seems a source of stress and anxiety to students," says John Mark Froiland from Purdue University in Indiana, US.

"This puts them at greater risk of not participating in lessons, getting lower grades and of substance misuse.

"Many teenagers also aren't engaging with online learning during Covid or have lower engagement levels.

"But they're more likely to be enthusiastic learners and not use drink and drugs if teachers take time to build more positive relationships with them. They can help students see that everything they're learning is truly valuable. Parents have a role to play too."

Teenagers with a balanced attitude towards their childhoods and other time periods have already been shown by studies to be more likely to abstain from drink and drugs and achieve academically. This is compared to those with a pessimistic outlook.

The aim of this study was to establish how substance misuse and behaviors towards learning are affected by students' feelings about the past, present and future.

The data was based on assessments and questionnaires completed by 1,961 students at a high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. More than half (53%) of the pupils included in the study were female.

The study authors looked at responses from pupils where they rated how nostalgic they were towards their childhood, current happiness levels in life and how much they look forward to future happiness.

They also analysed marijuana and alcohol habits over the past 30 days including binge drinking, and average academic grades. They analysed motivation levels, and behavior in lessons such as how much teenagers paid attention and listened.

Statistical techniques were used by the researchers to assess the associations between all these different factors and establish the key predictors for alcohol and marijuana misuse.

In general, the study found that positive attitudes towards the past, present and future put adolescents at lower risk for alcohol use, binge drinking, and marijuana.

The opposite was true for those displaying pessimistic or negative ways of thinking or feeling about their life in the past, now or ahead of them.

The reason for this was that a content and optimistic outlook increased the likelihood they would be motivated and behave in a focused way on the chance to learn.

Other findings include girls having stronger levels of behavioral engagement than boys, and students who drank being most likely to use cannabis.

The study did not examine the long term relationship between positive attitudes, levels of student engagement and their substance misuse. The authors say this is an area for future research.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210125144617.htm

Many parents say teens with anxiety, depression may benefit from peer confidants at school

Teens talking to teens: 1 in 3 parents strongly support schools having mental health programs like peer support leaders, new national poll suggests

January 18, 2021

Science Daily/Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

An estimated one in five teenagers has symptoms of a mental health disorder such as depression or anxiety, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens.

But the first person a teen confides in may not always be an adult -- they may prefer to talk to another teen.

And three-quarters of parents in a new national poll think peers better understand teen challenges, compared to teachers or counselors in the school. The majority also agree that peer support leaders at school would encourage more teens to talk with someone about their mental health problems, according to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at Michigan Medicine.

"Peers may provide valuable support for fellow teens struggling with emotional issues because they can relate to each other," says Mott Poll Co-Director Sarah Clark, M.P.H.

"Some teens may worry that their parents will overreact or not understand what they're going through. Teachers and school counselors may also have limited time to talk with students in the middle of other responsibilities."

Previous research suggests that as many as half of children and teens who have at least one treatable mental health disorder may not receive treatment due to several barriers. But teens who don't have a diagnosed condition may still experience occasional problems with emotions, peer and family relationships, anxiety, academic challenges, substance abuse or other issues negatively impacting self-esteem.

These type of situations may increase risk of developing or triggering depression during tween and teen years, experts say.

Some schools have instituted peer support leaders to give teens safe channels to share problems. Teens who serve as mentors in these programs are trained with oversight from teachers, counselors or mental health professionals. They are available to talk with their fellow students on a walk-in basis at a designated place at school or by referral from school staff.

"We have seen strong examples of school programs that prepare teens to be good listeners and to identify warning signs of suicide or other serious problems," Clark says.

"The peer support mentors' role is to listen, suggest problem solving strategies, share information about resources, and, when appropriate, encourage their fellow student to seek help. The most essential task is to pick up on signs that suggest the student needs immediate attention, and to alert the adults overseeing the program. While this doesn't replace the need for professional support, these programs offer young people a non-threatening way to start working through their problems."

The nationally-representative poll report included responses from 1,000 parents of teens ages 13-18 about their views on programs like peer support leaders.

