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NeuM technology revolutionizes neuron labeling for neurodegenerative disease research
Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, along with stroke, are among the top three neurodegenerative disorders, characterized by the malfunction and progressive degeneration of neurons, the nerve cells. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these neurological disorders and developing therapies requires labeling technologies that can visualize neuronal changes not only in normal conditions but also in disease states.
A research team led by Dr. Kim Yun Kyung from the Brain Science Institute at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), in collaboration with Professor Chang Young-Tae’s team from Pohang University of Science and Technology, has announced the development of a next-generation neuron labeling technology called NeuM. NeuM (Neuronal Membrane-selective) selectively labels neuronal membranes, visualizing neuronal structures and allowing real-time monitoring of neuronal changes.
Neurons continuously modify their structure and function to transmit information from sensory organs to the brain, regulating thoughts, memories, and behaviors. Therefore, to overcome degenerative neurological diseases, it is essential to develop techniques that selectively label living neurons for real-time monitoring. However, current gene-based and antibody-based labeling technologies, commonly used to observe neurons, suffer from low accuracy and difficulty in long-term tracking due to their dependence on specific gene expression or proteins.
NeuM, developed by the research team through molecular design of neuronal cells, possesses excellent binding affinity to neuronal membranes, enabling long-term tracking and high-resolution imaging of neurons. The fluorescent probes within NeuM bind to neuronal membranes utilizing the activity of living cells, emitting fluorescent signals upon excitation by specific wavelengths of light. This visualization of neuronal membranes allows for detailed observation of neuronal terminal structures and high-resolution monitoring of neuronal differentiation and interactions.
NeuM, as the first technology to stain cell membranes through endocytosis in living neurons, exhibits selective reactivity towards living cells, excluding dead cells without internalization. Moreover, the research team has succeeded in extending the observation time of neurons from a mere 6 hours to up to 72 hours, enabling the capture of dynamic changes in living neurons over an extended period in response to environmental changes.
NeuM is expected to provide insights into research and therapy development for degenerative neurological diseases, for which there are currently no cures. These diseases, including Alzheimer’s, result from neuronal damage due to the production of toxic proteins such as amyloid and the influx of inflammatory substances. NeuM’s precise observation of neuronal changes can effectively facilitate the evaluation of candidate therapeutic compounds. NeuM, developed this time, can distinguish aging and degenerating neurons, becoming a crucial tool in elucidating the mechanisms of degenerative brain disorders and developing treatments.” He further added, “In the future, we plan to refine NeuM for even more precise analysis of neurons by designing fluorescence wavelengths to distinguish colors such as green and red.” Dr. Kim Yun Kyung, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology KIST was established in 1966 as the first government-funded research institute in Korea. KIST now strives to solve national and social challenges and secure growth engines through leading and innovative research. For more information, please visit KIST’s website at https://eng.kist.re.kr/
This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Lee Jong-ho) through KIST’s major projects and the Dementia Overcoming Project (RS-2023-00261784). The research results have been published in the latest issue of the international academic journal “Angewandte Chemie.”
Source:
National Research Council of Science & Technology
Journal reference:
Sung, Y., et al . (2023). NeuM: A Neuon‐Selective Probe Incorporates into Live Neuronal Membranes via Enhanced Cathrin‐Mediated Endocytosis in Primary Neurons. Angewandte Chemie . doi.org/10.1002/anie.202312942 .
Study questions benefits of brain stimulation for memory improvement
Credit: Unsplash+. Researchers at the University of Sheffield have raised doubts about the effectiveness of non-invasive brain stimulation methods, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), for enhancing visual working memory.
Their findings, published in Communications Psychology, challenge previous optimistic reports and underscore the need for careful scrutiny of such brain stimulation techniques.
Visual working memory plays a vital role in our cognitive system, enabling us to hold and process visual information temporarily.
This ability is crucial for everyday tasks and is affected by aging and diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Consequently, scientists have been keen on finding ways to bolster working memory, with brain stimulation emerging as a notable area of interest over the past two decades.
tDCS, a low-cost and easy-to-use technique often compared to the TENS machines used for back pain, has been highlighted in some studies for its potential to improve various psychological functions, including memory and socialization.
It has even been incorporated into guidelines for treating conditions such as depression, based on its purported benefits following multiple sessions.
However, the University of Sheffield’s recent study, led by Dr. Shuangke Jiang along with Dr. Myles Jones and Dr. Claudia von Bastian from the Department of Psychology, aimed to replicate one particularly high-profile study that claimed significant improvements in working memory from brief tDCS sessions.
The team employed enhanced methodology but found strong evidence contradicting the claimed benefits of tDCS on working memory enhancement from a single 15-minute session.
Dr. Jiang stated, “We have replicated this study with improved methodology and found unequivocal evidence that tDCS does not improve working memory.”
This conclusion not only casts doubt on the efficacy of tDCS for memory improvement but also highlights the broader issue of replicability in psychological research.
The study underscores the importance of replication to build a reliable and informative evidence base regarding the true effects of cognitive enhancement interventions.
This development is a reminder of the complexities involved in brain research and the necessity of rigorous testing and validation of cognitive enhancement techniques.
As the scientific community continues to explore the potential of brain stimulation, this study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of its limitations and the critical need for replication in psychological research.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about how the Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and blueberry supplements may prevent cognitive decline.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce dementia risk , and Coconut oil could help improve cognitive function in Alzheimer’s .
The research findings can be found in Communications Psychology.
Copyright © 2024 Knowridge Science Report . All rights reserved.
Dartmouth-led research identifies unique brain areas for emotion regulation
Ever want to scream during a particularly bad day, but then manage not to? Thank the human brain and how it regulates emotions, which can be critical for navigating everyday life. As we perceive events unfolding around us, the ability to be flexible and reframe a situation impacts not only how we feel, but also our behavior and decision-making.
In fact, some of the problems associated with mental health relate to individuals’ inability to be flexible, such as when persistent negative thoughts make it hard to perceive a situation differently.
To help address such issues, a new Dartmouth-led study is among the first of its kind to separate activity relating to emotion generation from emotion regulation in the human brain. The findings are published in Nature Neuroscience . As a former biomedical engineer, it was exciting to identify some brain regions that are purely unique to regulating emotions. Our results provide new insight into how emotion regulation works by identifying targets which could have clinical applications.” Ke Bo, lead author, postdoctoral researcher in the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab (CANlab) at Dartmouth For example, the systems the researchers identified could be good targets for brain stimulation to enhance the regulation of emotion.
Using computational methods, the researchers examined two independent datasets of fMRI studies obtained earlier by co-author Peter Gianaros at the University of Pittsburgh. Participants’ brain activity was recorded in an fMRI scanner as they viewed images that were likely to draw a negative reaction such as a bloody scene or scary- looking animals.
The participants were then asked to recontextualize the stimulus by generating new kinds of thoughts about an image to make it less aversive, before a neutral image was presented followed by another dislikable image.
By examining the neural activity, researchers could identify the brain areas that are more active when emotions are regulated versus when emotions are generated.
The new study reveals that emotion regulation, also known in neuroscience as “reappraisal,” involves particular areas of the anterior prefrontal cortex and other higher-level cortical hierarchies whose role in emotion regulation had not previously been isolated with this level of precision. These regions are involved in other high-level cognitive functions and are important for abstract thought and long-term representations of the future.
The more people are able to activate these emotion regulation-selective brain regions, the more resilient they are to experiencing something negative without letting it affect them personally. These findings build on other research linking these areas to better mental health and the ability to resist temptations and avoid drug addiction.
The results also demonstrated that the amygdala, which is known as the threat-related brain region responsible for negative emotion and has long been considered an ancient subcortical threat center, responds to aversive experiences the same way, whether people are using their thoughts to self-regulate down-regulate negative emotion or not. “It’s really the cortex that is responsible for generating people’s emotional responses, by changing the way we see and attach meaning to events in our environments,” says Bo.
The researchers were also interested in identifying the neurochemicals that interact with emotion regulation systems. Neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin shape how networks of neurons communicate and are targets for both illicit drugs and therapeutic treatments alike. Some neurotransmitters may be important for enabling the ability to self-regulate or “down-regulate.”
The team compared the emotion regulation brain maps from the two datasets to neurotransmitter binding maps from 36 other studies. The systems involved in regulating negative emotion overlapped with particular neurotransmitter systems.
“Our results showed that receptors for cannabinoids, opioids, and serotonin, including 5H2A, were especially rich in areas that are involved in emotion regulation,” says senior author Tor Wager, the Diana L. Taylor Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience and director of the Dartmouth Brain Imaging Center at Dartmouth. “When drugs that bind to these receptors are taken, they are preferentially affecting the emotion regulation system, which raises questions about their potential for long-term effects on our capacity to self-regulate.”
Serotonin is well-known for its role in depression, as the most widely used antidepressant drugs inhibit its reuptake in synapses, which transmit signals from one neuron to another.
5H2A is the serotonin receptor most strongly affected by another exciting new type of treatment for mental health – psychedelic drugs. The study’s findings suggest that the effects of drugs on depression and other mental health disorders may work in part by altering how we think about life events and our ability to self-regulate. This may help explain why drugs, particularly psychedelics, are likely to be ineffective without the right kind of psychological support. The study could help improve therapeutic approaches by increasing our understanding of why and how psychological and pharmaceutical approaches need to be combined into integrated treatments.
“It’s important to consider these types of connections that come from basic science,” says Wager. “Understanding drug effects requires understanding the brain systems involved and what they’re doing at a cognitive level.”
Bo (Ke.Bo@dartmouth.edu) and Wager (Tor.D.Wager@dartmouth.edu) are available for comment. CANlab members Mijin Kwon, Guarini ’24 and Michael Sun, a postdoctoral researcher at Dartmouth, and Thomas Kraynak at the University of Pittsburgh also contributed to the study.
Source:
Dartmouth College
Journal reference:
Bo, K., et al. (2024). A systems identification approach using Bayes factors to deconstruct the brain bases of emotion regulation. Nature Neuroscience . doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01605-7 .
6 Mushrooms you can eat to prevent cognitive impairment and reduce your dementia risk
A recent study by researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) found that older adults who consume more mushrooms in their diet have a significantly lower risk of mild cognitive impairment than those who don’t.
Mild cognitive impairment is a condition defined by experts as the stage between the expected cognitive decline that occurs with age and the more serious decline caused by dementia . While mild cognitive impairment could increase an adult’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease , this condition can be prevented or treated with healthy lifestyle adjustments and dietary interventions.
According to research, there is no single cause of mild cognitive impairment, but certain changes in the structure of the brain are often observed in people with this condition. These same changes can also be seen in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, albeit in a worse degree. Suffering from diabetes, stroke or depression is said to increase a person’s likelihood of developing mild cognitive impairment .
