Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Young Men Feel the Most Threatened by Advances in Womens Rights – Neuroscience News

Summary: Young men between the ages of 18 and 29 are more likely to believe promoting womens rights threatens male opportunities than older men. Researchers suggest this modern sexism could motivate young men to vote for right-wing radical politicians who promote anti-feminist views.

Source: University of Gothenburg

It is not the older generation but young men who have the most difficulty in accepting advances in womens rights. This has been shown by a large study from the University of Gothenburg on gender equality and sexism in Europe.

In recent decades, Western democracies have become increasingly gender-equal. Girls and women tend to avail themselves of educational opportunities even more than men do, and more and more women are getting jobs in leading positions. But while gender equality is improving, research shows that modern sexism is working against womens rights.

One example of modern sexism is when people consider society as gender-equal and therefore oppose further efforts to promote womens rights. Their reasoning is based on the so-called zero-sum game notion, where progress for one group is seen as being at the expense of another.

Previous research shows that a perceived sense of injustice and competition between men and women affects political attitudes and voting behaviour.

Some people believe that increased gender equality only benefits women and do not see the benefits for society as a whole. Some research suggests that this feeling of injustice can even motivate citizens to vote for right-wing radical parties who are against feminism and sexual freedom, says Gefjon Off, doctoral student in political science.

The study covers 27 countriesTogether with Amy Alexander and Nicholas Charron, both political scientists at the University of Gothenburg, she has studied what lies behind the relatively high incidence of modern sexism among young men in Europe.

The study is based on a survey with 32,469 respondents in 27 EU countries. The respondents were asked to state to what extent they agree with the statement that promoting womens and girls rights has gone too far because it threatens mens and boys opportunities.

The results show that young men aged 18 to 29 most often agree with this statement in our survey. The older the men are, the less they agree with this statement. Some women agree with the statement, but to a far lesser extent than men of all ages. The results contradict previous research claiming that the older generation are the ones who are the most conservative and opposed to advances in womens rights, says Gefjon Off.

The researchers identified a couple of factors that explain why modern sexism is highest among young men aged between 18 and 29 years. The proportion is highest in regions where unemployment has risen the most in recent years, and where citizens have a widespread distrust of social institutions for example, due to widespread corruption.

Slovakia is the EU country in the study where the highest proportion of young men are opposed to advances in womens rights. In some regions there, unemployment has risen by as much as 1.1 percent in the last two years.

More than other EU citizens, Slovaks think that their own countrys public institutions are not impartial, that is, that their social institutions favour certain groups of people, says Nicholas Charron, Professor in political science.

The study also shows the inverse situation. In regions such as Northern Italy where unemployment has fallen and where social institutions are perceived as reasonably impartial, young men are less resistant to advances in womens rights.

Sweden among the top 10Unemployment also plays a role in Sweden. The study shows that the largest proportion of young men who agree with the survey statement that advances in womens rights threaten mens and boys opportunities live in regions where unemployment has risen in the last two years.

The gap between young womens and young mens views on advancing womens rights is great in Sweden, among the top 10 in the EU according to our measurements, says Nicholas Charron.

The fact that young men stand out in this context may be due to their position on the labour market: At a young age they may not yet have a stable job, or they may not have progressed as far in their careers as older men.

Possibly, young men who believe that women are outcompeting them in the labour market experience advances in womens rights as unjust and a threat. We need to get better at communicating the benefits of gender equality.

Fathers get to spend more time with their children and the burden of being the familys breadwinner is lightened when mothers in families also advance in their careers, says Gefjon Off.

Author: Thomas MelinSource: University of GothenburgContact: Thomas Melin University of GothenburgImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Who perceives womens rights as threatening to men and boys? Explaining modern sexism among young men in Europe by Gefjon Off et al. Frontiers in Political Science

Abstract

Who perceives womens rights as threatening to men and boys? Explaining modern sexism among young men in Europe

While Western democracies have become increasingly gender-equal over the past decades, recent research documents a backlash against gender equality in the form of rising modern sexism. Previous research shows that modern sexism predicts political attitudes and voting behavior that are detrimental to womens empowerment and liberalism.

Yet, we know little about which factors explain modern sexist attitudes and how they operate across multiple country contexts. Building on modern conceptualizations of sexism, we theorize that (perceived) increases in competition between men and women provoke modern sexism among young men in particular.

