Hardship affects the gut microbiome across generations

Adversity experienced by mothers during their childhood or pregnancy is reflected in their children's gut microbiomes

July 21, 2023

Science Daily/University of California - Los Angeles

A new study has shown that hardship experienced by mothers during their own childhood or during pregnancy is reflected in the composition of their 2-year-old children's gut microbiome. It was previously understood that in rodents, prenatal stress affects microbiomes into adulthood, but how long after birth the effects lasted in humans was unknown. The changes to this community of microorganisms are likely among the ways that hardship affects a child's socioemotional development.

Hardship experienced by mothers during their own childhood or during pregnancy is reflected in the composition of their 2-year-old children's gut microbiomes, reports an international team of scientists led by UCLA psychologists.

The researchers found small to medium changes in the children's microbiomes. The research is the first to document the transgenerational effects of adversity on the human gut microbiome.

A growing body of evidence links the gut microbiome to brain and immune functioning, and according to the researchers, changes to that community of microorganisms is likely among the ways that hardship affects children's socioemotional development.

The study, which is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, builds on previous research in rodents, which has shown that that prenatal stress disrupts maternal vaginal and gut microbiomes. Because babies acquire their first gut microbes passing through their mother's birth canal, mothers' microbiomes form the basis of their offspring's.

Previous research in humans has shown that shortly after birth, stress experienced by the infant while in the womb and the mother's own psychological distress influence the infant microbiome. And while it was known that the effects of prenatal stress on rodent microbiomes persist into adulthood, scientists did not yet know how long after birth the disturbances remain in humans, or whether they affected the next generation.

The study investigated the consequences of maltreatment to mothers during their childhoods, anxiety while pregnant and their children's exposure to stressful life events in 450 mother-child pairs in Singapore when the children were 2 years old. The researchers asked mothers to recall abuse, neglect or other maltreatment they experienced during childhood, and mothers were screened for anxiety during the second trimester of pregnancy.

Researchers also interviewed the children's primary caregivers to learn about stressful events that the children had experienced, and their general behavior and health, during their first two years of life, and researchers collected stool samples from the children. The researchers controlled for family income, which often serves as a proxy for childhood adversity.

Children whose mothers reported more anxiety in pregnancy had microbiomes in which the species of microorganisms had populations of similar sizes, a metric biologists call "evenness," which had not been found before. Typically, the populations of the various species that make up the gut's microflora are "lumpier," with some species being abundant and others less common. In the study sample, however, those differences were less prominent, and populations were of similar sizes.

The gut microbes of children who experienced stressful life events after birth also had less genetic diversity, meaning that the microbes living in each child's gut were more closely related to each other than such microbes usually are.

However, while more experiences of adversity were correlated with less microbial genetic diversity in each child, the amount of adversity did not seem to affect how similar children's gut microbiomes were to each other. There was still variation among the children.

"There are lot of questions around whether more diversity or evenness is better or worse when the gut microbiome is developing during childhood, so we don't know if more is better at 2 years old," said Francesca Querdasi, a UCLA doctoral student and the paper's lead author.

"But many of the species we found to be related to adversity are known to interact with the immune system in some way, suggesting that maybe the way the gut microbiome interacts with the immune system is different after adversity. There's a lot that we need to explore in the future."

The researchers also found some kinds of behavior and mental health problems associated with an abundance of certain species in the gut microbiome. Although none of those species were the same ones related to adversity in this study, the authors noted that some have been associated with adversity in past studies and may perform similar functions as the species that are related to adversity.

The brain-gut microbiome connection develops rapidly during the first two to three years of life, and it is likely that the changes due to adversity demonstrated in the new study have some influence on children's socioemotional development.

A nascent area of study called nutritional psychiatry, which researches how changes to diet could affect mental health, is developing as scientists learn more about the brain-gut microbiome connection.

"The microbiome gets a lot of attention and is very exciting, but it really is just one piece of the large and complicated puzzle of human health," said Bridget Callaghan, a UCLA assistant professor of psychology and the paper's senior author.

"Our study is part of a growing body of research showing the effects of early exposure and transgenerational experience on the microbiome. When we understand how experiences of hardship can influence the gut microbiome, we can then try to manipulate diet, supplements and lifestyle to make positive impacts on an individual's gut microbiome and broader developmental trajectory."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230721113127.htm

Volunteering in late life may protect the brain against cognitive decline and dementia

July 20, 2023

Science Daily/University of California - Davis Health

Volunteering in late life is associated with better cognitive function -- specifically, better executive function and episodic memory. Those are the findings of a new study from UC Davis Health presented today (July 20) at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2023 in Amsterdam.

"We hope these new data encourage individuals of all ages and backgrounds to engage in local volunteering -- not only to benefit their communities, but potentially their own cognitive and brain health," said Donna McCullough, Alzheimer's Association chief mission and field operations officer.

Volunteer activities -- such as supporting educational, religious, health-related or other charitable organizations -- allow older adults to be more physically active, increase social interaction and provide cognitive stimulation that may protect the brain. However, there has been a lack of information on the relationship between volunteering and cognitive function, especially in large, diverse populations.

Yi Lor, an epidemiology doctoral student at UC Davis, and Rachel Whitmer, the study's principal investigator, examined volunteering habits among an ethnic and racially diverse population of 2,476 older adults. The participants are in the Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences Study (KHANDLE) and the Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR).

The study group had an average age of 74 and contained 48% Black, 20% white, 17% Asian and 14% Latino participants. A total of 1,167 (43%) of the participants reported volunteering in the past year.

The researchers found that volunteering was associated with better baseline scores on tests of executive function and verbal episodic memory. This was true even after adjusting for age, sex, education, income, practice effects and interview mode (phone versus in-person).

Those who volunteered several times per week had the highest levels of executive function.

"Volunteering may be important for better cognition in late life and could serve as a simple intervention in all older adults to protect against risk for Alzheimer's disease and associated dementias," Lor said. "Our next steps are to examine whether volunteering is protective against cognitive impairment, and how physical and mental health may impact this relationship."

Volunteering was also associated with a trend toward less cognitive decline over the follow-up time of 1.2 years, but this association did not reach statistical significance.

"You're not in control of your family history or age -- you can't turn back the clock. But you are in control of how you spend your day and life," Whitmer said. "Volunteering is about keeping your brain active. It's also about socializing, which keeps you engaged and happy, and potentially lowers stress."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230720124958.htm

How to Build a Self-Care Routine That Fits Your Busy Schedule

Guest Post by Nicole Rubin

Self-care has become a buzzword that is rightfully gaining more attention. Taking care of your own needs is important to maintain good mental and physical health. However, with busy schedules and tight budgets, it can be challenging to work self-care into your life. But there are ways to do so without sacrificing much time or money. Here, Mind Spa presents some ideas to get you started.

Enjoy Nature More Often

Spending time in nature is a simple yet effective way to engage in self-care. You do not need any equipment or money to enjoy the great outdoors. Nature has a calming effect that can help reduce stress and anxiety. Spending time in green spaces has been shown to improve mood, increase creativity, and boost overall well-being. Take a walk in a park or forest, go for a hike, or simply sit in a garden and soak up the natural beauty around you.

Discover Meditation

Meditation reduces stress and anxiety and increases mindfulness. It is a simple practice that can be done anywhere without any equipment or money. Find a quiet place, close your eyes, focus on your breath, and try to clear your mind. Free guided meditation apps are also available online to help you get started.

Disconnect from Social Media

In today's digital age, it is easy to get caught up in social media and spend countless hours scrolling through feeds. While it may seem harmless, excessive social media use can take a toll on your mental health. Try setting aside a designated time each day to check your accounts and then unplug for the rest of the day. This will give you a break from the constant barrage of information and allow you to focus on other activities that bring you joy.

Express Your Gratitude

Fostering positive relationships is an essential element of self-care that we should prioritize. One way to achieve this is by showing our gratitude towards our loved ones. Try creating custom cards to express your appreciation and showcase your creativity.

 Additionally, taking a few minutes each day to reflect on the good things in your life and expressing gratitude for them can help you feel more connected and fulfilled.