Although the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment are not as severe as those of Alzheimer’s or dementia, the condition can still impact quality of life. Common signs of mild cognitive impairment include being forgetful, having trouble coming up with words and losing things often. But unlike people with Alzheimer’s, those suffering from mild cognitive impairment do not experience personality changes and can still perform their daily activities by themselves. A mushroom-rich diet can help prevent mild cognitive impairment
To understand how mushroom intake can affect brain function, the NUS researchers analyzed data from 663 Singaporeans aged 60 and above. This six-year study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease , was conducted from 2011 to 2017 and looked in particular at the amount of mushrooms the participants consumed in a week.
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The researchers found that compared to participants who ate mushrooms less than once a week, those who consumed more than two portions of mushrooms per week had a 50 percent lower risk of having mild cognitive impairment. This association was independent of age, gender, education, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, physical and social activities, and other conditions like hypertension, stroke, diabetes and heart disease.
For reference, a portion is equivalent to a 3/4 cup serving of cooked mushrooms weighing about 150 grams (g). Two portions is about half a plate of cooked mushrooms. This is how much you should eat in a week to decrease your odds of having mild cognitive impairment, according to the study. On the other hand, the study also reported that consuming even just one small portion of mushrooms weekly can go a long way toward keeping your brain healthy.
Mushrooms are a versatile and nutritious culinary ingredient, being one of the few food sources of ergosterol . This compound is converted into vitamin D2 upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. A one cup serving of mushrooms can also provide plenty of other nutrients , such as protein, copper, B vitamins, potassium and iron.
But most importantly, the NUS researchers believe that the brain-boosting effect of mushrooms is thanks to ergothioneine, an amino acid found in almost all mushroom varieties. “[Ergothioneine] is a unique antioxidant and anti-inflammatory which humans are unable to synthesise on their own. But it can be obtained from dietary sources, one of the main ones being mushrooms,” explained Dr. Irwin Cheah, one of the study authors.
According to a more recent study published FEBS Letters , ergothioneine has shown antidepressant activities in mice and memory-enhancing effects in humans . Its brain benefits can be attributed to its ability to protect brain cells (neurons) from oxidative damage and promote neurogenesis (formation of new neurons) and neuronal maturation.
Other bioactive compounds in mushrooms, such as hericenones, erinacines, scabronines and dictyophorines, can also promote the synthesis of neuronal growth factors and may also help reduce your risk of cognitive decline. (Related: Organic functional mushrooms: best immune-boosting medicine from Mother Nature ) 6 Brain-supporting mushrooms to incorporate into your meals
If you’re wondering which among the 200 edible mushrooms known to humans you should add to your diet for better brain health, here are six of the best ones at supporting healthy brain function, according to science. Chaga mushroom ( Inonotus obliquus )
According to a study published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules , chaga mushroom contains a bioactive polysaccharide that can protect against Alzheimer’s disease by enhancing the expression of Nrf2 in the brain. Nrf2 is the protein ” responsible for regulating an extensive panel of antioxidant enzymes” which are involved in detoxification and combating oxidative stress.
The brain’s susceptibility to oxidative stress is a crucial detrimental factor in Alzheimer’s disease . (Related: Here’s all you need to know about chaga mushrooms and their health benefits .) Oyster mushroom ( Pleurotus ostreatus )
Widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the oyster mushroom is often prescribed to help relax the muscles, tendons and joints. Research has found that, like chaga, the oyster mushroom can help decrease oxidative stress in the brain .
According to a study by Indian researchers, oyster mushrooms contain compounds that can protect against oxidative damage by elevating the levels of antioxidants , such as vitamin C and glutathione, and various antioxidant enzymes in the brain in response to stressors. Lion’s mane ( Hericium erinaceus )
When it comes to supporting a healthy brain and nervous system, lion’s mane is considered one of the best mushrooms to eat. Studies show that the hericenones and erinacines in lion’s mane can induce the expression of nerve growth factors that help regulate the growth, development and maintenance of brain neurons.
A clinical study involving Japanese adults with mild cognitive impairment also found that other components in lion’s mane, particularly in its fruiting body where hericenones are concentrated, […]
Study suggests Western medicine has a misguided approach to treating dementia
Natural Health 365 reported on a recent cohort study, which suggests that Western medicine has a wrong and misguided approach to treating dementia .
The authors of the study published in JAMA Network Open said a significant number of patients with dementia may have undiagnosed liver disease and hepatic encephalopathy contributing to their cognitive impairment. Most importantly, their findings suggested that it’s possible their liver-related brain symptoms could be resolved with appropriate treatment.
Led by gastroenterologist Dr. Jasmohan Bajaj of the Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Virginia, the study included more than 177,000 former soldiers treated by the Veterans Health Administration over 10 years, between 2009 and 2019, who had been diagnosed with dementia in at least two clinic visits and who had never been diagnosed with any liver disorder.
Using the patients’ laboratory results and other medical health records, the researchers found that up to 10 percent of their patient pool had a Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score – a “red flag” for early identification of patients at high risk of advanced liver fibrosis and their referral to specialized care, as explained in Diagnostics . Advanced liver fibrosis typically results in cirrhosis, liver failure and portal hypertension and often requires liver transplantation.
The researchers said: “A crucial tie between liver disease and dementia is what occurs in the brains of about 50 percent of people with cirrhosis: hepatic encephalopathy.” Hepatic encephalopathy is a silent condition
Alcohol, fatty deposits and hepatitis B and C virus infections can damage the liver where healthy cells are replaced by scar tissue (known as cirrhosis). When the damage continues over several years, the liver becomes so scarred that it can no longer detoxify the blood to remove toxins and waste, the researchers explained.
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At this point, toxins, mainly ammonia and manganese, can build up, get into the patient’s brain and interfere with brain function . This is hepatic encephalopathy (HE) moving from covert to overt, where patients could experience and exhibit changes to their cognition, mood, motor skills and even sleep – a profile that is notably similar to discernible indications of dementia, except that it’s reversible.
Once diagnosed, HE can be treated with laxatives to remove toxins produced by pathogens that accumulate in the gut, followed by antibiotic treatment to kill some of the harmful ammonia-producing bacteria. The severity of HE may even be a reason for clinicians treating the patient to recommend a liver transplant.
Bajaj said: “If a portion of their symptoms is caused by hepatic encephalopathy, which is way easier to treat than dementia, then I think we need to look at that. Part of the problem is that, for providers, telling apart patients with hepatic encephalopathy and dementia is nearly impossible in a brief appointment . There’s no quick, simple blood test that can separate one from the other. It takes additional, more labor-intensive tests to figure out if a patient has hepatic encephalopathy. The result might be misdiagnosis.”
“HE can be very mild and difficult to diagnose.” Symptoms can be indistinct and subtle – changes in sleep patterns or irritability. As the patient’s condition worsens, other symptoms emerge – confusion, disorientation or forgetfulness – and in its most severe form, HE can cause coma and death. (Related: 7 Conditions masquerading as dementia .)
The researchers again pointed out that NONE of the 177,422 veterans diagnosed with dementia who participated in the study had ever been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis or severe scarring of the liver.
“If we know the patient has cirrhosis, HE is easier to spot and treat. The trouble is that cirrhosis is a silent condition until it reaches very late stages when the liver starts to fail to perform its vital functions. HE is much harder to diagnose in the general population. The symptoms of change of behavior, confusion, forgetfulness and mood are also all seen in people diagnosed with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease where deposits damage the brain causing typical symptoms of confusion and forgetfulness,” researchers emphasized.
They added: “The disparity in potential undiagnosed cirrhosis in veterans with dementia, who lived in urban areas, were of Hispanic ethnicity and were not white, is an important issue. Dementia disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic veterans, and it is diagnosed later in the disease course in these populations, which has been attributed to lack of high-quality healthcare access.”
” A lack of access to healthcare services could also explain potentially underdiagnosed cirrhosis, which reiterates the need for focus on these sub-populations to accurately diagnose cirrhosis and potentially HE.”
Bajaj and his co-authors wrote: “This study opens an important new avenue of research. It raises the awareness of checking for liver disease in people with general symptoms of dementia . This is likely to be a growing problem as the rates of both dementia and cirrhosis are increasing. But we still need better data to fully understand the number of people with HE incorrectly given a diagnosis of dementia and how best to identify and treat them.”
Watch this video explaining how to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease .
This video is from the Holistic Herbalist channel on Brighteon.com . More related stories:
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Brain Inflammation and Memory Loss: Connecting the Dots Between Diet and Surgery
Research from The Ohio State University reveals that a high-fat diet before surgery can cause significant memory impairment in rats, both young and old. This memory issue, related to an inflammatory response in the brain, can be mitigated by taking DHA omega-3 fatty acid supplements. Credit: SciTechDaily.com A high-fat diet combined with surgery leads to long-term memory impairment due to brain inflammation, which can be prevented by DHA supplements, according to a study at The Ohio State University.
Eating fatty food in the days leading up to surgery may prompt a heightened inflammatory response in the brain that interferes for weeks with memory-related cognitive function in older adults – and, new research in animals suggests, even in young adults.
The study, building upon previous research from the same lab at The Ohio State University, also showed that taking a DHA omega-3 fatty acid supplement for a month before the unhealthy eating and surgical procedure prevented the effects on memory linked to both the high-fat diet and the surgery in aged and young adult rats. Inflammation and Memory Impairment
Three days on a high-fat diet alone was detrimental to a specific type of fear-related memory in aged rats for as long as two weeks later – the same type of impairment seen in younger rats that ate fatty food and had a surgical procedure. The team has traced the brain inflammation behind these effects to a protein that activates the immune response.
“These data suggest that these multiple insults have a compounding effect,” said senior author Ruth Barrientos, an investigator in Ohio State’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral health and neuroscience in the College of Medicine.
“We’ve shown that an unhealthy diet, even in the short term, especially when it’s consumed so close to a surgery, which in and of itself will cause an inflammatory response, can have damaging results,” Barrientos said. “The high-fat diet alone might increase inflammation in the brain just a little bit, but then you have surgery that does the same thing, and when put together in a short amount of time you get a synergistic response that can set things in motion toward a longer-term memory issue.”
The study was published recently in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity .
Barrientos’ lab studies how everyday life events might trigger inflammation in the aging brain as the nervous system responds to signals from the immune system reacting to a threat. Decades of research has suggested that with aging comes long-term “priming” of the brain’s inflammatory profile and a loss of brain-cell reserve to bounce back.
Researchers fed young adult and aged rats a diet high in saturated fat for three days before a procedure resembling exploratory abdominal surgery – an event already known to cause about a week of cognitive issues in an older brain. Control rats ate regular food and were anesthetized, but had no surgery. (Barrientos’ lab has determined anesthesia alone does not cause memory problems in rats.) Research Findings and Future Directions
In this study, as in previous research on aged rats treated with morphine after surgery , the team showed that an immune system receptor called TLR4 was the culprit behind the brain inflammation and related memory problems generated by both surgery and the high-fat diet, said first author Stephanie Muscat, assistant clinical professor of neuroscience at Ohio State.
