Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

New Study Undermines the Theory That Depressed People Are Just More Realistic – Neuroscience News

Summary: Depressive realism, a theory that has been touted since the late 1970s, states those with depression are more realistic in how they judge the control they have over their lives. A new study says the evidence is not there to sustain this old theory.

Source: UC Berkeley

Are depressed people simply more realistic in judging how much they control their lives, while others view the world through rose-colored lenses, living under the illusion that they have more control than they do?

Thats the general idea behind depressive realism, a theory that has held sway in science and popular culture for more than four decades.

The problem is, its just not true, new research finds.

Its an idea that exerts enough appeal that lots of people seem to believe it, but the evidence just isnt there to sustain it, says Professor Don Moore, the Lorraine Tyson Mitchell Chair in Leadership and Communication at UC Berkeleys Haas School of Business and co-author of the study in the journalCollabra:Psychology. The good news is you dont have to be depressed to understand how much control you have.

Depressive realism

The concept of depressive realism stems from a 1979 study ofcollege studentsexamining whether they could predict how much control they had over whether a light turned green when they pushed a button.

The original research concluded that the depressed students were better at identifying when they had no control over the lights, while those who werent depressed tended to overestimate their level of control.

Moore and his colleagues set out to try to replicate those findings as part of a broader effort to restore trust inscientific research, much of which is woven into the fabric of the scientific community and wider culture. Researchers are revisiting bedrock studies to shore up the most basic of scientific principles: Can the researchand its conclusionsbe replicated?

Why test the theory of depressive realism in particular? Its decades-long infusion into science, culture, and even potential mental health treatment policy makes it important, Moore says. The original study, for instance, was cited more than 2,000 times in subsequent studies or research, according to Google Scholar.

At the top of the list of reasons why we ought to revisit this particular article is its widespread acceptance in both the scholarly and popular literature, says Moore, who studies overconfidence, confidence, and decision-making. That means a lot of people are building theories or policies premised on this effect being true. If its not, its really important to establish that.

Replicating the original study

Moore co-authored the study with University of California Berkeley psychology professor Sheri Johnson and former undergraduate student researcher Karin Garrett, BA 21, along with University of Miami doctoral student Amelia Dev, BA 17.

The authors studied two groups of participants, whom they screened for depression via a questionnaire. The first group of 248 participants came from Amazons Mechanical Turk, an online service that provides paid survey-takers and study participants from a range of backgrounds, in this case all over 18 years old. The second group was made up of 134 college students who participated in return for college credit.

The researchers added or used more modern and robust measurements for the study. For example, they added a mechanism to measure bias, and experimentally varied the amount of control participants actually had.

Participants performed a task similar to that in the 1979 study. In 40 rounds, each chose whether to press a button, after which a lightbulb or a black box appeared. Each was told to figure out whether pushing (or not pushing) the button impacted whether the light came on. After the rounds, each reported how much control they had over the light.

Both the online groups and college student groups were split into three experimental conditions. Each condition experienced different relationships between the button and the light during the 40 rounds.

The participants in the first two conditions had no actual control over the lights appearance, yet saw it illuminate one-quarter or three-quarters of the time, respectively. Participants in the third condition had some control, seeing the light three-quarters of the time after pushing the button.

The researchers were unable to replicate the original studys results. In fact, people in the online group with a higher level of depression overestimated their controla direct contradiction to the original study. That finding may be driven by anxiety rather than depression, the researchers note, an observation Moore says merits further study.

In the college student group, depression levels had little impact on their view of their control, the authors found.

Researchers also tested for overconfidence. Study participants were asked to estimate their scores on an intelligence test. Depression had no impact there, either.

Results undermine the theory

The results, Moore says, undermined his belief in depressive realism.

The study does not suggest that there are benefits to being depressed, so no one should seek depression as a cure to their cognitive biases, Moore says.

Imagine, for example, a manager hiring someone who is depressed because they believebased on the original studythat the person is less likely to be overconfident and will have better judgment. That would be a mistake, Moore says.

While depression may not improve judgment, the issue of how to accurately gauge our level of control in various situations has broader implications throughout life, Moore says.

We live with a great deal of uncertainty about how much control we haveover our careers, our health, our body weight, our friendships, or our happiness, says Moore. What actions can we take that really matter? If we want to make good choices in life, its very helpful to know what we control and what we dont.

Author: Press OfficeSource: UC BerkeleyContact: Press Office UC BerkeleyImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Sadder Wiser: Depressive Realism is not Robust to Replication by Amelia Shepley Dev et al. Collabra:Psychology

Abstract

Sadder Wiser: Depressive Realism is not Robust to Replication

The theory of depressive realism holds that depressed individuals are less prone to optimistic bias, and are thus more realistic, in assessing their control or performance.

Since the theory was proposed 40 years ago, many innovations have been validated for testing cognitive accuracy, including improved measures of bias in perceived control and performance.

We incorporate several of those innovations in a well-powered, pre-registered study designed to identify depressive realism. Amazon MTurk workers (N = 246) and undergraduate students (N = 134) completed a classic contingency task, an overconfidence task, and measures of mental health constructs, including depression and anxiety.