Weighing Benefits and Concerns of Peer Support

Most parents say they see benefits to peer mentor programs. Thirty-eight percent believe if their own teen was struggling with a mental health problem, their teen would likely talk to a peer support leader and 41% of parents say it's possible their teen would take advantage of this option. Another 21% say it's unlikely their child would seek support from a peer mentor.

However, parents did express some concerns about peers providing mental health support to fellow teens as well. Some worried about whether a peer would keep their teen's information confidential (62%), if the peer leader would know when and how to inform adults about a problem (57%), if the peer leader would be able to tell if their teen needs immediate crisis help (53%), and if teens can be trained to provide this kind of support (47%).

"Some of parents' biggest concerns pertained to whether the peer leader would be able to tell if their teen needed immediate professional intervention and how to initiate those next steps," Clark says.

Despite these concerns, a third of parents still say they "definitely favor" having a peer support leaders program through their teen's school, while 46% say they would probably support such a program.

A quarter of parents also say their teen's school already has some type of peer support program -- and these parents are twice as likely to favor such efforts.

"This suggests that parent support increases once they understand how peer support programs work," Clark says. "Most parents agree with the rationale for peer support programs but may be uncertain until they see how they operate and benefit students."

Two in three parents, or 64%, would also allow their teen to be trained as a peer support leader, recognizing the benefits to the community, the school and their child's individual growth.

However, roughly half of parents worried whether there would be sufficient training and that their teen may feel responsible if something bad happened to a student using the program. About 30% weren't sure if their teen was mature enough to serve as a peer support leader.

"Most parents approve of their teen being trained as a peer support leader, seeing it at as an opportunity to develop leadership skills and better understand the challenges that different teens face," Clark says. "But many also wanted reassurance that teens in these roles would have the adult guidance and support necessary to deal with difficult emotional situations."

"Close connection to knowledgeable adults is an essential part of any school-based peer mental health program, particularly in regards to suicide prevention," she says.

Clark says parents of teens considering service as a peer support leader may want to learn more about the training and resources offered, including whether the peer support leaders receive counseling and support in the event of a negative outcome.

She adds that when it comes to young people's mental health, "it takes a village" to support them and help identify warning signs that they may be in trouble.

"The adults in teens' lives -- including parents, teachers and other mentors -- serve critical roles during challenging times," Clark says. "But peers may also be an untapped resource to help teens who need someone to talk to."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210118103458.htm

Conflict between divorced parents can lead to mental health problems in children

January 12, 2021

Science Daily/Arizona State University

Conflict between divorced or separated parents increases the risk of children developing physical and mental health problems.

A new study from the Arizona State University Research and Education Advancing Children's Health (REACH) Institute has found that children experience fear of being abandoned when their divorced or separated parents engage in conflict. Worrying about being abandoned predicted future mental health problems in children. The work will be published in Child Development on January 12.

"Conflict is a salient stressor for kids, and the link between exposure to interparental conflict and mental health problems in children is well established across all family types -- married, cohabitating, separated and divorced," said Karey O'Hara, a research assistant professor of psychology at ASU and first author on the paper. "Conflict between divorced or separated parents predicted children experiencing fear that they would be abandoned by one or both parents. This feeling was associated with future mental health problems, especially for those who had strong relationships with their fathers."

Based on studies including children from families with married or cohabitating parents, the researchers knew that children view interparental conflict as a threat, often wondering if their parents will get divorced.

To understand how children with divorced or separated parents interpreted interparental conflict, the researchers surveyed families participating in the New Beginnings Program, asking 559 children (aged 9-18 years) about their exposure to conflict. The questions included topics like whether their parents fought in front of them, spoke poorly of the other parent or asked children to carry messages. Children exposed to interparental conflict were more likely to report worrying about being abandoned by one or both of their parents.

"When parents who are married or cohabitating engage in conflict, the child might worry about their parents separating," O'Hara said. "But children whose parents are divorced or separated have already seen the dissolution of their family. The idea that they might be abandoned might be unlikely, but it is not illogical from their perspective."

The fear of abandonment was persistent: Exposure to parental conflict predicted fear of abandonment three months later. And, worrying about abandonment predicted mental health problems, as reported by the children themselves and their teachers, 10 months later.