“Blocking the TLR4 signaling pathway prior to the diet and surgery completely prevented that neuroimmune response and memory impairments, which confirmed this specific mechanism,” Muscat said. “And as we had found before in another model of an unhealthy diet, we showed that DHA supplementation did mitigate those inflammatory effects and prevent memory deficits after surgery.”
There were some surprising memory findings in the new work. Different behavioral tasks are used to test two types of memory: contextual memory based in the hippocampus and cued-fear memory based in the amygdala. In contextual memory tests, rats with normal memory freeze when they re-enter a room in which they had an unpleasant experience. Cued-fear memory is evident when rats freeze in a new environment when they hear a sound connected to that previous bad experience.
For aged rats in this study, as expected, the combination of a high-fat diet and surgery led to problems with both contextual and cued-fear memory that persisted for at least two weeks – a longer-lasting effect than the researchers had seen before.
The high-fat diet alone also impaired the aging rats’ cued-fear memory. And in young adult rats, the combination of the high-fat diet and surgery led to only cued-fear memory deficits, but no problems with memory governed by the hippocampus.
“What this is telling us in aged animals, along with the fact we’re seeing this same impairment in young animals after the high-fat diet and surgery, is that cued-fear memory is uniquely vulnerable to the effects of diet. And we don’t know why,” Barrientos said. “One of the things we’re hoping to understand in the future is the vulnerability of the amygdala to these unhealthy diet challenges.”
With increasing evidence suggesting that fatty and highly processed foods can trigger inflammation-related memory problems in brains of all ages, the consistent findings that DHA – one of two omega-3 fatty acids in fish and other seafood and available in supplement form – has a protective effect are compelling, Barrientos said.
“DHA was really effective at preventing these changes,” she said. “And that’s amazing – it really suggests that this could be a potential pretreatment, especially if people know they’re going to have surgery and their diet is unhealthy.”
Reference: “Post-operative cognitive dysfunction is exacerbated by high-fat diet via TLR4 and prevented by dietary DHA supplementation” by Stephanie M. Muscat, Michael J. Butler, Menaz N. Bettes, James W. DeMarsh, Emmanuel A. Scaria, Nicholas P. Deems and Ruth M. Barrientos, 23 December 2023, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity .
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.12.028
Co-authors included Michael Butler, Menaz Bettes, James DeMarsh, Emmanuel Scaria and Nicholas Deems, all of Ohio State.
This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and the National […]
How dental health may impact brain health; experts describe how poor oral hygiene is linked to higher risk of developing dementia
Bad dental hygiene could affect your mental health in the future, according to a study that says the risk of Alzheimer’s is 21 per cent higher in people with poor hygiene and gum disease. Photo: Professor Nicola West A build-up of plaque and tartar on teeth creates a breeding ground for bacteria that can lead to gum disease – and inflammation that can affect the brain
People with poor dental hygiene are 21 per cent more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, a recent study suggests, so regular flossing and brushing are vital
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This is the 31st instalment in a series on dementia , including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers, and stories of hope.
In a photograph of my mother on my desk, she is smiling broadly, an even, white-toothed smile. It was taken 18 months before she died. Her dementia was evident everywhere in our lives by then – but not in that picture: from the photo you’d never guess. She looks self-possessed and whole. In fact, she looks like a commercial for geriatric dental care with that wide, white smile.
I wish she’d always had teeth like that; she used to be very conscious of her smile when she had her own teeth. Two years before the photo in question, she’d had her top teeth removed, all of them. They were loose and discoloured. Her “falsies” transformed her face.
What I never imagined was that those teeth might have been another marker, another risk factor, for the dementia later. Anthea Rowan’s mother pictured 18 months before she died. She wore dentures after her own teeth were removed. Photo: courtesy of Anthea Rowan Nicola West is a professor of periodontology and head of the Clinical Trials Unit at the School of Oral and Dental Sciences at the UK’s University of Bristol. Her team’s recent MySmile study into this connection was prompted when links between Alzheimer’s disease and gum disease began to stack up.
Oral health – that is, the state of your teeth and gums – is linked to more than just fillings and dentures. West says poor oral health is associated with many common diseases, including cardiovascular disease , neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Dentist Dr Raymond Lee at Pacific Dental and Orthodontic Care in Hong Kong stresses that good oral care isn’t just about supporting teeth and gum health.
“It influences our overall physical well-being,” he says. How? The mouth is connected to important systems – respiratory, digestive and cardiovascular – and contains numerous bacteria and microorganisms, some of which can harm our health.
Our body’s defence system usually keeps these in check. But, if we don’t brush and floss regularly, if we ignore oral health, a build-up of plaque and tartar on our teeth creates a breeding ground for bad bacteria which can lead to gum disease, Lee says. Good teeth and gum health support overall physical well-being, says Hong Kong dentist Dr Raymond Lee. Photo: Dr Raymond Lee There are two types: gingivitis, which affects only the soft gum and is reversible, and periodontitis (symptoms include bad breath, loosening teeth and painful chewing), which is “an advanced form of gum disease that can’t be reversed – the damage to the bone and gum tissue is permanent leading to tooth loss”.
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Part of what explains the close link between oral health and whole body health lies in the body’s immune system, he explains, which responds to damage or disease by inflammation.
“Inflammation can help the body heal – but if it persists, it can become chronic and lead to more severe problems. Periodontal disease, diabetes, heart disease, respiratory infections and dementia are all diseases associated with an inflammatory response.” What is inflammation? Causes, symptoms, and treatment for chronic cases25 May 2022
What happens, explains West, is that the build-up of disease-causing bacteria (pathogens) within infected gums – even if the patient is unaware of this infection – may overwhelm and travel through blood vessels infecting and triggering inflammation in the bloodstream and other body tissues, including in the brain, which is situated very close to the teeth and gums and “has direct routes to them”, West says.
According to one study, losing a tooth is linked to an extra year of brain ageing, while severe gum disease is linked to 1.3 years of brain ageing. Professor Nicola West led the team that conducted the recent MySmile study into the links between gum disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Photo: University of Bristol Dental School Although the precise relationship between poor dental health and loss of brain volume is unclear, says Lee, research in Finland shows that people with poor dental hygiene are 21 per cent more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Other studies have identified a bacteria called Porphyromonas gingivalis which is involved in periodontal disease. This and the enzyme it produces (gingipains) present as strong risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. Both can cross the blood-brain barrier, says Lee, “and both were found in the brain tissue of people suffering from Alzheimer’s”.
Researchers at the School of Dentistry at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK found that when the gingipains enzyme interacts with nerve cells in the brain, “it releases a protein that causes the cell to self-destruct, leading to cell death.
“Once the nerve cell dies, the protein may attach itself to healthy neighbouring nerve cells, repeating the process and causing further damage to the brain as the disease spreads.” ‘I’ll swallow my toothache’: Hong Kong’s dentist shortage leaves poor without care15 Apr 2023
Alzheimer’s is linked to a build-up of amyloid-beta protein in the brain. Lee says researchers have identified that amyloid-beta protein is abundant around the surfaces of infected teeth and diseased gums.
“The suggestion is these proteins may filter into the bloodstream and […]
Unveiling the brain mechanism behind memory consolidation in sleep
Neuroscientists have established in recent decades the idea that some of each day’s experiences are converted by the brain into permanent memories during sleep the same night. Now, a new study proposes a mechanism that determines which memories are tagged as important enough to linger in the brain until sleep makes them permanent.
Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study revolves around brain cells called neurons that “fire”—bring about swings in the balance of their positive and negative charges—to transmit electrical signals that encode memories. Large groups of neurons in a brain region called the hippocampus fire together in rhythmic cycles, creating sequences of signals within milliseconds of each other that can encode complex information.
Called “sharp wave-ripples,” these “shouts” to the rest of the brain represent the near-simultaneous firing of 15 percent of hippocampal neurons, and are named for the shape they take when their activity is captured by electrodes and recorded on a graph.
While past studies had linked ripples with memory formation during sleep, the new study, published online March 28 in the journal Science , found that daytime events followed immediately by 5 to 20 sharp wave-ripples are replayed more during sleep and so consolidated into permanent memories. Events followed by very few or no sharp wave-ripples failed to form lasting memories. Our study finds that sharp wave-ripples are the physiological mechanism used by the brain to ‘decide’ what to keep and what to discard.” György Buzsáki, MD, PhD, senior study author, the Biggs Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at NYU Langone Health Walk and pause
The new study is based on a known pattern: humans and other mammals experience the world for a few moments, then pause, then experience a little more, then pause again. After we pay attention to something, say the study authors, brain computation often switches into an “idle” reassessment mode. Such momentary pauses occur throughout the day, but the longest idling periods occur during sleep.
Dr. Buzsáki and colleagues had previously established that no sharp wave-ripples occur as we actively explore sensory information or move, but only during the idle pauses before or after. The current study found that sharp wave-ripples represent the natural tagging mechanism during such pauses after waking experiences, with the tagged neuronal patterns reactivated during post-task sleep.
Importantly, sharp wave-ripples are known to be made up of the firing of hippocampal “place cells” in a specific order that encodes, for instance, every room we enter and every section of a maze entered by a mouse. For memories that are remembered, those same cells fire at high speed, as we sleep, “playing back the recorded event thousands of times per night,” as the study authors put it. The process strengthens the connections between the cells involved.
For the current study, successive maze runs by study mice were tracked via electrodes by populations of hippocampal cells that constantly changed over time, despite recording very similar experiences. This revealed for the first time the maze runs during which ripples occurred during waking pauses and then were replayed during sleep.
Sharp wave-ripples were typically recorded when a mouse paused to enjoy a sugary treat after each maze run. The consumption of the reward, say the authors, prepared the brain to switch from an exploratory to an idle pattern, so that sharp wave-ripples could occur.
Using dual-sided silicon probes, the research team was able to record up to 500 neurons simultaneously in the hippocampi of animals during maze runs. This in turn created a challenge, because data becomes exceedingly complex the more neurons are independently recorded. To gain an intuitive understanding of the data, visualize neuronal activity, and form hypotheses, the team successfully reduced the number of dimensions in the data, which is in some ways like converting a 3D into a flat one, without losing the data’s integrity.
“We worked to take the external world out of the equation, and looked at the mechanisms by which the mammalian brain innately and subconsciously tags some memories to become permanent,” said first author Wannan (Winnie) Yang, PhD, a graduate student in the Buzsáki Lab. “Why such a system evolved is still a mystery, but future research may reveal devices or therapies that can adjust sharp wave-ripples to improve memory, or even lessen recall of traumatic events.”