We measured perceived control throughout the contingency task, allowing us to compare control estimates at the trial-level to estimates assessed at task conclusion. We found no evidence that depressive symptoms relate to illusory control or to overconfidence.

Our results suggest that despite its popular acceptance, depressive realism is not replicable.

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New Study Undermines the Theory That Depressed People Are Just More Realistic - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

The Effect of the Color Red on Brain Waves – Neuroscience News

Summary: The color red is not particularly strong in terms of the strength of gamma oscillations it generates in the brain.

Source: ESI

Red traffic lights make drivers stop. The color red produces a signaling and warning effect. But is this also reflected in the brain?

Researchers at the Ernst Strngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience have now investigated this question. They wanted to know whether red triggers brain waves more strongly than other colors.

The study, titled Human visual gamma for color stimuli, is published in the journaleLife.

The research of Benjamin J. Stauch, Alina Peter, Isabelle Ehrlich, Zora Nolte, and ESI director Pascal Fries focuses on the early visual cortex, also known as V1. It is the largest visual area in the brain and the first to receive input from the retina.

When this area is stimulated by strong and spatially homogeneous images, brain waves (oscillations) arise at a specific frequency called thegammaband (3080 Hz). But not all images generate this effect to the same extent.

Color is hard to define

Recently, a lot of research has attempted to explore which specific input drives gamma waves, explains Benjamin J. Stauch, first author of the study. One visual input seems to be colored surfaces. Especially if they are red. Researchers interpreted this to mean that red is evolutionarily special to the visual system because, for example, fruits are often red.

But how can the effect of color be scientifically proven? Or refuted? After all, it is difficult to define a color objectively, and it is equally difficult to compare colors between different studies.

Every computer monitor reproduces a color differently, so red on one screen is not the same as on another. In addition, there are a variety of ways to define colors: based on a single monitor, perceptual judgments, or based on what their input does to thehuman retina.

Colors activate photoreceptor cells

Humans perceive color when photoreceptor cells, the so-called cones, are activated in the retina. They respond to light stimuli by converting them into electrical signals, which are then transmitted to the brain.

To recognize colors, we need several types of cones. Each type is particularly receptive to a specific range of wavelengths: red (L cones), green (M cones), or blue (S cones). The brain then compares how strongly the respective cones have reacted and deduces a color impression.

It works similarly for all human beings. It would therefore be possible to define colors objectively by measuring how strongly they activate the different retinal cones. Scientific studies with macaques have shown that the early primate visual system has two color axes based on these cones: the L-M axis compares red to green, and the S(L+M) axis is yellow to violet.

We believe that a color coordinate system based on these two axes is the right one to define colors when researchers want to explore the strength of gamma oscillations. It definescolorsaccording to how strongly and in what way they activate the earlyvisual system, Benjamin J. Stauch says.

He and his team wanted to measure a larger sample of individuals (N = 30) because previous work on color-related gamma oscillations has mostly been run withsmall samplesof a few primates or human participants, and the spectra of cone activation can vary genetically from individual to individual,

Red and green have an equal effect

In doing so, Benjamin J. Stauch and his team investigated whether the color red is special and whether this color causes stronger gamma oscillations than green of comparable color intensity (i.e., cone contrast).

They also explored a side question: Can color-induced gamma oscillations also be detected by magnetoencephalography (MEG), a method for measuring the magnetic activities of the brain?

They conclude that the color red is not particularly strong in terms of the strength of the gamma oscillations it induces. Rather, red and green produce equally strong gamma oscillations in the early visual cortex at the same absolute L-M cone contrast.

Moreover, color-induced gamma waves can be measured in human MEG when treated carefully, so future research could follow the 3R principles foranimal experiments(reduce, replace, refine) by using humans rather than nonhuman primates.

Colors that activate only the S-cone (blue) generally appear to elicit only weak neuronal responses in the early visual cortex. To some extent, this is to be expected, since the S-cone is less common in the primate retina, evolutionarily older, and more sluggish.

The results of this study led by ESI scientists contribute to understanding how the early human visual cortex encodes images and may one day be used to help develop visual prostheses. These prostheses may attempt to activate the visual cortex to induce vision-like perceptual effects in people with damaged retinas. However, this goal is still a long way off.

Much more needs to be understood about the specific responses of the visual cortex to visual input.

Author: Press OfficeSource: ESIContact: Press Office ESIImage: The image is credited to ESI/C. Kernberger

Original Research: Open access.Human visual gamma for color stimuli by Benjamin J Stauch et al. eLife

Abstract

Human visual gamma for color stimuli

Strong gamma-band oscillations in primate early visual cortex can be induced by homogeneous color surfaces (Peter et al., 2019; Shirhatti and Ray, 2018). Compared to other hues, particularly strong gamma oscillations have been reported for red stimuli.

However, precortical color processing and the resultant strength of input to V1 have often not been fully controlled for. Therefore, stronger responses to red might be due to differences in V1 input strength.

We presented stimuli that had equal luminance and cone contrast levels in a color coordinate system based on responses of the lateral geniculate nucleus, the main input source for area V1. With these stimuli, we recorded magnetoencephalography in 30 human participants.

We found gamma oscillations in early visual cortex which, contrary to previous reports, did not differ between red and green stimuli of equal L-M cone contrast.