Because quality parent-child relationships are known to buffer children against stress, the researchers expected children who had strong relationships with a parent to experience less fear of abandonment and mental health problems. But the team did not find a general buffering effect of parenting.

"A strong father-child relationship came at a cost when interparental conflict was high," O'Hara said. "Having a high quality parenting relationship is protective, but it is possible that quality parenting alone is not enough in the context of high levels of interparental conflict between divorced parents."

The goal of ASU's REACH institute is to bring research promoting children's well-being from the lab into practice, and the research team is currently working on designing an intervention to help children cope with parental conflict after divorce.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210112110157.htm

Self-controlled children tend to be healthier middle-aged adults

January 5, 2021

Science Daily/Duke University

Self-control, the ability to contain one's own thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and to work toward goals with a plan, is one of the personality traits that makes a child ready for school. And, it turns out, ready for life as well.

In a large study that has tracked a thousand people from birth through age 45 in New Zealand, researchers have determined that people who had higher levels of self-control as children were aging more slowly than their peers at age 45. Their bodies and brains were healthier and biologically younger.

In interviews, the higher self-control group also showed they may be better equipped to handle the health, financial and social challenges of later life as well. The researchers used structured interviews and credit checks to assess financial preparedness. High childhood self-control participants expressed more positive views of aging and felt more satisfied with life in middle age.

"Our population is growing older, and living longer with age-related diseases," said Leah Richmond-Rakerd, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, who is the first author on the study. "It's important to identify ways to help individuals prepare successfully for later-life challenges, and live more years free of disability. We found that self-control in early life may help set people up for healthy aging."

The children with better self-control tended to come from more financially secure families and have higher IQ. However, the findings of slower aging at age 45 with more self-control can be separated from their childhood socio-economic status and IQ. Their analyses showed that self-control was the factor that made a difference.

And childhood is not destiny, the researchers are quick to point out. Some study participants had shifted their self-control levels as adults and had better health outcomes than their childhood assessments would have predicted.

Self-control also can be taught, and the researchers suggest that a societal investment in such training could improve life span and quality of life, not only in childhood, but also perhaps in midlife. There is ample evidence that changing behaviors in midlife (quitting smoking or taking up exercise) leads to improved outcomes.

"Everyone fears an old age that's sickly, poor, and lonely, so aging well requires us to get prepared, physically, financially, and socially," said Terrie Moffitt, the Nannerl O. Keohane Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke, and last author on the paper. "We found people who have used self-control since childhood are far more prepared for aging than their same-age peers."

The study appears the week of Jan. 4 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, based in New Zealand, has tracked these people since they were born in 1972 and 73, putting them through a battery of psychological and health assessments at regular intervals since, the most recent being at age 45.

Childhood self-control was assessed by teachers, parents and the children themselves at ages 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. The children were measured for impulsive aggression and other forms of impulsivity, over-activity, perseverance and inattention.

From ages 26 to 45, the participants also were measured for physiological signs of aging in several organ systems, including the brain. In all measures, higher childhood self-control correlated with slower aging.

The people with the highest self-control were found to walk faster and have younger-looking faces at age 45 as well.

"But if you aren't prepared for aging yet, your 50's is not too late to get ready," Moffitt added.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210105130117.htm

Why an early start is key to developing musical skill later in life

December 22, 2020

Science Daily/Association for Psychological Science

Is there, as some have suggested, a developmental period early in life when the brain is especially receptive to musical training? The answer, according to new research, is probably not.

Among the many holiday traditions scuttled by pandemic restrictions this year are live concerts featuring skilled musicians. These gifted performers can often play with such ease that it is easy to underestimate the countless hours of practice that went into honing their craft.

But could there be more to mastering music? Is there, as some have suggested, a developmental period early in life when the brain is especially receptive to musical training? The answer, according to new research published in the journal Psychological Science, is probably not.

"It is a common observation that successful musicians often start their musical training early," said Laura Wesseldijk, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and first author on the paper. "One much-discussed explanation is that there may be a period in early childhood during which the brain is particularly susceptible to musical stimulation. We found, however, that the explanation to why an early start matters may be more complicated and interesting than previously believed."