Make Improving Your Sleep a Priority

Good-quality sleep is essential for both physical and mental health. Lack of sleep can lead to fatigue, irritability, and poor concentration. To ensure a better night’s rest, establish a consistent bedtime routine. Avoid electronics before bed, create a relaxing environment, and don’t drink caffeine or alcohol. Although Mind Spa is one electronic worth using. The glasses and headphones create the perfect sleeping environment to guide you into deep sleep right away.

 Prioritizing better sleep will help you feel more rested and energized throughout the day, so invest in a new mattress that provides you with support and comfort. When searching for a memory foam mattress, consider your sleeping positions and pain levels into consideration so you find something that meets your needs. You can even try out your mattress for up to 100 days to make sure it’s the right fit!

Adopt a Better Diet

Eating a healthy and balanced diet is crucial for physical and mental well-being. Nourishing your body with whole foods can help improve energy levels, mood, and cognitive function. Incorporate more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains into your diet. Cut back on processed and sugary foods that can cause energy crashes and mood swings. Making small changes to your diet can have a big impact on how you feel.

Get Rid of Clutter

Clutter can be overwhelming and stressful. It can make it difficult to focus and can even affect your mood. Take some time each day to eliminate clutter in your living spaces. This can be as simple as clearing off your desk or organizing your closet. A clean and organized space can help you feel more positive and focused.

 If you have kids, get them involved. Let them pick out some colorful storage containers and work together to ensure everything has a place. That way it will be easier for them to not just clean up, but organize, after they use items.

Set Limits on Your Time

Establishing boundaries is a challenging yet essential aspect of self-care. Saying no to things that do not serve you is an act of self-love. Set limits on your time and energy and prioritize activities that bring you joy. This can be difficult, especially if you are used to putting others' needs before your own. But establishing boundaries is crucial for maintaining good mental health and well-being.

Find Simple Self-Care Strategies that Work for You

Self-care does not have to be time-consuming or expensive. There are many simple yet effective ways to work self-care into your life. Spending more time in nature, expressing gratitude, and eliminating clutter are just some of the ways you can take care of yourself. Prioritizing self-care is an essential aspect of a healthy and fulfilling life.

Espresso can prevent Alzheimer's protein clumping in lab tests

July 19, 2023

Science Daily/American Chemical Society

Whether enjoyed on its own or mixed into a latte, Americano or even a martini, espresso provides an ultra-concentrated jolt of caffeine to coffee lovers. But it might do more than just wake you up. Research now published in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows that, in preliminary in vitro laboratory tests, espresso compounds can inhibit tau protein aggregation -- a process that is believed to be involved in the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Roughly half of all Americans drink coffee every day, and espresso is a popular way to consume it. To "pull" an espresso shot, hot water is forced through finely ground coffee beans, creating a concentrated extract. This is often used as a base for other drinks, including the trendy espresso martini. Recent research has suggested that coffee could also have beneficial effects against certain neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. Although the exact mechanisms that cause these conditions are still unclear, it's thought that a protein called tau plays a significant role. In healthy people, tau proteins help stabilize structures in the brain, but when certain diseases develop, the proteins can clump together into fibrils. Some researchers propose that preventing this aggregation could alleviate symptoms. So, Mariapina D'Onofrio and colleagues wanted to see if compounds in espresso could prevent tau aggregation in vitro.

The researchers pulled espresso shots from store-bought beans, then characterized their chemical makeup using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. They chose caffeine and trigonelline, both alkaloids, the flavonoid genistein and theobromine, a compound also found in chocolate, to focus on in further experiments. These molecules, along with the complete espresso extract, were incubated alongside a shortened form of the tau protein for up to 40 hours. As the concentration of espresso extract, caffeine or genistein increased, fibrils were shorter and didn't form larger sheets, with the complete extract showing the most dramatic results. Shortened fibrils were found to be non-toxic to cells, and they did not act as "seeds" for further aggregation. In other experiments, the researchers observed that caffeine and the espresso extract could both bind pre-formed tau fibrils. Although much more research is needed, the team says that their preliminary in vitro findings could pave the way toward finding or designing other bioactive compounds against neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230719112644.htm

AI-guided brain stimulation aids memory in traumatic brain injury

July 18, 2023

Science Daily/University of Pennsylvania

AI-guided electrical stimulation in the brains of patients with traumatic brain injury improved memory, a collaborative new study shows. This builds on previous research involving epilepsy patients without traumatic brain injury. Brain injuries can result in profound memory loss, and the current study provides a proof-of-concept for future AI-guided brain stimulation therapies.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has disabled 1 to 2% of the population, and one of their most common disabilities is problems with short-term memory. Electrical stimulation has emerged as a viable tool to improve brain function in people with other neurological disorders.

Now, a new study in the journal Brain Stimulation shows that targeted electrical stimulation in patients with traumatic brain injury led to an average 19% boost in recalling words.

Led by University of Pennsylvania psychology professor Michael Jacob Kahana, a team of neuroscientists studied TBI patients with implanted electrodes, analyzed neural data as patients studied words, and used a machine learning algorithm to predict momentary memory lapses. Other lead authors included Wesleyan University psychology professor Youssef Ezzyat and Penn research scientist Paul Wanda.

"The last decade has seen tremendous advances in the use of brain stimulation as a therapy for several neurological and psychiatric disorders including epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and depression," Kahana says. "Memory loss, however, represents a huge burden on society. We lack effective therapies for the 27 million Americans suffering."

Study co-author Ramon Diaz-Arrastia, director of the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Research Center at Penn Medicine, says the technology Kahana and his team developed delivers "the right stimulation at the right time, informed by the wiring of the individual's brain and that individual's successful memory retrieval."

He says the top causes of TBI are motor vehicle accidents, which are decreasing, and falls, which are rising because of the aging population. The next most common causes are assaults and head injuries from participation in contact sports.

This new study builds off the previous work of Ezzyat, Kahana, and their collaborators. Publishing their findings in 2017, they showed that stimulation delivered when memory is expected to fail can improve memory, whereas stimulation administered during periods of good functioning worsens memory. The stimulation in that study was open-loop, meaning it was applied by a computer without regard to the state of the brain.

In a study with 25 epilepsy patients that was published the following year, they monitored brain activity in real time and used closed-loop stimulation, applying electrical pulses to the left lateral temporal cortex only when memory was expected to fail. They found a 15% improvement in the probability of recalling a word from a list.

But the new study specifically focuses on eight people with a history of moderate-to-severe TBI, who were recruited from a larger group of patients undergoing neurosurgical evaluation for epilepsy. Seven of the eight are male, and Diaz-Arrastia says 80% of people who get hospitalized for traumatic brain injury overall are male.

Kahana emphasizes the importance of addressing TBI-related memory loss, noting, "These patients are often relatively young and physically healthy, but they face decades of impaired memory and executive function."

The researchers' primary question was whether stimulation could improve memory across entire lists of words when only some words were stimulated, whereas prior studies only considered the effect of stimulation on individual words. Ezzyat says this development is important because "this suggests that an eventual real-life therapy could provide more generalized memory improvement -- not just at the precise moment when stimulation is triggered."

The study notes that more work remains before this kind of stimulation can be applied in a therapeutic setting, and scientists need to study physiological responses to stimulation to better understand the neural mechanisms behind improved memory performance. Diaz-Arrastia says, "these are still early days in the field."

"I think eventually what we would need," he says, "is a self-contained, implantable system, where you could implant the electrodes into the brain of someone who had a brain injury."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230718164310.htm

Children's IQs not diminished by concussion

July 17, 2023

Science Daily/University of Calgary

A new study finds concussions don't reduce the IQ of children. Findings may help to reduce parental fears regarding these common and concerning head injuries. Researchers looked at socioeconomic status, patient sex, severity of injuries, concussion history, and whether there was a loss of consciousness at the time of injury. None of these factors made a difference. Across the board, concussion was not associated with lower IQ.

The angst parents feel when their children sustain injuries is surely one of the universal conditions of parenthood. That anxiety is heightened greatly when those injuries involve concussions. But a new study led out of the University of Calgary, published today in the medical journal Pediatrics, may set worried parental minds slightly at ease.