Notably, blue stimuli with contrast exclusively on the S-cone axis induced very weak gamma responses, as well as smaller event-related fields and poorer change-detection performance.

The strength of human color gamma responses for stimuli on the L-M axis could be well explained by L-M cone contrast and did not show a clear red bias when L-M cone contrast was properly equalized.

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The Effect of the Color Red on Brain Waves - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

3D Neuroscience Market Demand Analysis and Projected huge Growth by 2030 – openPR

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Key Players in the 3D Neuroscience Market Research Report:Doric lenses Inc., GE Healthcare, Siemens Helthineers, Laserglow Technologies, Mightex Systems, Kendall Research Systems, Neuronexus Technologies, Prixmatic Ltd., Noldus Information Technology, Bioserve GmbH

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Neuroscience

Scientists Hit Their Creative Peak Early in Their Careers – Neuroscience News

Summary: Overall, scientists and researchers are most innovative and creative early in their careers, a new study reports.

Source: Ohio State University

A new study provides the best evidence to date that scientists overall are most innovative and creative early in their careers.

Findings showed that, on one important measure, the impact of biomedical scientists published work drops by between one-half to two-thirds over the course of their careers.

Thats a huge decline in impact, saidBruce Weinberg, co-author of the study and professor ofeconomics at The Ohio State University.

We found that as they get older, the work of biomedical scientists was just not as innovative and impactful.

But the reasons behind this trend of declining innovativeness make the findings more nuanced and show why it is still important to support scientists later in their careers, Weinberg said.

The study was published online Oct. 7, 2022 in theJournal of Human Resources.

Researchers have been studying the relationship between age or experience with innovativeness for nearly 150 years, but no consensus has emerged. Findings, in fact, have been all over the map, Weinberg said.

For a topic that so many people with so many approaches have studied for so long, it is pretty remarkable that we still dont have a conclusive answer.

One advantage of this study is that the authors had a huge dataset to work with 5.6 million biomedical science articles published over a 30-year period, from 1980 to 2009, and compiled by MEDLINE. These data include detailed information on the authors.

This new study measured the innovativeness of the articles by biomedical scientists using a standard method the number of times other scientists mention (or cite) a study in their own work. The more times a study is cited, the more important it is thought to be.

With detailed information on the authors of each paper, the researchers in this study were able to compare how often scientists work was cited early in their careers compared to later in their careers.

As they analyzed the data, Weinberg and his colleagues made a discovery that was a key to understanding how innovation changes over a career.

They found that scientists who were the least innovative early in their careers tended to drop out of the field and quit publishing new research. It was the most productive, the most important young scholars who were continuing to produce research 20 or 30 years later.

Early in their careers, scientists show a wide range of innovativeness. But over time, we see selective attrition of the people who are less innovative, Weinberg said.

So when you look at all biomedical scientists as a group, it doesnt look like innovation is declining over time. But the fact that the least innovative researchers are dropping out when they are relatively young disguises the fact that, for any one person, innovativeness tends to decline over their career.

Results showed that for the average researcher, a scientific article they published late in their career was cited one-half to two-thirds less often than an article published early in their careers.

But it wasnt just citation counts that suggest researchers were less innovative later in their career.

We constructed additional metrics that captured the breadth of an articles impact based on the range of fields that cite it, whether the article is employing the best and latest ideas, citing the best and latest research, and whether the article is drawing from multiple disciplines, said Huifeng Yu, a co-author, who worked on the study as a PhD student at the University at Albany, SUNY.

These other metrics also lead to the same conclusion about declining innovativeness.

The findings showing selective attrition among less-innovative scientists can help explain why previous studies have had such conflicting results, Weinberg said.

Studies using Nobel Laureates and other eminent researchers, for whom attrition is relatively small, tend to find earlier peak ages for innovation. In contrast, studies using broader cross-sections of scientists dont normally find an early peak in creativity, because they dont account for the attrition.

Weinberg noted that attrition in the scientific community may not relate only to innovativeness. Scientists who are women or from underrepresented minorities may not have had the opportunities they needed to succeed, although this study cant quantify that effect.

Those scientists who succeeded probably did so through a combination of talent, luck, personal background and prior training, he said.

The findings suggest that organizations that fund scientists have to maintain a delicate balance between supporting youth and experience.

Young scientists tend to be at their peak of creativity, but there is also a big mix with some being much more innovative than others. You may not be supporting the very best researchers, said Gerald Marschke, a co-author of the study and associate professor of economics at the University at Albany,

With older, more experienced scientists, you are getting the ones who have stood the test of time, but who on average are not at their best anymore.

Other co-authors on the study were Matthew Ross of New York University and Joseph Staudt of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Funding: The research was supported by theNational Institute on Aging, theOffice of Behavioral and Social Science Research, theNational Science Foundation, theEwing Marion KauffmanandAlfred P. Sloanfoundations, and theNational Bureau of Economic Research.

Author: Jeff GrabmeierSource: Ohio State UniversityContact: Jeff Grabmeier Ohio State UniversityImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Publish or Perish: Selective Attrition as a Unifying Explanation for Patterns in Innovation over the Career by Bruce Weinberg et al. Journal of Human Resources

Abstract

Publish or Perish: Selective Attrition as a Unifying Explanation for Patterns in Innovation over the Career

Studying 5.6 million biomedical science articles published over three decades, we reconcile conflicts in a longstanding interdisciplinary literature on scientists life-cycle productivity by controlling for selective attrition and distinguishing between research quantity and quality.

