Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Meet the Class of 2023: UConn Health Graduate Student Emily … – University of Connecticut

Commencement for UConn Health students is May 8. Meet the UConn Graduate School programs at UConn Health commencement speaker Emily Fabrizio-Stover, 26, from Greenwich, Connecticut. She is a graduating Ph.D. student in biomedical sciences in the Neuroscience department at UConn School of Medicine.

Q: Why did you choose UConn Graduate School and what drew you to UConn Health?A: When I was first looking at graduate schools, I knew I was interested in neuroscience research, but wasnt sure exactly what I wanted to do. The umbrella program at UConn Health was appealing to me because it had the flexibility to try new areas of research. Also, I appreciated that the environment wasnt intensely competitive and focused on learning.

Q: Did you have a favorite professor, class or part of the curriculum?A: My favorite class was Systems Neuroscience, because as part of the class we were able to study human anatomy. It made the anatomy really click for me and it was really cool to see what I had previously only seen in diagrams.

Q: What activities were you involved in as a student?A: I am involved in the Graduate Student Organization in multiple positions over the years, including as a yearly representative and currently neuroscience representative. I have also been involved in the Neuroscience Program Committee, Student Behavioral Health Committee, Student Wellness Committee, and Young Explorers in Science. Im very passionate about improving mental health resources for the graduate student community.

Q: Whats one thing that surprised you about UConn?A: My undergraduate university was very small, so I was surprised at how big UConn is and how many students there are.

Q: Any advice for incoming students?A: Its very easy to limit yourself based on what you believe others think of you. Ive talked to a number of incoming graduate students that believe they wont be able to work in the lab they want because they dont have experience in techniques that lab uses. That is most definitely not true. Good professors will understand that you can learn anything if youre able to think critically and logically, which if youre in a graduate program, you can do. So dont limit yourself based on your past experience!

Q: Whats one thing everyone should do during their time at UConn?A: Go to a UConn ice hockey game at the XL center in Hartford. Tickets are free if you are a student and its a lot of fun!

Q: What will always make you think of UConn?A: Whenever I see a husky, I think of the UConn mascot Jonathan the Husky.

Q: What or who inspired you most to enter health care and/or this field?A: Ive always been interested in neuroscience because at its roots is a study of how we as human beings work and because there are so many unanswered questions. Im interested in auditory neuroscience in particular because sensory information is how the brain interacts with the world around it and the auditory system is complex so that many things can go wrong with damage and with time.

Q: What did you love most about your experience here at UConn Health?A: I really enjoyed becoming more competent as a researcher. I also enjoyed interacting with all of the supportive individuals at UConn Health, both within and outside of my department.

Q: Whats it like to be part of UConn, and the significant impact its public service has on the states health, workforce and its people?A: Its been really great to see UConn Healths positive impact on health and Im proud that I can participate in it.

Q: Whats it going to be like to finally walk across the stage and get your graduate degree this May?A: Its going to feel really great knowing that the past five years I have worked really hard to make my impact on the field of auditory neuroscience and that my mentors believe that I have reached a point where I deserve to call myself a doctor.

Q: Whats next after UConn?A: A post-doc position at the Medical University of South Carolina investigating how auditory processing changes with age. My ultimate goal is to continue to work in academia and teach and continue to inspire love for research in the next generations of scientists.

Learn more about Commencement 2023 of UConn Health.

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Neuroscience

CMU Neuroscience Major Researches Mindfulness Meditation – News – Carnegie Mellon University

Aiwen Chen remembers the stress of studying for the college entrance exam as a high school student in China, and the impact it had on her and her friends.

"That's why I'm very interested in stress management, because a lot of my friends were in this same, extremely stressful situation, and a lot of them were having mental health issues," Chen said. "It becomes such a heavy burden."

Chen, a Carnegie Mellon University junior with a major in neuroscience(opens in new window) and an additional major in philosophy(opens in new window) in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences(opens in new window), was the recipient of a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship(opens in new window) (SURF) award that allowed her to conduct research on the effects of mindfulness meditation on stress levels. She was part of a team working to determine the correct dosage of meditation a person needs for optimal results.

Her research was based on the Monitor and Acceptance theory of mindfulness training, which posits that people can be trained to achieve a state of mindfulness in meditation by learning how to experience and better monitor the present moment, with an attitude of acceptance. Participants in the research took 20-minute lessons daily for 14 days.

Her somewhat unusual combination of majors was possible because CMU encourages interdisciplinary learning. "It's like multiple programs or multiple displays intertwine with each other," Chen said. It was this encouragement to study across fields that helped Chen decide on philosophy as her additional major because she said it complements the work she does in her neuroscience major.

"I'm super interested in the brain, how it works and how the physiology of the brain impacts psychological effects in humans," she said. "I'm very interested in the problems of mind and body and how philosophers approach those questions."

Chen said the SURF award allowed her to get hands-on experience, the kind she was hoping for when she decided to attend CMU. "I really wanted to know how research is conducted, the whole process of doing research from scratch," she said.

Her graduate student mentor, Asal Yunusova, helped her learn how to tackle problems and improve her study management and communication skills. Yunusova said that Chen showed great initiative and thought like a research scientist.

J. David Creswell,(opens in new window) the William S. Dietrich II Professor in Psychology, worked with Chen to come up with her core project design of assigning study participants to either zero, seven or 14-day programs, to examine the stress tolerance outcomes.

