Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Yale’s application-based majors have dwindled in recent years – Yale Daily News

Zoe Berg, Senior Photographer

Few majors at Yale require an application. Even those that have kept theirs are no longer competitive.

For the last decade, the College has required students interested in many popular fields to apply into their majors, often during their sophomore year. But the News review of application-based majors and academic offerings found that the prevalence of Yale Colleges competitive majors has dwindled in recent years.

Notably, the popular Ethics, Politics, and Economics major jettisoned its application process in favor of an extended prerequisite system two years ago; neuroscience followed suit last April.

We are committed to supporting world-shaping research and life-changing instruction in areas of intellectual importance, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Tamar Gendler said. I am pleased that we are in a position to give students the opportunity to study in these important majors without requiring an application process.

There are now just four majors that require applications: architecture, cognitive science, global affairs, and the special divisional major. Faculty at all four say they intend to keep their application processes for the time being, but they, too, have considered changes. And none of them remain truly competitive.

When the College added the Global Affairs major in 2010, admission was capped at 50. But surging demand meant that in 2011, just one-third of students who applied were accepted.

Now, over a decade later, admission is no longer so cutthroat. Decisions are based almost entirely on whether students are on track to finish the major before they graduate.

In the last two years, 80 to 90 percent of students who applied were able to do the major, if not more, said Sigrdur Benediktsdottir, the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Global Affairs. I dont think we rejected anyone that would have been able to fulfill the requirements of the major.

Grades, Benediktsdottir said, did not factor into admissions decisions except in cases when students withdrew from or used the Credit/D/Fail option on core classes of the major. Those who were rejected were likely not to have completed enough core courses or to have taken a modern language through L5.

The application has a written component, too, but this year it has been shortened from two questions to one, which students will be asked to answer in 600 words or fewer.

We are not requesting students to spend a lot of time on this, Benediktsdottir said. We just want to know why they want to be in the major.

There will be two information sessions for students interested in GLBL one on Oct. 28 and one on Nov. 2 after which the application will open. The deadline to apply will be Friday, Nov. 18, just before the start of November recess.

After this application cycle, though, the deadline for sophomores to apply will be about two months earlier than it is now; instead of November, the due date will likely be at the end of September. Sophomores will therefore know whether they have been accepted into the major before spring course registration begins.

So, essentially, you will be applying based on what you do your freshman year and what courses youve signed up for during your sophomore fall, Benediktsdottir said. Next year, we are planning to let students know whether they are in the major before spring course registration begins.

While enrollment in the global affairs major has seen only a modest increase in the past few years perhaps on account of its application process enrollment in EP&E has significantly increased since scrapping its application.

The class of 2022, the last application-only class, had 35 graduating seniors. The class of 2024, by comparison, has 48 majors so far.

We are confident that the EP&E major will continue to yield excellent cohorts of students each year, attracted to EP&E by its interdisciplinary approach and high academic rigor, said EP&E Program Director Ana De La O.

Reduced barriers of entry might be responsible for this increased enrollment. While students previously needed to apply and be accepted to EP&E, anyone who completes the eight prerequisite courses can now declare the major.

Ryan Smith 24, an EP&E major, said that he was glad that EP&E switched to a prerequisite system.

There are a lot of prerequisites, but its reassuring to know that as long as you complete them youll get into the major, Smith said. None of us need another application to worry about.

EP&E has been able to increase its enrollment commensurate with student interest, but architecture has not changed its enrollment cap.

The architecture major currently has two tracks: Design and History, Theory & Criticism. Only the design track is effectively selective, though all prospective majors must apply to a specific track in the spring of their sophomore year.

Based in a four-semester sequence of studios, Design is a space- and resources-intensive course of study, architecture Director of Undergraduate Studies Michael Schlabs wrote in an email to the News. Every student enrolled has a desk on the 7th floor of Rudolph Hall, a computer workstation and a shared modeling table for this reason, we are compelled to cap the Design track of the architecture major at 40 students or 20 per year across the junior and senior classes.

Though the major has rarely, if ever, hit the 20-student-per-year limit, the enrollment cap might soon increase.

The School of Architecture is reluctant to make any immediate changes, though.

With the influx of graduate Architecture students returning from pandemic-related leaves of absence, we are especially cramped in the School of Architecture [right now], Schlabs told the News. Having said that, we have recently been in conversation with the Yale College Committee on Majors about precisely this issue, and we will be revisiting the question of selectivity in the major in a couple years, once the COVID bulge in student population subsides.

Neuroscience, too, has taken steps to ensure its students have the resources they need.

When Yale College added the neuroscience major in 2018, student interest was very high and the program very new, so an application seemed in order.

When the neuroscience major began several years ago, we had a simple application process, which we put in place to ensure we had the resources to support all the students in the major, neuroscience Director of Undergraduate Studies Damon Clark wrote in an email to the News.

Now, though, the program has grown to accommodate more students, and an application is no longer necessary. As of April 2022, students can declare the major as they can any other.

By contrast, cognitive science and the special divisional major have kept their applications for the time being.

According to its website, cognitive science requires interested students to apply to the major by the end of fall semester. Students must then be accepted before officially declaring their major.

The cognitive science program is a bit unique, in that the requirements are extremely flexible, cognitive science Director of Undergraduate Studies Joshua Knope wrote in an email to the News. Its not as though there is already a pre-set list of requirements Instead, students have the opportunity to craft their own list of requirements based on their own individual interests.

The cognitive science application essentially functions as a roadmap proposal how a particular student wants to take on the major.

But if a proposal is not accepted, that does not mean the student needs to switch majors.

It just means that you will not be allowed to use that specific plan, Knope wrote. You could apply again the very next day with a different plan.

The special divisional major which allows students to pursue fields of study outside of Yales existing majors also has an application, though it is reviewed by the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing instead of by an individual department or program.