While research quality declines monotonically over the career, this decline is easily overlooked because higher ability authors have longer publishing careers.

Our results have implications for broader questions of human capital accumulation over the career and federal research policies that shift funding to early-career researchers while funding researchers at their most creative, these policies must be undertaken carefully because young researchers are less able on average.

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Scientists Hit Their Creative Peak Early in Their Careers - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Omega-3s Linked to Improved Brain Structure and Cognition at Midlife – Neuroscience News

Summary: Boosting omega-3 fatty acid intake helps to preserve brain health and improve cognition in middle age, a new study reports. For those with the Alzheimers associated APOE4 gene, omega-3 fatty acid intake was associated with greater hippocampal volume and less small vessel disease.

Source: UT San Antonio

Eating cold-water fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids may preserve brain health and enhance cognition in middle age, new evidence indicates.

Having at least some omega-3s in red blood cells was associated with better brain structure and cognitive function among healthy study volunteers in their 40s and 50s, according to research published online Oct. 5 inNeurology.

Faculty of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) and other investigators of the Framingham Heart Study conducted the analysis.

Studies have looked at this association in older populations. The new contribution here is that, even at younger ages, if you have a diet that includes some omega-3 fatty acids, you are already protecting your brain for most of the indicators of brain aging that we see at middle age, said Claudia Satizabal, PhD, assistant professor of population health sciences with the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimers and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio. Satizabal is the lead author of the study.

Volunteers average age was 46. The team looked at the relation of red blood cell omega-3 fatty acid concentrations with MRI and cognitive markers of brain aging. Researchers also studied the effect of omega-3 red blood cell concentrations in volunteers who carried APOE4, a genetic variation linked to higher risk of Alzheimers disease.

The study of 2,183 dementia- and stroke-free participants found that:

Researchers used a technique called gas chromatography to measure docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrations from red blood cells. The omega-3 index was calculated as DHA plus EPA.

Omega-3 fatty acids such as EPA and DHA are key micronutrients that enhance and protect the brain, said study coauthor Debora Melo van Lent, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow at the Biggs Institute. Our study is one of the first to observe this effect in a younger population. More studies in this age group are needed.

The team divided participants into those who had very little omega-3 red blood cell concentration and those who had at least a little and more.

We saw the worst outcomes in the people who had the lowest consumption of omega-3s, Satizabal said. So, that is something interesting. Although the more omega-3 the more benefits for the brain, you just need to eat some to see benefits.

Researchers dont know how DHA and EPA protect the brain. One theory is that, because those fatty acids are needed in the membrane of neurons, when they are replaced with other types of fatty acids, thats when neurons (nerve cells) become unstable. Another explanation may have to deal with the anti-inflammatory properties of DHA and EPA.

Its complex. We dont understand everything yet, but we show that, somehow, if you increase your consumption of omega-3s even by a little bit, you are protecting your brain, Satizabal said.

Its encouraging that DHA and EPA also protected APOE4 carriers brain health. Its genetics, so you cant change it, Melo van Lent said, referring to the vulnerability of this risk group.

So, if there is a modifiable risk factor that can outweigh genetic predisposition, thats a big gain.

Author: Will SansomSource: UT San AntonioContact: Will Sansom UT San AntonioImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: The findings will appear in Neurology

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Omega-3s Linked to Improved Brain Structure and Cognition at Midlife - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Patients at Higher Risk of Cancer Spread to the Brain – Neuroscience News

Summary: Individuals with a rare type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer are at greater risk of their cancer spreading to the brain.

Source: Wiley

New research indicates that among individuals with breast cancer, those with a rare subtype called inflammatory breast cancer face a higher risk that their cancer will spread, or metastasize, to the brain.

The study is published byWileyonline inCANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Studies have demonstrated higher rates of brain metastases in patients with inflammatory breast cancer, but detailed information is lacking. To provide insights into the incidence and risk factors for brain metastases in this patient population, Laura E.G. Warren, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and her colleagues analyzed data on 372 patients with stage III inflammatory breast cancer and 159 with stage IV inflammatory breast cancer.

Over a median follow-up of 5 years, the incidence of brain metastases at 1, 2, and 5 years was 5%, 9%, and 18% among patients who presented with stage III disease, and 17%, 30%, and 42% among those with stage IV disease.

Patients with triple-negative breast cancer faced a particularly high risk, and when they did experience brain metastases, their survival time was shorter than those with hormone receptorpositive or HER2-positive breast cancer who experienced brain metastases.

Higher risks of brain metastases were also seen in patients whose cancer had metastasized to other parts of the body besides the brain, especially when this occurred at a young age.

The relatively high incidence of brain metastases seen in the study population highlights the need for future research on the potential role for surveillance brain imaging for high-risk patients. There is an open, phase II, single armstudyat Dana-Farber Cancer Institute examining this question, said Dr. Warren.