Along with Dr. Buzsáki and Dr. Yang, study authors from NYU Langone’s Neuroscience Institute were Roman Huszár and Thomas Hainmueller. Kirill Kiselev, of NYU’s Center for Neural Science, was also an author, as was Chen Sun of Mila, the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, in Montréal. The work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01MH122391 and U19NS107616.
Source:
NYU Langone
Journal reference:
Yang, W., et al. (2024) Selection of experience for memory by hippocampal sharp wave ripples. Science. doi.org/10.1126/science.adk8261 .
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SURVEY: Majority of American teenagers feel happy and peaceful without smartphones
A recent Pew Research Center survey reveals that a majority of American teenagers find happiness and peace when they are not tethered to their smartphones .
The study, conducted among 1,453 teenagers ages 13 to 17, found that 74 percent of respondents say they feel happy when they have no smartphones on hand, while 72 percent say they feel peaceful when disconnected from their devices.
According to the Pew Research Center data, 95 percent of teens either own a smartphone or have access to one, with most using the internet daily. In other words, the majority of American teenagers have already built their connections with their smartphones – thanks to the popularity of social media platforms and mobile games. (Related: Meta intentionally got children and teens ADDICTED to social media to exploit them for profit .)
The survey also reveals the prevalence of negative emotions associated with smartphone separation . For instance, a notable 44 percent of teens say they feel anxious when they are without their phones, while 40 percent say they feel upset and 30 percent say they feel lonely.
Several studies claim that these negative emotions are associated with problematic smartphone use.
A recent study published in Computers in Human Behavior has found that problematic smartphone use can cause cognitive impairments, poor sleep quality and depression . The study authors noted that smartphone use only becomes problematic when it starts to interfere with daily life.
Meanwhile, in an article published in the EXCLI Journal , Sehar Shoukat from the California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology explained that whenever a habit, such as checking or being active on social media, turns into an obligation, it quickly becomes an addiction.
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Shoukat further explained that people who are “mobile addicted” are unable to cut back on their cell phone usage, often use their phones as a solution to boredom, feel anxious when separated from smartphones and might even get depressed. Basically, too much smartphone use can really stress out teenagers and affect how they feel and behave.
The study also shows that digital disengagement can bring a sense of relief and contentment and, at the same time, offer tranquility and mental relaxation among teenagers. UNESCO does not support “smartphone use justification” among teenagers
Despite the positive sentiments associated with going phone-free, the study reveals that the majority of teens have not curbed their phone or social media usage. Instead, they try to justify the benefits of having a smartphone for people their age.
For instance, approximately 70 percent of respondents believe that smartphones provide more benefits than harm for people their age, while 30 percent hold the opposite view. Similarly, 69 percent of respondents say that smartphones make it easier to pursue hobbies and interests, while 65 percent say it helps them to be creative and 45 percent believe these devices enhance academic performance.
However, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), there is significant evidence that excessive smartphone use in school-age children is linked to reduced educational performance and that higher levels of screen time have had negative effects on the emotional stability of children .
“The digital revolution holds immeasurable potential but just as warnings have been voiced for how it should be regulated in society, similar attention must be paid to the way it is used in education,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “Its use must be for enhanced learning experiences and for the well-being of students and teachers, not to their detriment . Keep the needs of the learner first and support teachers. Online connections are no substitute for human interaction.”
Watch the video below to learn how smartphones can cause addiction , especially in children.
This video is from the Kla.TV – English channel on Brighteon.com . More related stories:
How smartphone addiction affects brain function and mental health .
Study links smartphone use to heart attack and stroke risk .
Less drama and fewer distractions: Minnesota middle school students happier after smartphone ban .
British Education chief wants to BAN students from using phones in schools .
Parents and school officials of small Irish town unite to BAN SMARTPHONES for children as old as 13 .
Sources include:
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TheHill.com
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Enhancing nootropics: New study shows acute cognitive benefits from guayusa and lion’s mane
Adobe Stock / Moon Safari Consumers are increasingly prioritizing their emotional well-being and, therefore, are seeking products that align with feeling good, staying mentally focused, and improving their productivity throughout the day. In 2023, nearly two-thirds (74%) of American consumers shared a belief that their food and beverage choices made an impact on their overall mental and emotional health [i] . These attributes are part of an emerging category called nootropics, which are defined as products or ingredients that can enhance cognitive function. The gradual increase in demand for improving cognitive performance has led to an upsurge in clinical research, investing in ingredients that can bring tangible results to the nootropics market. In the latest placebo-controlled crossover study, Applied Food Sciences ( AFS ) investigates two of its functional ingredients, guayusa and lion’s mane , shedding light on the potential of these natural ingredients to enhance mental acuity and mood. What is guayusa and lion’s mane?
Guayusa ( Ilex guayusa), pronounced ” gwhy-you-sah ,” is hailed as an Amazonian “super leaf” thanks to exceptional antioxidant properties and unique caffeine content. AFS created AmaTea ® Max , a patented organic guayusa extract, to enhance its naturally occurring actives and provide a bright, cognitively uplifting energy boost. The effects of this impressive ingredient have already been published in studies covering sports nutrition, esports, and daily focus. However, for added peace of mind regarding safety, Applied Food Sciences also received a historical first “no questions letter” from the FDA confirming its GRAS-safe usage for certain food and beverage applications.
” We like to say ‘guayusa hits different ,'” explains Brian Happel, National Sales Director with Applied Food Sciences (AFS). “AmaTea ® Max produces a focused, ‘feel good energy’ that consumers will notice. This study expands on numerous others to paint a more clear picture on the potential cognitive benefits of guayusa for work, sports, and mood.” Lion’s mane ( Hericium erinaceus ) has a rich history in Eastern medicine. Its distinctive compounds, called hericenones and erinacines are believed to be responsible for lion’s mane’s nootropic effects through its ability to simulate Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) synthesis, which plays a role in cell growth and neuroprotective properties in the central nervous system, especially where memory, attention, and spatial navigation take place. AFS Lion’s Mane is a GRAS ingredient extracted from the edible fruiting body of the mushroom. AFS Lion’s Mane contains a diverse array of bioactive compounds, including β-glucan polysaccharides, proteins, hericenones, and erinacines.
” This study marks an important milestone for lion’s mane, ” clarifies Happel. ” While lion’s mane is most known for its chronic benefits (over 30-60 days), this research is the first to study the acute (single-dose) cognitive benefits of Lion’s Mane in healthy adults in as little as 1-2 hours post-ingestion. ” About the study:
A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study included 40 healthy adults to evaluate attention, working memory, mental processing speed, and mood. The study examined a single dose of 650 mg guayusa extract (AmaTea ® Max) vs. 1 g of lion’s mane (AFS Lion’s Mane Extract) vs. the placebo. Testing occurred at three intervals: baseline (pre-ingestion), 60 minutes, and 120 minutes post-ingestion.
Participants underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessments using the Go/No-Go, Serial-Sevens, and N-Back taks. The Go/No-Go task primarily measures reaction time [ii] . The Serial-Sevens task evaluates concentration, focus, and rapid decision making [iii] . Whereas the N-Back task is extensively used to assess working memory [iv] . Participants were also graded on subject assessments of cognitive perception based on visual analog scales (VAS) and a four-item subjective happiness scale (SHS). VAS assessed focus, mood, mental clarity, concentration, productivity, and ability to tolerate stress, whereas SHS assessed happiness, mood, and overall well-being. Study findings:
Main effects and interactions considered as statistically significant changes have a p -value of ≤0.05 [v, vi] . Both AmaTea ® Max and AFS Lion’s Mane demonstrated significant cognitive benefits. AmaTea ® Max notably improved reaction time and accuracy in cognitive tasks, while also enhancing mental clarity, focus, and productivity. In comparison, AFS Lion’s Mane showed promise in enhancing working memory, attention, and reaction time. Both ingredients contributed to mood and overall perceptions of happiness/well-being. The difference between the products was most notable in the timing of effects [vii] .
Concentration, focus, and rapid decision making (Serial-Sevens Task): AmaTea ® Max and AFS Lion’s Mane had improvements in Serial Sevens scores that were statistically significant when compared to the placebo. These results demonstrated enhancements in concentration, focus, and the ability to make quicker decisions from 0 to 120 minutes post-ingestion.
Working memory (N-Back Task): AmaTea ® Max had statistically significant improvements in N-Back scores and accuracy when testing working memory compared to the placebo across a 2-hour testing period.
Reaction time (Go/No-Go Task): Participants taking AmaTea ® Max demonstrated faster reaction times over the placebo throughout the two-hour testing period. AFS Lion’s Mane also improved reaction time at 120 min. While both ingredients showed statistically significant changes over the placebo, the caffeine in AmaTea ® Max positively influenced psychomotor tasks quicker than the Lion’s Mane.
Mental clarity and productivity (VAS): AmaTea ® Max demonstrated statistically significant improvements in VAS grades for mental clarity, focus, concentration, mood, and productivity at 60 and 120 minutes following ingestion.
Happiness / Brighter mood (SHS): AmaTea ® Max and Lion’s Mane improved subjective ratings of “happiness compared to peers” and helped subjects feel like they had a “brighter mood” and were “getting the most out of everything” . In this case, the result occurred earlier in Lion’s Mane (1 hr post-ingestion vs. 2 hrs for AmaTea ® Max). Conclusion:
When 60% of consumers say they are seeking out clinically studied products, research like this helps brands make a greater impact on consumers [viii] . This groundbreaking study underscores the cognitive-boosting potential of naturally derived ingredients like AmaTea ® Max and AFS Lion’s Mane. Manufacturers looking to make products for sharper focus, improved memory, or a brighter mood, should contact Applied Food Sciences to learn more about these innovative ingredients […]
Human brains are getting larger: That may be good news for dementia risk
A new study by researchers at UC Davis Health found human brains are getting larger. Study participants born in the 1970s had 6.6% larger brain volumes and almost 15% larger brain surface area than those born in the 1930s.
The researchers hypothesize the increased brain size may lead to an increased brain reserve, potentially reducing the overall risk of age-related dementias.
The findings were published in JAMA Neurology .
“The decade someone is born appears to impact brain size and potentially long-term brain health,” said Charles DeCarli, first author of the study. DeCarli is a distinguished professor of neurology and director of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. “Genetics plays a major role in determining brain size, but our findings indicate external influences — such as health, social, cultural and educational factors — may also play a role.”
75-year study reveals brain changes between generations
The researchers used brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) from participants in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). The community-based study was launched in 1948 in Framingham, Massachusetts, to analyze patterns of cardiovascular and other diseases. The original cohort consisted of 5,209 men and women between the ages of 30 and 62. The research has continued for 75 years and now includes second and third generations of participants.
The MRIs were conducted between 1999 and 2019 with FHS participants born during the 1930s through the 1970s. The brain study consisted of 3,226 participants (53% female, 47% male) with an average age of about 57 at the time of the MRI.