The special divisional major application asks students to explain their proposed plan of study, including coursework contributing toward the major; to outline the majors curricular trajectory, breadth and depth; and to give a broad sense of intellectual aims, Special Divisional Major Director of Undergraduate Studies Sarah Mahurin wrote in an email to the News.

The application also asks students to identify faculty members who will serve as their advisers. The faculty members must likewise write in support of the proposal.

Special divisional major, neuroscience and cognitive science do not intend to change their application processes in the immediate future.

Yale College currently offers 80 different majors.

Evan Gorelick covers Woodbridge Hall with a focus on the Yale Corporation, endowment and Provost's Office. He is a Production and Design Editor and previously covered faculty and academics at the News. Originally from Woodbridge, Connecticut, he is a sophomore in Timothy Dwight College double-majoring in English and economics.

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Yale's application-based majors have dwindled in recent years - Yale Daily News

Neuroscience

AI-Based Research Reveals That Extreme Temperatures Fuel Online Hate Speech – Neuroscience News

Summary: Extreme heat and extreme cold temperatures are associated with a marked rise in aggressive online behaviors, including hate speech, a new AI-based study discovered.

Source: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

Temperatures above or below a feel-good window of 1221 degrees Celsius (5470 F) are linked to a marked rise in aggressive online behavior across the U.S., a new study finds.

Analyzing billions of tweets posted on the social media platform Twitter in the U.S., researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research found hate speech increasing across climate zones, income groups and belief systems for temperatures too hot or too cold.

This indicates limits to adaptation to extreme temperatures, and sheds light on a yet underestimated societal impact of climate change: conflict in the digital sphere with implications for both societal cohesion and mental health.

Detecting hate tweets in more than four billion tweets from U.S. users with our AI-algorithm and combining them with weather data, we found that both the absolute number and the share of hate tweets rise outside a climate comfort zone: People tend to show a more aggressive online behavior when its either too cold or too hot outside, states PIK scientist Annika Stechemesser, first author of the study to be published inThe Lancet Planetary Health.

Being the target of onlinehate speechis a serious threat to peoples mental health. The psychological literature tells us that online hate can aggravate mental health conditions especially for young people and marginalized groups, she adds.

We see that outside the feel-good window of 1221C (5470F) online hate increases up to 12% for colder temperatures and up to 22% for hotter temperatures across the U.S.

The well-tempered tweet: Fewest hate tweets at 1518 C (5965F) across the U.S.

To arrive at these findings, the authors used a machine-learning approach to identify approximately 75 million English-phrased hate tweets in a data set consisting of more than 4 billion tweets posted on Twitter in the U.S. between 2014 and 2020. Subsequently, the authors analyzed how the number of hate tweets changed when local temperatures increased or decreased.

In defining hate speech, the researchers were guided by the official UN definition: Cases of discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender or other identity factor.

Across the U.S., the authors found low levels of hate tweets in a feel-good window of 1221C (5470 F); the minimum of hate tweets is reached for temperatures between 15 and 18C (5965F).

Temperatures hotter and colder are linked to increases in hatetweets. The precise feel-good temperature window varies a little across climate zones, depending on which temperatures are common.

Temperatures above 30C (86 degrees Fahrenheit) are, however, consistently linked to strong increases in online hate across allclimate zonesand socioeconomic differences such as income, religious beliefs or political preferences.

This points to limits of temperature adaptation capability: Even in high-income areas where people can afford air condition[ing] and other heat mitigation options, we observe an increase in hate speech on extremely hot days.

In other words: There is a limit to what people can take. Thus, there are likely limits of adaptation toextreme temperaturesand these are lower than those set by our mere physiological limits, says Anders Levermann, head of Complexity Science at the Potsdam Institute, researcher at the Columbia University in the U.S., and co-author of the study.

The hidden climate impact: Mental health

The consequences of more aggressive online behavior can be severe, as hate speech has been found to have negative impacts on the mental health of online hates victims. It can also be predictive of hate crimes in the offline world.

For centuries, researchers have grappled with the question of how climate conditions affect human behavior and societal stability, Leonie Wenz, working group leader at the Potsdam Institute who led the study, explains.

Now, with ongoing climate change, it is more important than ever. Our results highlight online hate speech as a new impact channel through which climate change can affect overall societal cohesion and peoples mental health.

So that means that curbing emissions very rapidly and drastically will not only benefit the outer world. Protecting our climate from excessive global warming is also critical to ourmental health.

Author: Press OfficeSource: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact ResearchContact: Press Office Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact ResearchImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Temperature impacts on hate speech online: evidence from 4 billion geolocated tweets from the USA by Annika Stechemesser et al. Lancet Planetary Health

Abstract

Temperature impacts on hate speech online: evidence from 4 billion geolocated tweets from the USA

A link between weather and aggression in the offline world has been established across a variety of societal settings. Simultaneously, the rapid digitalisation of nearly every aspect of everyday life has led to a high frequency of interpersonal conflicts online. Hate speech online has become a prevalent problem that has been shown to aggravate mental health conditions, especially among young people and marginalised groups. We examine the effect of temperature on the occurrence of hate speech on the social media platform Twitter and interpret the results in the context of the interlinkage between climate change, human behaviour, and mental health.

In this quantitative empirical study, we used a supervised machine learning approach to identify hate speech in a dataset containing around 4 billion geolocated tweets from 773 cities across the USA between May 1, 2014 and May 1, 2020. We statistically evaluated the changes in daily hate tweets against changes in local temperature, isolating the temperature influence from confounding factors using binned panel-regression models.

The prevalence of hate tweets was lowest at moderate temperatures (12 to 21C) and marked increases in the number of hate tweets were observed at hotter and colder temperatures, reaching up to 125% (95% CI 80165) for cold temperature extremes (6 to 3C) and up to 220% (95% CI 205235) for hot temperature extremes (42 to 45C). Outside of the moderate temperature range, the hate tweets also increased as a proportion of total tweeting activity. The quasi-quadratic shape of the temperaturehate tweet curve was robust across varying climate zones, income quartiles, religious and political beliefs, and both city-level and state-level aggregations. However, temperature ranges with the lowest prevalence of hate tweets were centred around the local temperature mean and the magnitude of the increases in hate tweets for hot and cold temperatures varied across the climate zones.