It also emphasizes the need to obtain brain imaging in patients with inflammatory breast cancer presenting with neurologic symptoms given the high incidence of brain metastases in this population.

Most patients in this study who were diagnosed with brain metastases had neurologic symptoms, but because some patients may have undetected, asymptomatic brain metastases, the true incidence in patients with inflammatory breast cancer is likely even higher than what Dr. Warren and her colleagues observed.

An accompanyingeditorialnotes that when considering whether to implement routine brain imaging tests in patients with inflammatory breast cancer, it will be important to determine whether earlier detection of brain metastases leads to improvements in both survival and quality of life.

Author: Sara Henning-StoutSource: WileyContact: Sara Henning-Stout WileyImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Incidence, characteristics, and management of central nervous system metastases in patients with inflammatory breast cancer by Laura E.G. Warren et al. CANCER

Abstract

Incidence, characteristics, and management of central nervous system metastases in patients with inflammatory breast cancer

Patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) have a high risk of central nervous system metastasis (mCNS). The purpose of this study was to quantify the incidence of and identify risk factors for mCNS in patients with IBC.

The authors retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with IBC between 1997 and 2019. mCNS-free survival time was defined as the date from the diagnosis of IBC to the date of diagnosis of mCNS or the date of death, whichever occurred first. A competing risks hazard model was used to evaluate risk factors for mCNS.

A total of 531 patients were identified; 372 patients with stage III and 159 patients with de novo stage IV disease. During the study, there were a total of 124 patients who had mCNS. The 1-, 2-, and 5-year incidence of mCNS was 5%, 9%, and 18% in stage III patients (median follow-up: 5.6years) and 17%, 30%, and 42% in stage IV patients (1.8years). Multivariate analysis identified triple-negative tumor subtype as a significant risk factor for mCNS for stage III patients. For patients diagnosed with metastatic disease, visceral metastasis as first metastatic site, triple-negative subtype, and younger age at diagnosis of metastases were risk factors for mCNS.

Patients with IBC, particularly those with triple-negative IBC, visceral metastasis, and those at a younger age at diagnosis of metastatic disease, are at significant risk of developing mCNS. Further investigation into prevention of mCNS and whether early detection of mCNS is associated with improved IBC patient outcomes is warranted.

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Inflammatory Breast Cancer Patients at Higher Risk of Cancer Spread to the Brain - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

New Star Rating System Helps People Make Informed Decisions About Diet and Healthy Habits – Neuroscience News

Summary: A new meta-analysis focuses on what we know, and what we dont know about whats good and bad for our health.

Source: IHME

A new set of meta-analysesclarifies the often complex and contradictory health guidance linking certain diets, behaviors, and conditions to illness.

The analyses, conducted by researchers from theInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washingtons School of Medicine, were published today inNature Medicine.

IHME analyzed the strength of the evidence for 180 pairs of risk factors and health outcomes such as smoking and lung cancer, diet low in vegetables and type 2 diabetes, and high systolic blood pressure and ischemic heart disease.

The findings are presented in an easy-to-understand star rating system showing the strength of evidence for each link.

The new star rating system aims to help people make personal health decisions, inform health policy, and guide future research.

There has been extensive research on the links between various risks and health outcomes, but findings are often very different across studies, explained Dr. Christopher Murray, Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and a lead author of the study.

One of the goals of this new star rating system is to clear up confusion and help consumers make informed decisions about diet, exercise, and other activities that can affect their long-term health.

In many areas, IHME found that the link between a risk factor and a health outcome was weaker than some might believe. Nearly two-thirds of the risk-outcome pairs investigated 112 out of 180 received only a one- or two-star rating.

These include widely publicized pairings such as diet high in unprocessed red meat and ischemic stroke (one star). In other cases, IHMEs analysis confirmed widely held consensus.

Eight risk-outcome pairs received a five-star rating, including smoking and lung cancer and high systolic blood pressure and ischemic heart disease. A list of the star ratings, including a data visualization tool, can be found onIHMEs website.

Additional star ratings will be added in the near future.

The analysis takes into account both the magnitude of risk shown by studies to date, as well as the consistency of findings between those studies.

The star ratings are based on the most conservative interpretation of the available evidence, to limit the impact of error or bias in the underlying data. A one-star rating indicates that there may be no true association between the behavior or condition and the health outcome.

Two stars indicates the behavior or condition is at least associated with a 0-15% change in the likelihood of a health outcome, while three stars indicates at least a 15-50% change, four stars indicates at least a 50-85% change, and five stars indicates a more than 85% change.

For example, the five-star rating for smoking and lung cancer means that smoking increases the likelihood of developing or dying of lung cancer by more than 85%. At the other end of the scale, the one-star rating for red meat and ischemic stroke means that there may not be an association in this case, because studies of this link have produced inconsistent results.

Notable ratings from the study include:

In addition to helping consumers, our analysis can guide policymakers in developing health and wellness education programs, so that they focus on the risk factors with the greatest impact on health, said Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou, Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and a lead author of the study.

Health researchers can also use this analysis to identify areas where current evidence is weak and more definitive studies are needed. The IHME researchers also note that while the meta-analytical approach employed by this study should not replace expert deliberation, it can provide useful input for expert committees and advisory groups making formal health policy recommendations.