Aiwen has been building some really innovative research focused on answering just how much meditation training dose is needed for benefits, which is a largely unanswered question in the field. It has been a lot of fun for me to collaborate with her on this work, Creswell said.

Aiwen was very detail-oriented and thoughtful when conducting her research project, Yusunova said. And she worked very diligently putting together on the various experiment scripts and survey measures that we would be administering, and was very diligent with recruiting and running in-person sessions.

Aiwen said shes still trying to decide what she wants to do after she completes her undergraduate study. She is considering possibly going to medical school to be a psychiatrist, or enter a graduate program for clinical psychology to be a therapist.

I want to work in mental health, she said, to best help people relieve the pain of their mental health issues.

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CMU Neuroscience Major Researches Mindfulness Meditation - News - Carnegie Mellon University

Neuroscience

Using Photons as Neurotransmitters to Control the Activity of Neurons – Neuroscience News

Summary: Researchers present a new system that uses photons instead of chemical neurotransmitters to control neural activity.

Source: ICFO

Our brains are made of billions of neurons, which are connected forming complex networks. They communicate between themselves by sending electrical signals, known as action potentials, and chemical signals, known as neurotransmitters, in a process called synaptic transmission.

Chemical neurotransmitters are released from one neuron, diffuse to the others and arrive at the targeted cells, generating a signal which excites, inhibits or modulates the cellular activity. The timing and strength of these signals are crucial for the brain to process and interpret sensory information, make decisions, and generate behavior.

Controlling the connections between the neurons would allow us to understand and treat better neurological disorders, rewire or repair the malfunctions of the neural circuits after being damaged, improve our learning capabilities or expand our set of behaviours. There are several approaches to controlling neuronal activity.

One possible method is using drugs, that alter the levels of the chemical neurotransmitters in the brain and affect the activity of neurons. Another approach is to use electrical stimulation applied to specific brain regions to activate or inhibit the neurons. A third possibility is using light to control neural activity.

Using photons to control the neuronal activity

Using light to manipulate neuronal activity is a relatively new technique that has been explored in the past. It involves genetically modifying neurons to express light-sensitive proteins, ion channels, pumps or specific enzymes in the target cells. This technique allows researchers to precisely control the activity of concrete populations of neurons with higher precision.

There are, however, some limitations. It needs to be delivered very close to the neurons to achieve enough resolution at the level of the synapsis, as light scatters in the brain tissue. Thus, it is often invasive, requiring external interventions. Moreover, the intensity needed to reach the targeted cells can be potentially harmful to them.

To overcome these challenges, a team of ICFO researchers presents inNature Methodsa system that uses photons instead of chemical neurotransmitters as a strategy to control neuronal activity.

The ICFO researchersMontserrat Porta,Adriana Carolina Gonzlez,Neus Sanfeliu-Cerdn,Shadi Karimi,Nawaphat Malaiwong,Aleksandra Pidde,Luis Felipe MoralesandSara Gonzlez-Bolvarled byProf. Michael Kriegtogether withPablo FernndezandCedric Hurth, have developed a method to connect two neurons by using luciferases, light-emitting enzymes, and light-sensitive ion channels.

They have developed and tested a system named PhAST -short for Photons as synaptic transmitters- in the roundwormCaenorhabditis elegans, a model organism widely used to study specific biological processes. Resembling how the bioluminescent animals use photons to communicate, PhAST uses the enzymes luciferases to send photons, instead of chemicals, as transmitters between neurons.

Replacing chemical neurotransmitters with photons

To test if photons could codify and transmit the activity state between two neurons, the team genetically modified the roundworms to have faulty neurotransmitters, making them insensitive to mechanical stimuli. They aimed to overcome those defects using the PhAST system. Secondly, they engineered light-emitting enzymes luciferases and selected ion channels that were sensitive to light.

To follow the information flow, they developed a device that delivered mechanical stresses to the animals nose while measuring, at the same time, the calcium activity in the sensory neurons, one of the most important ions and intracellular messengers.

To be able to see the photons and study bioluminescence, the team had previously designed a new microscope by simplifying a fluorescence one, removing all the unnecessary optical elements such as filters, mirrors, or the laser itself, assisted with machine learning to reduce the noise coming from the external sources of light.

Researchers then tested that the PhAST system worked in several experiments and succeeded in using photons to transmit neuronal states. They were able to establish a new transmission between two unconnected cells, restoring neuronal communication in a defective circuit.

They also suppressed the animals response to a painful stimulus, changed their response to an olfactory stimulus from attractive to aversive behavior and studied the calcium dynamics when laying the eggs.

These results demonstrate that photons can indeed act as neurotransmitters and allow communication between neurons and that the PhAST system allows the synthetic modification of animal behavior.

The potential of light as a messenger

Light as a messenger offers a broad scope for future potential applications. As photons can be used in other types of cells and several animal species, it has wide-ranging implications for both basic research and clinical applications in neuroscience.

Using light to control and monitor neuronal activity can help researchers better understand the underlying mechanisms of brain function and complex behaviors, and how different brain regions communicate with each other, providing new ways of imaging and mapping brain activity with higher spatial and temporal resolution. It could also help researchers develop new treatments, and for example, be useful for repairing damaged brain connections without invasive surgeries.

However, there are still some limitations to the widespread use of the technology, and further improvements in the engineering of the bioluminescent enzymes and the ion channels or in the targeting of molecules would allow controlling optically the neuronal function, non-invasively and with higher specificity and precision.