Our results highlight hate speech online as a potential channel through which temperature alters interpersonal conflict and societal aggression. We provide empirical evidence that hot and cold temperatures can aggravate aggressive tendencies online. The prevalence of the results across climatic and socioeconomic subgroups points to limitations in the ability of humans to adapt to temperature extremes.

Volkswagen Foundation.

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AI-Based Research Reveals That Extreme Temperatures Fuel Online Hate Speech - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Apollo Neuroscience Initiates IRB-Approved Clinical Trial Series to Understand Effectiveness of the Apollo Wearable for Treatment of PTSD – Business…

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apollo NeuroscienceTM, makers of the first scientifically-validated wearable that improves the bodys resilience to stress, is running an IRB-approved clinical trial with the support of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a nonprofit sponsoring the most advanced clinical trials of a psychedelic-assisted therapy. The purpose of this study is to understand how the Apollo Neuro proprietary wearable touch therapy device impacts long-term outcomes following MDMA-assisted therapy in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Apollo is a wellness wearable device that helps improve sleep, relaxation, focus, and recovery by toning the nervous system, giving you more control over how you feel and your overall health. Interestingly, Apollo Neuro is the first technology with an issued patent to mitigate uncomfortable and undesirable experiences associated with medicine-assisted therapy (including psychedelic medicines and traditional medicines).

Worn on either the wrist, ankle, or clipped to clothing on any other part of the body, the Apollo wearable works by engaging with your sense of touch, like a wearable hug, delivering silent, soothing vibrations that help you feel safe and in control. Apollo Neuros scientifically validated technology trains your nervous system to bounce back from stress more quickly, making it easier to go from fight or flight to rest and digest.

Through years of clinical practice and research, Dr. Dave Rabin, MD, PhD, Board-Certified Psychiatrist, Neuroscientist, and Co-Founder/CIO of Apollo Neuroscience, found that patients with treatment-resistant mental health conditions, including PTSD, experienced substantial improvements when they were in calm, safe environments. Dr. Rabin and his colleagues also observed promising responses to therapeutic touch, empathic listening, and music in both the lab and clinical settings, along with reduced feelings of stress and anxiety. An evaluation of the published scientific literature confirmed these observations in over 100 scientific publications over the last few decades. After years of research in the Department of Psychology & Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, these insights and learnings were developed into the Apollo wearable; a device that improves the body's resilience to stress by sending gentle vibrations to the body that signal safety to the brain.

The Apollo wearable draws our attention to an undeniable link between stress, trauma and the human need to feel safe. Preliminary data from ongoing clinical trials of the Apollo technology have been very promising, including in research subjects with PTSD. The Apollo wearable has been found to improve sleep while reducing feelings of anxiety, low mood, and irritability, and helps build an emotionally-nurturing sense of safety and connection that the user can take with them.

Two more large clinical trials evaluating the Apollo wearable in PTSD patients are currently underway and recruiting participants. The first at the Rocky Mountain VA in Denver, CO, and the second, a nationwide trial, evaluating the Apollo wearable to sustain remission from PTSD following MDMA-assisted therapy. This second trial is open to anyone who has participated in a MAPS trial of MDMA-assisted therapy. To check your eligibility to participate, click here.

Weve seen tremendous results with the Apollo wearable in thousands of traumatized individuals and those who have participated in psychedelic-assisted therapy thus far,'' said Dr. Rabin. Some of the most promising responses were in people receiving ketamine-assisted therapy, particularly those new to psychedelic medicines or who have a lot of anxiety in anticipation of new experiences. We care about the outcomes, and anything we can do to help people stay in remission or feel better for longer periods of time is a big win for our field. We are very much looking forward to seeing how the Apollo wearable will contribute to the integration period following MDMA-assisted therapy.

Maximizing patient outcomes means exploring options for people to continue the healing and integration process after the course of MDMA-assisted therapy is complete,'' said Rick Doblin, Founder and Executive Director of MAPS. Thats where the Apollo wearable comes in. One of the advantages the Apollo wearable may provide is to help regulate a persons emotional response when theyre no longer in the clinic, but in the real world, facing real-life stressors. It gives people frequent non-verbal reminders of the things they learn in the treatment. The Apollo wearable is the first technology to be tested in a clinical trial by these MAPS study subjects. Were pleased to support the option for MDMA-assisted therapy study participants to try the Apollo wearable once the long-term follow up has been completed.

About Apollo Neuro

Apollo Neuroscience is pioneering a new category of wearable technology that actively improves health, using touch therapy to promote stress resilience, sleep, focus, recovery, and more. Worn on the wrist, ankle, or attached to your clothing as a clip, Apollo Neuros scientifically validated technology delivers gentle vibrations to the body that restore balance to the nervous system. By harnessing our natural response to soothing touch, the Apollo wearable is a simple, unobtrusive tool that delivers the benefits of mindfulness, without effort on the part of the user. The result? Less stress, more sleep. Less fatigue, more focus. The Apollo wearable is safe and non-invasive for adults and children alike. Developed by physicians and neuroscientists, the Apollo wearable has been tested in multiple studies and clinical trials and is proven to improve heart rate variability (HRV), a key biometric of stress resilience. For more information, visit apolloneuro.com.

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Apollo Neuroscience Initiates IRB-Approved Clinical Trial Series to Understand Effectiveness of the Apollo Wearable for Treatment of PTSD - Business...

Neuroscience

Modeling the social mind | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT News

Typically, it would take two graduate students to do the research that Setayesh Radkani is doing.