While the new study supports the idea that an early start is associated with higher levels of musical skills and achievement in adulthood, the underlying reasons for this may have more to do with familial influences -- such as genetic factors and an encouraging musical family environment -- along with accumulating more total practice time than those who start later in life.

To untangle these effects, Wesseldijk and her colleagues recruited 310 professional musicians from various Swedish music institutions, such as orchestral and music schools. The researchers also used data from an existing research project, the Study of Twin Adults: Genes and Environment (STAGE). Participants from both studies were tested on musical aptitude and achievement. They also answered a series of questions that gauged how often they practiced and the age of onset of musical training. The STAGE data also provided genetic information on its participants.

By comparing the results from these two independent studies, the researchers were able to show that an earlier start age is associated with musical aptitude, both in amateurs and professional musicians, even after controlling for accumulated practice time. They then evaluated starting age in a manner that accounted for the genetic data from the STAGE study.

The results indicate that genetic factors -- possibly related to musical interest and talent -- have a substantial influence on the age individuals start music practice and their future musical aptitude. When controlling for familial factors, namely shared genetic and environmental influences, such as a home environment that is steeped in music, there was no additional association between an earlier start age and musicality.

A possible explanation for these results could be that children who display more talent in a particular field, such as music, are encouraged to start practicing earlier. Another possibility is that a musically active, interested, and talented family provides a musical environment for the child, while also passing on their genetic predispositions to engage in music.

"I think we have really investigated effects of the age you start musical training to the fullest," said Wesseldijk. "Personally, as someone who practices music, it is always great to shed light on some of the factors, within the gene environmental interplay, that influence music skills."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201222192933.htm

Low-income preschoolers exposed to nurturing care have with higher IQ scores later on

December 18, 2020

Science Daily/University of Maryland School of Medicine

Preschoolers living in impoverished communities who have access to a nurturing home environment have significantly higher intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in adolescence compared to those raised without nurturing care. That is the finding of a new international study conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers, which examined data from more than 1600 children from Brazil and South Africa who were followed from birth through their teenage years. Results were published this week in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Healthjournal.

The researchers analyzed data from long-running studies conducted in Brazil and South Africa to assess whether children exposed to early adversities (such as extreme poverty, low birth weight, or pre-term birth) could reach their full learning potential by experiencing responsive caregiving and opportunities to learn in their home. They found that prenatal and early life adversities matter throughout life. Adolescents who had been exposed to multiple adversities early in life had lower IQ scores, were more likely to have difficulties adjusting socially and psychologically, and achieved a lower physical height compared to adolescents exposed to fewer adversities. They also found that being raised in a nurturing environment could significantly counteract the detrimental effect of early adversities on IQ and help children achieve their full intellectual potential.

"We found that adolescents who were raised in nurturing environments had IQ scores that were on average 6 points higher than those who were not. This is a striking difference that has profound implications by increasing the intelligence of entire communities," said study corresponding author Maureen Black, PhD, the John A Scholl and Mary Louise Scholl Endowed Professor of Pediatrics at UMSOM. "A nurturing environment also led to better growth and fewer psycho-social difficulties in adolescence, but it did not mitigate the effects of early adversities on growth and psycho-social difficulties."

Globally, more than 250 million children younger than 5 years are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential because of adversities that co-occur early in life and accumulate with age. In the U.S, almost one in five children are raised in poverty and 15 percent do not complete high school, with higher rates for children in Black and Hispanic families. Exposing these children to a nurturing environment, whether at home or in daycare or pre-school settings, can lead to cognitive benefits that last into adolescence and beyond.

"I think our findings could apply to communities here in the U.S. where children are hungry, living in poverty or lacking in access to medical care," Dr. Black said.

Added study lead author Angela Trude, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow in the UMSOM Department of Pediatrics, "Parents want to provide nurturing environments and we need to help them." She said this includes interacting with young children in a positive way such as reading children's books from the library, singing songs together, and playing games with numbers and letters. Children who engage in age-appropriate chores with adult supervision like picking up toys and clearing the table gain skills and feel good about helping.