The research led by UC Davis compared the MRIs of people born in the 1930s to those born in the 1970s. It found gradual but consistent increases in several brain structures. For example, a measure that looked at brain volume (intracranial volume) showed steady increases decade by decade. For participants born in the 1930s, the average volume was 1,234 milliliters, but for those born in the 1970s, the volume was 1,321 milliliters, or about 6.6% greater volume.
Cortical surface area — a measure of the brain’s surface — showed an even greater increase decade by decade. Participants born in the 1970s had an average surface area of 2,104 square centimeters compared to 2,056 square centimeters for participants born in the 1930s — almost a 15% increase in volume.
The researchers found brain structures such as white matter, gray matter and hippocampus (a brain region involved in learning and memory) also increased in size when comparing participants born in the 1930s to those born in the 1970s.
Larger brains may mean lower incidence of dementia
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, approximately 7 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease. That number is expected to rise to 11.2 million by 2040.
Although the numbers are rising with America’s aging population, the incidence of Alzheimer’s — the percentage of the population affected by the disease — is decreasing. A previous study found a 20 percent reduction in the incidence of dementia per decade since the 1970s.
Improved brain health and size may be one reason why.
“Larger brain structures like those observed in our study may reflect improved brain development and improved brain health,” DeCarli said. “A larger brain structure represents a larger brain reserve and may buffer the late-life effects of age-related brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and related dementias.”
One of the study’s strengths is the design of the FHS study, which allows the researchers to examine brain imaging of three generations of participants with birthdates spanning almost 80 years. A limitation is that non-Hispanic white participants make up the majority of the FHS cohort, which is not representative of the U.S. population.
Additional authors: Pauline Maillard and Evan Fletcher of UC Davis; Matthew Pase of Monash University, Australia; Alexa Beiser, Daniel Kojis and Hugo Aparicio of Boston University; and Claudia Satizabal, Jayandra Himali and Sudha Seshadri of UT Health San Antonio.
How Exercise Helps Boost Your Memory-Brain Health as You Age
Silke Woweries/Getty Images As we age, many of us will notice that our memory isn’t as sharp as it used to be. You may have trouble remembering where you left your keys or find it difficult to recall specific events. Still, although it may be common, age-related memory decline can be confronting and worrying.
Fortunately, regular exercise is one way to protect your memory and brain health. Below, we’ll explore the science behind brain function, age and exercise, including the benefits of staying active and tips for starting a fitness routine to support healthy aging . Understanding memory and brain health
Before we dive into the connection between memory and age, let’s take a step back and look at the basics of how memory works . Any time you record a new memory (for example, learning a new skill), it changes the connections between neurons in your brain. These connections are known as synapses, forming networks in your brain. The more often you’re exposed to a particular memory, the stronger these synapses will become – and the easier it will be to recall the memory.
As an example, let’s say you’re learning how to knit. At first, when the synapses are weak, it might be challenging to remember exactly what you’re supposed to do. With practice, the synapses will get stronger, and you won’t have to work as hard to recall the steps. It’s normal to experience some degree of memory loss as you mature. Around 40% of people aged 65 and older have age-associated memory impairment , while 10% have mild cognitive impairment. Why does this happen?
As people age, some parts of the brain get smaller and function less effectively than they used to. For example, the frontal lobe and hippocampus are associated with cognitive function. When these areas shrink, it may become harder to absorb new information or recall memories .
While cognitive decline is often a normal part of aging, medical and lifestyle factors can contribute to memory loss. These include: Head injuries, such as concussions
Mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression
Infections that impact the brain, such as tuberculosis
Blood clots
Alcohol, drug or tobacco use
Lack of sleep
Inadequate nutrient intake
Medication side effects
Traumatic life events or major changes
If you’re concerned about your memory loss, reach out to your doctor to determine the cause and discuss treatment options. The science behind exercise and brain health
We all know that exercise is good for our physical health, but what does it do for our mental health and cognitive function ? Does exercise help with memory and brain health? In short, yes.
Research shows that regular exercise offers several advantages for your cognitive health, including sharpening your memory , improving your thinking skills, and reducing stress and anxiety . (We’ll take a closer look at these benefits later on.)
How exactly does exercise improve brain function? Physical activity triggers a couple of changes within your body, including blood vessel growth and better blood flow to your brain, which may slow cognitive decline , decrease your risk of dementia , and help you store long-term memories . It also reduces the number of stress receptors in your hippocampus, lessening the impact of stress hormones on your brain and helping you deal with stress. RapidEye/Getty Images On top of that, physical activity can increase your brain’s neuroplasticity , making it easier for you to learn new things. There’s even evidence that regular exercise can thicken your cerebral cortex and preserve the structural integrity of your brain’s white matter – both of which are associated with cognitive function .
Research has also identified a link between exercise and neurogenesis , or the formation of new neurons in the brain, which is vital for learning and memory. One group of researchers described physical activity as a “non-pharmacological (and sometimes enjoyable) strategy to delay the effects of both physiological aging and pathological neurodegeneration on brain health.” Benefits of exercise on memory and brain health
One of the main benefits of exercise for your memory and brain health is that it improves cognitive function and memory retention. One study found that inactive adults over the age of 45 were almost twice as likely to experience cognitive decline than active adults. Further research shows that following a moderate-intensity exercise routine can improve your memory and thinking skills in about six months.
There’s also a reduced risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease among people who exercise regularly. In one analysis of multiple studies on the subject, researchers concluded that physical activity decreases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 45% and dementia by 28%. Even light physical activity – like grocery shopping or tidying up the house – can lower the likelihood of developing dementia.
Exercise has multiple benefits for your mental health as well. For one, it’s been proven to ease anxiety and reduce your risk of depression . Both anxiety and depression can lead to memory problems, so if you have either condition, you could use exercise to help with your symptoms and potentially prevent memory loss. Other research has found that physical activity can help boost your mood and self-esteem .
Regularly engaging in physical activity also improves your sleep quality and may help manage certain sleep disorders , such as insomnia . Getting enough sleep is important for retaining new information and making memories. When you’re sleep-deprived, you may find it harder to concentrate , which can negatively affect your ability to create short-term and long-term memories. Types of exercises that benefit memory and brain health
If you’re hoping to boost your brain health through physical activity, a few types of exercises can help. For starters, aerobic exercises (like running, swimming and cycling) play a role in “maintaining and enhancing central nervous system health and cognitive functioning in older adults,” according to a study of people between the ages of 60 and 79.
Aerobic exercise has also been connected to improved cognitive performance in people with Parkinson’s disease. On top of […]
“The COVID experiment”
The “covid experiment” was a masterclass in the use of authority to coerce, intimidate, and compel the ignorant masses into conforming to made up rules and regulations regarding lockdowns, masks, social distancing, the use of safe and effective medicines like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, and ultimately forcing an unsafe, untested, dangerous gene altering toxin to be injected into their bodies.
(Article republished from TheBurningPlatform.com )
The totalitarian regime which inflicted this global horror show upon humanity has no hesitation in faking data in order to further their evil agenda, so their statistics showing 81% of Americans received at least one jab seem suspect. Overestimating the number who have submitted is a method for convincing more sheep to do so. I would estimate that closer to 60% of adults got the jab, under threat of sanctions, loss of job, and/or loss of privileges.
The Venn Diagram below is an accurate portrayal of the techniques used by the “authorities” in conducting this worldwide experiment in how far they could push people before they pushed back. From the perspective of our overlords, this experiment was a tremendous success, setting the stage for their next planned existential threat exercise to abscond with more of our wealth, while increasing their power and control over our lives. Continued submission to their demands will result in continued loss of our liberties, freedoms, and civil rights.
“The disappearance of a sense of responsibility is the most far-reaching consequence of submission to authority.” ? Stanley Milgram
“Control the manner in which a man interprets his world, and you have gone a long way toward controlling his behavior. That is why ideology, an attempt to interpret the condition of man, is always a prominent feature of revolutions, wars, and other circumstances in which individuals are called upon to perform extraordinary action.” ? Stanley Milgram, Obedience to Authority
The only thing missing from the Venn Diagram is an overlay of Edward Bernays’ Propaganda , providing the blueprint of how to utilize the regime media propaganda outlets to enforce whatever message was needed to support the particular authoritarian narrative of the day. Key aspects of all three experiments were utilized during the covid plandemic to achieve the desired outcomes of the ruling class, in using authoritarian measures to force the masses to do as they were told, or else. Fear and loathing toward our government has been the outcome of this covid experiment. I steadfastly stand on the loathing side. The brief descriptions below capture the gist of the experiments:
Milgram Authority Experiment
A series of social psychology experiments were conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, who intended to measure the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience. Participants were led to believe that they were assisting an unrelated experiment, in which they had to administer electric shocks to a “learner”. These sham or fake electric shocks gradually increased to levels that would have been fatal had they been real.
Stanford Prison Experiment
The Stanford Prison Experiment set out to examine the psychological effects of authority and powerlessness in a prison environment. The study, led by psychology professor Philip G. Zimbardo, recruited Stanford students using a local newspaper ad. Twenty-four students were carefully screened and randomly assigned into groups of prisoners and guards. The experiment, which was scheduled to last 1-2 weeks, ultimately had to be terminated on only the 6th day as the experiment escalated out of hand when the prisoners were forced to endure cruel and dehumanizing abuse at the hands of their peers. The experiment showed, in Dr. Zimbardo’s words, how “ordinary college students could do terrible things.”
Asch Conformity Experiment
The Asch conformity experiments were a series of psychological experiments conducted by Solomon Asch in the 1950s. The experiments revealed the degree to which a person’s own opinions are influenced by those of a group. Asch found that people were willing to ignore reality and give an incorrect answer in order to conform to the rest of the group. A toddler tries to climb onto a swing in a closed-off playground Various adaptations of the Milgram Authority experiment were used during the “covid experiment” to further their aims. We’ve seen the videos of covid authoritarians inflicting pain upon average Americans, forcefully arresting them for swimming alone in the ocean, surfing, sitting in a public park, jogging, and having a catch in their yard with their kids. Inflicting pain upon those not following the “covid rules” was embraced by the Karens and Chads across the land. They wanted the non-conformists (aka critical thinkers) to be fired from their jobs, censored on social media, fined, imprisoned, and made into social pariahs. They wished death upon the un-vaxxed and did victory dances when an un-vaxxed person died. Milgram would have been proud of these petty tyrant psychopaths. The Stanford Prison experiment showed ordinary people could become cruel fascistic sociopaths almost upon command, inflicting pain and torture upon those they have been told deserve to be treated inhumanely. Authoritarian governors like Cuomo, Murphy, Whitmer, Wolf, and Newsom murdered senior citizens by putting infected patients into the senior living centers. Doctors, hospital administrators, and nurses murdered patients by putting them on ventilators, administering Remdesivir, and denying patients ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Biden, Fauci, Trump, Walensky and the Big Pharma industrial complex have murdered and injured millions through the roll-out of their multi-billion dollar jab of death. The ongoing imprisonment of January 6 Capital tourists in the dungeons of DC without trial is cruel and inhuman punishment as a message for all critical thinkers exercising their First Amendment rights. Cuomo protestor The Asch Conformity experiment was clearly borne out during the covid scamdemic. People conform to the will of the crowd, even though their brain tells them the crowd is wrong. They don’t want to be the disruptive black sheep in a flock of submissive white sheep. Virtually every person, when told to wear a mask, did so with no push back, even […]
Futurist Ben Goertzel predicts AI will surpass human intelligence by 2027
Decades earlier than previously predicted, artificial intelligence is set to surpass human intelligence. The mathematician and futurist who popularized the term “artificial general intelligence” (AGI) believes AI is verging on an exponential ” intelligence explosion .” Ben Goertzel announced this while closing out the 2024 Beneficial AI Summit and Unconference, which was partially sponsored by his own firm SingularityNET last week in Panama.