Driven by an insatiable curiosity about the human mind, she is working on two PhD thesis projects in two different cognitive neuroscience labs at MIT. For one, she is studying punishment as a social tool to influence others. For the other, she is uncovering the neural processes underlying social learning that is, learning from others. By piecing together these two research programs, Radkani is hoping to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning social influence in the mind and brain.

Radkani lived in Iran for most of her life, growing up alongside her younger brother in Tehran. The two spent a lot of time together and have long been each others best friends. Her father is a civil engineer, and her mother is a midwife. Her parents always encouraged her to explore new things and follow her own path, even if it wasnt quite what they imagined for her. And her uncle helped cultivate her sense of curiosity, teaching her to always ask why as a way to understand how the world works.

Growing up, Radkani most loved learning about human psychology and using math to model the world around her. But she thought it was impossible to combine her two interests. Prioritizing math, she pursued a bachelors degree in electrical engineering at the Sharif University of Technology in Iran.

Then, late in her undergraduate studies, Radkani took a psychology course and discovered the field of cognitive neuroscience, in which scientists mathematically model the human mind and brain. She also spent a summer working in a computational neuroscience lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. Seeing a way to combine her interests, she decided to pivot and pursue the subject in graduate school.

An experience leading a project in her engineering ethics course during her final year of undergrad further helped her discover some of the questions that would eventually form the basis of her PhD. The project investigated why some students cheat and how to change this.

Through this project I learned how complicated it is to understand the reasons that people engage in immoral behavior, and even more complicated than that is how to devise policies and react in these situations in order to change peoples attitudes, Radkani says. It was this experience that made me realize that Im interested in studying the human social and moral mind.

She began looking into social cognitive neuroscience research and stumbled upon a relevant TED talk by Rebecca Saxe, the John W. Jarve Professor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, who would eventually become one of Radkanis research advisors. Radkani knew immediately that she wanted to work with Saxe. But she needed to first get into the BCS PhD program at MIT, a challenging obstacle given her minimal background in the field.

After two application cycles and a years worth of graduate courses in cognitive neuroscience, Radkani was accepted into the program. But to come to MIT, she had to leave her family behind. Coming from Iran, Radkani has a single-entry visa, making it difficult for her to travel outside the U.S. She hasnt been able to visit her family since starting her PhD and wont be able to until at least after she graduates. Her visa also limits her research contributions, restricting her from attending conferences outside the U.S. That is definitely a huge burden on my education and on my mental health, she says.

Still, Radkani is grateful to be at MIT, indulging her curiosity in the human social mind. And shes thankful for her supportive family, who she calls over FaceTime every day.

Modeling how people think about punishment

In Saxes lab, Radkani is researching how people approach and react to punishment, through behavioral studies and neuroimaging. By synthesizing these findings, shes developing a computational model of the mind that characterizes how people make decisions in situations involving punishment, such as when a parent disciplines a child, when someone punishes their romantic partner, or when the criminal justice system sentences a defendant. With this model, Radkani says she hopes to better understand when and why punishment works in changing behavior and influencing beliefs about right and wrong, and why sometimes it fails.

Punishment isnt a new research topic in cognitive neuroscience, Radkani says, but in previous studies, scientists have often only focused on peoples behavior in punitive situations and havent considered the thought processes that underlie those behaviors. Characterizing these thought processes, though, is key to understanding whether punishment in a situation can be effective in changing peoples attitudes.

People bring their prior beliefs into a punitive situation. Apart from moral beliefs about the appropriateness of different behaviors, you have beliefs about the characteristics of the people involved, and you have theories about their intentions and motivations, Radkani says. All those come together to determine what you do or how you are influenced by punishment, given the circumstances. Punishers decide a suitable punishment based on their interpretation of the situation, in light of their beliefs. Targets of punishment then decide whether theyll change their attitude as a result of the punishment, depending on their own beliefs. Even outside observers make decisions, choosing whether to keep or change their moral beliefs based on what they see.

To capture these decision-making processes, Radkani is developing a computational model of the mind for punitive situations. The model mathematically represents peoples beliefs and how they interact with certain features of the situation to shape their decisions. The model then predicts a punishers decisions, and how punishment will influence the target and observers. Through this model, Radkani will provide a foundational understanding of how people think in various punitive situations.

Researching the neural mechanisms of social learning

In parallel, working in the lab of Professor Mehrdad Jazayeri, Radkani is studying social learning, uncovering its underlying neural processes. Through social learning, people learn from other peoples experiences and decisions, and incorporate this socially acquired knowledge into their own decisions or beliefs.

Humans are extraordinary in their social learning abilities, however our primary form of learning, shared by all other animals, is learning from self-experience. To investigate how learning from others is similar to or different from learning from our own experiences, Radkani has designed a two-player video game that involves both types of learning. During the game, she and her collaborators in Jazayeris lab record neural activity in the brain. By analyzing these neural measurements, they plan to uncover the computations carried out by neural circuits during social learning, and compare those to learning from self-experience.

Radkani first became curious about this comparison as a way to understand why people sometimes draw contrasting conclusions from very similar situations. For example, if I get Covid from going to a restaurant, Ill blame the restaurant and say it was not clean, Radkani says. But if I hear the same thing happen to my friend, Ill say its because they were not careful. Radkani wanted to know the root causes of this mismatch in how other peoples experiences affect our beliefs and judgements differently from our own similar experiences, particularly because it can lead to errors that color the way that we judge other people, she says.

By combining her two research projects, Radkani hopes to better understand how social influence works, particularly in moral situations. From there, she has a slew of research questions that shes eager to investigate, including: How do people choose who to trust? And which types of people tend to be the most influential? As Radkanis research grows, so does her curiosity.

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Neuroscience

How Does Nature Nurture the Brain? – Neuroscience News

Summary: An hour-long stroll in nature helps decrease activity in an area of the brain associated with stress processing, a new study reports.