"Get children involved in friendly activities as much as possible rather than parking them in front of a screen," Dr. Black said. "Children love to learn and in a nurturing environment they can grow into adolescents and adults with the abilities to care for themselves, their families, and their communities."

The research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"As the world continues to suffer through a global pandemic, we must not let our youngest children fall through the cracks," said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. "This research highlights the importance of nurturing caregivers, both at home and at school to help children lead more productive lives as adults."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201218152721.htm

Talking to kids about weight: What the internet says and why researchers are wary

December 17, 2020

Science Daily/Drexel University

Parents, caregivers and health care professionals are increasingly concerned about childhood obesity. Compounding their concern are fears of inadvertently provoking disordered eating, such as unhelpful dieting, when discussing a child's weight status (i.e. normal weight, overweight or obese). Given the complexity of these concerns, major health advocacy groups have independently published guidelines for having conversations with children about weight status -- all at the fingertips of parents, caregivers and health care professionals with a quick internet search.

To help sort it all out, researchers from the Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science (WELL Center) in the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University systematically reviewed numerous independently published guidelines for having conversations with children about weight status to analyze their content, consistency, actionability and scientific support.

"It's important that parents and health care professionals be critical consumers of guidelines on talking to kids about overweight and obesity because guidelines have a lot of variability between them on the question of whether or not to talk about a kid's weight directly," said Elizabeth Lampe, graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences and lead author. "Parents and health care professionals should read several different guidelines and make sure that they are making the best decision for their kid, since every situation can be unique."

Researchers performed web-based searches that identified 59 independently published guidelines on childhood obesity by major health advocacy groups. Only 13 provided explicit direction on how the caregiver or health care professional should approach a conversation about overweight or obesity with a child.

Throughout the 13 guidelines, nine topics were identified within the advice provided: attitude modeling (covered by 31% of guidelines), behavior modeling (61%), dietary recommendations (54%), physical activity (46%), body acceptance and self-esteem (69%), conversation advice (92%), contact with health care professionals (46%), talking about "weight" versus "overall health" (54%) and external factors, such as bullying and/or media (54%).

Lampe noted that although all guidelines presented similar content, several inconsistencies in recommendations emerged. Only three of the 13 guidelines referenced any scholarly sources and only a small minority of advice was easily applied to everyday situations by caregivers or health care professionals.

"We call for future guidelines to unify their messages for caregivers and health care professionals and be better supported by scholarly data," said Lampe.

She added that parents and caregivers are not the only consumers of these guidelines.

"Policy makers may be using these guidelines to influence their decisions or practitioners might use these guidelines to inform their practice," said Lampe. "Some important implications of this could be a lack of health behavior change and potential perpetuation of weight stigma."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201217135256.htm

Individuals with high ADHD-traits are more vulnerable to insomnia

December 18, 2020

Science Daily/Karolinska Institutet

Individuals with high ADHD-traits that do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis are less able to perform tasks involving attentional regulation or emotional control after a sleepless night than individuals with low ADHD-traits, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging reports.

While it can cause multiple cognitive impairments, there is considerable individual variation in sensitivity to the effects of insomnia. The reason for this variability has been an unresolved research question for long. In the present study, KI researchers investigated how sleep deprivation affects our executive functions, which is to say the central cognitive processes that govern our thoughts and actions. They also wanted to ascertain if people with ADHD tendencies are more sensitive to insomnia, with more severe functional impairments as a result.

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is characterized by inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity; however, the symptoms vary from person to person and often also include emotional instability.

"You could say that many people have some subclinical ADHD-like symptoms but a diagnosis is only made once the symptoms become so prominent that they interfere with our everyday lives," says Predrag Petrovic, consultant and associate professor in psychiatry at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, who led the study along with Tina Sundelin and John Axelsson, both researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University.

The study included 180 healthy participants between the ages of 17 and 45 without an ADHD diagnosis. Tendencies towards inattentiveness and emotional instability were assessed on the Brown Attention Deficit Disorder (B-ADD) scale.

The participants were randomly assigned to two groups, one that was allowed to sleep normally and one that was deprived of sleep for one night. They were then instructed to perform a test that measures executive functions and emotional control the following day (a Stroop test with neutral and emotional faces).