Author: Alina HirschmannSource: ICFOContact: Alina Hirschmann ICFOImage: The image is credited to ICFO

Original Research: Closed access.Neural engineering with photons as synaptic transmitters by Montserrat Porta-de-la-Riva et al. Nature Methods

Abstract

Neural engineering with photons as synaptic transmitters

Neuronal computation is achieved through connections of individual neurons into a larger network. To expand the repertoire of endogenous cellular communication, we developed a synthetic, photon-assisted synaptic transmission (PhAST) system.

PhAST is based on luciferases and channelrhodopsins that enable the transmission of a neuronal state across space, using photons as neurotransmitters.

PhAST overcomes synaptic barriers and rescues the behavioral deficit of a glutamate mutant with conditional, calcium-triggered photon emission between two neurons of theCaenorhabditis elegansnociceptive avoidance circuit.

To demonstrate versatility and flexibility, we generated de novo synaptic transmission between two unconnected cells in a sexually dimorphic neuronal circuit, suppressed endogenous nocifensive response through activation of an anion channelrhodopsin and switched attractive to aversive behavior in an olfactory circuit.

Finally, we applied PhAST to dissect the calcium dynamics of the temporal pattern generator in a motor circuit for ovipositioning. In summary, we established photon-based synaptic transmission that facilitates the modification of animal behavior.

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Neuroscience

High Blood Pressure in Your 30s Is Associated With Worse Brain … – Neuroscience News

Summary: High blood pressure during your 30s increases the risk of dementia and cognitive decline later in life. Treating hypertension early can help to prevent dementia and Alzheimers disease in your 70s.

Source: UC Davis

Having high blood pressure in your 30s is associated with worse brain health around age 75, especially for men, according to a new UC Davis study.

The research,published this weekinJAMA Network Open, compared magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans of older adults who had high blood pressure between the ages of 30 to 40 with older adults who had normal blood pressure.

The researchers found that the high blood pressure group had significantly lower regional brain volumes and worse white matter integrity. Both factors are associated with dementia.

The research also showed that the negative brain changes in some regions such as decreased grey matter volume and frontal cortex volume were stronger in men. They note the differences may be related to the protective benefits of estrogen before menopause.

Treatment for dementia is extremely limited, so identifying modifiable risk and protective factors over the life course is key to reducing disease burden, said first authorKristen M. George, an assistant professor in theDepartment of Public Health Sciences.

High blood pressure is an incredibly common and treatable risk factor associated with dementia. This study indicates hypertension status in early adulthood is important for brain health decades later, George said.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is blood pressure that is higher than normal. A normal blood pressure level is less than 130/80 mmHg. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that47% of adultsin the United States have hypertension.

The rate of high blood pressure varies by sex and race. About 50% of men have high blood pressure compared to 44% of women. The rate of hypertension is about 56% in Black adults, 48% in white adults, 46% in Asian adults and 39% in Hispanic adults. African Americans ages 35 to 64 years are50% more likelyto have high blood pressure than whites.

The researchers looked at data from 427 participants from the Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) study and the Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR). This provided them with health data from 1964 to 1985 for a diverse cohort of older Asian, Black, Latino and white adults.

They obtained two blood pressure readings from when the participants were between the ages of 30 to 40. This allowed them to determine if they had been hypertensive, transitioning to hypertensive or had normal blood pressure in young adulthood.

MRI scans of the participants conducted between 2017 and 2022 allowed them to look for late-life neuroimaging biomarkers of neurodegeneration and white matter integrity.

A significant reduction in cerebral gray matter volume is seen in both men and women with hypertension but is stronger in men.

Compared to participants with normal blood pressure, the brain scans of those transitioning to high blood pressure or with high blood pressure showed lower cerebral gray matter volume, frontal cortex volume and fractional anisotropy (a measure of brain connectivity). The scores for men with high blood pressure were lower than those for women.

The study joins a growing body of evidence that cardiovascular risk factors in young adulthood are detrimental to late-life brain health.

The researchers note that due to the sample size, they could not examine racial and ethnic differences and recommended interpreting results regarding sex differences with caution. They also note that the MRI data was only available from one time-point late in life. This can only determine physical properties like volumetric differences, not specific evidence of neurodegeneration over time.

This study truly demonstrates the importance of early life risk factors, and that to age well, you need to take care of yourself throughout life heart health is brain health, saidRachel Whitmer, senior author of the study. Whitmer is a professor in the departments ofPublic Health SciencesandNeurologyand chief of theDivision of Epidemiology. Shes also the associate director of theUC Davis Alzheimers Disease Center.

We are excited to be able to continue following these participants and to uncover more about what one can do in early life to set yourself up for healthy brain aging in late life, Whitmer said.

Additional authors of the study include Pauline Maillard, Evan Fletcher, Dan M. Mungas and Charles DeCarli, UC Davis; Paola Gilsanz, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; Rachel L. Peterson, University of Montana, Missoula; Joseph Fong and Elizabeth Rose Mayeda from UCLA; L. Barnes from Rush Medical College; M. Maria Glymour from UCSF.

Author: Lisa HowardSource: UC DavisContact: Lisa Howard UC DavisImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Association of Early Adulthood Hypertension and Blood Pressure Change With Late-Life Neuroimaging Biomarkers by Kristen M. George et al. JAMA Network Open

Abstract

Association of Early Adulthood Hypertension and Blood Pressure Change With Late-Life Neuroimaging Biomarkers

Importance

The association between hypertension developed before midlife and late-life brain health is understudied and, because of the cardioprotective benefits of estrogen before menopause, may differ by sex.