The findings -- taken from emergency room visits in children's hospitals in Canada and the United States -- show that IQ and intelligence is not affected in a clinically meaningful way by pediatric concussions.

The study compares 566 children diagnosed with concussion to 300 with orthopedic injuries. The children range in age from eight to 16 and they were recruited from two cohort studies. The Canadian cohort encompasses data collected from five children's hospital emergency rooms, including Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, along with those in Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Montreal (CHU Sainte-Justine). In the Canadian hospitals, patients completed IQ tests three months postinjury.

The U.S. cohort was conducted at two children's hospitals in Ohio, wherein patients completed IQ tests three to 18 days, postinjury.

"Obviously there's been a lot of concern about the effects of concussion on children, and one of the biggest questions has been whether or not it affects a child's overall intellectual functioning," says Dr. Keith Yeates, PhD, a professor in UCalgary's Department of Psychology and senior author of the Pediatrics paper. Yeates is a renowned expert on the outcomes of childhood brain disorders, including concussion and traumatic brain injuries.

"The data on this has been mixed and opinions have varied within the medical community," says Yeates. "It's hard to collect big enough samples to confirm a negative finding. The absence of a difference in IQ after concussion is harder to prove than the presence of a difference."

Combining the Canadian and U.S. cohorts gave the Pediatrics study an abundant sample and it allowed Yeates and his co-authors -- from universities in Edmonton, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Atlanta, Utah, and Ohio, along with Calgary's Mount Royal University -- to test patients with a wide range of demographics and clinical characteristics.

"We looked at socioeconomic status, patient sex, severity of injuries, concussion history, and whether there was a loss of consciousness at the time of injury," says Yeates. "None of these factors made a difference. Across the board, concussion was not associated with lower IQ."

The children with concussion were compared to children with orthopedic injuries other than concussion to control for other factors that that might affect IQ, such as demographic background and the experience of trauma and pain. This allowed the researchers to determine whether the children's IQs were different than what would be expected minus the concussion.

The findings of the study are important to share with parents, says Dr. Ashley Ware, PhD, a professor at Georgia State University and lead author of the paper. While the Pediatrics research was underway, Ware was a Killam Postdoctoral Fellow at UCalgary, where Yeates was her supervisor.

"Understandably, there's been a lot of fear among parents when dealing with their children's concussions," Ware says. "These new findings provide really good news, and we need to get the message to parents."

Dr. Stephen Freedman, PhD, co-author of the paper, a professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine, agrees. "It's something doctors can tell children who have sustained a concussion, and their parents, to help reduce their fears and concerns," says Freedman. "It is certainly reassuring to know that concussions do not lead to alterations in IQ or intelligence."

Another strength of the Pediatrics research is that incorporates the two cohort studies, one testing patients within days of their concussions and the other after three months.

"That makes our claim even stronger," says Ware. "We can demonstrate that even in those first days and weeks after concussion, when children do show symptoms such as a pain and slow processing speed, there's no hit to their IQs. Then it's the same story three months out, when most children have recovered from their concussion symptoms. Thanks to this study we can say that, consistently, we would not expect IQ to be diminished from when children are symptomatic to when they've recovered."

She adds: "It's a nice 'rest easy' message for the parents."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230717115826.htm

Baby opera: Study finds babies get a kick out of live music

July 14, 2023

Science Daily/University of Toronto

Study findings suggest that even babies feel the impact of being at a live show, through both musicians' interactions with an audience and the social experience of being in a crowd

When infants watch a live performance of a baby opera, their heart rates synchronized and they were significantly more engaged than babies who watched a recording of the same show -- even though the recording was identical to the live version.

"Their heart rates were speeding up and slowing down in a similar fashion to other babies watching the show," says Laura Cirelli, assistant professor in the department of psychology at U of T Scarborough and co-author of a new study.

"Those babies were dealing with all these distractions in the concert hall, but still had these uninterrupted bursts of attention."

The findings suggest that even babies feel the impact of being at a live show, through both musicians' interactions with an audience and the social experience of being in a crowd. Cirelli recalls moments during the performance when a calm would sweep over the babies, and other times when a change in pitch or vocal riff would excite them all.

She says this may offer insights into why humans are hardwired to consume music and attend live shows in the first place.

"If there's something happening that we collectively are engaging with, we're also connecting with each other. It speaks to the shared experience," says Cirelli, director of the TEMPO Lab, which studies how infants and children respond to music.

"The implication is that this is not necessarily specific to this one performance. If there's these moments that capture us, then we are being captured together."

It's well established that socialization is crucial during early childhood development -- an infant's brain is laying the groundwork for future life skills and abilities as it grows. Cirelli says music can play a powerful part in making those important bonds. She points to research finding infants are more likely to socialize with someone after hearing them sing a familiar song or dancing to music with them, and that infants have strong emotional reactions to music and song even before their first birthday.

"We consistently find that music can be a highly social and emotional context within which infants can foster connections to their caregivers, other family members and even new acquaintances," she says. "This audience study shows that even in a community context, infants are engaging with the music and connecting to their fellow audience members."

For the study, published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, researchers examined 120 babies ages six to 14 months as they watched a children's opera performed at a concert hall that doubles as a research facility at McMaster University (61 babies watched in person, the other 59 watched a recorded version).The researchers meticulously broadcast the recording so the performers were at the same size, distance and volume as the live version. The babies' responses were tracked through heart monitors and tablets mounted on the backs of concert seats, and then afterward student research assistants combed through the footage to note when babies were looking at the stage versus when they looked away.

The live performance captured their attention for 72 per cent of the 12-minute show while the recording held their attention for 54 per cent. The live show also had them continually watching for longer bouts of time.

"Even little babies who may or may not have experienced music in a community context before are already engaging more when it's delivered this way," Cirelli says. "That's one question we have as music cognition researchers: What is it about the live experience that's worth it? Why would people go if there's not something fundamental about that live music experience that's above and beyond listening to music by yourself?"

That's not to say babies find virtual performances boring; after the onset of the pandemic, the researchers virtually studied one group of babies as they watched the same recording in their homes over Zoom. Those babies paid about as much attention as the ones who attended the live show -- watching about 64 per cent on average -- but they were more likely to get distracted throughout and have shorter bursts of attention.

"The babies watching at home didn't have the distraction of being in a new place, they were in their comfort zone. But even without distractions the quality of their attention was still not nearly as strong as the audience in the live condition."

The study, which was co-authored by former TEMPO Lab postdoc Haley Kragness, now an assistant professor at Bucknell University, will also feed into some of Cirelli's other work. In a different study, she and a team of researchers are exploring whether a live performance over Zoom has the same impact on engagement as a live performance in person, and whether musicians' interactions with an audience can play a similarly powerful role in capturing attention.

Another study will investigate whether live performances impact their memory of the event and how watching a live performance versus a recorded version affects how they feel about the performer.

"If a baby is frequently brought to these kinds of events, will that shape their foundation for engaging in music and the community later in childhood?" Cirelli says. "It speaks to why we even engage with music at all."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230714113454.htm

Ketamine effective for treatment-resistant depression

July 14, 2023

Science Daily/University of New South Wales

Promising results in a trial of ketamine for severe depression could lead to treatment becoming more affordable.

A low-cost version of ketamine to treat severe depression has performed strongly in a double-blind trial that compared it with placebo.

In research published today in the British Journal of Psychiatry, researchers led by UNSW Sydney and the affiliated Black Dog Institute found that more than one in five participants achieved total remission from their symptoms after a month of bi-weekly injections, while a third had their symptoms improve by at least 50 per cent. The study was a collaboration between six academic clinical mood disorder units in Australia and one in New Zealand and was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

"For people with treatment-resistant depression -- so those who have not benefitted from different modes of talk-therapy, commonly prescribed antidepressants, or electroconvulsive therapy -- 20 per cent remission is actually quite good," lead researcher Professor Colleen Loo says.

"We found that in this trial, ketamine was clearly better than the placebo -- with 20 per cent reporting they no longer had clinical depression compared with only 2 per cent in the placebo group. This is a huge and very obvious difference and brings definitive evidence to the field which only had past smaller trials that compared ketamine with placebo."