The researchers found that the sleep-deprived group showed worse performance in the experimental tasks (including more cognitive response variability). Moreover, people with high ADHD-traits were more vulnerable to sleep deprivation and showed greater impairment than those with low ADHD-traits.

The effects were also related to the most prominent type of subclinical ADHD-like symptom, in that after being deprived of sleep, the participants who displayed more everyday problems with emotional instability had larger problems with the cognitive task involving emotional regulation, and those who had more everyday inattention symptoms had larger problems with the non-emotional cognitive task.

"One of the reasons why these results are important is that we know that young people are getting much less sleep than they did just ten years ago," explains Dr Petrovic. "If young people with high ADHD-traits regularly get too little sleep they will perform worse cognitively and, what's more, their symptoms might even end up at a clinically significant level."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201218084147.htm

Low-intensity exercise during adolescence may cut schizophrenia risk

December 16, 2020

Science Daily/University of Tsukuba

Although schizophrenia is increasingly understood as a neurodevelopmental disorder, environmental factors are known to play an important role in the disease onset and progression. But now, researchers from Japan have found that exercise during a specific postnatal period may prevent the development of behaviors associated with schizophrenia.

In a study published this month in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, researchers from the University of Tsukuba have revealed that low-intensity exercise during adolescence, which is a critical developmental period, significantly reduced abnormal behaviors in a mouse model of schizophrenia.

An enriched environment during development has been found to have a number of positive effects on brain function, including the prevention of neurodevelopmental disorders. Although exercise appears to have a particularly important effect, the combination of variables present in enriched environments can make it difficult to isolate the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects. To address this, the researchers at the University of Tsukuba developed a new exercise model in which mice ran on a treadmill at a fixed speed. They then tested whether low-intensity treadmill running prevented abnormal behaviors in a mouse model of schizophrenia.

"Previous studies have shown that exercise can enhance neuronal transmission and have other beneficial effects," says lead author of the study Hikaru Koizumi. "However, the intensity, duration, and frequency of exercise have varied among studies using wheel running, making it difficult to determine how much exercise would be necessary to see these positive effects in humans."

To address this, the researchers examined behavioral and neurological function in mice that had been exposed to phencyclidine (PCP) hydrochloride during perinatal development, which is a common model of schizophrenia. The mice were then exposed to 4 weeks of low-intensity exercise during adolescence, and tested to see whether they exhibited abnormal behaviors and associated neurological abnormalities.

"The results were surprising," explains senior author Professor Hideaki Soya. "Our finding that low-intensity exercise could prevent abnormal behaviors indicates that exercise may directly contribute to the prevention of schizophrenia."

This has important implications for the potential neuropathology of schizophrenia, especially given that the low-intensity exercise recovered changes in neural signaling associated with the expected behavioral abnormalities.

"Our findings indicate that mild exercise habits during development could have a powerful preventative effect in individuals who are genetically predisposed to schizophrenia. As such, exercise could be a particularly important consideration for individuals who are at risk for developing the condition," says Professor Soya.

Mild exercise during development could prevent schizophrenia by masking or improving neurodevelopmental abnormalities present due to genetic inheritance. Specialized exercise programs for individuals who are at risk may be successful in preventing the development of schizophrenia, with serious implications for the quality of life in these individuals.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201216094645.htm

Young people who go to bed later drink and smoke more due to their impulsivity

December 14, 2020

Science Daily/University of Surrey

Young people who prefer to stay up late are more impulsive than their peers who go to bed earlier, which makes them more likely to drink alcohol and smoke, a new study in the journal Chronobiology International, reports.

In the first study of its kind, researchers from the University of Surrey and Brunel University London investigated how being an evening type (someone who prefers to stay up late and functions better in the evening) links to impulsivity, anxiety, and substance use. Young people often prefer to stay up late, and those who do are known to be at higher risk of mental health issues and problematic substance use.

To better understand why this is, researchers recruited 191 participants aged between 18-25 years old. Participants were surveyed on their sleeping preference (morning or evening types), their sleep quality, levels of anxiety and impulsivity, and asked about how many cigarettes they smoked and how much alcohol, coffee, and other caffeinated drinks they consumed.

