Our sleep shows how risk-seeking we are
March 22, 2022
Science Daily/University of Bern
Each person has their own individual sleep profile which can be identified by the electrical brain activity during sleep. Researchers at the University of Bern have now demonstrated that the brain waves during periods of deep sleep in a specific area of the brain can be used to determine the extent of an individual's propensity for risk during their everyday life.
Each day, we make countless decisions in which we take different risks -- in road traffic, when buying shares or in our sexual behavior, for example. The propensity for risk varies from one individual to the next. Researchers led by Daria Knoch, Professor of Social Neuroscience at the University of Bern, have demonstrated that clues in the brain concerning an individual's propensity for risk can be gathered as they sleep: "The fewer slow waves an individual has over their right prefrontal cortex during deep sleep, the greater their propensity for risk. Among other functions, this region of the brain is important to control one's own impulses," explains the neuroscientist. The results have recently been published in the journal NeuroImage.
High data density and sleep investigation at participant's home
Slow waves occur during deep sleep and indicate good sleep quality and regeneration. The topographical distribution of slow waves in the brain is highly individual and is highly stable over time; this means each individual has their own personal neuronal sleep profile. To determine whether this profile reveals anything about an individual's propensity for risk, the research team studied 54 "good sleepers," who typically sleep for seven to eight hours. These were identified using actigraphs, which track the patterns of movement during sleep. Because: "The individual slow-wave profile can only be interpreted correctly during normal sleep," explains leader of the study, Lorena Gianotti.
In the next step, sleep data was collected at participants' home using a portable polysomnographic system with 64 electrodes placed at their scalp. "The undisturbed measurement of the brain activity during sleep in a familiar environment and the high density of data collected by the 64 electrodes are rather rare as a constellation in sleep research. This allows the participants to sleep naturally and allows us to collect a large quantity of data," explains doctoral student and first author, Mirjam Studler.
Less deep sleep in the right prefrontal cortex
And this data is very meaningful and significant: participants who show lower slow-wave activity over their right prefrontal cortex generally demonstrate a greater propensity for risk than individuals with more slow-wave activity. The propensity to take risks was elicited in a computer game where they could win actual money: the participants had to decide how far they would drive a car in the knowledge that at some point, a wall would appear with which the car would collide. Each meter driven earned them more money, but also increased their risk of crashing. "Interestingly, the sleep duration had no impact in terms of propensity for risk, at least in our study with good sleepers. Rather, it is crucial that deep sleep takes place in the 'right' brain regions -- in this case, in the right prefrontal cortex," explains Lorena Gianotti.
Possible implications
Health economics research has demonstrated that risky behavior can have both considerable health-related and financial consequences. According to the researchers, gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the propensity for risky behaviour is therefore important. "Our findings can be incorporated into targeted interventions. Sleep researchers are now developing techniques to specifically modulate slow waves," says Daria Knoch.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220322122801.htm
Amid war and disease, World Happiness Report shows bright spot
The pandemic brought an increase in social support and benevolence
March 19, 2022
Science Daily/McGill University
In this troubled time of war and pandemic, the World Happiness Report 2022 shows a bright light in dark times. According to the team of international researchers, including McGill University Professor Christopher Barrington-Leigh, the pandemic brought not only pain and suffering but also an increase in social support and benevolence.
As the world battles the ills of disease and war, it is especially important to remember the universal desire for happiness and the capacity of individuals to rally to each other's support in times of great need, say the authors of the report. This year marks the 10thanniversary of the World Happiness Report, which uses global survey data to report on how people evaluate their own lives in more than 150 countries around the world reaching over 9 million people in 2021.
"COVID-19 is the biggest health crisis we've seen in more than a century," says Professor John Helliwell of the University of British Columbia. "Now that we have two years of evidence, we are able to assess not just the importance of benevolence and trust, but to see how they have contributed to well-being during the pandemic."
Growth in acts of kindness
Helliwell adds "We found during 2021 remarkable worldwide growth in all three acts of kindness monitored in the Gallup World Poll. Helping strangers, volunteering, and donations in 2021 were strongly up in every part of the world, reaching levels almost 25% above their pre-pandemic prevalence. This surge of benevolence, which was especially great for the helping of strangers, provides powerful evidence that people respond to help others in need, creating in the process more happiness for the beneficiaries, good examples for others to follow, and better lives for themselves."
Finland takes the top spot while Canada drops to 15th place
For the fifth year in a row Finland takes the top spot as the happiest in the world. This year its score was significantly ahead of other countries in the top ten. Denmark continues to occupy second place, with Iceland up from 4th place last year to 3rd this year. Switzerland is 4th, followed by the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The top ten are rounded out by Sweden, Norway, Israel and New Zealand. The next five are Austria, Australia, Ireland, Germany and Canada, in that order. This marks a substantial fall for Canada, which was 5th ten years ago.
"The downward trend for Canada is significant and has been going on steadily for years. While Canada once ranked beside the Scandinavian countries, it now ranks closer to the United States in people's overall evaluation of how good their lives felt," says Professor Christopher Barrington-Leigh of McGill University.
The rest of the top 20 include the United States at 16th (up from 19th last year), the UK and the Czechia still in 17th and 18th, followed by Belgium at 19th and France at 20th, its highest ranking yet. Overall, the three biggest gains were in Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania. The biggest losses were in Lebanon, Venezuela, and Afghanistan.
Finland
Denmark
Iceland
Switzerland
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Sweden
Norway
Israel
New Zealand
Austria
Australia
Ireland
Germany
Canada
Conflict in Afghanistan takes a toll
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, the Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford notes that "At the very bottom of the ranking we find societies that suffer from conflict and extreme poverty, notably we find that people in Afghanistan evaluate the quality of their own lives as merely 2.4 out of 10. This presents a stark reminder of the material and immaterial damage that war does to its many victims and the fundamental importance of peace and stability for human wellbeing."
Progress marked by measures of happiness
"The World Happiness Report is changing the conversation about progress and wellbeing. It provides important snapshots of how people around the world feel about the overall quality of their lives," says McGill University Professor Christopher Barrington-Leigh. According to the researchers, this information can in turn help countries to craft policies aimed at achieving happier societies.
Past reports have looked at the links between people's trust in government and institutions with happiness. The findings demonstrate that communities with high levels of trust are happier and more resilient in the face of a wide range of crises.
About the report
The World Happiness Report is a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, powered by the Gallup World Poll data.
Read: https://worldhappiness.report/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220319081655.htm
Lighting the way to healthier daily rhythms
March 17, 2022
Science Daily/PLOS
The light we experience across our daily lives has a major influence on our body rhythms. Modern lifestyles, with 24-hour access to electric light and reduced exposure to natural daylight, can disrupt sleep and negatively impact health, well-being, and productivity. A new report publishing March 17 in the open access journal PLOS Biology addresses the issue of exactly how bright lighting should be during the day and in the evening to support healthy body rhythms, restful sleep, and daytime alertness.
Professors Timothy Brown from the University of Manchester, UK, and Kenneth Wright from the University of Colorado Boulder, US brought together an international body of leading scientific experts to agree the first evidence-based, consensus recommendations for healthy daytime, evening, and nighttime light exposure. These recommendations provide much needed guidance to the lighting and electronics industries to aid the design of healthier environments and to improve how we light our workplaces, public buildings, and homes.