Using an original measure that approximates dimensions of modern sexism embedded in the 2021 EQI survey, capturing 32,469 individuals nested in 208 NUTS 2 regions in 27 European Union countries, we demonstrate that young men are most likely to perceive advances in womens rights as a threat to mens opportunities.

This is particularly true for young men who (a) consider public institutions in their region as unfair, and (b) reside in regions with recent increases in unemployment resulting in increased competition for jobs.

Our findings highlight the role of perceived competition between men and women in modern sexism and contradict the argument that older generations are most likely to backlash against progressive values, potentially adding to research explaining the recent backlash against gender equality.

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Young Men Feel the Most Threatened by Advances in Womens Rights - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Mechanisms of Psychostimulants on Attention and Learning Revealed – Neuroscience News

Summary: Psychostimulants increase dopamine levels, enhancing task-relevant cortical signals by acting on the striatum and the difference in dopamine synthesis capacity in the striatum explains the variability in the drugs cognitive effects.

Source: Human Brain Project

Psychostimulants are commonly used as treatments of psychiatric disorders or to improve cognition, but the benefits of these drugs are not the same for everyone, as their effects vary greatly both across individuals and within the same patient.

This large variability poses a major problem for treatment strategies in psychiatry, and the reasons behind it are still not clear.

Now, scientists of the Human Brain Project (HBP) have moved closer to understanding them.

One of these medications is methylphenidate, the active ingredient of the drugs Ritalin and Concerta that are used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but are also widely used by healthy people for its cognition-improving effects. Methylphenidate acts in part by increasing levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in the brains reward system.A new study by a team of researchers from Radboud University Medical Center (Netherlands) and Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior (Netherlands) unravels the mechanisms by which methylphenidate gates both attention and reward learning.

The researchers tested the hypothesis that the effects of methylphenidate on learning based on reward or punishment depend on the baseline levels of dopamine in a persons brain.

To test this, one hundred young healthy adults received (in different sessions) methylphenidate, sulpiride (a medication used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia that acts more selectively on dopamine receptors), or a placebo, and were later scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a reward/punishment reversal learning task. In this task, participants learned to predict whether a picture (of a face or a landscape) that is selected by the computer is followed by reward or punishment.

A reward outcome consisted of a green smiley and a + 100 sign. A punishment consisted of a red sad smiley and a -100 sign. Whether the face or the landscape was associated with reward or punishment changed frequently in the task, so to perform well people had to continue to pay attention and flexibly update their behaviour based on prediction errors.The researchers observed that the degree to which both methylphenidate and sulpiride improved reward compared with punishment learning depends on baseline dopamine synthesis capacity.

Moreover, these effects on learning were accompanied by increased activity in the striatum, a dopamine-rich region deep inside the brain, and also by increased specificity of the activity in regions of the cortex near the back of the brain that are specialised for processing faces and landscapes.Their findings provide strong support for two hypotheses related to methylphenidate: First, that dopamine enhances task-relevant cortical signals by acting on the striatum. Second, that differences between individuals in dopamine synthesis capacity in the striatum explain the variability in the drugs cognitive effects.

Author: Peter ZekertSource: Human Brain ProjectContact: Peter Zekert Human Brain ProjectImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Striatal dopamine dissociates methylphenidate effects on value-based versus surprise-based reversal learning by Roshan Coolset al. Nature Communications

Abstract

Striatal dopamine dissociates methylphenidate effects on value-based versus surprise-based reversal learning

Psychostimulants such as methylphenidate are widely used for their cognitive enhancing effects, but there is large variability in the direction and extent of these effects.

We tested the hypothesis that methylphenidate enhances or impairs reward/punishment-based reversal learning depending on baseline striatal dopamine levels and corticostriatal gating of reward/punishment-related representations in stimulus-specific sensory cortex.

Young healthy adults (N=100) were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging during a reward/punishment reversal learning task, after intake of methylphenidate or the selective D2/3-receptor antagonist sulpiride.

Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity was indexed with [18F]DOPA positron emission tomography. Methylphenidate improved and sulpiride decreased overall accuracy and response speed.

Both drugs boosted reward versus punishment learning signals to a greater degree in participants with higher dopamine synthesis capacity. By contrast, striatal and stimulus-specific sensory surprise signals were boosted in participants with lower dopamine synthesis.