“It seems quite plausible we could get to human-level AGI within, let’s say, the next three to eight years. Once you get to human-level AGI within a few years you could get a radically superhuman AGI,” he said. The man who is sometimes called the “father of AI” admitted that he could be wrong, but he went on to predict that the only impediment to a runaway, ultra-advanced AI – far more advanced than its human makers – would be if the bot’s ‘own conservatism’ advised caution.
‘There are known unknowns and probably unknown unknowns,” Goertzel said. “No one has created human-level artificial general intelligence [AGI] yet; nobody has a solid knowledge of when we’re going to get there.” But, unless the processing power, in Goertzel’s words, required a ‘quantum computer with a million qubits or something,’ an exponential escalation of AI struck him as inevitable. “Once you get to human-level AGI, within a few years you could get a radically superhuman AGI,” he said. (Related: Technocrats Gates and Altman admit current AI is the stupidest version of AGI but believe it can eventually “overcome polarization” – or in reality – censor views .)
Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity’s knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here . Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com , featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions.
In recent years, Goertzel, well-known for his work on Sophia the Robot, the first robot ever to be granted legal citizenship, has been investigating a concept he calls “artificial superintelligence” (ASI), which he defines as an AI that’s so advanced that it matches all of the brain power and computing power of human civilization. According to him, three lines of converging evidence could support his thesis. First, he cited the updated work of Google’s long-time resident futurist and computer scientist Ray Kurzweil, who has developed a predictive model suggesting AGI will be achievable in 2029 . Next, Goertzel referred to all the well-known recent improvements made to large language models (LLMs) within the past few years, which he pointed out have “woken up so much of the world to the potential of AI.” Finally, he turned to his infrastructure research designed to combine various types of AI infrastructure, which he calls “OpenCog Hyperon.”
The new infrastructure would marry AI, like LLMs and new forms of AI that might be focused on other areas of cognitive reasoning beyond language. It could be math, physics, or philosophy, to help create a more well-rounded true AGI. Goertzel’s “OpenCog Hyperon” has gotten the interest of others in the AI space, including Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research (BAIR) which hosted an article he co-wrote with Databricks CTO Matei Zaharia and others last month.
The self-described panpsychist has suggested that researchers pursue the creation of a ‘benign superintelligence.’ Goertzel has also proposed an AI-based cryptocurrency rating agency capable of identifying scam tokens and coins. Goertzel admits to having taken drugs with AI
In a conversation with the science and technology website Futurism last year, Goertzel talked about his views on consciousness, humans, AI and otherwise. At one point, the outlet asked: “Do you think an AI would ever be sophisticated enough to do drugs, and if so, would you do drugs with one?” The scientist admitted easily that he has done drugs with an AI , “if by that we mean I have done drugs and then interacted with an AI.”
He said that in the 90s, he was doing algorithmic music composition. “It’s quite interesting to play music and have an AI play music back to you. But if you’re in an altered state of consciousness, it can be even more interesting,” he said. “I think in terms of AI themselves taking drugs, the challenge is more to get the AI to not be in an altered state of consciousness.”
According to him, when they were working with their open-source AGI system, it was very easy to make it either obsessive-compulsive and like just keep thinking about the same thing over and over or to make it basically stuck in a stoned mind, drifting from one thing to another to another to another, like semi-randomly. “You have to work to have the system auto-tune its own parameters so it’s not OCD or overly stoned and distracted,” he explained. “With humans, our brains evolved to keep the parameters in a range where we can do useful stuff, and AIs sort of have to recapitulate that process.”
He added that AI doesn’t need chemical drugs in the same sense that a human does. But AI system parameters can be set so it’s going way off the rails in terms of its internal dynamics as well as its external behaviors. “And much like on some human drug trips, this will cause it to generate a whole lot of creative things, most of which are garbage and some of which will cause it to be totally unable to estimate the nature or quality of it,” he said.
Watch Goertzel’s closing speech at the 2024 Beneficial AI Summit below. Head over FutureTech.news for news similar to this. Sources for this article include:
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Alcohol and Your Brain: The Latest Scientific Insights
Key points
Transient memory loss, “blackouts,” and hangovers related to alcohol consumption are brain health risks.
Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) is a risk factor for developing dementia.
Heavy or excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous to the brain for a number of reasons.
The impact of mild to moderate alcohol consumption (1-3 drinks a day) on brain function is less clear.
Austin Perlmutter/DALL-E Depending on who you ask, you might be told to drink a few glasses of red wine a day or to avoid alcohol altogether. The reasons for such recommendations are many, but, by and large, they tend to stem from a study someone read about or saw reported in the news.
So why is it so hard to know whether alcohol is good or bad for us—especially for our brains? In this post, we’ll explore the current science and some practical ideas on how to approach the topic. What Is Alcohol Anyway?
When people talk about drinking “alcohol,” they’re almost always referring to the consumption of ethanol. Ethanol is a natural product that is formed from the fermentation of grains, fruits, and other sources of sugar. It’s found in a wide range of alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and spirits like vodka, whiskey, rum, and gin.
Evidence for human consumption of alcohol dates back over 10,000 years. Consumption of alcohol has and continues to serve major roles in religious and cultural ceremonies around the world. But unlike most food products, in the last century, alcohol has been wrapped up in nearly perpetual controversy over its moral effects and health implications. How Does Alcohol Impact the Brain?
As anyone who’s consumed alcohol knows, ethanol can directly influence brain function. Ethanol is classified as a “depressant” because it has a generally slowing effect on brain activity through activation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) pathways.
In an acute sense, consumption of alcohol can lead to uninhibited behavior, sedation, lapses in judgment, and impairments in motor function. At higher levels, the effects can progress to coma and even death. The Known Brain-Damaging Effects of Excess Alcohol
There is no debate here: Excessively high levels of alcohol consumption over short periods of time are toxic and potentially deadly, specifically because of its effects on the brain.
One critical fact to understand about the overall and brain-specific effects of alcohol is that the entirety of the debate around the risk/benefit ratio concerns mild to moderate alcohol consumption. As it relates to the effects of high amounts of alcohol on the body and brain, the research is consistent: It’s a very bad choice.
High amounts of alcohol use are causal risk factors in the development of disease in the heart, liver, pancreas, and brain (including the brains of children in utero). In fact, 1 in 8 deaths in Americans aged 20-64 is attributable to alcohol use. When it comes to adults, excessive alcohol use can cause multiple well-defined brain issues ranging from short-term confusion to dementia . What Is “Excessive” or “High” Alcohol Use?
Key to the nuance in the conversation about alcohol use are definitions. Across the board, “excessive” or “high” alcohol use is linked to worse overall and brain health outcomes. So what does that mean?
While definitions can be variable, one way to look at this is the consumption of 4 or more drinks on an occasion (for women) and 5 or more for men. Additionally, excess alcohol is defined as drinking more than 8 drinks a week (women) and 15 a week (men), or consuming alcohol if you are pregnant or younger than age 21.
Beyond this, by definition, consuming enough alcohol to cause a “brownout,” “blackout,” hangover, or other overt brain symptomatology is evidence that the alcohol you’ve consumed is creating problems in your brain. Alcohol use disorder (or alcoholism ) is also a clear issue for the brain. It has been linked to a higher risk for dementia, especially early-onset dementia in a study of 262,000 adults, as well as to smaller brain size . Is There a “Safe” Amount of Alcohol for the Brain?
In a highly publicized article from Nature Communications , researchers looked at brain imaging data from nearly 37,000 middle-aged to older adults and cross-referenced their brain scans with their reported alcohol consumption. The findings were profound: People who drank more alcohol had smaller brains, even in people drinking only one or two alcoholic beverages a day.
Conversely, other recent data suggest a lower risk for dementia in people consuming a few alcoholic beverages a day. This includes a 2022 study showing that in around 27,000 people, consuming up to 40 grams of alcohol (around 2.5 drinks) a day was linked to a lower risk for dementia versus abstinence in adults over age 60. A much larger study of almost 4 million people in Korea noted that mild to moderate alcohol consumption was linked to a lower risk for dementia compared to non-drinking. How Do We Make Sense of This Data?
When it comes to the bottom line as it relates to alcohol consumption and brain health, the data are rather solid on some fronts, and a bit less so on others. There’s also the potential for confounding variables, including the fact that many people like to drink alcohol to enjoy and enhance social bonds (which we know are beneficial for the brain). Here’s a summary of what the most recent research is telling us. Heavy or excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous to the brain for a number of reasons.
Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) is a risk factor for developing dementia.
Experiencing transient memory loss, “blackouts,” or hangovers related to alcohol consumption is overt evidence of threats to brain health.
The impact of mild to moderate alcohol consumption (1-3 drinks a day) on brain function is less clear, but it seems unreasonable to start alcohol use for brain health.
Alcohol and Your Brain: The Latest Scientific Insights
Key points
Transient memory loss, “blackouts,” and hangovers related to alcohol consumption are brain health risks.
Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) is a risk factor for developing dementia.
Heavy or excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous to the brain for a number of reasons.
The impact of mild to moderate alcohol consumption (1-3 drinks a day) on brain function is less clear.
Austin Perlmutter/DALL-E Depending on who you ask, you might be told to drink a few glasses of red wine a day or to avoid alcohol altogether. The reasons for such recommendations are many, but, by and large, they tend to stem from a study someone read about or saw reported in the news.
So why is it so hard to know whether alcohol is good or bad for us—especially for our brains? In this article, we’ll explore the current science and some practical ideas on how to approach the topic. What is Alcohol Anyway?
When people talk about drinking “alcohol,” they’re almost always referring to the consumption of ethanol. Ethanol is a natural product that is formed from the fermentation of grains, fruits, and other sources of sugar. It’s found in a wide range of alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and spirits like vodka, whiskey, rum, and gin.