A key question tackled by the new report was how to properly measure the extent to which different types of lighting might influence our body rhythms and daily patterns of sleep and wakefulness. Light affects these patterns via a specialized type of cell in the eye that uses a light sensitive protein, melanopsin, that is distinct from the proteins in the rods and cones that support vision (and upon which traditional ways of measuring "brightness" are based). Since melanopsin is most sensitive to light in a specific part of the visual spectrum (blue-cyan light), the new recommendations used a newly-developed light measurement standard tailored to this unique property, melanopic equivalent daylight illuminance. Analysis of data across a range of laboratory and field studies proved that this new measurement approach could provide a reliable way of predicting the effects of light on human physiology and body rhythms and could therefore form the basis of widely applicable and meaningful recommendations.
An important next step will be integration of the recommendations into formal lighting guidelines, which currently focus on visual requirements rather than effects on health and well-being. Additionally, increasing sophistication in LED lighting technology and the availability of low-cost light sensors are expected to increase the ease with which individuals can optimize their personal light exposure to best support their own body rhythms in line with the new recommendations.
Brown adds, "These recommendations provide the first scientific consensus, quantitative, guidance for appropriate daily patterns of light exposure to support healthy body rhythms, nighttime sleep and daytime alertness. This now provides a clear framework to inform how we light any interior space ranging from workplaces, educational establishments and healthcare facilities to our own homes."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220317143718.htm
If blood pressure rises upon standing, so may risk for heart attack
March 17, 2022
Science Daily/American Heart Association
Young and middle-aged adults with high blood pressure whose systolic blood pressure (top-number) rose more than 6.5 mm Hg upon standing were more likely to later have a heart attack, stroke, heart-related chest pain or other major heart disease-related event than those with lower systolic blood pressure in response to standing. The researchers highlight the importance of measuring standing blood pressure in young and middle-aged adults with hypertension, suggesting early treatment for those who have elevated blood pressure upon standing.
Among young and middle-aged adults with high blood pressure, a substantial rise in blood pressure upon standing may identify those with a higher risk of serious cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's peer-reviewed journal Hypertension.
"This finding may warrant starting blood-pressure-lowering treatment including medicines earlier in patients with exaggerated blood pressure response to standing," said Paolo Palatini, M.D., lead author of the study and a professor of internal medicine at the University of Padova in Padova, Italy.
Nearly half of Americans and about 40% of people worldwide have high blood pressure, considered to be the world's leading preventable cause of death. According to the American Heart Association's 2022 heart disease statistics, people with hypertension in mid-life are five times more likely to have impaired cognitive function and twice as likely to experience reduced executive function, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Typically, systolic (top number) blood pressure falls slightly upon standing up. In this study, researchers assessed whether the opposite response -- a significant rise in systolic blood pressure upon standing -- is a risk factor for heart attack and other serious cardiovascular events.
The investigators evaluated 1,207 people who were part of the HARVEST study, a prospective study that began in Italy in 1990 and included adults ages 18-45 years old with untreated stage 1 hypertension. Stage 1 hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure of 140-159 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP 90-100 mm Hg. None had taken blood pressure-lowering medication prior to the study, and all were initially estimated at low risk for major cardiovascular events based on their lifestyle and medical history (no diabetes, renal impairment or other cardiovascular diseases). At enrollment, participants were an average age of 33 years, 72% were men, and all were white.
At enrollment, six blood pressure measurements for each participant were taken in various physical positions, including when lying down and after standing up. The 120 participants with the highest rise (top 10%) in blood pressure upon standing averaged an 11.4 mm Hg increase; all increases in this group were greater than 6.5 mm Hg. The remaining participants averaged a 3.8 mm Hg fall in systolic blood pressure upon standing.
The researchers compared heart disease risk factors, laboratory measures and the occurrence of major cardiovascular events (heart attack, heart-related chest pain, stroke, aneurysm of the aortic artery, clogged peripheral arteries) and chronic kidney disease among participants in the two groups. In some analyses, the development of atrial fibrillation, an arrhythmia that is a major risk factor for stroke, was also noted. Results were adjusted for age, gender, parental history of heart disease, and several lifestyle factors and measurements taken during study enrollment.
During an average 17-year follow-up 105 major cardiovascular events occurred. The most common were heart attack, heart-related chest pain and stroke.
People in the group with top 10% rise in blood pressure:
were almost twice as likely as other participants to experience a major cardiovascular event;
did not generally have a higher risk profile for cardiovascular events during their initial evaluation (outside of the exaggerated blood pressure response to standing);
were more likely to be smokers (32.1% vs. 19.9% in the non-rising group), yet physical activity levels were comparable, and they were not more likely to be overweight or obese, and no more likely to have a family history of cardiovascular events;
had more favorable cholesterol levels (lower total cholesterol and higher high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol);
had lower systolic blood pressure when lying down than the other group (140.5 mm Hg vs. 146.0 mm Hg, respectively), yet blood pressure measures were higher when taken over 24 hours.
After adjusting for average blood pressure taken over 24 hours, an exaggerated blood pressure response to standing remained an independent predictor of adverse heart events or stroke.
"The results of the study confirmed our initial hypothesis -- a pronounced increase in blood pressure from lying to standing could be prognostically important in young people with high blood pressure. We were rather surprised that even a relatively small increase in standing blood pressure (6-7 mm Hg) was predictive of major cardiac events in the long run," said Palatini.
In a subset of 630 participants who had stress hormones measured from 24-hour urine samples, the epinephrine/creatinine ratio was higher in the people with a rise in standing blood pressure compared to those whose standing blood pressure did not rise (118.4 nmol/mol vs. 77.0 nmol/mol, respectively).
"Epinephrine levels are an estimate of the global effect of stressful stimuli over the 24 hours. This suggests that those with the highest blood pressure when standing may have an increased sympathetic response [the fight-or-flight response] to stressors," said Palatini. "Overall, this causes an increase in average blood pressure."
"The findings suggest that blood pressure upon standing should be measured in order to tailor treatment for patients with high blood pressure, and potentially, a more aggressive approach to lifestyle changes and blood-pressure-lowering therapy may be considered for people with an elevated [hyperreactor] blood pressure response to standing," he said.
Results from this study may not be generalizable to people from other ethnic or racial groups since all study participants reported white race/ethnicity. In addition, there were not enough women in the sample to analyze whether the association between rising standing blood pressure and adverse heart events was different among men and women. Because of the relatively small number of major adverse cardiac events in this sample of young people, the results need to be confirmed in larger studies.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220317094719.htm
Living near green areas reduces the risk of suffering a stroke by 16 percent
March 15, 2022
Science Daily/IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute)
The risk of suffering an ischaemic stroke, the most common type of cerebrovascular event, is 16% less in people who have green spaces less than 300 metres from their homes. This has been revealed in a joint study by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Hospital del Mar, the Catalan Health Quality and Assessment Agency (AQuAS) from the Catalan Government's Department of Health and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre promoted by the "la Caixa" Foundation. It is the most important work in this field to date in Europe, analysing data on the entire population of Catalonia between 2016 and 2017. It has been published in the journal Environment International.