These results unravel the mechanisms by which methylphenidate gates both attention and reward learning.

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Mechanisms of Psychostimulants on Attention and Learning Revealed - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Long-Term Study Supports Link Between Inflammation and Cognitive Problems in Older Breast Cancer Survivors – Neuroscience News

Summary: Higher levels of the inflammatory C-reactive protein were discovered in older breast cancer survivors who experienced cognitive issues. The study is one of the first long-term assessments linking chronic inflammation to cognitive decline in breast cancer survivors.

Source: UCLA

Scientists are still trying to understand why many breast cancer survivors experience troubling cognitive problems for years after treatment. Inflammation is one possible culprit.

Anew long-term studyof older breast cancer survivors published today in theJournal of Clinical Oncologyand co-led by UCLA researchers adds important evidence to that potential link.

Higher levels of an inflammatory marker known as C-reactive protein (CRP) were related to older breast cancer survivors reporting cognitive problems in the new study.

Blood tests for CRP are used routinely in the clinic to determine risk of heart disease. Our study suggests this common test for inflammation might also be an indicator of risk for cognitive problems reported by breast cancer survivors, said study lead author Judith Carroll, an associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and faculty member of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study, called the Thinking and Living with Cancer (TLC) Study, is one of the first long-term efforts to examine the potential link between chronic inflammation and cognition in breast cancer survivors 60 and older, who make up a majority of the nearly 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

Previous research has focused largely on younger women and women immediately after therapy, making it difficult to draw conclusions about CRPs role in long-term cognitive problems among older breast cancer survivors.

In TLC, teams of researchers from around the country talked to, and obtained blood samples from, hundreds of breast cancer survivors and women without cancer up to 6 times over the course of 5 years. The study was motivated by hearing from survivors and advocates that cognitive problems are one of their major worries.

Cognitive issues affect womens daily lives years after completing treatment, and their reports of their own ability to complete tasks and remember things was the strongest indicator of problems in this study, said co-senior study author Dr. Jeanne Mandelblatt, a professor of oncology at Georgetown University who is the lead of the TLC study.

Being able to test for levels of inflammation at the same time that cognition was being rigorously evaluated gave the TLC team a potential window into the biology underlying cognitive concerns, said Elizabeth C. Breen, a professor emerita of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA, who also served as co-senior study author.

Cognition, from the perspective of each woman, was evaluated through a commonly used questionnaire assessing how the women perceive their ability to remember things like names and direction, ability to concentrate, and other aspects of everyday life.

The study found higher CRP levels among survivors were predictive of lower reported cognitive function among breast cancer survivors. There was no similar relationship between CRP levels and reported cognition in the women without cancer.

Cognitive performance, as measured by standardized neuropsychological tests, failed to show a link between CRP and cognition. The authors say this may indicate women are more sensitive to differences in their everyday cognitive function, self-reporting changes that other tests miss.

The authors said their study supports the need for research on whether interventions that can lower inflammation including increased physical activity, better sleep, and anti-inflammatory medications may prevent or reduce cognitive concerns in older breast cancer survivors.

Other study authors include Zev M. Nakamura, Brent J. Small, Xingtao Zhou, Harvey J. Cohen, Tim A. Ahles, Jaeil Ahn, Traci N. Bethea, Martine Extermann, Deena Graham, Claudine Isaacs, Heather S.L. Jim, Paul B. Jacobsen, Brenna C. McDonald, Sunita K. Patel, Kelly Rentscher, James Root, Andrew J. Saykin, Danielle B. Tometich, Kathleen Van Dyk, and Wanting Zhai. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Author: Jason MillmanSource: UCLAContact: Jason Millman UCLAImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Elevated C-Reactive Protein and Subsequent Patient-Reported Cognitive Problems in Older Breast Cancer Survivors: The Thinking and Living With Cancer Study by Judith Carroll et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology

Abstract

Elevated C-Reactive Protein and Subsequent Patient-Reported Cognitive Problems in Older Breast Cancer Survivors: The Thinking and Living With Cancer Study

PURPOSE

To examine longitudinal relationships between levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and cognition in older breast cancer survivors and noncancer controls.

