Do you wait until the last minute before starting a big project then have to scramble to get it done? Do you struggle to stay focused on Zoom meetings or in class? Is your desk such a mess you have a hard time finding what you need? Do you ever get the feeling other people think you’re just being lazy even though you’re trying really hard? These are all signs of attention deficit disorder (ADD), more commonly called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Tag: Brain
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Interacting with dogs may affect multiple areas of the brain, study finds
Interacting with dogs may affect multiple areas of the brain, study finds
If you decompress by playing with dogs or checking their adorable videos on social media, you might be onto something.Interacting with dogs in such ways may strengthen people’s brain waves associated with rest and relaxation, as measured by brain tests, according to a small study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.Multiple studies have shown the emotional, physiological and cognitive benefits of interactions with animals, especially dogs — such as boosted energy, increased positive emotions or lowered risk for memory loss. That’s why animal-assisted health interventions are being increasingly used in diverse fields, the study authors said.Previous studies often took “a holistic approach, comparing people’s mood or hormone levels before and after spending time with a dog,” said the study’s first author, Onyoo Yoo, a doctoral student in the department of bio and healing convergence at Konkuk University’s graduate school in Seoul, via email.In this new study, Yoo and colleagues aimed to find out how mood was affected by specific activities — rather than just general interaction with a dog — by both objectively measuring brain activity and asking participants about their subjective emotions.The study involved 30 healthy adults who were around age 28 on average and had been recruited from pet salons and a dog grooming school in Seongnam, South Korea, between May and June 2022.In a drab, quiet room at a local grooming academy, each participant did eight activities with a 4-year-old, well-trained female standard poodle owned by the study’s lead author. The activities included meeting, playing, feeding, massaging, grooming, photographing, hugging and walking the dog.Before activities began, participants sat and stared at the wall for three minutes to minimize any stimulation that could taint the results. The authors measured participants’ brain waves using electroencephalogram tests, or EEGs, for three minutes during each activity.An EEG is a noninvasive test that measures electrical activity in the brain using small metal discs called electrodes, which are attached to the scalp. These tests provide “quick and accurate insights into unconscious processes that self-disclosure may not uncover,” Yoo said.After each task, the authors gave participants a couple of minutes to answer questionnaires on their emotional states. The whole process took around an hour.Different activities had varying effects on participants’ brain waves. Playing and walking with a dog increased the strength of the alpha-band oscillations, the authors found, which generally indicate stability and relaxation. Alpha wave activity has been linked with improved memory and reduced mental stress, according to the study.Grooming, playing and gently massaging the dog was linked with strengthened beta-band oscillation, which is associated with heightened attention and concentration. Participants also felt significantly less depressed, stressed and fatigued after interacting with the poodle.Since much of the research in this field has been anecdotal or subjective, though not surprising, “it is super exciting” that the new study provides more insight into exactly how the known benefits may be occurring, said Dr. Colleen Dell, a professor and research chair in One Health & Wellness at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, via email.”Studying the area in a multitude of ways — such as the EEG and subjective scales — is really important,” said Dell, who wasn’t involved in the study.How engaging with dogs affects the brainWhile not all participants had pets of their own, “their fondness for animals likely motivated their willingness to participate in the experiment, potentially biasing the results,” Yoo said. “Animal-assisted therapy can be very beneficial for people who enjoy being around animals.”Beyond the changes in brain activity observed in the study, “this study was not designed to determine what mechanisms might link pet interactions to the observed changes in brain activity,” said Dr. Tiffany Braley, the Holtom-Garrett Family Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan, who wasn’t involved in the study.However, the prefrontal cortex, one of the regions examined in this study, “is thought to be involved in emotional and social processing, offering the possibility that emotional or social bonding with animals could affect activity in this region,” Braley added via email. “Furthermore, prior studies have suggested that reduced cortisol levels and elevations in oxytocin may play a role in physiological changes associated with human-animal interactions.”The study did have some weaknesses, experts said — such as the low number of study participants and the fact they didn’t have mental, medical or neurological conditions, which could benefit the most from these types of interventions, Braley said. Additionally, the study didn’t have a control group to see if the actions, when done with a human instead of a dog, would have similar benefits.”It will be important to confirm the validity of these findings in future studies,” Yoo said.Applying doggie research to your lifeThough more studies are needed, if you already have a dog, there’s now more evidence supporting interactions with your pet, experts said.Most of these activities are likely enjoyed by your dog, Dell said, but pay attention to what they don’t like — some dogs don’t like to be hugged, for example.If you want to adopt a dog, there are several things you should consider. You would need extra money for at least pet supplies, health care, toys, food and pet sitting, all of which can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars annually. If you adopt a puppy, it will need to be trained, and any new pet would need to be acclimated to a new environment regardless of age. Then there’s the quality time a dog needs on a regular basis.If you’re not ready for a pet but still want to obtain the benefits for emotional health, you might want to try playing with a loved one’s pet or visiting a local shelter or pet store that allows playing with the dogs even if you’re not going to adopt them. Doing so is especially encouraged at places with lots of puppies since the quality time helps socialize them.Recognition of the dog’s welfare is important, Dell said, “because if the dog is not healthy and happy then they (also) cannot participate in the intervention fully.”
If you decompress by playing with dogs or checking their adorable videos on social media, you might be onto something.
Interacting with dogs in such ways may strengthen people’s brain waves associated with rest and relaxation, as measured by brain tests, according to a small study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.