Objective

To assess the association of early adulthood hypertension and blood pressure (BP) change with late-life neuroimaging biomarkers and examine potential sex differences.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cohort study used data from the Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR) and Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) study, which were harmonized longitudinal cohorts of racially and ethnically diverse adults aged 50 years and older from the San Francisco Bay area and Sacramento Valley in California. The STAR was conducted from November 6, 2017, to November 5, 2021, and the KHANDLE study was conducted from April 27, 2017, to June 15, 2021. The current study included 427 participants from the KHANDLE and STAR studies who received health assessments between June 1, 1964, and March 31, 1985. Regional brain volumes and white matter (WM) integrity were measured via magnetic resonance imaging between June 1, 2017, and March 1, 2022.

Exposures

Hypertension status (normotension, transition to hypertension, and hypertension) and BP change (last measure minus first measure) were assessed at 2 multiphasic health checkups (MHCs; 1964-1985) in early adulthood (ages 30-40 years).

Main Outcomes and Measures

Regional brain volumes and WM integrity were measured using 3T magnetic resonance imaging andzstandardized. General linear models adjusted for potential confounders (demographic characteristics and study [KHANDLE or STAR]) were used to assess the association of hypertension and BP change with neuroimaging biomarkers. Sex interactions were tested.

Results

Among 427 participants, median (SD) ages were 28.9 (7.3) years at the first MHC, 40.3 (9.4) years at the last MHC, and 74.8 (8.0) years at neuroimaging. A total of 263 participants (61.6%) were female and 231 (54.1%) were Black. Overall, 191 participants (44.7%) had normotension, 68 (15.9%) transitioned to hypertension, and 168 (39.3%) had hypertension.

Compared with participants who had normotension, those who had hypertension and those who transitioned to hypertension had smaller cerebral volumes (hypertension: =0.26 [95% CI, 0.41 to 0.10]; transition to hypertension: =0.23 [95% CI, 0.44 to 0.23]), with similar differences in cerebral gray matter volume (hypertension: =0.32 [95% CI, 0.52 to 0.13]; transition to hypertension: =0.30 [95% CI, 0.56 to 0.05]), frontal cortex volume (hypertension: =0.43 [95% CI, 0.63 to 0.23]; transition to hypertension: =0.27 [95% CI, 0.53 to 0]), and parietal cortex volume (hypertension: =0.22 [95% CI, 0.42 to 0.02]; transition to hypertension: =0.29 [95% CI, 0.56 to 0.02]). Participants with hypertension also had smaller hippocampal volume (=0.22; 95% CI, 0.42 to 0.02), greater ventricular volumes (lateral ventricle: =0.44 [95% CI, 0.25-0.63]; third ventricle: =0.20 [95% CI, 0.01-0.39]), larger free water volume (=0.35; 95% CI, 0.18-0.52), and lower fractional anisotropy (=0.26; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.08) than those who had normotension.

Holding hypertension status constant, a 5-mm Hg increase in systolic BP was associated with smaller temporal cortex volume (=0.03; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.01), while a 5-mm Hg increase in diastolic BP was associated with smaller parietal cortex volume (=0.06; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.02). The negative association of hypertension and BP change with regional brain volumes appeared stronger in men than women for some regions.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cohort study, early adulthood hypertension and BP change were associated with late-life volumetric and WM differences implicated in neurodegeneration and dementia. Sex differences were observed for some brain regions whereby hypertension and increasing BP appeared more detrimental for men. These findings suggest that prevention and treatment of hypertension in early adulthood is important for late-life brain health, particularly among men.

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Neuroscience

Diet and Lifestyle Program Reverses Biological Age – Neuroscience News

Summary: Diet and lifestyle programs designed to impact DNA methylation resulted in an average decrease in biological aging of 4.6 years, a new study reports.

Source: Impact Journals

ResearchersKara N. Fitzgerald, Tish Campbell, Suzanne Makarem,andRomilly Hodgesfrom theInstitute for Functional Medicine,Virginia Commonwealth Universityand theAmerican Nutrition Associationreported on a case series of six women who completed a methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle program designed to impact DNA methylation and measures of biological aging.

The modifiable lifestyle intervention used by participants in this case series was first investigated in a pilot clinical trial in which participants (all men between the ages of 50-72 years) reduced their biological age by an average of 3.23 years as compared to controls.

The case series reported on herein was conducted to further the investigation of a modifiable lifestyle intervention that was largely the same in other populations; importantly in women.

The team carried out an intervention consisting of an eight-week program. This program included guidance on diet, sleep, exercise, and relaxation, supplemental probiotics and phytonutrients and nutritional coaching.

DNA methylation and biological age analysis (Horvath DNAmAge clock (2013), normalized using the SeSAMe pipeline [a]) was conducted on blood samples at baseline and at the end of the eight-week period.

Five of the six participants exhibited a biological age reduction of between 1.22 and 11.01 years from their baseline biological age.

There was a statistically significant (p=.039) difference in the participants mean biological age before (55.83 years) and after (51.23 years) the 8-week diet and lifestyle intervention, with an average decrease of 4.60 years.

The average chronological age at the start of the program was 57.9 years and all but one participant had a biological age younger than their chronological age at the start of the program, suggesting that biological age changes were unrelated to disease improvement and instead might be attributed to underlying aging mechanisms.