METHODS

English-speaking women age 60 years, newly diagnosed with primary breast cancer (stage 0-III), and frequency-matched controls were enrolled from September 2010 to March 2020; women with dementia, neurologic disorders, and other cancers were excluded. Assessments occurred presystemic therapy/enrollment and at annual visits up to 60 months. Cognition was measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function and neuropsychological testing. Mixed linear effect models tested for survivor-control differences in natural log (ln)-transformed CRP at each visit. Random effectlagged fluctuation models tested directional effects of ln-CRP on subsequent cognition. All models controlled for age, race, study site, cognitive reserve, obesity, and comorbidities; secondary analyses evaluated if depression or anxiety affected results.

RESULTS

There were 400 survivors and 329 controls with CRP specimens and follow-up data (average age of 67.7 years, range: 60-90 years). The majority of survivors had stage I (60.9%), estrogen receptorpositive (87.6%) tumors. Survivors had significantly higher adjusted mean ln-CRP than controls at baseline and 12-, 24-, and 60-month visits (allP< .05). Higher adjusted ln-CRP predicted lower participant-reported cognition on subsequent visits among survivors, but not controls (Pinteraction = .008); effects were unchanged by depression or anxiety. Overall, survivors had adjusted Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function scores that were 9.5 and 14.2 points lower than controls at CRP levels of 3.0 and 10.0 mg/L. Survivors had poorer neuropsychological test performance (vcontrols), with significant interactions with CRP only for the Trails B test.

CONCLUSION

Longitudinal relationships between CRP and cognition in older breast cancer survivors suggest that chronic inflammation may play a role in development of cognitive problems. CRP testing could be clinically useful in survivorship care.

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Long-Term Study Supports Link Between Inflammation and Cognitive Problems in Older Breast Cancer Survivors - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Regularly Exercising With Weights Linked to Lower Risk of Death – Neuroscience News

Summary: Regular weight training exercise is associated with a reduced risk of death, a new study reports. Incorporating aerobic exercise with weight-based exercise adds to the protective effect.

Source: BMJ

Regularly exercising with weights is linked to a lower risk of death from any cause, with the exception of cancer, finds research carried out in older adults and published online in theBritish Journal of Sports Medicine.

And ensuring that a weekly exercise routine includes both weights and aerobic activities seems to have an additive effect, the findings suggest.

Current guidelines on physical activity for all adults recommend at least 150 weekly minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity, or a minimum of 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity, or an equal combination of the twousually referred to as MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity).

All adults are also recommended to incorporate activities that work all the major muscle groups. Yet while aerobic exercise is consistently associated with a lower risk of death, its not clear if working out with weights might have similar effects.

In a bid to plug this knowledge gap, the researchers set out to evaluate separately and jointly the potential impact of exercising with weights and aerobic activities on the risk of death among older adults.

They drew on participants from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. This began in 1993 and includes 154,897 men and women aged 5574 from 10 different cancer centres in the United States.

In 2006, 104,002 of the participants were additionally asked if they had exercised with weights over the past year, and if so, how often they had done soanything from less than once a month to several times a week.

And they were asked about the frequency and duration of both moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity over the past year.

Moderate intensity was described as activity where you worked up a light sweat or increased your breathing and heart rate to moderately high levels and vigorous activity as activity strenuous enough to work up a sweat or increase your breathing and heart rate to very high levels.

Four activity groups were generated based on total weekly minutes of MVPA: (1) inactive, 0 minutes; (2) insufficient aerobic MVPA, 1149 minutes; (3) sufficient, 150+ minutes of moderate, or an equivalent amount of vigorous, activity; and (4) highly active, 301 or more minutes of moderate, or an equivalent amount of vigorous, activity.

In all, the responses of 99,713 people were included in the final analysis, 28,477 of whom died over an average of 9 years of monitoring. Their average age at the start of the monitoring period was 71, and the average weight (BMI) was 27.8 kg/m2which is defined as overweight.

Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) respondents reported some weightlifting activity; 16% said they exercised with weights regularly between one to six times a week. Nearly a third (32%) were sufficiently aerobically active, either meeting (24%) or exceeding (8%) the guidelines on MVPA.

Exercising with weights and aerobic MVPA were both independently associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, as well as from cardiovascular disease, but not from cancer.

Overall, working out with weights in the absence of MVPA was associated with a 9-22% lower risk of death, depending on the amount: for example, using weights once or twice a week was associated with a 14% lower risk.