The study took into account information on exposure to three atmospheric pollutants linked to vehicle traffic in more than three and a half million people selected from among the 7.5 million residents of Catalonia, over the age of eighteen who had not suffered a stroke prior to the start of the study. Specifically, it analysed the impact of the levels of particulate matter under 2.5 microns (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and soot particles at the place of residence of each of the people studied. The number and density of green spaces within a 300-metre radius of their homes was also studied. The data was obtained via geographic referencing and by designing models of exposure to the two determinants, using population data obtained by reusing health information generated in Catalonia and anonymised by the Data Analytics Programme for Research and Innovation in Health (Programa d'Analítica de Dades per a la Recerca i la Innovació en Salut; PADRIS) and managed by the Catalan Agency for Health Quality and Assessment (Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya; AQuAS).
More pollution, a higher risk of stroke
The results indicate a direct relationship between increased levels of NO2 in the atmosphere and the risk of ischaemic stroke. For every increase of 10 micrograms (µg) per cubic metre, this risk increases by 4%. The same happens when PM2.5 levels increase by 5 µg/m3. In the case of soot particles, the risk increases by 5% for every 1 µg/m3 increase in the atmosphere. These figures are the same for the entire population, irrespective of other socio-economic factors, age or smoking habits.
"It should be borne in mind that, unlike other air pollutants, which have various sources, NO2 is mainly caused by road traffic. Therefore, if we really want to reduce the multiple risks that this pollutant poses to people's health, we need to implement bold measures to reduce car use", says Cathryn Tonne, a researcher at ISGlobal.
"The study demonstrates the importance of environmental determinants in stroke risk. Given that it is predicted that the incidence, mortality and disability attributed to the disease will increase in the coming years, it is important to understand all the risk factors involved", explains Dr. Carla Avellaneda, a researcher in the Neurovascular Research Group at IMIM-Hospital del Mar and one of the main authors of the study. Previous studies by the same group had already provided evidence on the relationship between factors such as soot or noise levels and the risk of suffering a stroke and its severity. All these factors act as stroke triggers.
In contrast, having an abundance of green spaces within the same radius from the home directly reduces the risk of suffering a stroke. Specifically, up to 16%. In this sense, "People who are surrounded by greater levels of greenery at their place of residence are protected against the onset of stroke", says Dr. Avellaneda. Exposure to green spaces is generally considered to have beneficial effects through a variety of mechanisms, such as stress reduction, increased physical activity and social contact, and even exposure to an enriched microbiome.
Rethinking established air pollutant limits
In view of this data, the researchers point out that it is necessary to reflect on the current levels of atmospheric pollution that are considered safe. At the moment, the thresholds set by the European Union are 40 µg/m3 for NO2, which the World Health Organisation reduces to 10 µg/m3, and 25 µg/m3 for PM2.5, which the WHO limits to 5 µg/m3. Currently, no levels have been set for soot particles. In fact, the levels recorded during the period analysed were lower, on average, than those set by the European authorities (17 µg/m3 for PM2.5, 35 µg/m3 for NO2 and 2.28 µg/m3 in the case of soot).
"Despite compliance with the levels set by the European Union, we are faced with the paradox that there is still a health risk, such as the one we identified in this study, where there is a direct relationship between exposure to pollutants in our environment and the risk of suffering a stroke", explains Dr. Rosa Maria Vivanco, lead author of the study and researcher at AQuAS and IMIM-Hospital del Mar. "The danger is still present and many more measures need to be taken", considering the increase in the urban population and its ageing, she adds.
In this sense, Dr. Jaume Roquer, head of the Neurology Service at Hospital del Mar and coordinator of the Neurovascular Research Group at IMIM-Hospital del Mar, points out that "This study demonstrates the real impact that environmental aspects have on the health of the Catalan population. In view of the effects of atmospheric pollution, the lack of green spaces, noise, and so forth, more efforts and populational strategies are needed to reduce its impact. Its harmful effects are permanently and globally damaging. We must strive to achieve more sustainable towns and cities where living does not mean an increased risk of disease."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220315113023.htm
When it comes to sleep, it’s quality over quantity
Science Daily/March 15, 2022
University of California - San Francisco
Some people are gifted with genes that pack the benefits of slumber into an efficient time window, keeping them peppy on only four or six hours of sleep a night, according to researchers at UC San Francisco. In addition, the scientists said, these "elite sleepers" show psychological resilience and resistance to neurodegenerative conditions that may point the way to fending off neurological disease.
"There's a dogma in the field that everyone needs eight hours of sleep, but our work to date confirms that the amount of sleep people need differs based on genetics," said neurologist Louis Ptacek, MD, one of the senior authors on the study, which appears in iScience on March 15, 2022 "Think of it as analogous to height; there's no perfect amount of height, each person is different. We've shown that the case is similar for sleep."
For over a decade, Ptacek and co-senior author, Ying-Hui Fu, PhD, both members of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, have been studying people with Familial Natural Short Sleep (FNSS), the ability to function fully on -- and have a preference for -- four to six hours of sleep a night. They've shown that it runs in families and, thus far have identified five genes across the genome that play a role in enabling this efficient sleep. There are still many more FNSS genes to find, the researchers said.
This study tested Fu's hypothesis that elite sleep can be a shield against neurodegenerative disease. Her ideas contrast somewhat with current thinking that, for many people, lack of sleep can accelerate neurodegeneration. The difference, Fu said, is that with FNSS, the brain accomplishes its sleep tasks in a shorter time. In other words, less time spent efficiently sleeping may not equate to a lack of sleep.
The team chose to look at mouse models of Alzheimer's disease because that condition is so prevalent, said Fu. They bred mice that had both short-sleep gene and genes that predisposed them to Alzheimer's and found that their brains developed much less of the hallmark aggregates associated with dementia. To confirm their findings, they repeated the experiment using mice with a different short-sleep gene and another dementia gene and saw similar results.
Fu and Ptacek believe that similar investigations of other brain conditions would show the efficient-sleep genes conferring comparable protections. improving peoples' sleep could delay progression of disease across a whole spectrum of conditions, they said.
"Sleep problems are common in all diseases of the brain," she said. "This makes sense because sleep is a complex activity. Many parts of your brain have to work together for you to fall asleep and to wake up. When these parts of the brain are damaged, it makes it harder to sleep or get quality sleep."
Understanding the biological underpinnings of sleep regulation could identify drugs that will help ward off problems with sleep disorders. In addition, improving sleep in healthy people may sustain wellbeing and improve the quality of time we each have, the researchers said. But pursuing the many genes involved is a long game that they liken to putting together a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle.
"Every mutation we find is another piece," said Ptacek. "Right now we're working on the edges and the corners, to get to that place where it's easier to put the pieces together and where the picture really starts to emerge."
Despite the long road ahead, there's already promise in some of the few genes they've identified. At least one of them can be targeted with existing drugs that might be repurposed. Their hope is that within the next decade, they'll have helped facilitate new treatments that allow people with brain disorders to get a better night's rest.
"This work opens the door to a new understanding of how to delay and possibly prevent a lot of diseases," said Fu. "Our goal really is to help everyone live healthier and longer through getting optimum sleep."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220315112959.htm
Brain stimulation shows promise as treatment for cannabis use disorder in people with schizophrenia
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) associated with up to 60 per cent reduction in cannabis use in clinical trial
March 3, 2022
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was associated with a reduction in self-reported cannabis use by up to 60 per cent among people with schizophrenia who have cannabis use disorder (CUD), according to a CAMH-led study just published in the journal NPJ Schizophrenia.
The double-blind study is the first of its kind to investigate the effectiveness of rTMS in treating CUD in people with schizophrenia, and was supported by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the CAMH Foundation.