This case series of women participants extends the previous pilot study of this intervention in men, indicating that favorable biological age changes may be achievable in both sexes.

In addition, the investigation of otherwise-healthy individuals, rather than those with diagnosed disease, suggests an influence directly on underlying mechanisms of aging instead of disease-driven aging.

Author: Ryan BraithwaiteSource: Impact JournalsContact: Ryan Braithwaite Impact JournalsImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Potential reversal of biological age in women following an 8-week methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle program: a case series by Kara N. Fitzgerald et al. Aging US

Abstract

Potential reversal of biological age in women following an 8-week methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle program: a case series

Here we report on a case series of six women who completed a methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle program designed to impact DNA methylation and measures of biological aging.

The intervention consisted of an 8-week program that included diet, sleep, exercise and relaxation guidance, supplemental probiotics and phytonutrients and nutritional coaching.

DNA methylation and biological age analysis (Horvath DNAmAge clock (2013), normalized using the SeSAMe pipeline [a]) was conducted on blood samples at baseline and at the end of the 8-week period.

Five of the six participants exhibited a biological age reduction of between 1.22 and 11.01 years from their baseline biological age. There was a statistically significant (p=.039) difference in the participants mean biological age before (55.83 years) and after (51.23 years) the 8-week diet and lifestyle intervention, with an average decrease of 4.60 years.

The average chronological age at the start of the program was 57.9 years and all but one participant had a biological age younger than their chronological age at the start of the program, suggesting that biological age changes were unrelated to disease improvement and instead might be attributed to underlying aging mechanisms.

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Neuroscience

Deaths by Suicide Increase Significantly During the Week of a Full … – Neuroscience News

Summary: Deaths by suicide significantly increase during the week of a full moon, specifically in those aged 55 and older. Researchers also discovered deaths by suicide were more likely to occur between 3-4 p.m. and more people took their lives during the month of September.

Source: Indiana University

For centuries, people have suspected a full moon in the sky to cause mysterious changes in people. Now, psychiatrists at Indiana University School of Medicine have found deaths by suicide increase during the full moon.

We wanted to analyze the hypothesis that suicides are increased during the period around full moons and determine if high-risk patients should be followed more closely during those times, saidAlexander Niculescu, MD, PhD.

Niculescu and his team looked at data from the Marion County coroners office in Indiana about suicides that took place from 2012-2016.

They found deaths by suicide significantly increased during the week of the full moon, with people over age 55 showing an even higher increase.

They also looked at the time of day and months that suicides took place, finding 3 to- 4 p.m. and the month of September to be peak times for suicides.

The team recentlypublished their findings inDiscover Mental Health.

From a clinical perspective and a public health perspective, we found some important take-home messages in this study, Niculescu said.

High-risk patients should possibly be followed more closely the week of the full moon, during late afternoons and perhaps the month of September.

Niculescu and his team previously developed blood biomarker tests for other mental health conditions (anxiety,depression, andpost-traumatic stress disorder) andfor pain. Using blood samples previously taken by the coroner from some of the people, the team was able to see which biomarkers were present.

We tested a list of top blood biomarkers for suicidality that we identified in previous studies, Niculescu said.

The biomarkers for suicidality that are predictive of death by suicide during full moon, peak hour of day and peak month of the year compared to outside of those periods appear to be genes that regulate the bodys own internal clock, so called circadian clock. Using the biomarkers, we also found people with alcohol-use disorder or depression may be at higher risk during these time periods.

Niculescu said the increased light from the full moon could be what leads to the increase in suicides during that period. Ambient light plays a major role on the bodys circadian rhythm, which is the natural 24-hour cycle our bodies follow to regulate when we are asleep and when we are awake. Moonlight could be impacting people at a time when it should be darker.

The effect of ambient light and body clocks in suicide needs to be studied more closely, along with how people sleep and their exposure to light, Niculescu said. Changes in light can affect vulnerable people, in conjunction with other risk factors.

As for the other two peak periods for suicides, Niculescu said the peak of suicides from 3 to 4 p.m. could be related to stressors throughout the day as well as a decrease in light beginning to occur that day, causing a lower expression of circadian clock genes and cortisol.

And in September, many people are experiencing the end of summer vacations, which could cause stress, as well as seasonal affective disorder effects, as daylight decreases during that time of year.

Our work shows the full moon, fall season and late afternoon are temporal windows of increased risk for suicide, particularly in individuals who suffer from depression or alcohol use disorders, Niculescu said.

In the future, Niculescu hopes to study if exposure to screens at night contributes to increased suicidality in people, especially younger people.

Some people have a full moon in their hand every night, Niculescu said. Its an area we absolutely need to study further.

Author: Christina GriffithsSource: Indiana UniversityContact: Christina Griffiths Indiana UniversityImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Temporal effects on death by suicide: empirical evidence and possible molecular correlates by Alexander Niculescu et al. Discover Mental Health

Abstract

Temporal effects on death by suicide: empirical evidence and possible molecular correlates

Popular culture and medical lore have long postulated a connection between full moon and exacerbations of psychiatric disorders. We wanted to empirically analyze the hypothesis that suicides are increased during the period around full moons.

We analyzed pre-COVID suicides from the Marion County Coroners Office (n=776), and show that deaths by suicide are significantly increased during the week of the full moon (p=0.037), with older individuals (age55) showing a stronger effect (p=0.019). We also examined in our dataset which hour of the day (34pm, p=0.035), and which month of the year (September, p=0.09) show the most deaths by suicide.