Similarly, among those who didnt exercise with weights, aerobic MVPA was associated with a 24-34% lower risk of death from any cause, compared with those who reported neither MVPA nor exercising with weights.

But the lowest risk of death was seen among those who said they did both types of physical activity.

For example, the risk of death was 41-47% lower among those who said they met most recommended weekly levels of MVPA and who exercised with weights once or twice a week than it was among those who were physically inactive.

Educational attainment, smoking, BMI, race and ethnicity didnt significantly change the associations observed, but sex did: the associations were stronger in women.

This is an observational study, and as such, cant establish cause, added to which it relied on personal recall and included data from a single point in time. Specific details on training intensity, training load, volume (sets and repetitions), and for how long participants had been exercising with weights werent available, all of which may have influenced the findings.

The study focused only on weights, but there are other types of muscle strengthening exercise, say the researchers, citing callisthenics, which include push-ups and squats; Pilates; and plyometric exercises, which include tuck jumps and burpees.

Using weights can make a body leaner: total lean mass is independently associated with a lower risk of death, say the researchers by way of an explanation for their findings. And if done in a gym, could also be very sociableanother factor associated with a longer, healthier life.

Our finding that mortality risk appeared to be lowest for those who participated in both types of exercise provides strong support for current recommendations to engage in both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, they write.

Older adults would probably benefit from adding weightlifting exercises to their physical activity routines, they conclude.

Author: BMJ Media RelationsSource: BMJContact: BMJ Media Relations BMJImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Independent and joint associations of weightlifting and aerobic activity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial by Charles E Matthews et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine

Abstract

Independent and joint associations of weightlifting and aerobic activity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial

Objectives

Both aerobic moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE) are recommended, but the mortality benefits of weightlifting, a specific type of MSE, are limited.

Methods

In the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, we used Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for the associations between weightlifting and mortality, adjusting for demographics, lifestyle and behavioural risk factors. The sample included 99713 adults who completed the follow-up questionnaire that assessed weightlifting who were subsequently followed up through 2016 to determine mortality (median 9, IQR 7.610.6 years).

Results

Mean age at the follow-up questionnaire was 71.3 (IQR 6676) years, 52.6% female, with mean body mass index of 27.8 (SD 4.9) kg/m2. Weightlifting was associated with a 9% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR=0.91 (95% CI 0.88 to 0.94)) and CVD mortality (0.91 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.97)) after adjusting for MVPA. Joint models revealed that adults who met aerobic MVPA recommendations but did not weightlift had a 32% lower all-cause mortality risk (HR=0.68 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.70)), while those who also reported weightlifting 12times/week had a 41% lower risk (HR=0.59 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.64)), both compared with adults reporting no aerobic MVPA or weightlifting. Without adjustment for MVPA, weightlifting was associated with lower cancer mortality (HR=0.85 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.91)).

Conclusion

Weightlifting and MVPA were associated with a lower risk of all-cause and CVD mortality, but not cancer mortality. Adults who met recommended amounts of both types of exercise appeared to gain additional benefit.

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Regularly Exercising With Weights Linked to Lower Risk of Death - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Loneliness Associated With Double the Risk of Developing Diabetes – Neuroscience News

Summary: Higher rates of loneliness were associated with an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes during a twenty-year follow-up, a new study reveals.

Source: Diabetologia

A new study published inDiabetologia(the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) finds that feelings of loneliness are linked to a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D).

The research was conducted by Associate Professor Roger E. Henriksen and his colleagues at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. As well as examining the association between loneliness and the risk of developing T2D, it looked at whether depression and insomnia play a role.

A growing body of research has pointed to a link between psychological stress and an individuals risk of developing T2D.

Loneliness creates a chronic and sometimes long-lasting state of distress which may activate the bodys physiological stress response.

While the exact mechanisms are not fully understood, this response is believed to play a central role in the development of T2D through mechanisms such as temporary insulin resistance brought on by elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

This process also involves changes in the regulation of eating behaviour by the brain, causing an increased appetite for carbohydrates and subsequent elevated blood sugar levels. Previous studies have found an association between loneliness and unhealthy eating including higher consumption of sugary drinks and foods rich in sugars and fats.