Source: Max Planck Institute

After a 60-minute walk in nature, activity in brain regions involved in stress processing decreases.

This is the finding of a recent study by the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, published inMolecular Psychiatry.

Living in a city is a well-known risk factor for developing amental disorder, while living close to nature is largely beneficial for mental health and the brain.

A central brain region involved in stress processing, the amygdala, has been shown to be less activated during stress in people who live inrural areas, compared to those who live in cities, hinting at the potential benefits of nature.

But so far the hen-and-egg problem could not be disentangled, namely whether nature actually caused the effects in the brain or whether the particular individuals chose to live in rural or urban regions, says Sonja Sudimac, predoctoral fellow in the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience and lead author of the study.

To achieve causal evidence, the researchers from the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience examinedbrain activityin regions involved in stress processing in 63 healthy volunteers before and after a one-hour walk in Grunewald forest or a shopping street with traffic in Berlin using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

The results of the study revealed that activity in the amygdala decreased after the walk in nature, suggesting that nature elicits beneficial effects onbrain regionsrelated to stress.

The results support the previously assumed positive relationship between nature and brain health, but this is the first study to prove the causal link. Interestingly, the brain activity after the urban walk in these regions remained stable and did not show increases, which argues against a commonly held view that urban exposure causes additional stress, explains Simone Khn, head of the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience.

The authors show that nature has a positive impact on brain regions involved in stress processing and that it can already be observed after a one-hour walk. This contributes to the understanding of how our physical living environment affects brain and mental health.

Even a short exposure to nature decreases amygdala activity, suggesting that a walk in nature could serve as a preventive measure against developing mental health problems and buffering the potentially disadvantageous impact of the city on the brain.

The results go in line with a previous study (2017,Scientific Reports) which showed thatcity dwellerswho lived close to the forest had a physiologically healthier amygdala structure and were therefore presumably better able to cope with stress.

This new study again confirms the importance for urban design policies to create more accessible green areas in cities in order to enhance citizensmental healthand well-being.

In order to investigate beneficial effects of nature in different populations and age groups, the researchers are currently working on a study examining how a one-hour walk in natural versus urban environments impactsstressin mothers and their babies.

Author: Press OfficeSource: Max Planck InstituteContact: Press Office Max Planck InstituteImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.How nature nurtures: Amygdala activity decreases as the result of a one-hour walk in nature by Sonja Sudimac et al. Molecular Psychiatry

Abstract

How nature nurtures: Amygdala activity decreases as the result of a one-hour walk in nature

Since living in cities is associated with an increased risk for mental disorders such as anxiety disorders, depression, and schizophrenia, it is essential to understand how exposure to urban and natural environments affects mental health and the brain.

It has been shown that the amygdala is more activated during a stress task in urban compared to rural dwellers. However, no study so far has examined the causal effects of natural and urban environments on stress-related brain mechanisms.

To address this question, we conducted an intervention study to investigate changes in stress-related brain regions as an effect of a one-hour walk in an urban (busy street) vs. natural environment (forest). Brain activation was measured in 63 healthy participants, before and after the walk, using a fearful faces task and a social stress task.

Our findings reveal that amygdala activation decreases after the walk in nature, whereas it remains stable after the walk in an urban environment.

These results suggest that going for a walkin nature can have salutogenic effects on stress-related brain regions, and consequently, it may act as a preventive measure against mental strain and potentially disease.

Given rapidly increasing urbanization, the present results mayinfluence urban planning to create more accessible green areas and to adapt urban environments in a way that will be beneficial for citizens mental health.

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How Does Nature Nurture the Brain? - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Cravings for Fatty Foods Traced to Gut-Brain Connection – Neuroscience News

Summary: Fat entering the intestines triggers a signal that is conducted across the neurons and to the brain, driving the desire for fatty foods.

Source: Columbia University

A dieter wrestling with cravings for fatty foods might be tempted to blame their tongue: the delicious taste of butter or ice cream is hard to resist. But new research investigating the source of our appetites has uncovered an entirely new connection between the gut and the brain that drives our desire for fat.

At Columbias Zuckerman Institute, scientists studying mice found that fat entering the intestines triggers a signal. Conducted along nerves to thebrain, this signal drives a desire for fatty foods.

Published September 7, 2022, inNature, the new study raises the possibility of interfering with this gut-brain connection to help prevent unhealthy choices and address the growingglobal health crisiscaused by overeating.

We live in unprecedented times, in which the overconsumption of fats and sugars is causing an epidemic of obesity andmetabolic disorders, said first author Mengtong Li, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of the Zuckerman Institutes Charles Zuker, Ph.D., supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

If we want to control our insatiable desire for fat, science is showing us that the key conduit driving these cravings is a connection between the gut and the brain.

This new view of dietary choices and health started with previous work from the Zuker lab on sugar. Researchers found that glucose activates a specific gut-brain circuit that communicates to the brain in the presence of intestinal sugar.

Calorie-free artificial sweeteners, in contrast, do not have this effect, likely explaining why diet sodas can leave us feeling unsatisfied.

Our research is showing that the tongue tells our brain what welike, such as things that taste sweet, salty or fatty, said Dr. Zuker, who is also a professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and of neuroscience at Columbias Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The gut, however, tells our brain what wewant, what we need.

Dr. Li wanted to explore how mice respond to dietary fats: the lipids and fatty acids that every animal must consume to provide the building blocks of life. She offered mice bottles of water with dissolved fats, including a component of soybean oil, and bottles of water containing sweet substances known to not affect the gut but that are initially attractive.

The rodents developed a strong preference, over a couple of days, for the fatty water. They formed this preference even when the scientists genetically modified the mice to remove the animals ability to taste fat using their tongues.

Even though the animals could not taste fat, they were nevertheless driven to consume it, said Dr. Zuker.

The researchers reasoned that fat must be activating specific brain circuits driving the animals behavioral response to fat. To search for that circuit, Dr. Li measuredbrain activityin mice while giving the animals fat.