Evidence for human consumption of alcohol dates back over 10,000 years. Consumption of alcohol has and continues to serve major roles in religious and cultural ceremonies around the world. But unlike most food products, in the last century, alcohol has been wrapped up in nearly perpetual controversy over its moral effects and health implications. How Does Alcohol Impact the Brain?
As anyone who’s consumed alcohol knows, ethanol can directly influence brain function. Ethanol is classified as a “depressant” because it has a generally slowing effect on brain activity through activation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) pathways.
In an acute sense, consumption of alcohol can lead to uninhibited behavior, sedation, lapses in judgment, and impairments in motor function. At higher levels, the effects can progress to coma and even death. The Known Brain-Damaging Effects of Excess Alcohol
There is no debate here: Excessively high levels of alcohol consumption over short periods of time are toxic and potentially deadly, specifically because of its effects on the brain.
One critical fact to understand about the overall and brain-specific effects of alcohol is that the entirety of the debate around the risk/benefit ratio concerns mild to moderate alcohol consumption. As it relates to the effects of high amounts of alcohol on the body and brain, the research is consistent: It’s a very bad choice.
High amounts of alcohol use are causal risk factors in the development of disease in the heart, liver, pancreas, and brain (including the brains of children in utero). In fact, 1 in 8 deaths in Americans aged 20-64 is attributable to alcohol use. When it comes to adults, excessive alcohol use can cause multiple well-defined brain issues ranging from short-term confusion to dementia . What is “Excessive” or “High” Alcohol Use?
Key to the nuance in the conversation about alcohol use are definitions. Across the board, “excessive” or “high” alcohol use is linked to worse overall and brain health outcomes. So what does that mean?
While definitions can be variable, one way to look at this is the consumption of 4 or more drinks on an occasion (for women) and 5 or more for men. Additionally, excess alcohol is defined as drinking more than 8 drinks a week (women) and 15 a week (men), or consuming alcohol if you are pregnant or younger than age 21.
Beyond this, by definition, consuming enough alcohol to cause a “brownout,” “blackout,” hangover, or other overt brain symptomatology is evidence that the alcohol you’ve consumed is creating problems in your brain. Alcohol use disorder (or alcoholism ) is also a clear issue for the brain. It has been linked to a higher risk for dementia, especially early-onset dementia in a study of 262,000 adults, as well as to smaller brain size . Is There a “Safe” Amount of Alcohol for the Brain?
In a highly publicized article from Nature Communications , researchers looked at brain imaging data from nearly 37,000 middle-aged to older adults and cross-referenced their brain scans with their reported alcohol consumption. The findings were profound: People who drank more alcohol had smaller brains, even in people drinking only one or two alcoholic beverages a day.
Conversely, other recent data suggest a lower risk for dementia in people consuming a few alcoholic beverages a day. This includes a 2022 study showing that in around 27,000 people, consuming up to 40 grams of alcohol (around 2.5 drinks) a day was linked to a lower risk for dementia versus abstinence in adults over age 60. A much larger study of almost 4 million people in Korea noted that mild to moderate alcohol consumption was linked to a lower risk for dementia compared to non-drinking. How Do We Make Sense of This Data?
When it comes to the bottom line as it relates to alcohol consumption and brain health, the data are rather solid on some fronts, and a bit less so on others. There’s also the potential for confounding variables, including the fact that many people like to drink alcohol to enjoy and enhance social bonds (which we know are beneficial for the brain). Here’s a summary of what the most recent research is telling us. Heavy or excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous to the brain for a number of reasons.
Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) is a risk factor for developing dementia.
Experiencing transient memory loss, “blackouts,” or hangovers related to alcohol consumption is overt evidence of threats to brain health.
The impact of mild to moderate alcohol consumption (1-3 drinks a day) on brain function is less clear, but it seems unreasonable to start alcohol use for brain health.
If you or someone you know is concerned about your alcohol use, consult your personal healthcare provider. In the United States, you can also call 1-800-662-HELP.
New Research: Talking Faster Is Linked to Better Brain Health As We Age
Recent research indicates that in aging individuals, talking speed is a more accurate indicator of brain health than the struggle to find words. This study suggests that slower speech, rather than pauses in conversation, may signal cognitive decline, offering a new approach to early detection and intervention for maintaining cognitive health in older adults. As we age, we might begin to observe that it takes more time to recall the exact words we want to use. This situation can raise worries about cognitive deterioration and the risk of dementia.
However, a new study by Baycrest and the University of Toronto suggests that talking speed is a more important indicator of brain health than difficulty finding words, which appears to be a normal part of aging. This is one of the first studies to look at both differences in natural speech and brain health among healthy adults.
“Our results indicate that changes in general talking speed may reflect changes in the brain,” says Dr. Jed Meltzer, Baycrest’s Canada Research Chair in Interventional Cognitive Neuroscience and the lead author on this study. “This suggests that talking speed should be tested as part of standard cognitive assessments to help clinicians detect cognitive decline faster and help older adults support their brain health as they age.” Study Design and Findings
In this study, 125 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 90 completed three different assessments. The first was a picture-naming game, in which they had to answer questions about pictures while ignoring distracting words they heard through headphones. For example, when looking at a picture of a mop, they might be asked, “Does it end in ‘p’?” while hearing the word “broom” as a distraction. In this way, the researchers were able to test the participants’ ability to recognize what the picture was and to recall its name.
Next, participants were recorded as they described two complex pictures for 60 seconds each. Their language performance was then analyzed using Artificial Intelligence-based software, in partnership with Winterlight Labs. Among other things, researchers examined how fast each participant spoke and how much they paused.
Finally, the research participants completed standard tests to assess mental abilities that tend to decline with age and are linked to dementia risk – namely, executive function, which is the ability to manage conflicting information, stay focused, and avoid distractions. Implications for Future Research and Cognitive Health
As expected, many abilities declined with age, including word-finding speed. Surprisingly, although the ability to recognize a picture and recall its name both worsened with age, this was not associated with a decline in other mental abilities. The number and length of pauses participants took to find words were not linked to brain health. Instead, how fast participants were able to name pictures predicted how fast they spoke in general, and both were linked to executive function. In other words, it wasn’t pausing to find words that showed the strongest link to brain health, but the speed of speech surrounding pauses.
Although many older adults are concerned about their need to pause to search for words, these results suggest this is a normal part of aging. On the other hand, slowing down of normal speech, regardless of pausing, may be a more important indicator of changes to brain health.
In future studies, the research team could conduct the same tests with a group of participants over several years, to examine whether speed speech is truly predictive of brain health for individuals as they age. In turn, these results could support the development of tools to detect cognitive decline as early as possible, allowing clinicians to prescribe interventions to help patients maintain or even improve their brain health as they age.
Reference: “Cognitive components of aging-related increase in word-finding difficulty” by Hsi T. Wei, Dana Kulzhabayeva, Lella Erceg, Jessica Robin, You Zhi Hu, Mark Chignell and Jed A. Meltzer, 14 February 2024, Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition .
DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2024.2315774
This research was supported by a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), an Internship Grant from the Mitacs Accelerate Program and a Connaught Innovation Award.
Research provides insight into how the brain translates motivation into goal-oriented behavior
Hunger can drive a motivational state that leads an animal to a successful pursuit of a goal -; foraging for and finding food.
In a highly novel study published in Current Biology , researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH, describe how two major neuronal subpopulations in a part of the brain’s thalamus called the paraventricular nucleus participate in the dynamic regulation of goal pursuits. This research provides insight into the mechanisms by which the brain tracks motivational states to shape instrumental actions.
For the study, mice first had to be trained in a foraging-like behavior, using a long, hallway-like enclosure that had a trigger zone at one end and a reward zone at the other end, more than 4 feet distant.
Mice learned to wait in a trigger zone for two seconds, until a beep triggered initiation of their foraging-like behavioral task. A mouse could then move forward at its own pace to the reward zone to receive a small gulp of strawberry-flavored Ensure. To terminate the trial, the mice needed to leave the reward zone and return to the trigger area, to wait for another beep. Mice learned quickly and were highly engaged, as shown by completing a large volume of trials during training.
The researchers then used optical photometry and the calcium sensor GCaMP to continuously monitor activity of two major neuronal subpopulations of the paraventricular nucleus, or PVT, during the reward approach from the trigger zone to the reward zone, and during the trial termination from the reward zone back to the trigger zone after a taste of strawberry-flavored food. The experiments involve inserting an optical fiber into the brain just about the PVT to measure calcium release, a signal of neural activity.
The two subpopulations in the paraventricular nucleus are identified by presence or absence of the dopamine D2 receptor, noted as either PVT D2(+) or PVT D2(–) , respectively. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that allows neurons to communicate with each other. We discovered that PVT D2(+) and PVT D2(–) neurons encode the execution and termination of goal-oriented actions, respectively. Furthermore, activity in the PVT D2(+) neuronal population mirrored motivation parameters such as vigor and satiety.” Sofia Beas, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB Department of Neurobiology and co-corresponding author of the study Specifically, the PVT D2(+) neurons showed increased activity during the reward approach and decreased activity during trial termination. Conversely, PVT D2(–) neurons showed decreased activity during the reward approach and increased activity during trial termination.
“This is novel because people didn’t know there was diversity within the PVT neurons,” Beas said. “Contrary to decades of belief that the PVT is homogeneous, we found that, even though they are the same types of cells (both release the same neurotransmitter, glutamate), PVT D2(+) and PVT D2(–) neurons are doing very different jobs. Additionally, the findings from our study are highly significant as they help interpret contradictory and confusing findings in the literature regarding PVT’s function.”
For a long time, the thalamic areas such as the PVT had been considered just a relay station in the brain. Researchers now realize, Beas says, that the PVT instead processes information, translating hypothalamic-derived needs states into motivational signals via projections of axons -; including the PVT D2(+) and PVT D2(–) axons -; to the nucleus accumbens, or NAc. The NAc has a critical role in the learning and execution of goal-oriented behaviors. An axon is a long cable-like extension from a neuron cell body that transfers the neuron’s signal to another neuron.
Researchers showed that these changes in neuron activity at the PVT were transmitted to the NAc by measuring neural activity with an optical fiber inserted where the terminals of the PVT axons reach the NAc neurons. The activity dynamics at the PVT-NAc terminals largely mirrored the activity dynamics the researchers saw at the PVT neurons -; namely increased neuron activity signal of PVT D2(+) during reward approach and increased neuron activity of PVT D2(–) during trial termination.
“Collectively, our findings strongly suggest that motivation-related features and the encoding of goal-oriented actions of posterior PVT D2(+) and PVT D2(-) neurons are being relayed to the NAc through their respective terminals,” Beas said.
During each mouse recording session, the researchers recorded eight to 10 data samples per second, resulting in a very big dataset. In addition, these types of recordings are subject to many potential confounding variables. As such, the analysis of this data was another novel aspect of this study, through use of a new and robust statistical framework based on Functional Linear Mixed Modeling that both account for the variability of the recordings and can explore the relationships between the changes of photometry signals over time and various co-variates of the reward task, such as how quickly mice performed a trial, or how the hunger levels of the animals can influence the signal.