How the trial worked

The researchers recruited 179 people with treatment-resistant depression. All were given an injection of either a generic form of ketamine that is already widely available in Australia as a drug for anaesthesia and sedation -- or placebo. Participants received two injections a week in a clinic where they were monitored for around two hours while acute dissociative and sedative effects wore off -- usually within the first hour. The treatment ran for a month and participants were asked to assess their mood at the end of the trial and one month later.

As a double-blind trial, neither participants nor researchers administering the drug were aware which patients received generic ketamine or placebo, to ensure psychological biases were minimised. Importantly, a placebo was chosen that also causes sedation, to improve treatment masking. Midazolam is a sedative normally administered before a general anaesthetic, while in many previous studies the placebo was saline.

"Because there are no subjective effects from the saline, in previous studies it became obvious which people were receiving the ketamine and which people received placebo," Prof. Loo says.

"In using midazolam -- which is not a treatment for depression, but does make you feel a bit woozy and out of it -- you have much less chance of knowing whether you have received ketamine, which has similar acute effects."

Other features of the recent trial that set it apart from past studies included accepting people into the trial who had previously received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

"People are recommended ECT treatment for their depression when all other treatments have been ineffective," Prof. Loo says.

"Most studies exclude people who have had ECT because it is very hard for a new treatment to work where ECT has not."

Another difference about this trial was that the drug was delivered subcutaneously (injected into the skin) rather than by drip, thus greatly reducing time and medical complexity. The study is also the largest in the world to date that compares generic ketamine with placebo in treating severe depression.

Much more affordable

Apart from the positive results, one of the standout benefits of using generic ketamine for treatment-resistant depression is that it is much cheaper than the patented S-ketamine nasal spray currently in use in Australia. Where S-ketamine costs about $800 per dose, the generic ketamine is a mere fraction of that, costing as little as $5, depending on the supplier and whether the hospital buys it wholesale. On top of the cost for the drug, patients need to pay for the medical care they receive to ensure their experience is safe -- which at Black Dog Institute clinics, comes to $350 per session.

"With the S-ketamine nasal spray, you are out of pocket by about $1200 for every treatment by the time you pay for the drug and the procedure, whereas for generic ketamine, you're paying around $300-350 for the treatment including the drug cost," Prof. Loo says.

She adds that for both S-ketamine and generic ketamine treatments, the positive effects often wear off after a few days to weeks, so ongoing treatment may be required, depending on someone's clinical situation. But the prohibitive costs of the drug and procedure make this an unsustainable proposition for most Australians.

"This is why we're applying for a Medicare item number to fund this treatment now, because it's such a powerful treatment.

"And if you consider that many of these people might spend many months in hospital, or be unable to work and are often quite suicidal, it's quite cost effective when you see how incredibly quickly and powerfully it works. We've seen people go back to work, or study, or leave hospital because of this treatment in a matter of weeks."

The researchers will next be looking at larger trials of generic ketamine over longer periods, and refining the safety monitoring of treatment.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230714114752.htm

Those who are smarter live longer, at least among mouse lemurs

July 12, 2023

Science Daily/Deutsches Primatenzentrum (DPZ)/German Primate Center

Being smart pays off, as it allows for more balanced decision-making. However, the origins of these abilities during evolution remain largely unexplored. Only if smarter individuals enjoy better survival and have higher reproductive rates than their conspecifics, improved cognitive abilities can evolve. Researchers from the German Primate Center (DPZ) -- Leibniz Institute for Primate Research have recently examined the link between cognitive abilities and survival in gray mouse lemurs.

The study involved capturing the animals, subjecting them to various cognition and personality tests, measuring their weight, and subsequently releasing them. The findings revealed that the animals that performed best in the cognition tests lived for longer. Additionally, those that were heavier and displayed more exploratory behavior also experienced an increased lifespan. These results suggest that alternative strategies can contribute to an extended lifespan (Science Advances).

Cognitive abilities not only vary among different species but also among individuals within the same species. It is expected that smarter individuals live longer, as they are likely to make better decisions, regarding habitat and food selection, predator avoidance, and infant care. To investigate the factors influencing life expectancy of wild gray mouse lemurs, researchers from the German Primate Center conducted a long-term study in Madagascar.

They administered four different cognitive tests and two personality tests to 198 animals, while also measuring their weight and tracking their survival over several years. The cognition tests assessed problem-solving (reaching food by manipulating a slider), spatial memory (remembering the location of hidden food), inhibitory control (taking a detour to access food), and causal understanding (retrieving food by pulling a string). The first personality test evaluated exploratory behavior, while the second measured curiosity through the animals’ reactions to unfamiliar objects.

Either being particularly smart or particularly explorative – both strategies can lead to longer life

In the study, individuals that performed better in the cognitive tests exhibited less exploratory behavior compared to poorer performing conspecifics. Conversely, more explorative individuals had higher weights, likely due to their ability to find food more easily. The study also found that animals with better cognitive performance, higher weight, and stronger exploratory behavior tended to have longer lifespans. “These results suggest that being either smart or exhibiting good physical condition and exploratory behavior are likely to be different strategies that can lead to a longer lifespan,” said Claudia Fichtel, first author of the study and a scientist at the German Primate Center. “In future studies, we aim to investigate how cognitive abilities translate into behavioral strategies to find food or mating partner.”

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230712165127.htm

 Those who are smarter live longer, at least among mouse lemurs

Juggling multiple young children hinders vigorous physical activity for parents

Adults with multiple kids get 50-80 fewer minutes of vigorous physical activity each week

July 12, 2023

Science Daily/University of Houston

Physical activity is a crucial component of a healthy lifestyle, yet only one in three adults in the United States meets the weekly recommendation for exercise. The struggle to stay fit is complicated even further for parents, who often prioritize their children's needs over their own.

A new study, titled "The Association between Adult Sport, Fitness, and Recreational Physical Activity and Number and Age of Children Present in the Household," reveals that adults with multiple young children engage in significantly less vigorous physical activity compared to those with fewer or no children. The findings have important implications for adults who aspire to be more physically active but struggle to find the time due to their caregiving responsibilities.

Published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the study is based on an analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning from 2007-2016, and included 2,034 adults aged 22 to 65.

The researchers examined the association between moderate and vigorous physical activities and the number and age of children in their household. Among the findings, adults with two or more children aged 0-5 reported 80 fewer minutes of weekly vigorous physical activity compared to those with no children or just one child in this age group. Similarly, adults with three or more children aged 6-17 reported 50 fewer minutes of weekly vigorous physical activity compared to those with no children, one or just two kids in the household. However, there were no significant differences in weekly moderate physical activity regardless of the number of children in the household.

"Parents often face numerous challenges in finding the time and energy to engage in regular physical activity while caring for their children. By understanding these barriers, we can develop targeted interventions to help parents lead healthier and more active lives," said study co-author Bettina Beech, Chief Population Health Officer at the University of Houston, and clinical professor of population health at the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine.

The lead author of the study is Jerraco Johnson, an assistant professor of kinesiology, health promotion and recreation at the University of North Texas.

"Parents typically serve as the primary role models of health behaviors for their children. Finding ways to increase parents' physical activity could potentially influence the health trajectories these young children begin on, especially for those parents with multiple kids," he said.

Other researchers include Ailton Coleman, James Madison University; Jamila Kwarteng, Medical College of Wisconsin; Ahondju Holmes, University of Oklahoma; Dulcie Kermah, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science; and Marino Bruce, University of Houston.

The implications of these findings are significant for interventions and policies aimed at promoting physical activity among parents with multiple children. The study highlights the need for family based physical activity interventions to expand their focus beyond parent-child dyads or triads. Including multiple children in these interventions may have a more significant impact on overall physical activity levels, according to the researchers.

"Workplace wellness programs have been shown as effective avenues for intervention," said study co-author Marino Bruce, director of UH Population Health Collaboratories and associate dean of research at the Fertitta Family College of Medicine. "Parents often spend a majority of their time outside of parenting in the workplace, making it an ideal setting to promote physical activity. By offering incentives, feedback mechanisms and short bouts of physical activity throughout the workday, employers can support parents in achieving their activity goals and overcoming time-related barriers."