"People with schizophrenia have very high rates of cannabis use disorder compared to the general population, and there is strong evidence that cannabis use worsens psychiatric symptoms and quality of life in these people," said senior author CAMH clinician scientist Dr. Tony George. "Despite the known harmful effects, there is currently no approved treatment for CUD with or without schizophrenia. These results indicate rTMS may be a safe and effective way to reduce cannabis among people with schizophrenia."
Until relatively recently, brain stimulation technologies like rTMS were used primarily for treatment-resistant depression. However, studies have now found rTMS to be effective in reducing drug use and cravings for several substance use disorders in the general population.
Study participants were given rTMS treatment at the Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention at CAMH five times a week for four weeks targeting the brain's the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which is associated with the brain's reward system and executive function.
Those who were given rTMS reported a reduction in cannabis use by up to 60 per cent after 28 days as well as reduced cravings, compared to controls receiving sham rTMS.
The authors state that one of the reasons there is currently no effective treatment for CUD in people with schizophrenia is that people with schizophrenia or other mental illnesses are usually excluded from CUD clinical trials. Dr. George says that CAMH is uniquely positioned to do this kind of research:
"In addition to our ability to conduct clinical trials with brain stimulation at the Temerty Centre, CAMH also has one of the largest schizophrenia outpatient clinics in North America as well as state-of-the-art addiction treatment programs," said Dr. George. "All those factors make CAMH one of the few places in the world that can lead a study like this."
"It was a difficult study to recruit for given the intensity of time commitment required by patients," said study lead author Dr. Karolina Kozak Bidzinski. "However, the awareness patients had of the negative effects cannabis was having on their lives, the expected benefits of reducing their use and noticing the various positive outcomes that would surface throughout the duration of the trial, enabled such a high number of patients to complete the study. Hopefully this work paves the way for more research into investigating the effects of rTMS as a treatment for cannabis use disorder in people with schizophrenia."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220303144146.htm
Employers should nurture friendship and support amongst co-workers to unlock creativity
Co-worker support shared with a partner at home inspires creative thinking
February 18, 2022
Science Daily/University of Bath
The new study from the University of Bath's School of Management reveals care from a co-worker inspires people to be supportive to their partner at home, showing that co-workers have a significant role to play in enabling couples to cope with balancing the demands of work and family life. This spiral of support has knock on benefits for creative thinking at work.
Employers who want to see creative thinking in their workforce should value supportive friendships between colleagues as the key to unlocking more resourcefulness and innovation.
The new study from the University of Bath's School of Management reveals care from a co-worker inspires people to be supportive to their partner at home, showing that co-workers have a significant role to play in enabling couples to cope with balancing the demands of work and family life. This spiral of support has knock on benefits for creative thinking at work.
"Employees take the support they receive from co-workers home with them, and in a loving relationship they transfer this support to their partner. This might mean they encourage them to open up about stresses, seek to resolve issues, or make improvements to the juggle of work-life arrangements that benefits the family," said Professor Yasin Rofcanin from the University of Bath's Future of Work research centre.
"The result is that both members of a couple benefit. Spouses pass on support received from co-workers and partners will be more creative at work, in what is termed a 'gain spiral. So it pays for employers to recognise the value of caring co-workers."
Over and above work policies, or interventions by supervisors, it is informal support from co-workers that stands out as having the biggest impact on an individual's ability to manage the work-life balance, spilling over to benefit the partner at home and in turn their own creative thinking at work.
Co-worker support can mean being on hand to listen and talk through life's issues and challenges as they arise, offering suggestions for problems at home, as well as providing cover for absence if a child is sick, or other caring responsibilities crop up. The research suggests organisations should give employees more flexibility to manage caring cover with a colleague without intervention from managers.
The research also alerts employers to the pitfalls of working practice and expectation taking a toll on home life, encouraging employers to be mindful of the detrimental impact on relationships.
"So much research points to the stresses of being in a dual income couple, it's refreshing to see a win for loving relationships alongside work," said Rofcanin. "While we're not suggesting employers should meddle in relationships, they may be able to positively contribute to the quality of relationships at home by putting policies and procedures in place to minimise work-family conflict, such as limiting over time and expectations to respond to emails outside of hours."
The study, by the Universities of Bath, VU Amsterdam and IESE Business School, focused on diary entries over five weeks by over 200 full-time, dual income heterosexual couples in the United States, eighty per cent of which had children.
The researchers acknowledge that there could be drawbacks in relying on co-workers for support with work and family matters, with partners at home feeling jealous and upset about the closeness of 'work spouse' relationships. They suggest future research could examine the potential of this relationship dynamic to promote conflict at home.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220218100646.htm
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy benefits people with depression through promoting self-kindness
March 9, 2022
Science Daily/University of Exeter
New research shows that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) can help promote self-kindness in people with a history of depression, thereby putting their bodies in a state of safety and relaxation.
The research, led by the University of Exeter with collaboration from the universities of Oxford and Magdeburg, indicates that MBCT may help break the cycle of highly critical thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, which often lead people with depression to relapse.
Participants treated with MBCT showed a pattern of being kind to themselves, along with body responses of reduced threat response, a state of safety and relaxation that is important for regeneration and healing.
The authors believe the study helps to better understand how MBCT prevents relapse.
MBCT is an effective group-based psychological treatment that helps people change the way they think and feel about their experiences and learn skills that reduce the likelihood of further episodes of depression.
Previous research has shown that individuals with recurrent depression benefit particularly from MBCT when they learn to become more compassionate towards themselves.
This increased self-compassion has been defined as the ability to be kind to ourselves in stressful times.
The researchers studied 50 people who were in remission from depression and at risk for depressive relapse.
25 of this group were tested before and after an eight-week MBCT treatment and compared with an untreated control sample of 25 people with recurrent depression.
Dr Hans Kirschner, of the University of Magdeburg, the first author of the study, said: "It's encouraging to see that an evidence-based treatment like MBCT can help individuals with recurrent depression to move to a kinder self view and a related body state of safety. We hope that this can strengthen individuals' resilience and prevent depressive relapse. Though, this idea must be tested formally in future research."
In contrast, the untreated control group showed body responses indicative of a more adverse response to the self-compassion meditation when they engaged in it a second time.
The study builds on the team's previous research that found that a brief self-compassion exercise can temporarily activate a pattern of self-kindness and feeling safe in healthy individuals.
The researchers wanted to explore this effect in people with depression, and found that the self-compassion exercise alone was not sufficient to bring about the feeling of safety, but that MCBT did so effectively.
Professor Anke Karl, from the University of Exeter, lead author of the study, said: "This study extends our previous research that found that a brief self-compassion exercise can temporarily activate a pattern of self-kindness and feeling safe in healthy individuals but in individuals with recurrent depression this is unlikely to happen without going through an effective psychological therapy that we know addresses vulnerability to relapse."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220309104429.htm
Mindfulness meditation can reduce guilt, leading to unintended negative social consequences
March 4, 2022
Science Daily/University of Washington
Mindfulness meditation is a stress-management practice with ancient lineage that cultivates nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, often by directing attention to the physical sensations of breathing. Initially inspired by centuries-old Buddhist practices consisting of philosophies and meditations together, today a secular version of mindfulness -- consisting of meditations alone -- is becoming increasingly popular.