One example of how researchers correlated motivation with task performance was separating the trial times into “fast” groups, two to three seconds to the reward zone from the trigger zone, and “slow” groups, nine to 11 seconds to the reward zone.
“Our analyses showed that reward approach was associated with higher calcium signal ramps in PVT D2(+) neurons during fast compared to slow trials,” Beas said. “Moreover, we found a correlation between signal and both latency and velocity parameters. Importantly, no changes in posterior PVT D2(+) neuron activity were observed when mice were not engaged in the task, as in the cases where mice were roaming around the enclosure but not actively performing trials. Altogether, our findings suggest that posterior PVT D2(+) neuron activity increases during reward-seeking and is shaped by motivation.”
Deficits in motivation are associated with psychiatric conditions like substance abuse, binge eating and the inability to feel pleasure in depression. A deeper understanding of the neural basis of motivated behavior may reveal specific neuronal pathways involved in motivation and how they interact. This could lead to new therapeutic targets to restore healthy motivational processes in patients.
Co-authors with Beas in the study, “Dissociable […]
Deep brain stimulation didn’t work for a young OCD patient until new brain maps changed everything
Deep brain stimulation for severe obsessive-compulsive disorder helped Julia Hum earn her high-school equivalency certificate last year. By Brenda Goodman, CNN
(CNN) — Five years ago, in a wheelchair, Julia Hum was admitted to a state mental hospital in Massachusetts.
After treatment with targeted deep brain stimulation, she hopes to walk out soon and, for the first time in her adult life, live independently, in her own apartment.
Hum, 24, has severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, which once caused her to hurt herself and even affected her ability to eat and drink.
“My OCD kind of convinced me food and drinks were contaminated,” Hum said. Her thoughts told her things like that her food had parasites or harmful chemicals.
“I was fully aware of how ludicrous these thoughts were, and I desperately wanted to gain weight and eat enough and drink enough and be healthy. But the doubts I had were just so loud,” she said. “They were screaming, and I couldn’t focus on anything else.”
Her heart rate and blood pressure became so erratic, she needed to use a wheelchair to move around. Doctors used a tube that led into her stomach through her nose to give her food and gave her fluids intravenously.
Now, after treatment, she’s doing much better. In August, she got her high-school equivalency diploma and posed for a photo with the certificate with a wide smile on her face. She’s no longer hurting herself, and she can eat and drink normally. She says intrusive thoughts are no longer in control.
“I feel like my OCD was kind of at the helm of the ship before, and now it’s kind of like a pesky passenger. It’s there, but it’s not taking over my life,” Hum said.
She and her doctors credit this lifesaving improvement to innovative research that allowed them to more precisely target a dysfunctional circuit with a device called a deep brain stimulator, which acts like a pacemaker for her brain.
Deep brain stimulators have been used for two decades for movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease and dystonia. More recently, their uses have been expanded to include mood disorders like depression and other neurological conditions such as Tourette’s syndrome and OCD.
The devices have two electrodes that target a pea-size structure deep inside the brain called the subthalamic nucleus. This node, which looks like a contact lens, contains more than half a million nerve cells .
It’s a hub for signals passing between the brain’s outer and inner layers. It’s like a switchboard, says Dr. Andreas Horn, a neurologist at the Brain Modulation Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Doctors implant the electrodes close to the subthalamic nucleus and then adjust the settings through a pulse generator that is implanted under the skin of the chest. After waiting about two weeks after surgery to let the body heal, they turn on the electricity and adjust the settings to find something that feels good to the patient.
“I’ll suddenly feel lighter, my rituals will slow down, and I’ll sit up straighter and feel more energy,” as an example, Hum said. Refining deep brain stimulation
Hum had a deep brain stimulator implanted in 2021.
Her psychiatrist, Dr. Darin Dougherty of the Mass General Research Institute, said it didn’t initially give them the results they’d hoped for.
“It was this kind of cycle where we would find settings that felt really good. They would work maybe for a month or two, and then I’d slide backwards again because the initial effects would wear off,” Hum said.
Deep brain stimulation can be life-changing, but it doesn’t work equally well for everyone, and researchers say they’re getting closer to understanding why.
In a recent study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Horn and an international team of researchers took data from more than 530 electrodes implanted in the brains of more than 200 people living with four conditions: Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, Tourette’s syndrome and OCD.
They looked at where the devices were stimulating each person’s brain and how much improvement each had. Then, they used these records to map the nerve networks that seem to become dysfunctional in each of the four disorders.
“The idea is that by learning from a cohort of patients and contrasting who got better with the ones that unfortunately did not get as much better after treatment, we can pinpoint where the optimal site is and maybe the optimal network to stimulate,” Horn said.
The team used their maps to adjust deep brain stimulators for three patients, including Hum.
All of them saw substantial improvement in their symptoms.
Dr. Sameer Sheth, a professor of neurosurgery at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who was not involved in the study, says that the research is encouraging because it uses data from a large number of people but that trying it out in just three people isn’t enough to know whether these brain maps are accurate.
“For the most part, this information has not been tested in the wild in a new set of patients, so that’s what this is setting up,” said Sheth, who also treats people with deep brain stimulation.If the same good results can be repeated in more patients, “then we should act on it. We should implant with this type of profile in mind for this type of patient, let’s say a patient with OCD,” he said. ‘It gave me my hope back’ Using the maps created by Horn’s team and a special type of magnetic resonance imaging called diffusion imaging, doctors can see the fibers they need to stimulate to have the best chance of getting people well, Dougherty said.Each electrode implanted for the therapy has multiple points of contact that doctors can use to stimulate different brain areas.“We were then able to see which of those contacts was closest to the fibers that would be most likely to be helpful” for Hum, Dougherty said.They made adjustments to Hum’s settings in August, and she says the difference has been night and day.“It’s allowed me to focus,” Hum said. She notices that she can engage in therapy better, and she’s been able to […]
Addiction and the Gut-Brain Axis
Key points
A poor gut microbiota can lead to a leaky gut and systemic inflammation.
Inflammation affects the brain, causing depression, anxiety, and poor impulse control.
This can lead to self-medication and multiple kinds of substance use disorders.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Source: Midjourney
Addiction carries a heavy mantle of social stigma . One-fifth of the population are afflicted, and it puts a burden on them, their friends, and their family members. It seems like a character flaw: Why can’t the addict simply quit?
But research is consolidating around a new view: Addiction has a connection to your gut microbes. This weird association is both intriguing and liberating. It’s intriguing that tiny gut microbes can run our lives into the ground, but it’s liberating because we can control our microbes with diet and lifestyle changes. At least 40 percent (and maybe more) of addicts may be helped or even cured by repairing a bad gut. How the Gut Alters Our Mood and Cognition
The story of the gut-brain axis is finally well accepted after two decades of brilliant, ground-breaking research. The gut, and the microbes therein, can alter our mood and cognition in three basic ways. From fastest to slowest, these include speedy nerve connections (via the vagus nerve ), slower immune system reactions, and leisurely hormonal secretions.
A healthy gut has microbes that produce butyrate, a chemical that nourishes and heals the cells lining the gut. Butyrate even reaches the brain where it can boost the production of new nerve cells, essential to learning and cognition.
Our planet is infused with invisible bacteria, fungi, and viruses. They coat every surface and float through the air. With everything we touch and every breath we take, we pick up microbes. To a bacterium, almost everything—including us—looks like lunch. For animals and plants to survive in this microbial miasma, we must conscript some of them to our side.
We typically think that our immune system fights disease-causing microbes, but that’s only half the story. Most germs are stopped dead in their tracks by our own microbes before our immune system is even aware of them. It takes a germ to fight a germ.
Our collection of microbes—our microbiota—coats our skin and our gut, providing complete round-the-clock protection. If it goes south, so does our health. When our gut microbes are imbalanced, our gut lining gets leaky, allowing microbes to sneak into our circulation. This unhealthy gut state is called dysbiosis.
Our heart obligingly pumps these germs and their toxins to every single organ in our body—including our brain. That is one way that our microbiota can affect our moods and cognition. With germs storming the gates, our brain becomes hypersensitive and finds it difficult to concentrate. We get anxious without quite knowing what the cause is. Self-Medicating a Troubled Mind
The poor communication between us and our guardian microbes is problematic. Depression has many legitimate causes, such as bereavement and loss, but it can also be the result of a quietly leaking gut. Not realizing that the cause lies in our gut, we may try to work around it by self-medicating.
Alcohol , nicotine, and drugs won’t help our gut, but in the short term, they may soothe a troubled mind. Unfortunately, these substances can exacerbate our gut issues. Alcohol can loosen the proteins that stitch the cells of our gut lining together, adding to gut leakiness. Unwittingly, we make a bad situation worse. It’s not a small issue: Half of the people with mood disorders are also addicted to something, and half of addicts have mood disorders.
A leaky gut leads to systemic inflammation, as our immune system tries to track down and kill rogue bacteria. This inflammation can affect the brain’s reward center, which drives cravings and pleasure-seeking activity. It also ramps up impulsive behavior. It’s an ideal setup for addiction. Worse yet, a dysbiotic gut can make withdrawal symptoms worse, discouraging abstinence.
In studies with rats, researchers found that 30 percent of them were hard-core consumers, even enduring electric shocks to get some alcohol. This special group had a distinctly different gut microbiota. Human studies have similar results: Some 40 percent of people with alcohol use disorders have significantly higher levels of depression and cravings than the rest, along with leaky guts and bad bacteria. These people also had higher rates of recidivism after detoxification.
While it is easy to understand how drinking can affect our gut, it is more of a leap to see how drugs that aren’t taken orally can do so. But a recent study found that both gut and oral microbiotas are profoundly different in cocaine users, with production of butyrate significantly reduced. Abstaining from cocaine helps to restore a healthy gut. Similar effects on the gut are observed with opioid use. The mechanism for this microbial disruption is murky, but the gut-brain axis goes both ways, and the brain may be the instigator of this dysbiotic cycle. Improving Gut Health for Recovery
Because we can control much of our gut microbiota with diet and supplements, we have a real opportunity to reduce the cravings and impulse control issues that lead to addiction. Vegetables, especially those high in fiber, are particularly effective for improving gut health. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and yogurt can also help. Probiotic and prebiotic fiber supplements are additional tools. Together, these could represent a solid first step toward recovery.
References
Gerace, Elisabetta, Simone Baldi, Maya Salimova, Leandro Di Gloria, Lavinia Curini, Virginia Cimino, Giulia Nannini, et al. “Oral and Fecal Microbiota Perturbance in Cocaine Users: Can rTMS-Induced Cocaine Abstinence Support Eubiosis Restoration?” iScience 26, no. 5 (April 20, 2023): 106627.
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