IHMEs analysis, which draws from the landmarkGlobal Burden of Disease study, which marks 30 years this year, will be updated on a regular basis.

As a result of constantly evolving research, the star ratings may change as more data becomes available. This is particularly the case for pairings with low star ratings due to limited or contradictory research.

On the other hand, high star ratings are unlikely to change significantly because the evidence is already strong.

Author: Connie KimSource: IHMEContact: Connie Kim IHMEImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: The findings will appear in Nature Medicine

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New Star Rating System Helps People Make Informed Decisions About Diet and Healthy Habits - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Vegetarians More Likely to Be Depressed Than Meat-Eaters – Neuroscience News

Summary: A new study reveals vegetarians are two times more likely to suffer from depression than those who eat meat. While nutrition plays a role in depressive symptoms, researchers say social factors and upset over the treatment of animals contribute to symptoms of depression.

Source: The Conversation

Vegetarians have around twice as many depressive episodes as meat-eaters, according to anew study.

The study, based on survey data from Brazil, chimes withearlier researchthat found higher rates of depression among those who forgo meat. However, the new study suggests that this link exists independent of nutritional intake.

It may seem straightforward to look at a link between a diet and specific health problems and assume that the former is causing the latter via some form of nutritional deficiency.

Yet the new analysis, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, took into account a wide range of nutritional factors, including total calorie intake, protein intake, micronutrient intake, and the level of food processing. This suggests that the higher rates of depression among vegetarians are not caused by the nutritional content of their diet.

So what might explain the link between vegetarianism and depression? Is there some non-nutritional mechanism that makes the former cause the latter? Or is the relationship down to something else entirely?

First, it is possible that being depressed causes people to be more likely to become vegetarian rather than the other way around. Thesymptoms of depressioncan include rumination on negative thoughts, as well as feelings of guilt.

Assuming that depressed and non-depressed people are equally likely to encounter the upsetting truth of slaughterhouses and factory farming, it is possible that depressed people are more likely to ruminate on those thoughts, and more likely to feel guilty for their part in creating the demand.

The depressed vegetarian, in this case, is not necessarily wrong to think this way. While depression is sometimes characterised as having unrealistically negative perceptions,there is evidence to suggestthat people with mild to moderate depression have more realistic judgments about the outcome of uncertain events and more realistic perceptions of their own role and abilities.

In this case, there really iscruel treatment of animals in meat production. And this really is caused by consumer demand for cheap meat.

Second, it is possible that adhering to a vegetarian diet causes depression for reasons other than nutrition. Even if there is no happy nutrient lacking in a vegetarian diet, it could be the case that forgoing meat causes depression through other means.

For example, adopting a vegetarian diet might affect ones relationship with others and involvement in social activities, and sometimes may be associated withteasing or other forms of social ostracism.

Notably, the new study is based on survey data collected in Brazil, a countryfamous for its meat-heavy diet. Some survey data has pointed to asharp increase in vegetarianism in Brazil in recent years, going from 8% in 2012 to 16% in 2018. However, the recent paper surveyed over 14,000 Brazilians and found just 82 vegetarians scarcely more than half a percent.

One has to wonder if the same link between vegetarianism and depression would be observed in India or other countries where vegetarianism is more of a social norm. More importantly, as therate of vegetarianism increases in the UKand other developed countries, will we see the relationship disappear over time?

Finally, it is possible that neither vegetarianism nor depression cause the other, but both are associated with some third factor. This could be any number of characteristics or experiences that are associated with both vegetarianism and depression.

For example,women are more likely than men to be vegetarian,and to experience depression. However, the Brazilian study took sex into account, ruling out this particular third variable.

One variable that was not examined, but is plausibly linked to both vegetarianism and depression, is exposure to violent images of the meat industry. Preventing cruelty to animals is themost commonly cited reasonvegetarians give for avoiding meat.

Documentaries likeDominionandEarthlingsthat depict the cruelty in the meat industry cannot readily be described as feelgood films. One can easily imagine that a person who consumes this kind of media would become both vegetarian and, especially when most people choose to look the other way, depressed.

There are several possible reasons for the link between vegetarianism and depression. This new study suggests that vegetarian nutrition is not the cause of depression.

Instead, the vegetarian social experience may contribute to depression, depression may cause an increased likelihood of becoming vegetarian, or both vegetarianism and depression may be caused by a third variable, such as exposure to violent meat industry imagery.

Author: Chris BryantSource: The Conversation Contact: Chris Bryant The ConversationImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Association between meatless diet and depressive episodes: A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the longitudinal study of adult health (ELSA-Brasil) by Ingrid Kohl et al. Journal of Affective Disorders

Abstract

Association between meatless diet and depressive episodes: A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the longitudinal study of adult health (ELSA-Brasil)

The association between vegetarianism and depression is still unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between a meatless diet and the presence of depressive episodes among adults.

A cross-sectional analysis was performed with baseline data from the ELSA-Brasil cohort, which included 14,216 Brazilians aged 35 to 74years. A meatless diet was defined from in a validatedfood frequency questionnaire. The Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R) instrument was used to assess depressive episodes. The association between meatless diet and presence of depressive episodes was expressed as a prevalence ratio (PR), determined by Poisson regression adjusted for potentially confounding and/or mediating variables: sociodemographic parameters, smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, several clinical variables, self-assessed health status,body mass index, micronutrient intake, protein, food processing level, dailyenergy intake, and changes in diet in the preceding 6months.