There are phone apps that help generate self-awareness and many big corporations are folding mindfulness training programs into their curriculums. But there may be an unanticipated downside to secular mindfulness meditation practices, according to new research led by the University of Washington's Foster School of Business, and published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
"Meditating can reduce feelings of guilt, thus limiting reactions like generosity that are important to human relationships," said lead author Andrew Hafenbrack, an assistant professor in the Foster School who studies mindfulness.
Researchers wanted to know how mindfulness meditation reduces negative emotions, like anger and guilt.
"Negative emotions may not be pleasant, but they can help us navigate social situations and maintain relationships," Hafenbrack said.
"If someone gets really angry and they yell at their boss, or something, and they get fired or make people feel unsafe, then you know that's a bad thing," Hafenbrack said. "Not all negative emotions are the same in terms of the kinds of behaviors that they queue up, though."
When people feel guilty, it tends to make them focus outward, on other people, which can promote reparative actions.
"Meditating for short periods of time is a tool that can make people feel better, like popping an aspirin when they have a headache," Hafenbrack said. "We have a responsibility as researchers to share not only the many positive effects of meditation, but also the inadvertent side effects, such as the potential for it to occasionally relax one's moral compass."
To better understand meditation practices, the researchers conducted eight experiments with more than 1,400 participants in the U.S. and Portugal. Participants varied for each experiment -- some were U.S. adults recruited online, some were graduate students attending a university in Portugal, while another group was mostly undergraduates at the Wharton School of Business.
In their first study, the researchers demonstrated that mindfulness does reduce feelings of guilt. Participants were randomly assigned to either write about a past situation that made them feel guilty or write about their previous day. Then, they listened to either an eight-minute guided mindfulness meditation recording that instructed them to focus on the physical sensations of breathing or an eight-minute control condition recording in which they were instructed to let their minds wander. Participants who listened to the mindfulness recording reported feeling less guilt compared to those in the mind-wandering control group. This was true whether they had written about a guilty situation or their previous day.
The team then ran six other experiments to test whether mindfulness meditation would influence prosocial reparative behaviors, like making up with a friend after doing something that caused harm.
For example, in two experiments all participants were asked to recall and write about a time they wronged someone and felt guilty, before being randomly assigned to meditate or not. After that, they were asked to allocate a hypothetical $100 between a birthday gift for the person they had wronged, a charity for African flood victims, and themselves. Participants who had meditated allocated approximately 17% less to the person they had wronged compared to those who had not meditated.
The psychological process behind these allocation differences was reduced guilt. These and three other, similar experiments established that mindfulness meditation reduces the tendency to make amends for harming others.
"This research serves as a caution to people who might be tempted to use mindfulness meditation to reduce emotions that are unpleasant, but necessary to support moral thoughts and behavior," said co-author Isabelle Solal, an assistant professor at ESSEC Business School in Cergy-Pointoise, France.
While focused breathing meditation is the most popular form of meditation, used in mindfulness programs such as the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction approach and Google's Search Inside Yourself, the study also explored loving kindness meditation, which appears in those programs as well. Loving kindness meditation consists of imagery exercises in which one evokes other people and sends wishes that each is happy, well and free from suffering.
In the final experiment, participants once again wrote about a time they wronged someone and felt guilty, before listening to either a focused breathing mindfulness meditation recording or a loving kindness meditation recording. Participants in the loving kindness group reported higher intentions to contact, apologize to, and make up with people they had harmed compared to participants in the focused breathing meditation group. The difference was explained by participants' increased focus on others and feelings of love.
"Our research suggests that loving kindness meditation may allow people to have the stress-reduction benefits of meditation without the cost of reducing repair, because it increases focus on others and feelings of love," said co-author Matthew LaPalme, who was a research scientist at Yale University and now works at Amazon.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220304101008.htm
Mindfulness therapy reduces opioid misuse and chronic pain in primary care, according to new research
March 1, 2022
Science Daily/University of Utah
Results from a new clinical trial demonstrate that an eight-week mindfulness-based therapy -- Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) -- decreased opioid use and misuse while reducing chronic pain symptoms, with effects lasting as long as nine months. This is the first large-scale clinical trial to demonstrate that a psychological intervention can simultaneously reduce opioid misuse and chronic pain among people who were prescribed opioid pain relievers.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Internal Medicine, followed 250 adults with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy who met the criteria of misusing opioids. Most participants took oxycodone or hydrocodone, reported two or more painful conditions and met the clinical criteria for major depression. More than half of participants also had a diagnosable opioid use disorder.
Study participants were randomly assigned to either a standard supportive psychotherapy group, or a MORE group, both engaging in eight weekly two-hour group sessions, as well as 15 minutes of daily homework. The study treatment groups were delivered in doctor's offices, in the same clinical care setting where patients received their opioid pain management. Researchers measured the participants' opioid misuse behaviors; symptoms of pain; depression, anxiety and stress; and opioid dose through a nine-month follow-up. Opioid craving was measured at three random times a day, prompted by a text message sent to the participants' smartphones.
Nine months after the treatment period ended, 45% of participants in the MORE group were no longer misusing opioids, and 36% had cut their opioid use in half or greater. Patients in MORE had more than twice the odds of those in standard psychotherapy to stop misusing opioids by the end of the study. Additionally, participants in the MORE group reported clinically significant improvements in chronic pain symptoms, decreased opioid craving and reduced symptoms of depression to levels below the threshold for major depressive disorder.
"MORE demonstrated one of the most powerful treatment effects I've seen," said Eric Garland, lead author of the study, director of the Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development at the University of Utah and the most prolific author of mindfulness research in the world. "There's nothing else out there that works this well in alleviating pain and curbing opioid misuse."
"Remarkably, the effects of MORE seem to get stronger over time," said Garland, who developed MORE and has been studying it for over a decade. "One possible explanation is that these individuals are integrating the skills they've learned through MORE into their everyday lives." Garland also hypothesized that, based on previous research, the sustained benefits might be related to MORE's ability to restructure the way the brain processes rewards, helping the participants' brains shift from valuing drug-related rewards to valuing natural, healthy rewards like a beautiful sunset, the bloom of springtime flowers or the smile on the face of a loved one.
MORE combines meditation, cognitive-behavioral therapy and principles from positive psychology into sequenced training in mindfulness, savoring and reappraisal skills.
Participants are taught to break down the experience of pain or opioid craving into their sensory components, "zooming in" on what they are feeling and breaking it down into different sensations like heat, tightness or tingling. They are trained to notice how those experiences change over time, and to adopt the perspective of an observer. They are also taught to savor pleasant, healthful and life-affirming experiences, amplifying the sense of joy, reward and meaning that can come from positive, everyday events. Finally, participants are taught to reframe stressful events to find a sense of meaning in the face of adversity, to recognize what can be learned from difficult events and how dealing with those experiences might make a person stronger.
Garland explained, "Rather than getting caught up in the pain or craving, we teach people how to step back and observe that experience from the perspective of an objective witness. When they can do that, people begin to recognize that who they truly are is bigger than any one thought or sensation. They are not defined by their experiences of pain or craving; their true nature is something more."
People experiencing both chronic pain and opioid misuse present a significant treatment challenge, since opioid use disorder has been shown to increase pain sensitivity, which in turn promotes further opioid misuse. By simultaneously reducing pain and opioid use, MORE may offer an effective, economical and lifesaving intervention to help halt the ongoing opioid crisis.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220301192410.htm
Exercise may treat long COVID-induced diabetes, depression
March 11, 2022
Science Daily/Pennington Biomedical Research Center
While no medically recognized treatment exists for Long COVID, exercise may break the vicious cycle of inflammation that can lead to developing diabetes and depression months after a person recovers from the virus.