Neurons in one particular region of the brainstem, the caudal nucleus of the solitary tract (cNST), perked up. This was intriguing because the cNST was also implicated in the labsprevious discoveryof the neural basis of sugar preference.

Dr. Li then found the communications lines that carried the message to the cNST. Neurons in thevagus nerve, which links the gut to the brain, also twittered with activity when mice had fat in their intestines.

Having identified the biological machinery underlying a mouses preference for fat, Dr. Li next took a close look at the gut itself: specifically theendothelial cellslining the intestines. She found two groups of cells that sent signals to the vagal neurons in response to fat.

One group of cells functions as a general sensor of essential nutrients, responding not only to fat, but also to sugars and amino acids, said Dr. Li. The other group responds to only fat, potentially helping the brain distinguish fats from other substances in the gut.

Dr. Li then went one important step further by blocking the activity of these cells using a drug. Shutting down signaling from either cell group prevented vagal neurons from responding to fat in the intestines. She then used genetic techniques to deactivate either the vagal neurons themselves or the neurons in the cNST. In both cases, a mouse lost its appetite for fat.

These interventions verified that each of these biological steps from the gut to the brain is critical for an animals response to fat, said Dr. Li.

These experiments also provide novel strategies for changing the brains response to fat and possibly behavior toward food.

The stakes are high. Obesity rateshave nearly doubledworldwide since 1980. Today, nearlyhalf a billion peoplesuffer from diabetes.

The overconsumption of cheap, highly processed foods rich in sugar and fat is having a devastating impact on human health, especially among people of low income and in communities of color, said Dr. Zuker.

The better we understand how these foods hijack the biological machinery underlying taste and the gut-brain axis, the more opportunity we will have to intervene.

Scott Sternson, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience at University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the new research highlighted its potential for improvinghuman health.

This exciting study offers insight about the molecules and cells that compel animals to desire fat, said Dr. Sternson, whose work focuses on how the brain controls appetite.

The capability of researchers to control this desire may eventually lead to treatments that may help combat obesity by reducing consumption of high-caloriefatty foods.

Author: Press OfficeSource: Columbia UniversityContact: Press Office Columbia UniversityImage: The image is credited to Mengtong Li / Zuker lab / Columbias Zuckerman Institute

Original Research: Closed access.Gut-brain circuits for fat preference by Mengtong Li, Hwei-Ee Tan, Zhengyuan Lu, Katherine S. Tsang, Ashley J. Chung and Charles S. Zuker. Nature

Abstract

Gut-brain circuits for fat preference

The perception of fat evokes strong appetitive and consummatory responses. Here we show that fat stimuli can induce behavioural attraction even in the absence of a functional taste system. We demonstrate that fat acts post-ingestively via the gut-brain axis to drive preference for fat.

Using single-cell data, we identified the vagal neurons responding to intestinal delivery of fat, and showed that genetic silencing of this gut-to-brain circuit abolished the development of fat preference.

Next, we compared the gut-to-brain pathways driving preference for fat versus sugar, and uncovered two parallel systems, one functioning as a general sensor of essential nutrients, responding to intestinal stimulation with sugar, fat and amino acids, while the other is activated only by fat stimuli.

Lastly, we engineered animals lacking candidate receptors detecting the presence of intestinal fat, and validated their role as the mediators of gut-to-brain fat-evoked responses.

Together, these findings revealed distinct cells and receptors using the gut-brain axis as a fundamental conduit for the development of fat preference.

See more here:
Cravings for Fatty Foods Traced to Gut-Brain Connection - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Unlocking the Mystery of Chemo Brain – Neuroscience News

Summary: Researchers have uncovered the molecular mechanisms behind cognitive deficits and brain fog associated with chemotherapy, and identified a current FDA-approved drug for multiple sclerosis that can help reduce chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairments.

Source: St Louis University

Though chemotherapy can be lifesaving, the cancer treatment often leaves patients suffering from debilitating side effects, including cognitive impairments in processing speed, memory, executive function and attention. Dubbed chemo brain, these lingering symptoms can dramatically impact patients quality of life long after they have completed their cancer treatments.

Currently, there are no FDA-approved drugs to mitigate these deficits. In breakthrough findings, renowned Saint Louis University pain researcher Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D., and her team have uncovered some of the molecular events that happen whenchemotherapydrugs cause these deficits.

More promising still, theyve found that an already-approved FDA drug designed to treat multiple sclerosis also appears to work to reduce chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI).

A growing need

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) expects cancer survivorship to reach 21. 7 million by 2029. As survivorship advances, the need to address chemotherapys severe, long-lasting neurotoxic side effects is increasing.

CRCI is a major neurotoxic side effect of chemotherapy, affecting more than 50% of patients treated with widely usedchemotherapy drugs, including taxanes like Paclitaxel and platinum-based agents like Cisplatin. These drugs are widely used as part of standard treatment for numerous cancers, including head and neck, testicular, colon, breast, ovarian and non-small cell lung cancers.

When assessed by neuropsychological tests, up to 75% percent of patients treated with chemotherapy for cancers outside the nervous system reported cognitive deficits.

Salvemini, who is the William Beaumont professor of pharmacology and physiology and Chair of the department at Saint Louis University, says CRCI profoundly affects patient quality of life.

Our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying CRCI and their impact on cognition is limited due to the multifactorial origins of CRCI, said Salvemini, who is also director of the Henry and Amelia Nasrallah Center for Neuroscience at SLU and a fellow of the Saint Louis Academy of Science.

A better understanding of these mechanisms is essential for developing new therapies and improving survivors quality of life.

New findings

In her most recent paper, Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 1 Activation in the Central Nervous System Drives Cisplatin-Induced Cognitive Impairments, published Sept. 1, 2022, in theJournal of Clinical Investigation, Salvemini and her team present the first evidence that chemotherapy alters an important cellular pathway called sphingolipid metabolism in critical areas of the brain linked to cognitive function.