Interestingly, the study also found that the impact of children on physical activity did not significantly differ between mothers and fathers, despite previous studies which suggested that mothers might be more affected by parental responsibilities. This discrepancy could be attributed to the differing measurements of physical activity used in the studies, with the current research relying on self-reported sport, fitness and recreational activities.

The researchers note that further research is needed to explore this relationship among parents with children of various ages. The study's findings underscore the importance of addressing the specific needs of parents with multiple children to promote a healthier and more active population.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230712165203.htm

High-quality sleep promotes resilience to depression and anxiety

July 13, 2023

Science Daily/University of York

Research has shown quality sleep can help bolster resilience to depression and anxiety.

The study, led by researchers at the University of York, highlights that chronic stress is a major risk factor for a number of mental health disorders, including depression and pathological anxiety, but high-quality sleep and coping strategies -- such as the ability to reframe a situation to see the positive side -- can help to prevent poor mental health when faced with negative or stressful experiences.

The research studied data from over 600 participants during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 -- an extended stressful period of time. They aimed to test the theory that coping strategies supported positive mental health outcomes, which could be strengthened by high-quality sleep.

Emma Sullivan, PhD student from the Department of Psychology at the University of York, said: "As the COVID-19 pandemic has been a prolonged period of stress for people across the entire world, it offered us with a unique context with which to address our research questions.

"This is the first study to investigate the ways in which positive coping strategies and sleep quality influence depression and anxiety when experiencing a real-world chronic stressor. We found that better sleep quality was associated with fewer symptoms of both depression and anxiety during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"These findings highlight the importance of targeting both positive coping strategies and sleep quality when enduring periods of chronic stress."

The team analysed data from the Boston College Daily Sleep and Well-being Survey where participants regularly self-reported their sleep quality and mental well-being during the pandemic.

They also completed a baseline demographic survey to obtain information such as their age, gender and ethnicity. As well as collecting information on participants' sleep and mental well-being, the surveys also collected a wealth of additional information such as participants' alcohol consumption, their quarantine status and physical activity levels.

Dr Scott Cairney, PhD supervisor on the project from the Department of Psychology at the University of York, said: "We have known for a long time that high-quality sleep is associated with better health and wellbeing outcomes, but we wanted to know whether this would change if sleep and coping strategies were put under intense and prolonged periods of stress, as it was for so many during the pandemic."

"We found that sleep plays a hugely important role in the management of chronic stress and can sustain well-being over a long period of time, reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230713141922.htm

Social isolation linked to lower brain volume

July 12, 2023

Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology

Older people who have little social contact with others may be more likely to have loss of overall brain volume, and in areas of the brain affected by dementia, than people with more frequent social contact, according to a study published in the July 12, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study does not prove that social isolation causes brain shrinkage; it only shows an association.

"Social isolation is a growing problem for older adults," said study author Toshiharu Ninomiya, MD, PhD, of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. "These results suggest that providing support for people to help them start and maintain their connections to others may be beneficial for preventing brain atrophy and the development of dementia."

The study involved 8,896 people with an average age of 73 who did not have dementia. They had MRI brain scans and health exams. To determine social contact, people were asked one question: How often are you in contact with relatives or friends who do not live with you (e.g., meeting or talking on the phone)? The choices for answering were every day, several times a week, several times a month and seldom.

The people with the lowest amount of social contact had overall brain volume that was significantly lower than those with the most social contact. The total brain volume, or the sum of white and grey matter, as a percentage of the total intracranial volume, or the volume within the cranium, including the brain, meninges, and cerebrospinal fluid, was 67.3% in the lowest contact group compared to 67.8% in the highest contact group. They also had lower volumes in areas of the brain such as the hippocampus and amygdala that play a role in memory and are affected by dementia.

The researchers took into account other factors that could affect brain volume, such as age, diabetes, smoking and exercise.

The socially isolated people also had more small areas of damage in the brain, called white matter lesions, than the people with frequent social contact. The percentage of intracranial volume made up of white matter lesions was 0.30 for the socially isolated group, compared to 0.26 for the most socially connected group.

The researchers found that symptoms of depression partly explained the relationship between social isolation and brain volumes. However, symptoms of depression accounted for only 15% to 29% of the association.

"While this study is a snapshot in time and does not determine that social isolation causes brain atrophy, some studies have shown that exposing older people to socially stimulating groups stopped or even reversed declines in brain volume and improved thinking and memory skills, so it's possible that interventions to improve people's social isolation could prevent brain volume loss and the dementia that often follows," Ninomiya said.

Since the study involved only older Japanese people, a limitation is that the findings may not be generalizable to people of other ethnicities and younger people.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230712165229.htm

Lower levels of physical activity can protect against depression among older adults

Major new study shows even moderate daily activity can lower risk of depressive symptoms

July 11, 2023

Science Daily/University of Limerick

Brand new research from University of Limerick in Ireland has revealed that even moderate daily physical activity can reduce the risk of depression.

The new study, conducted by physical activity and mental health experts at University of Limerick and Trinity College Dublin, has shown that a physical activity dose equivalent to just 20 minutes a day (for five days a week) of moderate-intensity physical activity, like brisk walking, was linked with less risk of depressive symptoms and odds of major depression.

The study, funded by Ireland's Health Research Board, has just been published in the JAMA Network Open journal.

Depression is unfortunately increasingly common among older adults, and has significant risk factors for major chronic conditions, including cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease and chronic pain, and increased risk of death and suicide.

Depression causes over 5-10% of the burden of all diseases in Europe and the economic cost in the United States alone is estimated to be over $210.5 billion. Identifying potentially easy and low-cost health and lifestyle solutions that could reduce the risk of depression remains a top priority.

Recent research has shown moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was linked with benefits for depression.

"However," explained Dr Eamon Laird, lead author on the paper and a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at UL, "there is no agreement on how much physical activity is protective for depression overall, or how this may vary among adults with disease.

"For this work, we used 10 years of data from the Irish Longitudinal Study On Ageing which included information on depression, MVPA, and other key health-related variables such as disease, lifestyle factors and socio-economic status.

"We sought to identify the lowest dose of MVPA associated with protection against Major Depression and depressive symptoms and the extent to which this varied based on the presence of chronic disease," added Dr Laird.

Key findings from the study include:

• A physical activity dose equivalent to 20 minutes a day of MVPA (brisk walking) for five days per week was associated with a 16% lower rate of depressive symptoms and 43% lower odds of Major Depression

• A dose-response effect was found, such that more MVPA was associated with greater protection for Depression;

- Specifically, doses equivalent to ~30 minutes a day of MVPA were associated with 7% lower risk of depressive symptoms and 44% lower odds of Major Depression;

- Doses equivalent to ~60 minutes a day of MVPA were associated with: 16% lower risk of depressive symptoms and 41% lower odds of Major Depression;

- Doses equivalent to ~120 minutes a day of MVPA were associated with: 23% lower risk depressive symptoms and 49% lower odds of Major Depression

• These findings remained significant even after controlling for relevant health-related factors like biological sex, education, age, smoking and alcohol, obesity, antidepressant use and time.

• These findings were also materially the same for older adults with and without a chronic illness.

According to Dr Laird: "This study is very relevant given the high prevalence of depression in our increasing older adult population. Physical activity at lower doses than World Health Organization recommendations for overall health may offer protection against depressive symptoms and Major Depression -- at minimum, try to engage in 20 minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity at least five days per week, with more benefits seen at higher doses.

"Try and build it into a routine with hobbies or activities you enjoy and trying to do it with others as social interactions particularly with activity can also have mental health benefits. Remember that it is one component, and that nutrition and healthy lifestyle will also give additive benefits in addition to the physical activity."

Dr Matthew Herring, a Senior Lecturer and Investigator in the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre at UL and Principal Investigator of this HRB-funded research, added: "The current findings have significant implications in highlighting that significant antidepressant benefits appear to be associated with doses of physical activity that are lower than current World Health Organization recommendations for overall health, though greater doses were associated with stronger protection.