"We know that Long COVID causes depression, and we know that it can increase blood glucose levels to the point where people develop diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening condition common among people with type 1 diabetes," said Candida Rebello, Ph.D., a research scientist at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. "Exercise can help. Exercise takes care of the inflammation that leads to elevated blood glucose and the development and progression of diabetes and clinical depression."
It's unclear how many people suffer from Long COVID. But estimates range from 15 percent to 80 percent of the people infected. Based on those figures, it's possible that as many as 1 million of Louisiana's residents suffer from Long COVID.
Long COVID causes what the Centers for Disease Control describes as "a constellation of other debilitating symptoms" including brain fog, muscle pain, and fatigue that can last for months after a person recovers from the initial infection.
"For example, a person may not get very sick from COVID-19, but six months later, long after the cough or fever is gone, they develop diabetes,' Dr. Rebello said.
One solution is exercise. Dr. Rebello and her co-authors describe their hypothesis in "Exercise as a Moderator of Persistent Neuroendocrine Symptoms of COVID-19," published in the journal Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews.
"You don't have to run a mile or even walk a mile at a brisk pace," Dr. Rebello said. "Walking slowly is also exercising. Ideally, you would do a 30-minute session of exercise. But if you can only do 15 minutes at a time, try to do two 15-minute sessions. If you can only walk 15 minutes once a day, do that. The important thing is to try. It doesn't matter where you begin. You can gradually build up to the recommended level of exercise."
"We know that physical activity is a key component to a healthy life. This research shows that exercise can be used to break the chain reaction of inflammation that leads to high blood sugar levels, and then to the development or progression of type 2 diabetes," said Pennington Biomedical Executive Director John Kirwan, Ph.D., who is also a co-author of the paper.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220311095317.htm
Physical activity may protect your brain as you age
Even just a few more steps a day benefits cognitive function
March 8, 2022
Science Daily/University of Georgia
We all know we should exercise and eat healthy. But doing that isn't just good for maintaining your figure as you age.
New research from the University of Georgia shows that physical activity could help protect your cognitive abilities as you age. And it doesn't have to be intense exercise to make an impact.
"This finding isn't saying, 'If you're older, you need to go out there and start running marathons,'" said Marissa Gogniat, lead author of the study and a recent doctoral graduate in psychology from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "This is saying if you get more steps, if you're moving around your environment a little bit more, that can be helpful to your brain health and keep you more independent as you age."
Exercise improves brain function
Published in Sport Sciences for Health, the study followed 51 older adults, tracking their physical activity and fitness measurements. The participants performed tests specifically designed to measure cognitive functioning and underwent MRIs to assess brain functioning.
They also wore a device that measured the intensity of the wearer's physical activity, number of steps taken and distance covered. The researchers assessed fitness through a six-minute walking test, during which participants walked as quickly as they could to cover the most distance possible within the time limit.
"We've always been told it's good to exercise, but I think this is some evidence that exercise can actually change your brain," Gogniat said. "And that impacts the way you're able to function in your daily life."
Brain networks improve with physical activity
The brain is made up of a bunch of distinct networks. Those networks are in constant communication, sending information to each other.
But different parts of the brain are active at different times. The network that is active when the body is at rest, for example, flips off when a person starts trying to complete a task. At that time, another network kicks on.
While one of these networks is active, the other should be shut off. If it's not, that's a sign that a person's brain isn't functioning as well as it should be.
These networks are the key to being able to perform basic tasks in daily life, such as remembering important information and exhibiting self-control. But as people age, these tasks often become more difficult.
This study was the first to examine how these networks interact with physical activity and fitness to impact how the brain functions.
"This paper is exciting because it gives us some evidence that when people whose brain networks aren't functioning optimally engage in physical activity, we see improvement in their executive function and their independence," Gogniat said. "We're not saying you need to radically change your life.
"Maybe just take the stairs on the way to work. Stand up and walk around a little bit more. That's where you get the most bang for your buck, not crazy, high-intensity exercise."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220308155637.htm
Higher education and language skills may help ward off dementia
March 3, 2022
Science Daily/University of Waterloo
New research has found that people with mild cognitive impairment may not inevitably develop dementia and, in fact, having higher education and advanced language skills more than doubles their chances of returning to normal.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Waterloo, may reassure those with mild cognitive impairment as it contradicts a common assumption that the condition is simply an early stage of dementia. People with mild cognitive impairment show signs of cognitive decline, but not enough to prevent them from performing typical daily tasks. They have been considered at higher risk of progressing to the more severe cognitive decline seen in dementia.
"Possessing high cognitive reserve -- based on education, high academic grades, and written language skills -- may predict what happens years after someone receives a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment," said Suzanne Tyas, a professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at Waterloo and lead author. "Even after considering age and genetics -- established risk factors for dementia -- we found that higher levels of education more than doubled the chances that people with mild cognitive impairment would return to normal cognition instead of progressing to dementia."
The study also found that language skills, whether reflected in high grades in English in school or in strong writing that was grammatically complex and full of ideas, were also protective.
The researchers discovered that almost one-third of 472 women diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment reverted to normal cognition at least once over an average of eight-and-a-half years following their diagnosis, with more than 80 per cent of them never developing dementia.
Almost another third of the total number progressed to dementia without ever reverting to normal cognition, while three per cent stayed in the mild cognitive impairment stage, and 36 per cent died. None of the participants reverted from dementia to mild cognitive impairment.
The researchers also highlighted that reverse transitions are much more common than progressing to dementia in relatively younger individuals who didn't carry a certain genetic risk factor and had high levels of education and language skills.
"We can't do much about age and genetics, so it's encouraging that our findings show that there are other ways to reduce the risk of dementia, such as building cognitive reserve through education and language skills earlier in life," Tyas said.
The study's findings have implications for treatment and research in people with mild cognitive impairment.
"If individuals with higher cognitive reserve are more likely to improve even without treatment, then this needs to be taken into consideration when recruiting participants for clinical trials of prospective treatments and when interpreting the results of these trials," Tyas said, adding there's no cure for most causes of dementia, so prevention is key.
For the analysis, researchers used complex modelling with data drawn from a longitudinal study called the Nun Study, which looked at older, highly educated religious sisters. The participants were mostly homogeneous, with similar socioeconomic status and marital and reproductive history, strengthening the conclusions of this work.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220303095634.htm
Blood pressure medications impact brain function
March 2, 2022
Science Daily/University of Minnesota Medical School
Published in Science, University of Minnesota Medical School researchers found that blood pressure medications have an unanticipated effect on the brain.
The research team discovered that drugs used to treat blood pressure unexpectedly increase the effect of opioids that the brain naturally produces. This can fine-tune the function of a specific brain circuit and counteract the addictive properties of opiates like fentanyl, which are used to treat pain.
"Our findings suggest a new strategy to boost opioid signaling in the brain in a way that is protective and beneficial, with a very low risk of dependence or addiction," said Patrick Rothwell, PhD, an assistant professor of neuroscience at the U of M Medical School and Medical Discovery Team on Addiction.
The study focused on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), which has long been known to regulate blood pressure. However, little is known about the function of ACE in the brain.
Based on the study findings, Rothwell recommends further research on ACE inhibitors, a safe class of drugs used to control blood pressure. ACE inhibitors have the potential to be redesigned to treat brain conditions.