We had blood samples on a subset of the subjects (n=45), which enabled us to look at possible molecular mechanisms. We tested a list of top blood biomarkers for suicidality (n=154) from previous studies of ours, to assess which of them are predictive.

The biomarkers for suicidality that are predictive of death by suicide during full moon, peak hour of day, and peak month of year, respectively, compared to outside of those periods, appear to be enriched in circadian clock genes.

For full moon it is AHCYL2, ACSM3, AK2, and RBM3. For peak hour it is GSK3B, AK2, and PRKCB. For peak month it is TBL1XR1 and PRKCI. Half of these genes are modulated in expression by lithium and by valproate in opposite direction to suicidality, and all of them are modulated by depression and alcohol in the same direction as suicidality.

These data suggest that there are temporal effects on suicidality, possibly mediated by biological clocks, pointing to changes in ambient light (timing and intensity) as a therapeutically addressable target to decrease suicidality, that can be coupled with psychiatric pharmacological and addiction treatment preventive interventions.

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Deaths by Suicide Increase Significantly During the Week of a Full ... - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Senior Snapshot, Alex Edwards ’23: I Can See the Ties Between … – Wellesley College

Everything ties together for Alex Edwards 23. A neuroscience major, Edwards says she has benefited from the interdisciplinary nature of Wellesleys academic program, which led her to areas she never would have explored otherwise. She says she messed around with classes during her first semester and took advantage of shadow grading by enrolling in courses in archaeology and sociology (which eventually became her minor).

Just being able to explore so widely has been so fascinating, so empowering, and so valuable in facilitating an interdisciplinary education, says Edwards. She loves how her courses have built on one another: I can see the ties between every single class Ive taken.

Edwards, who is from the Bay Area, took a class at UC Berkeley in high school that sparked her interest in neuroscience. Before she applied to Wellesley, she reached out to Barbara Beltz, Allene Lummis Russell Professor of Neuroscience. After an initial video call, Edwards met with Beltz over lunch during her first visit to campus. That kind of professor-student interaction is what really drew Edwards to the College. She remarks that she was impressed by how much professors at Wellesley genuinely cared about students and their success and how much they wanted to help them achieve whatever their goals were. Now, Beltz is Edwards thesis advisor, research advisor, and major advisor, and Edwards has worked in Beltzs lab for three years.

Its incredibly valuable that Ive been able to have my first real lab experiences in spaces that are dominated by women and are so much more gender inclusive.

Alex Edwards 23

Edwards is also grateful for the opportunities that can kind of spring up out of nowhere. She landed an internship in a neuroscience research lab at theNational Institutes of Healthstudying fruit flies, in part because shed already studied fruit flies as part of her regular neuroscience coursework. Her rsums uncommon pairing of classwork and research stood out, thanks to Wellesleys distribution requirements.

Edwards also especially values the gender dynamics of working in a lab at Wellesley. To compete in her high school multivariable calculus class, in which only four out of 30 students were female, she felt she had to prove she had the brains, but at Wellesley, Edwards says, she has never felt that and its the best feeling in the world. Its incredibly valuable that Ive been able to have my first real lab experiences in spaces that are dominated by women and are so much more gender inclusive, she says.

Edwards has learned to not let fear of rejection hold her back from building relationships with her fellow students and professors. In her free time, she likes to challenge herself by climbing with the Babson Olin Wellesley climbing organization and playing sudoku. Though, for Edwards, professor-student relationships have defined her Wellesley experience. She appreciates that her professors have taken the time to get to know her and care about helping her balance her health, life, and academics while still pushing her to meet her goals.

In that vein, Beltz added Edwards name to one of her labs publications based on data Edwards gathered for her thesis project on neuron growth in adult crayfish. Edwards thesis will be the final paper published out of Beltzs lab; Beltz will retire at the end of the semester. After graduation, Edwards plans to move to Chicago to work as a research assistant in a lab at Northwestern University, researching the link between the immune system and Alzheimers disease.

Edwards is grateful for the freedom she has had to mix and match classes at Wellesley, which she says has expanded her understanding of every subject she has explored, from anthropology to religion to neuroendocrinology. She offers this advice to incoming Wellesley students: Take classes way outside of your interests, because you are going to love them. The professors here are so good. Theres no way youre not going to at least learn one super, super cool thing thats going to stick with you.

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Senior Snapshot, Alex Edwards '23: I Can See the Ties Between ... - Wellesley College

Neuroscience

Tiny Eye Movements Are Under a Surprising Degree of Cognitive … – Neuroscience News

Summary: Ocular drift, or tiny eye movements that seem random can be influenced by prior knowledge of an expected visual target, researchers report.

Source: Weill Cornell University

A very subtle and seemingly random type of eye movement called ocular drift can be influenced by prior knowledge of the expected visual target, suggesting a surprising level of cognitive control over the eyes, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine neuroscientists.

Thediscovery, described Apr. 3 inCurrent Biology, adds to the scientific understanding of how visionfar from being a mere absorption of incoming signals from the retinais controlled and directed by cognitive processes.

These eye movements are so tiny that were not even conscious of them, and yet our brains somehow can use the knowledge of the visual task to control them, says study lead author Dr. Yen-Chu Lin, who carried out the work as a Fred Plum Fellow in Systems Neurology and Neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Dr. Lin works in the laboratory of study senior authorDr. Jonathan Victor, the Fred Plum Professor of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine.