The researchers used data from the HUNT study, a collaboration between the HUNT Research Centre (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology [NTNU]), Trndelag County Council, the Central Norway Regional Health Authority and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

This database contains the health information (from self-reported questionnaires, medical examinations and blood samples) of more than 230,000 people and obtained via four population surveys: HUNT1 (1984-1986), HUNT2 (1995-1997), HUNT3 (2006-2008) and HUNT4 (2017-2019).

Baseline information for 24,024 participants was taken from HUNT2 after excluding individuals with metabolic disorders, type 1 and type 2 diabetes and those for whom blood test data were not available. T2D status was the main outcome variable and was based on HbA1c(glycated haemoglobin a measure of long-term blood sugar control) being greater than 48mmol/mol when measured in the HUNT4 survey.

Loneliness was gauged from HUNT2 data survey whether they had felt lonely over the previous 2 weeks and was measured on a four-point scale (no, a little, a good amount and very much).

Severity of depression symptoms were assessed using questionnaire completed during HUNT3 which consisted of 7 questions, each scored on a scale of 0-3 for a total of 0-21 points, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.

Individuals with insomnia were identified based on their answers to the questions: How often in the last 3 months have you: had difficulty falling asleep at night, woken up repeatedly during the night and woken too early and couldnt get back to sleep, respectively.

These were asked as part of HUNT3 and participants could choose one of three answers: never/seldom, sometimes and several times a week.

Out of 24,024 people, 1,179 (4.9%) went on to develop T2D over the course of the study (1995-2019). These individuals were more likely to be men (59% vs 44%) and had a higher mean age (48 years vs 43 years) than those without T2D. They were also more likely to be married (73% vs 68%) and have the lowest level of education (35% vs 23%). Feelings of loneliness were reported by 13% of participants.

The study found that higher levels of loneliness at baseline were strongly associated with a higher risk of T2D when measured 20 years later. After adjusting for age, sex and education level they found that participants who responded very much when asked whether they had felt lonely were twice as likely to develop T2D than those who did not feel lonely.

Further analysis showed that this relationship was not altered by the presence of depression, sleep-onset insomnia or terminal insomnia, although the team did find evidence of a link to sleep maintenance insomnia.

Although their study did not examine the exact mechanisms involved, the researchers note that social support, influence and engagement may have positive effects on health-promoting behaviours.

For example, advice and support from a friend may influence an individuals health-related choices and have a positive effect on their diet, physical activity level and overall feelings of stress. Fewer social ties and a lack of these positive influences can make lonely people more vulnerable to behaviour which could increase the risk of developing T2D.

The researchers advise that loneliness should be included in clinical guidelines relating to T2D. They say: It is important that healthcare providers are open to dialogue about an individuals concerns during clinical consultations, including with regard to loneliness and social interaction.

The authors recommend that further research is carried out into the mechanisms at play in the link between loneliness and T2D as well as the roles played by insomnia and depression.

They conclude: Questions to be answered are the extent to which loneliness leads to the activation of stress responses, the extent to which loneliness affects health-related behaviour and, importantly, how these two pathways interact in terms of contributing to an increased risk of T2D.

Author: Judy NaylorSource: DiabetologiaContact: Judy Naylor DiabetologiaImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Loneliness increases the risk of type 2 diabetes: a 20 year follow-up results from the HUNT study by Roger E. Henriksen et al. Diabetologia

Abstract

Loneliness increases the risk of type 2 diabetes: a 20 year follow-up results from the HUNT study

Type 2 diabetes is one of the leading causes of death globally and its incidence has increased dramatically over the last two decades. Recent research suggests that loneliness is a possible risk factor for type 2 diabetes. This 20 year follow-up study examined whether loneliness is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. As both loneliness and type 2 diabetes have been linked to depression and sleep problems, we also investigated whether any association between loneliness and type 2 diabetes is mediated by symptoms of depression and insomnia.

We used data from the Trndelag Health Study (HUNT study), a large longitudinal health study based on a population from central Norway (n=24,024). Self-reports of loneliness (HUNT2 survey, 19951997) and data on HbA1clevels (HUNT4 survey, 20172019) were analysed to evaluate the associations between loneliness and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Associations were reported as ORs with 95% CIs, adjusted for sex, age and education. We further investigated the role of depression and insomnia as potential mediating factors.