We found a positive association between the prevalence of depressive episodes and a meatless diet. Meat non-consumers experienced approximately twice the frequency of depressive episodes of meat consumers, PRs ranging from 2.05 (95%CI 1.004.18) in the crude model to 2.37 (95%CI 1.244.51) in the fully adjusted model.

Limitations.

The cross-sectional design precluded the investigation of causal relationships.

Depressive episodes are more prevalent in individuals who do not eat meat, independently of socioeconomic and lifestyle factors.Nutrient deficienciesdo not explain this association. The nature of the association remains unclear, and longitudinal data are needed to clarify causal relationship.

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Vegetarians More Likely to Be Depressed Than Meat-Eaters - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Detecting Alzheimers Disease in the Blood – Neuroscience News

Summary: A new blood sample test is capable of measuring the build-up of Alzheimers disease-associated amyloid-beta in the brain.

Source: Hokkaido University

Researchers from Hokkaido University and Toppan have developed a method to detect build-up of amyloid in the brain, a characteristic of Alzheimers disease, from biomarkers in blood samples.

Alzheimers disease is a neurodegenerative disease, characterised by a gradual loss of neurons and synapses in the brain. One of the primary causes of Alzheimers disease is the accumulation of amyloid (A) in the brain, where it forms plaques. Alzheimers disease is mostly seen in individuals over 65 years of age, and cannot currently be stopped or reversed. Thus, Alzheimers disease is a major concern for nations with aging populations, such as Japan.

A team of scientists from Hokkaido University and Toppan, led by Specially Appointed Associate Professor Kohei Yuyama at the Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, have developed a biosensing technology that can detect A-binding exosomes in the blood of mice, which increase as A accumulates in the brain.

Their research was published in the journalAlzheimers Research & Therapy.

When tested on mice models, the A-binding exosome Digital ICATM(idICA) showed that the concentration of A-binding exosomes increased with the increase in age of the mice. This is significant as the mice used were Alzheimers disease model mice, where A builds up in the brain with age.

In addition to the lack of effective treatments of Alzheimers, there are few methods to diagnose Alzheimers. Alzheimers can only be definitively diagnosed by direct examination of the brainwhich can only be done after death. A accumulation in the brain can be measured by cerebrospinal fluid testing or by positron emission tomography; however, the former is an extremely invasive test that cannot be repeated, and the latter is quite expensive. Thus, there is a need for a diagnostic test that is economical, accurate and widely available.

Previous work by Yuyamas group has shown that A build-up in the brain is associated with A-binding exosomes secreted from neurons, which degrade and transport A to the microglial cells of the brain. Exosomes are membrane-enclosed sacs secreted by cells that possess cell markers on their surface.

The team adapted Toppans proprietary Digital Invasive Cleavage Assay (Digital ICATM) to quantify the concentration of A-binding exosomes in as little as 100 L of blood. The device they developed traps molecules and particles in a sample one-by-one in a million micrometer-sized microscopic wells on a measurement chip and detects the presence or absence of fluorescent signals emitted by the cleaving of the A-binding exosomes.

Clinical trials of the technology are currently underway in humans. This highly sensitive idICA technology is the first application of ICA that enables highly sensitive detection of exosomes that retain specific surface molecules from a small amount of blood without the need to learn special techniques; as it is applicable to exosome biomarkers in general, it can also be adapted for use in the diagnosis of other diseases.

Author: Sohail Keegan PintoSource: Hokkaido UniversityContact: Sohail Keegan Pinto Hokkaido UniversityImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Immuno-digital invasive cleavage assay for analyzing Alzheimers amyloid -bound extracellular vesicles by Kohei Yuyamaet al. Alzheimers Research & Therapy

Abstract

Immuno-digital invasive cleavage assay for analyzing Alzheimers amyloid -bound extracellular vesicles

The protracted preclinical stage of Alzheimers disease (AD) provides the opportunity for early intervention to prevent the disease; however, the lack of minimally invasive and easily detectable biomarkers and their measurement technologies remain unresolved. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanosized membrane vesicles released from a variety of cells and play important roles in cellcell communication. Neuron-derived and ganglioside-enriched EVs capture amyloid- protein, a major AD agent, and transport it into glial cells for degradation; this suggests that EVs influence A accumulation in the brain. EV heterogeneity, however, requires the use of a highly sensitive technique for measuring specific EVs in biofluid. In this study, immuno-digital invasive cleavage assay (idICA) was developed for quantitating target-intact EVs.

EVs were captured onto ganglioside GM1-specific cholera toxin B subunit (CTB)-conjugated magnetic beads and detected with a DNA oligonucleotide-labeled A antibody. Fluorescence signals for individual EVs were then counted using an invasive cleavage assay (ICA). This idICA examines the A-bound and GM1-containing EVs isolated from the culture supernatant of human APP-overexpressing N2a (APP-N2a) cells and APP transgenicmice sera.