"We are clearly not advocating for lower physical activity among the older adult population, but findings suggest that the largest improvements in protection against depression among older adults may be made by engaging inactive older adults in physical activity even at doses below those recommended for overall health."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230711133208.htm

Online searches point to growing prevalence of nature-related phobias in urban populations

July 11, 2023

Science Daily/University of Turku

According to a new study led by the University of Turku in Finland, internet searches indicate a growing prevalence of various biophobias across the world. Countries with larger urban populations show interest in a broader range of nature-related phobias, supporting the idea that urban living may be linked with fear and disgust towards nature.

The renowned naturalist E. O. Wilson proposed the idea that humans have an innate instinct to connect with nature and other lifeforms, a concept that is generally referred to as biophilia. However, many people also show the opposite reaction, manifesting an instinctive and sometimes even irrational fear towards certain organisms or elements of nature. Arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) are generally considered among the most common forms of specific phobias in the realm of nature-related phobias, or biophobias.

"Some forms of biophobia are considered to have an evolutionary utility, as they would have helped our ancestors avoid encounters with potentially harmful organisms, but many people also exhibit fearful responses towards organisms that pose no tangible threat, potentially leading to excessive anxiety and avoidance of interactions with nature" says Dr Stefano Mammola, an ecologist from the Italian National Research Council and co-author of the study. "Nature-related phobias are thought to be increasing in modern societies, and while some researchers have proposed this change may be linked to a growing disconnection from nature due to urban living, the extent and drivers of such changes remain poorly understood."

This situation is partly driven by the fact that information on the prevalence of biophobias in modern populations is scarce. To address this challenge, the researchers turned to another source of information -- internet searches.

"The internet has become a prime source of information for almost any aspect of our daily lives, and it is plausible that people suffering from a form of biophobia may use the internet to assess their condition and identify ways to cope with it," argues lead author, Dr Ricardo Correia, who is an Assistant Professor at the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku in Finland.

The authors assessed internet search interest for 25 different forms of biophobia, and for another set of 25 other phobias unrelated with nature as a comparison group. Indeed, the authors found that interest in biophobias is increasing worldwide for 17 of the 25 biophobias, albeit at a slower pace than what was observed for other specific phobias for which searches are also increasing. Importantly, the number of biophobias with recorded search interest on a country level was positively associated with the number of venomous species in the country and the proportion of the country's population living in urban areas, but negatively associated with the growth of urban population in the country.

"Our results suggest that a wider prevalence of various biophobias is found in countries that have large and long-established urban populations" says Dr. Correia. "These results support earlier hypotheses suggesting a link between urban living and a disconnection with nature, driven by the extinction of natural experiences. This is ultimately reflected in fear and disgust towards other lifeforms. These reactions can negatively affect people's well-being, but also have consequences for how people perceive and support the preservation of nature in their surroundings."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230711133203.htm

You're not getting sleepy: Six myths and misconceptions about hypnosis from an expert

July 11, 2023

Science Daily/Binghamton University

A strange mystic swings a pocket watch back and forth, repeating the phrase "You're getting sleepy, very sleepy," giving them absolute command over their subject. That's not how hypnotism really works, but it's the way it's often depicted in pop culture. Even some clinicians and hypnosis educators propagate harmful myths about hypnosis.

Steven Jay Lynn, a professor of psychology at Binghamton University, State University of New York, is an expert on hypnosis who has made major contributions to the judicial system for his insight on the practice. Lynn believes that hypnosis has many useful clinical applications, but that myths keep it from being utilized to its full potential.

In a recent paper published in BJPsych Advances, "Reconciling myths and misconceptions about hypnosis with scientific evidence," he and his colleagues, Madeline Stein and Devin Terhune from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College, addressed a number of errors and misconceptions regarding the characteristics and practice of hypnosis. These are a few of the common myths that are widely believed and commonly circulated in popular culture.

Hypnotized people can't resist suggestions

A deeply hypnotized person is believed to display "blind obedience," going along automatically with whatever the hypnotist suggests. Yet individuals do not lose control over their actions during hypnosis -- contrary to the notion the media reinforces that hypnosis is something done to you and that hypnosis can be used to control someone. In fact, people can resist and even oppose hypnotic suggestions. Their experience of control during hypnosis depends on their intentions and expectations regarding whether or not they retain voluntary control.

Hypnosis is a "special state"

Hypnosis is often mischaracterized as a "special state" where defense mechanisms are reduced and a "unique state of physical relaxation and conscious unconsciousness' allows us to 'enter our subconscious depths through hypnosis. However, people can respond to hypnotic suggestions even while they are alert and on an exercise bicycle. Aside from being a contradiction in terms, 'conscious unconsciousness' is an inaccurate depiction, because during hypnosis even the most highly suggestible individuals remain fully conscious and cognizant of their surroundings. It is more accurate to consider hypnosis as a set of procedures in which verbal suggestions are used to modulate awareness, perception and cognition, rather than to unnecessarily invoke 'special states.'

People are either hypnotizable or they are not

People's responsiveness to hypnosis can be relatively stable over time. Yet it is inaccurate to assume that people are either hypnotizable or not. People vary greatly in their responsiveness and often respond to some suggestions but not others. Still, most people are sufficiently hypnotizable to reap substantial benefits from therapeutic suggestions.

Responsiveness to suggestions reflects nothing more than compliance or faking

Suggested behaviors during hypnosis can seem so much a departure from the mundane that questions inevitably arise regarding whether hypnotic responses are genuine. However, neuroimaging studies reveal that the effects of hypnotic suggestions activate brain regions (e.g, visual processing) consistent with suggested events (e.g., hallucinating an object).These findings provide convincing evidence that hypnotic effects are represented at the neurophysiological level consistent with what people report.

Hypnotic methods require great skill to administer

One popular misconception is that of the mesmerist, or magician-like hypnotist with special powers of influence who can "hypnotize" anyone. This widespread idea is pure myth; in actuality, administering a hypnotic induction and specific suggestions do not require any special skills or abilities beyond those required for basic social interactions and administration of experimental or clinical procedures, such as the ability to establish rapport. However, hypnosis should be practiced only by professionals trained in the use of hypnosis.

Hypnotic age regression can retrieve accurate memories from the distant past

TV shows and movies often feature people being able to recall extremely accurate memories from a distant past life under hypnosis. But research suggests a contrary view. When researchers check the accuracy of memories of people who are "age regressed" to an earlier time (e.g., 10th century) against factual information from the suggested period, they find that the information is almost invariably incorrect. What people report is mostly consistent with information experimenters provide regarding their supposed past life experiences and identities (e.g., different race, culture, sex). These findings imply that "recall" reflects participants' expectancies, fantasies, and beliefs regarding personal characteristics and events during a given historical period.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230711133126.htm

Gum disease linked to buildup of Alzheimer's plaque formation

Oral bacteria traveling to the brain causes brain cells to become dysfunctional, promoting neuroinflammation

July 10, 2023

Science Daily/Forsyth Institute

Although most people don't associate oral disease with serious health problems, increasing evidence shows that oral bacteria play a significant role in systemic diseases like colon cancer and heart disease. Now, new research from the Forsyth Institute shows a link between periodontal (gum) disease and the formation of amyloid plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

In their paper, "Microglial cell response to experimental periodontal disease," published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, Forsyth scientists and their collaborators at Boston University demonstrate that gum disease can lead to changes in brain cells called microglial cells, which are responsible for defending the brain from amyloid plaque. This plaque is a type of protein that is associated with cell death, and cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's. The study provides important insight into how oral bacteria makes its way to the brain, and the role of neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease.

"We knew from one of our previous studies that inflammation associated with gum disease activates an inflammatory response in the brain," said Dr. Alpdogan Kantarci, senior member of staff at Forsyth and a senior author of the study. "In this study, we were asking the question, can oral bacteria cause a change in the brain cells?"

The microglial cells the researchers studied are a type of white blood cell responsible for digesting amyloid plaque. Forsyth scientists found that when exposed to oral bacteria the microglial cells became overstimulated and ate too much. "They basically became obese" Dr. Kantarci said. "They no longer could digest plaque formations."