Salvemini notes that in the central nervous system, Cisplatin increases levels of the potent signaling molecule sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), which contributes to the development of CRCI through activation of S1P receptor subtype 1 (S1PR1) on astrocytes and S1PR1-driven mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammatory processes. Mechanistically, she says the team revealed that cisplatin-induced S1P formation is mediated by the toll-like receptor 4.

Their findings bridge the gaps in understanding themolecular mechanismsunderlying CRCI and identify a novel target for therapeutic intervention with functional S1PR1 antagonists. Importantly, S1PR1 antagonists do not interfere with the efficacy of chemotherapy as they and others have shown in previous work and can also block tumor cell growth, inflammation and metastasis.

Our findings are fascinating since two functional S1PR1 antagonists are already FDA-approved for treating multiple sclerosis, Salvemini said. Repurposing these drugs to prevent CRCI would be a groundbreaking shift towards enhancing patient quality of life in cancer treatment.

In previous studies, Salvemini pioneered research on a treatment for neuropathic pain that could provide the first alternative to ineffective steroids and addictive opioids.

Work from Salveminis lab established that altered S1PR1 signaling in the centralnervous systemin response to chemotherapy also contributes to chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain, another central neurotoxicity ofcancer treatment.

This work fueled two ongoing NCIclinical trialsto test the potential use of Gilenya, a drug approved to treat multiple sclerosis, to preventneuropathic painin patients with breast cancer treated with Paclitaxel.

Our work is very translational, Salvemini said. We try to understand the mechanisms at themolecular level, identify the targets, work with our chemists to make new drugs to target that specific pathway, test it, and then take the necessary steps to move along this compound until it is ready to be studied in a clinical trial.

Author: Press OfficeSource: St Louis UniversityContact: Press Office St Louis UniversityImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 activation in the central nervous system drives cisplatin-induced cognitive impairment by Silvia Squillace et al. Journal of Clinical Investigation

Abstract

Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 activation in the central nervous system drives cisplatin-induced cognitive impairment

Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a major neurotoxicity affecting more than 50% of cancer survivors. The underpinning mechanisms are mostly unknown, and there are no FDA-approved interventions.

Sphingolipidomic analysis of mouse prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, key sites of cognitive function, revealed that cisplatin increased levels of the potent signaling molecule sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and led to cognitive impairment. At the biochemical level, S1P induced mitochondrial dysfunction, activation of NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domaincontaining protein 3 inflammasomes, and increased IL-1 formation.

These events were attenuated by systemic administration of the functional S1P receptor 1 (S1PR1) antagonist FTY720, which also attenuated cognitive impairment without adversely affecting locomotor activity. Similar attenuation was observed with ozanimod, another FDA-approved functional S1PR1 antagonist.

Mice with astrocyte-specific deletion ofS1pr1lost their ability to respond to FTY720, implicating involvement of astrocytic S1PR1. Remarkably, our pharmacological and genetic approaches, coupled with computational modeling studies, revealed that cisplatin increased S1P production by activating TLR4.

Collectively, our results identify the molecular mechanisms engaged by the S1P/S1PR1 axis in CRCI and establish S1PR1 antagonism as an approach to target CRCI with therapeutics that have fast-track clinical application.

Original post:
Unlocking the Mystery of Chemo Brain - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Luke co-authors book and several papers on counseling – St. Bonaventure

Sep 08, 2022

Dr. Chad Luke, associate professor of counselor education, is the co-author of a recently published book and several papers.

The book, "Career-Focused Counseling: Integrating Culture, Development, and Neuroscience," co-authored with Dr. Melinda M. Gibbons of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, integrates neuroscience into the practice of counseling for work-related concerns. (Link to book)

Luke also co-authored the following papers:

Read the original:
Luke co-authors book and several papers on counseling - St. Bonaventure

Neuroscience

Neuroscience Market Competitive Strategies and Forecast up to 2031 – Taiwan News

The latest market survey reports predict that the global Neuroscience market will display excellent growth and record an admirable CAGR during the forecast period of the study i.e. 2022 to 2032. Here we have outlined the Neuroscience Market based on extensive research regarding the major trends in the world. These industries are the highest-earning worldwide and grow quickly. In the next few years, this market has the potential to scale up by billions of dollars. One of the primary drivers expected to drive Neuroscience market growth is the increased demand for Neuroscience among businesses.

The researchers compile the necessary information that enlightens the CXOs about the current growth opportunities in a specific market and enables them to make the most of the opportunities. Specially, while talking about a major shift during the pandemic period, COVID-19 has been a terrible global public-health crisis that has affected nearly every industry. The industrys growth will slow down in the future. Our ongoing research allows us to include COVID-19 topics in our research framework. The report provides insight into COVID-19, including changes in consumer behavior and buying patterns, rerouting and dynamics of current market forces and government intervention. The COVID-19 market impact is being examined, estimated, forecasted, and analyzed in the most recent study.

Learn how tensions between China and Taiwan Might affect your industry; request for Sample Report: https://market.us/report/neuroscience-market/request-sample/

WHAT WE HAVE IN THE REPORTS

1. Future Trends in the Neuroscience Market to 2032

2. Cumulative Implication of COVID-19 & Cumulative Implication of Russia-Ukraine War In 2022

3. Market snapshot (Global Market Size + Largest Segment + Fastest growth + Growth Rate in %)

4. Market Dynamics [Drivers of Restraint and Opportunities]

5. Market Statistics and Figures

6. Conclusion

Lets take a glimpse of it one after the other

As the world is moving forward to liberalization, privatization, and globalization, international commerce and perhaps corporate activity has grown worldwide. A high degree of competition exists among market players operating in the global Neuroscience market. The market is dominated by a few major players and it is moderately consolidated. As well as new entrants in the Neuroscience market. It focuses on recent mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, collaborations, partnerships, licensing agreements, brand promotions, and product launches. Key manufacturers operating in the global market are:

Doric Lenses IncGE HealthcareSiemens Healthineers Laserglow TechnologiesMightex SystemsPrizmatixKendall Research Systems LLCNoldus Information TechnologyMed Associates IncPhoenix Technology GroupNeuroNexus

What is New for 2022?