This research was funded by Minnesota's Discovery, Research, and Innovation Economy (MnDRIVE) initiative, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The project was led by Brian Trieu, an MD/PhD candidate working in the Rothwell lab.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220302185942.htm
Physical fitness linked to lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease
February 28, 2022
Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology
People who are more physically fit are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than people who are less physically fit, according to a preliminary study released today, February 27, 2022, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 74th Annual Meeting being held in person in Seattle, April 2 to 7, 2022 and virtually, April 24 to 26, 2022.
"One exciting finding of this study is that as people's fitness improved, their risk of Alzheimer's disease decreased -- it was not an all-or-nothing proposition," said study author Edward Zamrini, MD, of the Washington VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "So people can work toward making incremental changes and improvements in their physical fitness and hopefully that will be associated with a related decrease in their risk of Alzheimer's years later."
The study involved 649,605 military veterans in the Veterans Health Administration database with an average age of 61 who were followed for an average of nine years. They did not have Alzheimer's disease at the start of the study.
Researchers determined participants' cardiorespiratory fitness. Cardiorespiratory fitness is a measure of how well your body transports oxygen to your muscles, and how well your muscles are able to absorb oxygen during exercise.
The participants were divided into five groups, from least fit to most fit. Fitness levels were determined by how well participants did on a treadmill test. This test measures exercise capacity, the highest amount of physical exertion a person can sustain. For people who are middle-aged and older, the highest level of fitness can be achieved by walking briskly most days of the week, for two and a half hours or more per week.
The group with the lowest level of fitness developed Alzheimer's at a rate of 9.5 cases per 1,000 person-years, compared to 6.4 cases per 1,000 person-years for the most fit group. Person-years take into account the number of people in a study as well as the amount of time spent in the study. The case rate decreased as the level of fitness increased, with a rate of 8.5 for the second least fit group, 7.4 for the middle group and 7.2 for the second most fit group.
When researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect risk of Alzheimer's disease, they found that the people in the most fit group were 33% less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those in the least fit group. The second most fit group was 26% less likely to develop the disease, while the middle group was 20% less likely and those in the second least fit group were 13% less likely to develop the disease than those in the least fit group.
"The idea that you can reduce your risk for Alzheimer's disease by simply increasing your activity is very promising, especially since there are no adequate treatments to prevent or stop the progression of the disease," Zamrini said. "We hope to develop a simple scale that can be individualized so people can see the benefits that even incremental improvements in fitness can deliver."
A limitation of the study was participants were mostly white men so results may not be generalizable to other populations.
The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Washington D.C. VA Medical Center and George Washington University.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220228125736.htm
Depression and Alzheimer’s disease share genetic roots
February 17, 2022
Science Daily/Elsevier
Epidemiological data have long linked depression with Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive dementia that affects nearly 6 million Americans. Now, a new study identifies common genetic factors in both depression and AD. Importantly, the researchers found that depression played a causal role in AD development, and those with worse depression experienced a faster decline in memory. The study appears in Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier.
Co-senior author Aliza Wingo, MD, of Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA, said of the work, "It raises the possibility that there are genes that contribute to both illnesses. While the shared genetic basis is small, the findings suggest a potential causal role of depression on dementia."
The authors performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS), a technique that scans the entire genome for areas of commonality associated with particular conditions. The GWAS identified 28 brain proteins and 75 transcripts -- the messages that encode proteins -- that were associated with depression. Among those, 46 transcripts and 7 proteins were also associated with symptoms of AD. The data suggest a shared genetic basis for the two diseases, which may drive the increased risk for AD associated with depression.
Although previous studies had examined AD and depression using GWAS, the current work was made more powerful by using larger, newly available data sets that revealed more detailed information.
"This study reveals a relationship between depression and Alzheimer's disease and related dementia at the genetic level," said co-senior author Thomas Wingo, MD. "This is important because it may explain, at least in part, the well-established epidemiologic association between depression and higher risk for dementia."
Dr. A. Wingo added, "This relationship raises the question of whether treatment of depression can mitigate the risk for dementia. We identified genes that may explain the relationship between depression and dementia here that merit further study. Such genes may be important treatment targets for both depression and reduction of dementia risk."
"The costs of ineffectively treated depression continue to mount. There has been increasing evidence that major depressive disorder increases the risk for Alzheimer's disease, but little insight into this relationship," John Krystal, MD, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, said. "This innovative study, which links genetic risk mechanisms to molecular changes in the brain, provides the clearest link to date supporting the hypothesis that depression plays a causal role in the biology of Alzheimer's disease."
This does not mean that if one has an episode of depression that dementia is an inevitable result. Instead, it suggests that ineffectively treated depression may aggravate the biology of Alzheimer's disease, potentially hastening the onset of symptoms and increasing the rate of functional decline."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220217122344.htm
Exercise can help older adults retain their memories
Pooling data from dozens of experiments let researchers show whose brains benefit the most from exercise
February 17, 2022
Science Daily/University of Pittsburgh
Conducting a meta-analysis of 3,000 patients over 36 studies (carefully vetted from more than 1,200 studies in all), psychologists were able to find that specific exercise helps episodic memory -- 3 times a week for 4 months, with greater improvements among those who are age 55 to 68 years.
We all know exercise is good for us, but that still leaves plenty of questions. How much exercise? Who benefits the most? And when in our lives? New research led by University of Pittsburgh psychologists pools data from dozens of studies to answer these questions, showing that older adults may be able to prevent declines in a certain kind of memory by sticking to regular exercise.
"Everyone always asks, 'How much should I be exercising? What's the bare minimum to see improvement?' " said lead author Sarah Aghjayan, a Clinical and Biological Health Psychology PhD student in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. "From our study, it seems like exercising about three times a week for at least four months is how much you need to reap the benefits in episodic memory."
Episodic memory is the kind that deals with events that happened to you in the past. It's also one of the first to decline with age. "I usually like to talk about the first time you got behind the wheel of a car," said Aghjayan. "So you might remember where you were, how old you were, who was in the passenger seat explaining things to you, that feeling of excitement."
Exercise that gets the heart pumping has shown promise in increasing brain health, and experiments in mice show that it improves memory -- but studies looking at the same link in humans have come out mixed.
Seeking clarity in the muddy waters of the scientific literature, the team pored over 1,279 studies, eventually narrowing them down to just 36 that met specific criteria. Then they used specialized software and no small number of Excel spreadsheets to transform the data info a form where the different studies could be directly compared.
That work paid off when they found that pooling together those 36 studies was enough to show that for older adults, exercise can indeed benefit their memory. The team, including Aghjayan's advisor Kirk Erickson in the Department of Psychology and other researchers from Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Iowa, published their results in the journal Communications Medicine on Feb. 17.
Past analyses looking at connections between exercise and memory didn't find one, but Aghjayan and her team took several extra steps to give them the best chance of finding a link if one did exist. They limited their search to particular groups and age brackets as well as a specific kind of rigorous experimental setup. Another key was focusing specifically on episodic memory, which is supported by a part of the brain that's known to benefit from exercise.
"When we combine and merge all this data, it allows us to examine almost 3,000 participants," Aghjayan said. "Each individual study is very important: They all contribute to science in a meaningful way." Individual studies, however, may fail to find patterns that actually exist because of a lack of resources to run a big enough experiment. The studies individually couldn't find a link between exercise and memory -- it took looking at the whole body of research to bring the pattern into focus.