The finding is significant for showing the impact of gum disease on systemic health. Gum disease causes lesions to develop between the gums and teeth. The area of this lesion is the size of your palm. Dr. Kantarci explained, "It's an open wound that allows the bacteria in your mouth to enter your bloodstream and circulate to other parts of your body." These bacteria can pass through the blood/brain barrier and stimulate the microglial cells in your brain.

Using mouse oral bacteria to cause gum disease in lab mice, the scientists were able to track periodontal disease progression in mice and confirm that the bacteria had traveled to the brain.

They then isolated the brain microglial cells and exposed them to the oral bacteria. This exposure stimulated the microglial cells, activated neuroinflammation and changed how microglial cells dealt with amyloid plaques.

"Recognizing how oral bacteria causes neuroinflammation will help us to develop much more targeted strategies," said Dr. Kantarci. "This study suggests that in order to prevent neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, it will be critical to control the oral inflammation associated with periodontal disease. The mouth is part of the body and if you don't take care of oral inflammation and infection, you cannot really prevent systemic diseases, like Alzheimer's, in a reproducible way."

This study is the first time that scientists caused periodontal disease with mouse-specific bacteria and could study the effects of same-species oral microbiome on the brain. Having same-species bacteria and cells brings the test closer to replicating what the process looks like in humans.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710180512.htm

In-person mindfulness courses help improve mental health for at least six months

July 10, 2023

Science Daily/University of Cambridge

In-person mindfulness courses help improve mental health for at least six months, study shows. Adults who voluntarily take part in mindfulness courses are less likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression for at least six months after completing the programs, compared to adults who do not take part, a new analysis pooling data from 13 studies has confirmed.

Adults who voluntarily take part in mindfulness courses are less likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression for at least six months after completing the programmes, compared to adults who do not take part, a new analysis pooling data from 13 studies has confirmed.

University of Cambridge researchers looked at participants of group-based and teacher-led mindfulness courses, conducted in person and offered in community settings.

They say the results, published in the journal Nature Mental Health, should encourage uptake of similar teacher-led programmes in workplaces and educational institutions keen to help prevent mental health problems developing in members of their community.

"In our previous work it was still not clear whether these mindfulness courses could promote mental health across different community settings," said lead researcher, Dr Julieta Galante, who conducted the research while at the University of Cambridge. "This study is the highest quality confirmation so far that the in-person mindfulness courses typically offered in the community do actually work for the average person."

Mindfulness in these courses is typically defined as "the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment."

These courses, formally known as mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs), often combine elements of meditation, body awareness and modern psychology, and are designed to help reduce stress, improve wellbeing, and enhance mental and emotional "resilience." They consist of groups of participants led by mindfulness teachers, who promote reflection and sharing over several one-to-two hour sessions.

The body of research into the effectiveness of MBPs to date has been mixed. Cambridge researchers sought to confirm the effect of MBPs on psychological distress -- which encompasses disturbing or unpleasant mental or emotional experiences including symptoms of anxiety and depression.

They pooled and analysed data from 2,371 adults who had taken part in trials to assess the effectiveness of MBPs. Roughly half the participants had been randomly allocated places on mindfulness programmes that lasted for eight weeks, with a one- to two-and-a-half hour session per week and compared them to those that were not through self-reported questionnaires.

The study found that MBPs generated a small to moderate reduction in adults' psychological distress, with 13% more participants seeing a benefit than those who did not attend an MBP.

The researchers found that existing psychological distress, age, gender, educational level and a disposition towards mindfulness did not change the effectiveness of MBPs.

Galante said: "We've confirmed that if adults choose to do a mindfulness course in person, with a teacher and offered in a group setting, this will, on average, be beneficial in terms of helping to reduce their psychological distress which will improve their mental health. However, we are not saying that it should be done by every single person; research shows that it just doesn't work for some people.

"We're also not saying you should absolutely choose a mindfulness class instead of something else you might benefit from, for example a football club -- we have no evidence that mindfulness is better than other feel-good practices but if you're not doing anything, these types of mindfulness courses are certainly among the options that can be helpful."

The researchers conducted a systematic review to select previous studies for inclusion in their large-scale analysis. They obtained complete but anonymised data from 13 trials representing eight countries. The median age was 34 years-old, while 71% of participants were women.

While mindfulness apps are on the rise, researchers remain unsure whether it is the practice of mindfulness that reduces psychological distress, or the fact that courses involve in-person group-work with a teacher present.

"Apps may be cheaper, but there is nowhere near the same evidence base for their effectiveness," said Galante. "Some apps may say they are evidenced based, but they are often referring to trials that are in-person with a teacher and a group."

The effectiveness of smartphone apps, as well as what happens when people continue to practice mindfulness meditation by themselves, will be investigated by Galante, who has recently taken up a new position as Deputy Director of the Contemplative Studies Centre, at the University of Melbourne.

"If you are offered an in-person four- or eight-week mindfulness course in a group setting with a teacher, and you are curious about it, I'd say based on this study, just go ahead and try it," said Galante. "And for organisations wondering about offering these types of mindfulness courses to members of their community -- this research suggests it may be a good investment if their communities express an interest."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710113911.htm

Deep-sleep brain waves predict blood sugar control

July 7, 2023

Science Daily/University of California - Berkeley

Researchers have uncovered a potential mechanism in humans that explains how and why deep-sleep brain waves at night are able to regulate the body's sensitivity to insulin, which in turn improves blood sugar control the next day. It's an exciting advance because sleep is a modifiable lifestyle factor that could now be used as part of a therapeutic and painless adjunct treatment for those with high blood sugar or Type 2 diabetes.

Researchers have known that a lack of quality sleep can increase a person's risk of diabetes. What has remained a mystery, however, is why.

Now, new findings from a team of sleep scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are closer to an answer. The researchers have uncovered a potential mechanism in humans that explains how and why deep-sleep brain waves at night are able to regulate the body's sensitivity to insulin, which in turn improves blood sugar control the next day.

"These synchronized brain waves act like a finger that flicks the first domino to start an associated chain reaction from the brain, down to the heart, and then out to alter the body's regulation of blood sugar," said Matthew Walker, a UC Berkeley professor of neuroscience and psychology and senior author of the new study. "In particular, the combination of two brain waves, called sleep spindles and slow waves, predict an increase in the body's sensitivity to the hormone called insulin, which consequentially and beneficially lowers blood glucose levels."

The researchers say this is an exciting advance because sleep is a modifiable lifestyle factor that could now be used as part of a therapeutic and painless adjunct treatment for those with high blood sugar or Type 2 diabetes.

Scientists also noted an additional benefit besides the potential new mechanistic pathway.

"Beyond revealing a new mechanism, our results also show that these deep-sleep brain waves could be used as a sensitive marker of someone's next-day blood sugar levels, more so than traditional sleep metrics," said Vyoma D. Shah, a researcher at Walker's Center for Human Sleep Science and co-author of the study. "Adding to the therapeutic relevance of this new discovery, the findings also suggest a novel, non-invasive tool -- deep-sleep brain waves -- for mapping and predicting someone's blood sugar control."

The team's findings were published today in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

For years, researchers have studied how the coupling of non-rapid eye movement sleep spindles and deep, slow brain waves corresponded to an entirely different function -- that of learning and memory. Indeed, the same team of UC Berkeley researchers previously found that deep-sleep brain waves improved the ability of the hippocampus -- the part of the brain associated with learning -- to retain information.

But this new research builds on a 2021 rodent study and reveals a novel and previously unrecognized role for these combined brain waves in humans when it comes to the critical bodily function of blood sugar management.

The UC Berkeley researchers first examined sleep data in a group of 600 individuals. They found that this particular coupled set of deep-sleep brain waves predicted next-day glucose control, even after controlling for other factors such as age, gender and the duration and quality of sleep.

"This particular coupling of deep-sleep brain waves was more predictive of glucose than an individual's sleep duration or sleep efficiency," said Raphael Vallat, a UC Berkeley postdoctoral fellow and co-author of the study. "That indicates there is something uniquely special about the electrophysiological quality and coordinated ballet of these brain oscillations during deep sleep."

Next, the team then set out to explore the descending pathway that might explain the connection between these deep-sleep brain waves sending a signal down into the body, ultimately predicting the regulation of blood glucose.