The idICA quantitatively detected A-bound and GM1-containing EVs isolated from culture supernatants of APP-N2a cells and sera of AD model mice. The idICA levels of A-associated EVs in blood gradually increased from 3- to 12-month-old mice, corresponding to the progression of A accumulations in the brain of AD model mice.

The present findings suggest that peripheral EVs harboring A and GM1 reflect A burden in mice. The idICA is a valuable tool for easy quantitative detection of EVs as an accessible biomarker for preclinical AD diagnosis.

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Detecting Alzheimers Disease in the Blood - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

How the Smell of Food Can Enable Time Travel – Neuroscience News

Summary: Study explores the 3D printed flavor-based cues in memory recall during old age, finding the smells of certain foods from youth can prompt mental time travel to the past with an enhanced memory of early exposure to the foods.

Source: Lancaster University

Older people exposed to food flavors from their youth were able to time travel back to the past with an enhanced memory of the event.

The research entitled It took me back 25 years in one bound: self-generated flavor-based cues for self-defining memories in later life published in Human-Computer Interaction is by Professor Corina Sas of Lancaster University, Dr Tom Gayler, formerly of Lancaster University and Vaiva Kalnikait of Dovetailed Ltd. Their work explored the feasibility of 3D printed flavor-based cues for the recall of memories in old age.

Working with 12 older adults, they collected 72 memories, half involving food and half not involving food, each recalled twice. This ranged from barbecued mackerel at a golden wedding to eating strawberries in hospital after giving birth.

For food memory, the researchers worked with the participants to create bespoke flavor-based cues for each one. The 3D printed flavor-based cues are small, gel-like, edible balls, modeling the original food, which are easier to swallow with more intense flavors, without requiring all the ingredients and preparation.

Professor Sas said: Our outcomes indicated that personalized 3D printed flavor-based cues have rich sensorial and emotional qualities supporting strong recollective retrieval, especially when they distinctively match the food in the original experience and prompt emotionally positive self-defining memories.

All the participants were able to provide rich sensory accounts when prompted by flavour-based cues, with most of the details not being present in the earlier free recall.

Remembering a Green Thai curry dinner in Cambodia, one participant remembered: We went into the kitchen area, which was very basic and preparing all sorts of types of green vegetables, which I have no idea what they were, sitting on the floor. And then we would help cook them, stir fry them, and then we would help dish them up

But after being exposed to the 3D printed flavor-based cue of the Green Thai curry, the participant gave a more detailed memory of the chopping noises of cutting up the vegetables, me sitting on the floor cross legged with my friend, chatting together. And then when we went out, put stuff on the tables, the rest of the group coming out and we sit on long tables outside, the front of the school, so its outside in the open air to eat.

A striking outcome was the large number of memories cued by flavors that were recalled with strong feelings of being brought back in time.

Participants said: The roast beef and horseradish cue took me back 25 years in one bound . . .I could place myself at the table in the room . . .I ate that, and that actually provoked out of all the memories, quite a strong reaction actually. Just suddenly I was back.

Interestingly, the mere act of eating the cue was seen as a bodily re-enactment of the original event: It just kind of triggers a few more sensations. Perhaps when youre tasting it, you imagine yourself there.

The researchers say their research has particular relevance for dementia. Participants talked about the importance of food memories based on their own experiences of caring for the loved ones.

One participant whose mother has Alzheimers said: As soon as she smelled and tasted the food, she would say something like, Oh, this is like old fashioned food. This takes me back. She felt that it was something that she had had a long time ago.

Another participant suggested a scrapbook of food memories to trigger recollections of past events in people with dementia.

Professor Sas said: The 3D printed flavours cued recollective retrieval, eliciting sensorially rich and strong positive emotional experiences that participants deeply enjoyed.

Dr Gayler said: Working alongside people to create flavour-based cues highlighted how powerful but under used this connection is. Our design approach helped bridge this gap and showed the potential for future applications to create rich, multi-sensory memory aides.

Dr Vaiva Kalnikaitsaid: We finally have technology that can help re-construct memories using the flavour and scent of different foods in very compact shapes. These are the strongest cues to help us remember.

Author: Gillian WhitworthSource: Lancaster UniversityContact: Gillian Whitworth Lancaster UniversityImage: The image is credited to Lancaster University

Original Research: Closed access.It took me back 25 years in one bound: self-generated flavor-based cues for self-defining memories in later life by Corina Sas et al. Human-Computer Interaction

Abstract

It took me back 25 years in one bound: self-generated flavor-based cues for self-defining memories in later life

those short, plump little cakes called petites madeleines [] I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate, a shudder ran through my whole body [] an exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses [] and suddenly the memory returns. The taste was that of the little crumb of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray [] when I went to say good day to her in her bedroom, my aunt Lonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of real or of lime-flower tea [] when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, but with more vitality, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us [] the vast structure of recollection(Proust,2006, pp. 6163).

The above quote captures the evocative power of chemical senses for triggering memory recall with a feeling of traveling back in time, or the so-calledProust phenomenon.

While the phenomenon has been explored mostly in relation to the sense of smell, Prousts account involves also the sense of taste (Gibson,2016) as shown in our introductory quote and this additional sentence: the sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it(Proust,2006, p. 63).

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How the Smell of Food Can Enable Time Travel - Neuroscience News