A lab-based computer test was also used to test impulsivity levels. Participants were required to indicate how long they were willing to wait before receiving a hypothetical cash reward. Researchers found that evening types were more impulsive, preferring small immediate rewards over delayed larger ones. These young adult evening types were also more anxious and reported higher alcohol, caffeine and cigarette use compared to their peers who preferred going to bed earlier. Lower sleep quality did not explain these effects; to see what could, researchers used a statistical method known as mediation analysis, which found that higher levels of impulsivity were the link between being an evening type and greater alcohol, caffeine, and cigarette use.

Researchers believe that by understanding what causes young people to smoke and drink more, we can educate them more effectively about risk factors and design strategies to combat problematic substance use.

Dr Simon Evans, Lecturer in Neuroscience at the University of Surrey, said: "Young people who stay up late and claim they function best in the evening are known to have higher alcohol intake, smoke more cigarettes and are at greater risk of mental health issues. What we have found is that their higher levels of substance use are due to their increased impulsivity levels. The consequences of high levels of substance use can be detrimental to long term physical and mental health, and these findings suggest ways we could reduce risky substance use behaviours in young people."

Dr Ray Norbury, Senior lecturer in Psychology at Brunel University London, said: "We found that the tendency to be a night owl was associated with higher levels of anxiety, impulsivity and alcohol and cigarette use. What we don't know is if night owls are more likely to engage with these harmful behaviours because they are already out late and so may just have more exposure to opportunities to drink and smoke or whether the addictive behaviours (the stimulant effects of smoking for instance) drive them to be up late.

"Clearly, this study has implications for both the mental and physical health of our student populations. It may be that simple interventions to improve sleep hygiene could reduce substance use and anxiety in these young and potentially vulnerable adults."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201214104708.htm

Strong social support decreases mental health problems in young adults

Awareness and presence of social support may guard against mental health problems

December 11, 2020

Science Daily/McGill University

A team of McGill University researchers has found that young adults who perceived higher levels of social support reported fewer mental health problems.

In a study published today in JAMA Network Open, the team led by Marie-Claude Geoffroy, Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at McGill, reassessed the impact of the presence and awareness of social support, such as family and friends, as a safeguard against mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Their results indicate that young adults who perceived higher levels of social support -- the feeling that there is someone who they can depend on for help should they need it -- at the age of 19, showed lower levels of depression and anxiety symptoms one year later.

"Our study shows that even in cases where people previously experienced mental health problems, social support was beneficial for mental health later on," says Prof. Geoffroy, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Youth Suicide Prevention. "We discovered potential benefits of promoting and leveraging social support as a means to protect the mental health of young adults, even in individuals who experienced mental health problems at an earlier developmental stage in life. That social support is not only beneficial for depression, but for other salient mental health outcomes as well."

The power of perception

The team used data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study on Child Development, collected by the Institut de la statistique du Québec from over 1,000 participants of a representative birth cohort of individuals born in the province of Quebec. Following participants since their birth in 1997 and 1998, the researchers looked at their levels of perceived social support at the onset of adulthood.

The researchers found that people who experienced greater levels of social support experienced 47% less severe depression and 22% less anxiety than those with less social support. The team also found that those who reported higher levels of perceived social support were at a 40% decreased risk of experiencing suicidal ideation and attempts.

"Our study was conducted before the current COVID-19 pandemic, so we do not know whether our results will apply in the current context," adds Sara Scardera, a master's student in McGill's School/Applied Child Psychology program under the supervision of Prof. Geoffroy and co-author of the study. "However, in a 'normal' context, youth who perceived that they had someone to rely on reported better mental health outcomes. We believe that is beneficial to offer help to those in need, and to make sure your friends know that they can count on you."

The data collection is ongoing, therefore new mental health data will be available when participants turn 23 years old over the course of the 2021 winter season. The researchers will verify whether the same patterns of association have been present during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Future lines of research will examine whether certain types of social support -- for example, parents vs. friends -- is more beneficial to the mental health of young adults.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201211115455.htm