The study involved a close collaboration with the laboratory ofDr. Michele Rucci, professor of brain and cognitive sciences and neuroscience at the University of Rochester.

Neuroscientists have known for decades that information stored in memory can strongly shape the processing of sensory inputs, including the streams of visual data coming from the eyes. In other words, what we see is influenced by what we expect to see or the requirements of the task at hand.

Most studies of cognitive control over eye movement have covered more obvious movements, such as the saccade movements in which the eyes dart across large parts of the visual field. In the new study, Drs. Lin and Victor and their colleagues examined ocular drift, tiny jitters of the eye that occur even when gaze seems fixed.

Ocular drifts are subtle motions that shift a visual target on the retina by distances on the order of a fraction of a millimeter or soacross just a few dozen photoreceptors (cones).

They are thought to improve detection of small, stationary details in a visual scene by scanning across them, effectively converting spatial details into trains of visual signals in time.

Prior studies had suggested that ocular drift and other small-scale fixational eye movements are under cognitive control only in a broad sensefor example, slowing when scanning across more finely detailed scenes. In the new study, the researchers found evidence for a more precise type of control.

Using sensitive equipment in Dr. Ruccis laboratory, the researchers recorded ocular drifts in six volunteers who were asked to identify which of a pair of letters (H vs. N, or E vs. F) was being shown to them on a background of random visual noise.

Based on computational modeling, the scientists expected that optimal eye movements for discriminating between letters would cross the key elements distinguishing the letters at right angles.

Thus, they hypothesized that a more precise cognitive control, if it existed, would tend to direct ocular drift in both vertical and oblique (lower left to upper right) directions for the H vs. N discrimination, compared to more strictly vertical movements for the E vs. F discrimination.

They found that the subjects eye movements did indeed tend to follow these patternseven in the 20 percent of trials in which the subjects, though expecting to see a letter, were shown only noise. The latter result showed that the cognitive control of ocular drift could be driven solely by specific prior knowledge of the visual task, independently of any incoming visual information.

These results underscore the interrelationship between the sensory and the motor parts of visionone really cant view them separately, said Dr. Victor, who is also a professor of neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell.

He noted that the direction of fine eye movements is thought to come from neurons in the brainstem, whereas the task knowledge presumably resides in the upper brain: the corteximplying some kind of non-conscious connection between them.

The subjects are aware of the tasks they have to do, yet they dont know that their eyes are executing these tiny movements, even when you tell them, Dr. Victor said.

Studies of this pathway, he added, could lead to better insights not only into the neuroscience of vision, but possibly also visual disorderswhich traditionally have been seen as disorders of the retina or sensory processing within the brain.

What our findings suggest is that visual disorders may sometimes have a motor component too, since optimal vision depends on the brains ability to execute these very tiny movements, Dr. Victor said.

Author: Barbara PrempehSource: Weill Cornell UniversityContact: Barbara Prempeh Weill Cornell UniversityImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Cognitive influences on fixational eye movements by Jonathan Victor et al. Current Biology

Abstract

Cognitive influences on fixational eye movements

We perceive the world based on visual information acquired via oculomotor control,an activity intertwined with ongoing cognitive processes.Cognitive influences have been primarily studied in the context of macroscopic movements, like saccades and smooth pursuits. However, our eyes are never still, even during periods of fixation.

One of the fixational eye movements, ocular drifts, shifts the stimulus over hundreds of receptors on the retina, a motion that has been argued to enhance the processing of spatial detail by translating spatial into temporal information.Despite their apparent randomness, ocular drifts are under neural control.

However little is known about the control of drift beyond the brainstem circuitry of the vestibulo-ocular reflex.

Here, we investigated the cognitive control of ocular drifts with a letter discrimination task. The experiment was designed to reveal open-loop effects, i.e., cognitive oculomotor control driven by specific prior knowledge of the task, independent of incoming sensory information.

Open-loop influences were isolated by randomly presenting pure noise fields (no letters) while subjects engaged indiscriminating specific letter pairs.

Our results show open-loop control of drift direction in human observers.

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Neuroscience

Affective Computing: Computers Have Feelings Too – Neuroscience News

Summary: Researchers turn to affective computing, a branch of artificial intelligence that promotes emotional intelligence in algorithms, to recognize, process, interpret, and simulate human empathy.

Source: Bentham Science Publishing

Affective Computing is an interdisciplinary field that involves Computer Science, Psychology, and Cognitive Science.

Designing affective computing systems aims to simulate and recognize emotions like humans. It can also be considered a part of emotional Intelligence, a subset of Artificial Intelligence.

The best example is the new Apple Watch Ultra which uses sensors to detect body temperature, skin temperature, and other psychological data through its sensors and communicate it to AI systems for health analysis.

Affective Computing is an emerging field that is placed at the intersection of artificial Intelligence and behavioural science. Affective Computing involves studying and developing systems that recognize, interpret, process and simulate human emotions. It has recently seen significant advances from exploratory studies to real-world applications.

Multimodal Affective Computingoffers readers a concise overview of the state-of-the-art and emerging themes in affective computing, including a comprehensive review of the existing approaches in applied affective computing systems and social signal processing.

It covers Affective facial expression recognition, affective body expression, affective speech processing, affective text, and dialogue processing. Moreover, it covers computational models of emotion, theoretical foundations, and affective speech and music processing.