The findings from the team reveal an unfolding set of steps that could help explain how and why these deep-sleep brain waves are related to superior blood sugar control. First, they found that stronger and more frequent coupling of the deep-sleep brain waves predicted a switch in the body's nervous system state into the more quiescent and calming branch, called the parasympathetic nervous system. They measured that change in the body and the shift to this low-stress state using heart rate variability as a proxy.

Next, the team turned its attention to the final step of blood sugar balance.

The researchers further discovered that this deep sleep switch to the calming branch of the nervous system further predicted an increased sensitivity of the body to the glucose-regulating hormone called insulin, which instructs cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream, preventing a deleterious blood sugar spike.

That's particularly important for people trying to back away from hyperglycemia and Type 2 diabetes.

"In the electrical static of sleep at night, there is a series of connected associations, such that deep-sleep brain waves telegraph a recalibration and calming of your nervous system the following day," Walker said. "This rather marvelous associated soothing effect on your nervous system is then associated with a reboot of your body's sensitivity to insulin, resulting in a more effective control of blood sugar the next day."

The researchers subsequently replicated the same effects by examining a separate group of 1,900 participants.

"Once we replicated the findings in a different cohort, I think we actually started to feel more confident in the results ourselves," Walker said. "But I'll wait for others to replicate it before I truly start believing, such is my British skepticism."

The scientists said the research is particularly exciting given the potential clinical significance years down the line. Diabetes treatments already on the market can sometimes be difficult for patients to adhere to. The same is true of the recommended lifestyle changes, including different eating habits and regular exercise.

Sleep, however, is a largely painless experience for most people.

And while sleep is not going to be the single magic bullet, the prospect of new technologies that can safely alter brain waves during deep sleep that this new research has uncovered may help people better manage their blood sugar. That, the research team said, is reason for hope.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230707153826.htm

Board games are boosting math ability in young children

July 7, 2023

Science Daily/Taylor & Francis Group

Board games based on numbers, like Monopoly, Othello and Chutes and Ladders, make young children better at math, according to a comprehensive review of research published on the topic over the last 23 years.

Board games are already known to enhance learning and development including reading and literacy.

Now this new study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Early Years, finds, for three to nine-year-olds, the format of number-based board games helps to improve counting, addition, and the ability to recognize if a number is higher or lower than another.

The researchers say children benefit from programs -- or interventions -- where they play board games a few times a week supervised by a teacher or another trained adult.

"Board games enhance mathematical abilities for young children," says lead author Dr. Jaime Balladares, from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, in Santiago, Chile.

"Using board games can be considered a strategy with potential effects on basic and complex math skills.

"Board games can easily be adapted to include learning objectives related to mathematical skills or other domains."

Games where players take turns to move pieces around a board differ from those involving specific skills or gambling.

Board game rules are fixed which limits a player's activities, and the moves on the board usually determine the overall playing situation.

However, preschools rarely use board games. This study aimed to compile the available evidence of their effects on children.

The researchers set out to investigate the scale of the effects of physical board games in promoting learning in young children.

They based their findings on a review of 19 studies published from 2000 onwards involving children aged from three to nine years. All except one study focused on the relationship between board games and mathematical skills.

All children participating in the studies received special board game sessions which took place on average twice a week for 20 minutes over one-and-a-half months. Teachers, therapists, or parents were among the adults who led these sessions.

In some of the 19 studies, children were grouped into either the number board game or to a board game that did not focus on numeracy skills. In others, all children participated in number board games but were allocated different types e.g. Dominoes.

All children were assessed on their math performance before and after the intervention sessions which were designed to encourage skills such as counting out loud.

The authors rated success according to four categories including basic numeric competency such as the ability to name numbers, and basic number comprehension e.g. 'nine is greater than three'.

The other categories were deepened number comprehension -- where a child can accurately add and subtract -- and interest in mathematics.

In some cases, parents attended a training session to learn arithmetic that they could then use in the games.

Results showed that math skills improved significantly after the sessions among children for more than half (52%) of the tasks analyzed.

In nearly a third (32%) of cases, children in the intervention groups gained better results than those who did not take part in the board game intervention.

The results also show that from analyzed studies to date, board games on the language or literacy areas, while implemented, did not include scientific evaluation (i.e. comparing control with intervention groups, or pre and post-intervention) to evaluate their impact on children.

Designing and implementing board games along with scientific procedures to evaluate their efficacy, therefore, are "urgent tasks to develop in the next few years," Dr. Balladares, who was previously at UCL, argues.

And this, now, is the next project they are investigating.

Dr. Balladares concludes: "Future studies should be designed to explore the effects that these games could have on other cognitive and developmental skills.

"An interesting space for the development of intervention and assessment of board games should open up in the next few years, given the complexity of games and the need to design more and better games for educational purposes."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230707111629.htm

THC use during pregnancy linked to changes in fetal development

July 6, 2023

Science Daily/Oregon Health & Science University

Researchers showed that consuming THC while pregnant could potentially affect development of the fetus and lead to life-long health impacts for offspring.

Oregon Health & Science University researchers showed that consuming THC while pregnant could potentially affect development of the fetus and lead to life-long health impacts for offspring.

The preclinical study was published today in the journal Clinical Epigenetics.

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, a substance growing in popularity and availability in the United States. The prevalence of cannabis use in pregnancy is also rapidly increasing, especially during the first trimester -- a time when the fetus is most vulnerable to environmental exposures -- to mitigate common symptoms like morning sickness. However, the potential effects of prenatal cannabis use on fetal development remain inconclusive, in part due to a lack of safety data. This study aimed to identify the potential long-term health impacts of THC use during pregnancy.

In a non-human primate model, OHSU researchers found that exposing a pregnant subject to THC altered the placental and fetal epigenome -- including the chemical modifications to DNA responsible for gene regulation and expression, that is telling genes what, where and when to do something. Researchers also found that that these changes to gene regulation and expression are consistent with those seen with many common neurobehavioral conditions, including autism spectrum disorder.

"Cannabis is one of the most commonly used drugs and is widely available across the country, so there is a common perception that its completely safe to use," said the study's lead author Lyndsey Shorey-Kendrick, Ph.D., a computational biologist in the Division of Neurosciences at OHSU's Oregon National Primate Research Center, or ONPRC. "The reality is that cannabis still carries many health risks for certain populations, including those who are pregnant. If we're able to better understand the impacts, we can more effectively communicate the risks to patients and support safer habits during the vulnerable prenatal period."

In a model using nonhuman primates, researchers administered THC in a daily edible and compared its effects to a group receiving a placebo. Specifically, researchers evaluated the epigenetic changes in several key areas that indicate healthy prenatal development: the placenta -- the disc of tissue that connects the umbilical cord and uterus -- and fetal lung, brain and heart.

When looking at these areas, analyses showed that THC exposure altered the epigenome, meaning a process in which the information encoded in a gene is turned into a function or observable trait. Genes -- the segments which make up DNA -- are all specifically coded to contribute to different functions of the body and brain, so any impact on epigenetic processes due to drug exposure is concerning, especially during a critical developmental window such as pregnancy.

Researchers found that significant changes involved genes associated with common neurobehavioral disorders, including autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. These conditions are linked to adverse health outcomes in childhood and adolescence, including poorer memory and verbal reasoning skills, and increased hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention.

The research team, which includes Eliot Spindel, M.D., Ph.D., Elinor Sullivan, Ph.D., Owen McCarty, Ph.D., and Jason Hedges, M.D., Ph.D., hopes findings from this study will add to the limited existing literature on THC use during pregnancy, and help guide patient counseling and public health polices focused on cannabis in the future.

"It's not common practice for providers to discuss cannabis use with patients who are pregnant or trying to conceive," said the study's corresponding author, Jamie Lo, M.D., M.C.R., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology (maternal-fetal medicine), OHSU School of Medicine, and Division of Reproductive and Developmental Sciences at the ONPRC. "I hope our work can help open up a broader dialogue about the risks of cannabis use in the preconception and prenatal period, so we can improve children's health in the long run."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230706160116.htm