During the 20 year follow-up period, 4.9% of the study participants developed type 2 diabetes. Various degrees of feeling lonely were reported by 12.6% of the participants. Individuals who felt most lonely had a twofold higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes relative to those who did not feel lonely (adjusted OR 2.19 [95% CI 1.16, 4.15]). The effect of loneliness on type 2 diabetes was weakly mediated by one subtype of insomnia but not by symptoms of depression.

This study suggests that loneliness may be one factor that increases the risk of type 2 diabetes; however, there is no strong support that the effect of loneliness on type 2 diabetes is mediated by depression or insomnia. We recommend that loneliness should be included in clinical guidelines on consultations and interventions related to type 2 diabetes.

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Loneliness Associated With Double the Risk of Developing Diabetes - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Potential Therapeutic Targets to Prevent Hearing Loss Caused by Antibiotics – Neuroscience News

Summary: Researchers have identified an autophagy pathway in hair cells in the ear thats linked to permanent hearing loss that occurs as a result of exposure to aminoglycosides antibiotics in some patients.

Source: Indiana University

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine are developing new ways to study why an antibiotic causes hair cell death and permanent hearing loss in people.

In astudy recently published inDevelopmental Cell, the researchers explained how they identified the autophagy pathway in hair cells thats linked to permanent hearing loss brought about by aminoglycosidesa class of antibiotics.

The researchers also developed one of the first laboratory models thats insusceptible to aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss.

This work identifies multiple potential therapeutic targets for preventing hearing loss caused by aminoglycosides, saidBo Zhao, PhD, assistant professor of otolaryngologyhead and neck surgery.

Ototoxicityhearing loss caused by medicationis one of the main causes of hearing loss in humans. More than 48 million people in the United States experience trouble hearing.

Aminoglycosides for nearly a century have been used to treat severe infections. Although the drug is a first-line treatment for life-threatening infectionsparticularly in developing countriesdue to their low cost and low incidence of antibiotic resistance, it has been reported to cause hair cell death and subsequent permanent hearing loss among 20-47% of patients, but the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Hair cells are responsible for sound reception in the inner ear.

Zhao, whose lab investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying hearing loss, used biochemical screening to identify proteins found in hair cells. They first discovered that aminoglycosides bound to the protein RIPOR2, which is required for auditory perception.

As aminoglycosides specifically trigger a rapid localization change of RIPOR2 in hair cells, we hypothesize that RIPOR2 is essential for aminoglycoside-induced hair cell death, Zhao said.

The researchers developed a model in the lab that has normal hearing but significantly decreased RIPOR2 expression. Through these experiments, Zhao said the model had neither significant hair cell death nor hearing loss after treatment of aminoglycosides.

We then discovered RIPOR2 regulates the autophagy pathway in hair cells. Knowing this, we developed other laboratory models without the expression of several key autophagy proteins that did not exhibit hair cell death or hearing loss when treated with the antibiotic, saidJinan Li, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Zhao lab and first author of the paper.

The study authors say the proteins identified in this study could potentially be used as drug targets to prevent aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss in future studies.

In addition to Zhao and Li, authors of the article includeChang Liu, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Zhao lab, andUlrich Mueller, PhD, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience and Biology at Johns Hopkins University. Funding for the research was provided by the National Institutes of Health and IU School of Medicine.

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

Original Research: Closed access.RIPOR2-mediated autophagy dysfunction is critical for aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss by Bo Zhao et al. Developmental Cell

Abstract

RIPOR2-mediated autophagy dysfunction is critical for aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss

Aminoglycosides (AGs) are potent antibiotics that are capable of treating a wide variety of life-threatening infections; however, they are ototoxic and cause irreversible damage to cochlear hair cells.

Despite substantial progress, little is known about the molecular pathways critical for hair cell function and survival that are affected by AG exposure.

We demonstrate here that gentamicin, a representative AG antibiotic, binds to and within minutes triggers translocation of RIPOR2 in murine hair cells from stereocilia to the pericuticular area.

Then, by interacting with a central autophagy component, GABARAP, RIPOR2 affects autophagy activation. Reducing the expression of RIPOR2 or GABARAP completely prevents AG-induced hair cell death and subsequent hearing loss in mice.

Additionally, abolishing the expression of PINK1 or Parkin, two key mitochondrial autophagy proteins, prevents hair cell death and subsequent hearing loss caused by AG. In summary, our study demonstrates that RIPOR2-mediated autophagic dysfunction is essential for AG-induced hearing loss.

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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.

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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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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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