This book identifies future directions for affective computing and summarizes guidelines for developing next-generation Affective computing systems that are effective, safe, and human-centred.

The book is an informative resource for Academicians, professionals, researchers, and students at engineering and medical institutions working in the areas of Applied Affective computing, sentiment analysis, and emotion recognition.

Author: Noman AkbarSource: Bentham Science PublishingContact: Noman Akbar Bentham Science PublishingImage: The image is in the public domain

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Affective Computing: Computers Have Feelings Too - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

The neuroscience of spiritual experiences – Big Think

Patrick McNamara, an experimental neuroscientist, argues that the function of religion is not just to quell existential anxiety or stave off the fear of death, but to disrupt current models of the self and to update those models in relation to the world around us. Religious experiences promote imaginative simulation of other possible worlds, giving us space to update those models.

One core facet of the spiritual experience is what McNamara calls de-centering a powerful technique that promotes self-transformation and makes us incredibly vulnerable when triggered. When held in the context of a ritual, like many religious practices, we can achieve massive personal growth and transcendence. But de-centering isnt only effective within the context of religion: Secular people can re-discover or create their own rich traditions to support the de-centering experience.

The field of experimental neuroscience is uncovering some fundamental aspects of human nature and experience, simultaneously enhancing our understanding but also deepening the mystery. McNamaras research sheds light on the potential benefits of religion and ritual, and highlights how much more is still to be learned about how these processes can be harnessed for positive transformation.

Patrick McNamara: My particular work has uncovered aspects of religiosity that runs counter to standard theories of religion. Most scholars of religion subscribe to the theory that the function of religion is to modulate anxiety levels, or it's to stave off the fear of death. In other words, religion as a security blanket. But that's a side effect of what I think religion is really doing. The real thing that religion is doing is that it's looking for ways to disrupt current models of the self in its relation to the world. So the religious mind is constantly producing these other worlds. And when religion does that, it very interestingly calls into question the fundamental aspects of our world.I think if we want to understand human nature, we have to understand religion.

My name is Patrick McNamara, and I'm an experimental neuroscientist, and I have a special interest in studying relationships of brain activity to religious consciousness. Our identities are constantly under construction. Religions have provided the traditional tools to edit those self models, to update them, to shape them, to create them. Therefore, self and religion are bound up together because there's no way for the brain to function optimally, even normally without those self models. So, we have to understand that the brain is a prediction machine, it's a desiring machine, it's looking to build up models of what we can expect to occur next in the world. What the religious mind is doing is looking for evidence out in the world to disconfirm current models of the world, in particular current self models of the world, the individual, and his or her world. So there's no way that we're gonna thrive or flourish in the world, unless we get very good at updating our self models.

One of the most interesting things about religious experience and religious cognition is it constantly promotes imaginative simulation of other possible worlds. A good prediction machine is constantly spinning out scenarios of what might be, what could possibly be because when we disconfirm those current self models, we then know that our current models are not adequate, and so we gotta update them. My point of view is that religious experiences reflects a neurotechnology to update the current sense of self. It appears to be what nature has evolved for us to make self-transformation as easy as possible. And when you dig into that process, what you find is a very interesting set of cognitive processing routines: what's called a 'decentering.'

The decentering process is composed of four cognitive steps: The first one is the decentering itself where the executive sense of self is taken offline. That self that makes decisions, that forms intentions, that forms goals, wants to accomplish things in the world- gets decentered, gets downregulated. The second step is the individual undergoes what we call a 'liminal experience.' So they're no longer feeling in control, and so their sense of self just drifts, and they're immersed in a sea of images, affects, emotions. They experience these very intense emotional experiences that are labeled spiritual, and then the brain does a search and an updating process; a search for a stronger, better, more adequate self model. And then the last step in the decentering process is when that self model is then basically activated, and a new sense of self emerges from the decentering process.

And that's one of the main accomplishments of religiosity when it's working well. It gives the individual a set of tools to do that updating of the sense of self, so that you have an enriched sense of self, and the individual is able to live a more flourishing and thriving life. These processes that were normally held as sacred within all the world's religious traditions are now entering the secular arenas. And because they're so powerful, they're dangerous. In the wrong hands, it can create fanatics, people who are immune to updating their beliefs, and if you question those beliefs, you get violent reactions. The decentering process is such a powerful neurotechnology. It makes us incredibly vulnerable when we trigger it, so it needs to be held in a ritual process that will take it safely from step one right through the liminal process, the scary liminal process, through the editing, updating process, and then finally the reactivation of an enriched sense of self. Every one of those steps, if they go off the rails, it creates huge psychological and other problems.

So, as we understand this decentering process, a natural next question to ask is: How can we use that kind of knowledge to help people, or to find better ways to live in the world? With regard to people who consider themselves religious, one of the things that they might do is rediscover their own traditions. Things like aesthetical practices, ritual practices, scriptures, meditations, study. Some of the key ingredients of those tools are this decentering process; so religious believers can take that information and rediscover the riches of their own tradition in terms of those tools. Non-religious people, they can take this information regarding the neurotechnology of self-transformation, and find or create tools that promote the decentering process, 'cause it ain't easy, you know? If you try to do it consciously, it's not that easy. What makes me really excited about the field is that it is uncovering some fundamental aspects of human nature, human experience. It's interesting, it's simultaneously enhancing of our understanding of this realm of human experience but also deepening the mystery.

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The neuroscience of spiritual experiences - Big Think