Global competitiveness and key competitor percentage market shares

Market presence across multiple geographies

Complimentary updates for one year

Market: Segmentation Table

Product Type

Whole Brain ImagingNeuro-microscopyElectrophysiologyNeuro-functional analysisNeuro-proteomic analysisNeuro-cellular manipulationNeuro-biochemical assaysStereotaxic surgeriesAnimal behavior

Application Insights

InstrumentationData analysis and servicesConsumables

Get in touch with our analysts here to know more about global Neuroscience market trends and drivers: https://market.us/report/neuroscience-market/#inquiry

Regional Insights

North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

Europe (Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Rest of APAC)

South America (Brazil and the Rest of South America)

The Middle East and Africa (UAE, South Africa, Rest of MEA)

Figure:

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the size of the Worldwide Neuroscience market?

Q2. How has the Neuroscience market evolved over the past four years?

Q3. Which are the major companies in the Neuroscience market?

Q4. What are some prevailing market dynamics in the Neuroscience market?

Q5. Which region, among others, possesses more significant investment opportunities in the near future?

Q6. What will the Asia-Pacific Neuroscience market be?

Q7. What are the strategies opted by the leading players in this market?

Q8. What are the essential key challenges, opportunities and improvement factors for market players?

Q9. What are the segments of Neuroscience market?

Q10.What is the sales forecast for Neuroscience Market?

TOC Highlights:

Preface

This segment provides opinions of key participants, an audit of Neuroscience industry, market outlook across key regions, financial services, and various challenges faced by Neuroscience market. It briefly introduces the global Neuroscience market. This section depends on the Scope of the Study and Report Guidance.

Executive Summary

It elaborated market outlook by segmentation in Neuroscience market. In addition, it also represents the market snapshot covered in the report.

Neuroscience Market Dynamics [driving factors +restraining factors + recent trends]

This section comprises current market dynamics in the Neuroscience market. Such as key driving factors, major opportunities areas, restraining factors, & recent trends in Neuroscience market. It also includes SWOT analysis and Porters five force analysis. This help to identify the key growth factors and challenges in the Neuroscience market.

Global Neuroscience market Analysis, Opportunity and Forecast

This chapter comprises the current scenario of the Global Neuroscience market, including forecast estimation for 2023-2032.

Geographic Analysis

This section has covered in-depth regional market share analysis and carefully scrutinized it to understand its current and future growth, development, and demand scenarios for this market.

Covid-19 Impact

This section briefly describes the positive and negative impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Global Neuroscience Market.

Pricing Analysis

This chapter provides price point analysis by region and other forecasts.

Competitive Landscape

It includes major players in the Neuroscience market. Moreover, it also covers the detailed company shares analysis in the report based on their products demand and market served, the number of products, applications, regional growth, and other factors.

Research Methodology

The research methodology chapter includes the following main facts,

Coverage

Secondary Research

Primary Research

Conclusion

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Originally posted here:
Neuroscience Market Competitive Strategies and Forecast up to 2031 - Taiwan News

Neuroscience

How to Deal With Sleep Problems During Heat Waves – Neuroscience News

Summary: Many people experience sleep problems during hotter weather. Researchers address ways in which we can help to get a good nights sleep during hot weather.

Source: Wiley

With heatwaves occurring more frequently, investigators from the European Insomnia Network recently explored how outdoor nighttime temperature changes affect body temperature and sleep quality.

Their review of the literature, which is published in theJournal of Sleep Research, indicates that environmental temperatures outside the thermal comfort can strongly affect human sleep by disturbing the bodys ability to thermoregulate.

The authors note that certain groupssuch as older adults, children, pregnant women, and individuals with psychiatric conditionsmay be especially vulnerable to the sleep disruptive effects of heatwaves.

They also offer several coping methods adapted from elements of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.

It is important to keep the bedroom below 25 degrees Celsius (77F ): 19 degrees Celsius (66F ) is the ideal.

Sleep is known to become more shallow and less recuperating if the room temperature is too warm. Use a fan instead of air conditioning, if possible, said corresponding author Ellemarije Altena, Associate Professor at the University of Bordeaux, in France.

A lukewarm shower or foot bath before sleep can help to cool down and regulate body temperature during sleep. Plan physical activities only in the morning, when it is cooler, and drink a lot of water during the day to help the body cool down during the night.

Alcohol both dehydrates and disrupts sleep, so limit those cold summer beers during heat waves. Keep a regular sleep schedule as much as possible, particularly for children.

Author: Dawn PetersSource: WileyContact: Dawn Peters WileyImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.How to deal with sleep problems during heatwaves: practical recommendations from the European Insomnia Network by Ellemarije Altena et al. Journal of Sleep Research

Abstract

How to deal with sleep problems during heatwaves: practical recommendations from the European Insomnia Network

Heatwaves are occurring more frequently and are known to affect particularly night-time temperatures.

We review here literature on how night-time ambient temperature changes affect body temperature and sleep quality. We then discuss how these temperature effects impact particularly vulnerable populations such as older adults, children, pregnant women, and those with psychiatric conditions.

Several ways of dealing with sleep problems in the context of heatwaves are then suggested, adapted from elements of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, with more specific advice for vulnerable populations. By better dealing with sleep problems during heatwaves, general health effects of heatwaves may be more limited.

However, given the sparse literature, many links addressed in this review on sleep problems affected by temperature changes should be the focus of future research.

Read this article:
How to Deal With Sleep Problems During Heat Waves - Neuroscience News