With that much larger pool of participants, the team was able to show a link between exercise and episodic memory, but also was able to start to answer more specific questions about who benefits and how.
"We found that there were greater improvements in memory among those who are age 55 to 68 years compared to those who are 69 to 85 years old -- so intervening earlier is better," Aghjayan said. The team also found the greatest effects of exercise in those who hadn't yet experienced any cognitive decline, and in studies where participants exercised consistently several times a week.
There are still questions left to be answered. The team's analysis couldn't answer how the intensity of exercise affects the memory benefits, and there's plenty to learn about the mechanism behind the link. But the implications for public health are clear: Exercise is an accessible way older adults can stave off memory declines, benefiting themselves, their caretakers and the healthcare system, Aghjayan said.
"You just need a good pair of walking shoes, and you can get out there and move your body."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220217090610.htm
Weighing up: What’s the bottom line when it comes to weight loss?
March 3, 2022
Science Daily/University of South Australia
When it comes to weight loss, many of us have dabbled in the latest diets. But whether you're cutting carbs or keeping to keto, new research from the University of South Australia shows that diet trends can cost more than your waistline and leave a hefty hole in your hip pocket.
In a new study, UniSA researchers have evaluated the affordability of popular diets, comparing them to the recommendations within the Australian Guide to Health Eating (AGHE), and the Mediterranean Diet, finding that costs of cutting your calories can vary by up to $300 per week.
The research shows that the most cost-effective diet was modelled from the AGHE and adapted for weight loss through calorie restriction. This meal plan included all five core food groups and a range of affordable staple items such as breads, pasta, and legumes, as well as lower amounts of animal products.
The diet plans that were most expensive typically restricted multiple food groups and included premium products such as organic produce, protein supplements, low-carbohydrate replacements, and high protein bread.
In Australia, more than 2.5 million Australians had tried a weight loss diet.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Karen Murphy says understanding the costs of weight loss programs is important, especially when people are facing financial struggles and reduced access to fresh produce amid COVID-19 and current floods.
"In Australia, around 12.5 million adults are overweight or obese. That's two in every three adults, or 67 per cent of our adult population," Assoc Prof Karen Murphy says.
"Not surprisingly, interest in weight loss diets continues to rise, yet very rarely are the associated costs of these programs reported.
"In our research, we assessed the weekly costs of seven different meal plans and found that weekly grocery shopping of entire product units cost between $345-$625, which is substantially higher than more than what the average Australian spends on groceries each week.
"Understanding the costs behind the range of diets on offer is important as the financial feasibility of sticking to these programs may be questionable for certain people, including low-income earners.
"Additionally, there tends to be a misconception that consuming a healthy diet made up of the five key food groups, like the AGHE, is too expensive, which it's really not."
The study showed that some of the more expensive diets absorbed up to 13 per cent of disposable income*.
In addition to costs, UniSA PhD candidate, Ella Bracci, says nutrition is also key to starting a new diet.
"It doesn't matter whether you chose keto or carb-free, weight loss is always linked to calorie intake -- if you reduce the number of calories you consume, you will lose weight," Bracci says.
"Some diets purposely restrict certain food groups -- such breads and pasta -- to help change unhealthy habits. But it's also important to realise that the restrictive patterns of some diets can create unhealthy relationships with food and put you at risk of nutritional deficiency if followed without guidance from a qualified nutritionist or dietitian.
"Healthy eating principles such as those within the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE) and the Mediterranean Diet place an emphasis on fresh produce and staple foods. While an incorrect perception exists that these can cost more, eating a healthy diet doesn't need to break the bank.
"Shop for specials and mark-downs, buy in season or frozen, dried and canned produce, choose home-brand or non-premium products where possible, and buy in bulk where appropriate.
"Weigh up your options wisely and you can reduce your waistline without cutting into your bottom line."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220303112233.htm
Prenatal mindfulness program improves stress response in infants
March 10, 2022
Science Daily/University of California - San Francisco
Infants whose mothers participated in a mindfulness-based program during pregnancy had healthier stress responses at 6 months old, a new UC San Francisco study found.
This is the first known study to show that a prenatal social intervention may improve health outcomes in offspring, as measured by autonomic nervous system responses, said Amanda Noroña-Zhou, PhD, first author of the study in Psychosomatic Medicine.
"It is really well established that maternal stress in pregnancy increases the risk for health problems in the children," said Noroña-Zhou, PhD, a clinical psychologist affiliated with UCSF's Center for Health and Community. "But we haven't had a good understanding of how this process unfolds and of the biological mechanisms underlying it, or whether we can buffer the effects of stress on negative health outcomes."
The researchers studied 135 mother-infant dyads from low-income, racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds who were experiencing high stress in their lives. Infants whose mothers underwent an eight-week mindfulness-based program had a faster cardiovascular recovery from stressful interactions, as well as more self-soothing behavior, than those who didn't.
An ability to "bounce back" from stress is tied to better health outcomes later in life, said Nicki Bush, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics in the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and the senior author on the study.
"There has been so little research on what we can do in the positive lane; it's been mostly about showing the negative effects of prenatal stress," Bush said. "This is the next frontier -- interventions for moms that have positive effects on both mom and baby."
Quick Recovery from a Stressful Event
The study follows one from 2019 showing the same mindfulness intervention reduced stress and depression in mothers, as well as improved their glucose tolerance and physical activity levels.
To elicit the infants' stress response, mothers were trained in the "still face paradigm," whereby the mothers played with their children for two minutes, then held a completely neutral facial expression for two minutes and ignored the babies' bids for attention. They repeated the play-ignore cycle and ended with two minutes of play.
Using electrodes, the researchers collected measurements of the infants' autonomic nervous system activity -- the fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest responses -- during the exercise. Trained observers, who were unaware of treatment status, also coded the infants' behavior responses.
The fight-or-flight response of babies whose mothers had undergone the mindfulness program was more acute when they were being ignored by their mothers and also receded more quickly after the stressor went away than babies in the control group. The treatment-group babies engaged in more self-soothing behavior, such as sucking their thumbs and looking at their hands, as well.
"A strong reaction and quick recovery are healthy, because we want our bodies to be ready for action when something is wrong, then go back to normal easily," Bush said. "The babies whose mothers did not receive the intervention had a more delayed response. They didn't respond strongly until the threat had passed, and then they didn't calm down easily after the threat was over."
Support for a Two-Generation Approach
The team intentionally chose mothers for their research who had a high level of stress due to their life situations, including financial strain and health challenges, to ensure the intervention worked for those who might benefit from it the most, said Bush.
"We hope this kind of data can embolden policymakers and advocates to say, hey, this was an inexpensive, group-based intervention that reduced mothers' depression and stress, and may improve babies' long-term wellbeing at the same time" Bush said.
Such "two-generation" programs that address caregivers and children at the same time are becoming more popular in California. Last year's state budget dedicated $800 million to creating a dyadic care benefit for Medi-Cal patients, which will allow caregivers and babies to be treated for behavioral health needs together. Home visiting programs, in which pregnant and new mothers receive visits from early childhood professionals who provide parenting guidance, is up for a proposed $50 million increase in the 2022-23 state budget.
"Pregnancy is an incredible window of opportunity for both mothers and babies," said Bush. "We could, as a society, save a lot of money while doing the right thing for the next generation."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220310143732.htm