Multiple studies have shown the emotional, physiological and cognitive benefits of interactions with animals, especially dogs — such as boosted energy, increased positive emotions or lowered risk for memory loss. That’s why animal-assisted health interventions are being increasingly used in diverse fields, the study authors said.
Previous studies often took “a holistic approach, comparing people’s mood or hormone levels before and after spending time with a dog,” said the study’s first author, Onyoo Yoo, a doctoral student in the department of bio and healing convergence at Konkuk University’s graduate school in Seoul, via email.
In this new study, Yoo and colleagues aimed to find out how mood was affected by specific activities — rather than just general interaction with a dog — by both objectively measuring brain activity and asking participants about their subjective emotions.
The study involved 30 healthy adults who were around age 28 on average and had been recruited from pet salons and a dog grooming school in Seongnam, South Korea, between May and June 2022.
In a drab, quiet room at a local grooming academy, each participant did eight activities with a 4-year-old, well-trained female standard poodle owned by the study’s lead author. The activities included meeting, playing, feeding, massaging, grooming, photographing, hugging and walking the dog.
Before activities began, participants sat and stared at the wall for three minutes to minimize any stimulation that could taint the results. The authors measured participants’ brain waves using electroencephalogram tests, or EEGs, for three minutes during each activity.
An EEG is a noninvasive test that measures electrical activity in the brain using small metal discs called electrodes, which are attached to the scalp. These tests provide “quick and accurate insights into unconscious processes that self-disclosure may not uncover,” Yoo said.
After each task, the authors gave participants a couple of minutes to answer questionnaires on their emotional states. The whole process took around an hour.
Different activities had varying effects on participants’ brain waves. Playing and walking with a dog increased the strength of the alpha-band oscillations, the authors found, which generally indicate stability and relaxation. Alpha wave activity has been linked with improved memory and reduced mental stress, according to the study.
Grooming, playing and gently massaging the dog was linked with strengthened beta-band oscillation, which is associated with heightened attention and concentration. Participants also felt significantly less depressed, stressed and fatigued after interacting with the poodle.
Since much of the research in this field has been anecdotal or subjective, though not surprising, “it is super exciting” that the new study provides more insight into exactly how the known benefits may be occurring, said Dr. Colleen Dell, a professor and research chair in One Health & Wellness at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, via email.
“Studying the area in a multitude of ways — such as the EEG and subjective scales — is really important,” said Dell, who wasn’t involved in the study.
How engaging with dogs affects the brain
While not all participants had pets of their own, “their fondness for animals likely motivated their willingness to participate in the experiment, potentially biasing the results,” Yoo said. “Animal-assisted therapy can be very beneficial for people who enjoy being around animals.”
Beyond the changes in brain activity observed in the study, “this study was not designed to determine what mechanisms might link pet interactions to the observed changes in brain activity,” said Dr. Tiffany Braley, the Holtom-Garrett Family Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan, who wasn’t involved in the study.
However, the prefrontal cortex, one of the regions examined in this study, “is thought to be involved in emotional and social processing, offering the possibility that emotional or social bonding with animals could affect activity in this region,” Braley added via email. “Furthermore, prior studies have suggested that reduced cortisol levels and elevations in oxytocin may play a role in physiological changes associated with human-animal interactions.”
The study did have some weaknesses, experts said — such as the low number of study participants and the fact they didn’t have mental, medical or neurological conditions, which could benefit the most from these types of interventions, Braley said. Additionally, the study didn’t have a control group to see if the actions, when done with a human instead of a dog, would have similar benefits.
“It will be important to confirm the validity of these findings in future studies,” Yoo said.
Applying doggie research to your life
Though more studies are needed, if you already have a dog, there’s now more evidence supporting interactions with your pet, experts said.
Most of these activities are likely enjoyed by your dog, Dell said, but pay attention to what they don’t like — some dogs don’t like to be hugged, for example.
If you want to adopt a dog, there are several things you should consider. You would need extra money for at least pet supplies, health care, toys, food and pet sitting, all of which can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars annually. If you adopt a puppy, it will need to be trained, and any new pet would need to be acclimated to a new environment regardless of age. Then there’s the quality time a dog needs on a regular basis.
If you’re not ready for a pet but still want to obtain the benefits for emotional health, you might want to try playing with a loved one’s pet or visiting a local shelter or pet store that allows playing with the dogs even if you’re not going to adopt them. Doing so is especially encouraged at places with lots of puppies since the quality time helps socialize them.
Recognition of the dog’s welfare is important, Dell said, “because if the dog is not healthy and happy then they (also) cannot participate in the intervention fully.”
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This Brain Supplement Delivers Daily Power & Lifelong Support
This advanced nootropic supplement has become an integral part of my daily endeavors to support a healthy brain span. Alongside the essential practices of improving my sleep hygiene, consuming a nutrient-rich and balanced diet, and getting consistent exercise and movement, brain guard+ provides the daily brainpower and lifelong neuroprotective support that helps round out my brain health rituals.*
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U. Md. researchers examine how naptime impacts brain development in preschoolers – WTOP News
When should young children drop their afternoon nap? University of Maryland researchers are looking to better understand why the transition happens.
When should young children drop their afternoon nap? University of Maryland researchers are looking to better understand why the transition happens.
“We know sleep is very good for the brain, and it’s very good for our memories,” said University of Maryland professor Tracy Riggins. “Preschoolers are sponges that soak up a bunch of information about the world. They learn so much every day. Isn’t it interesting that that’s also the same time they’re transitioning out of the afternoon nap?”
Riggins and her colleague Rebecca Spencer, from UMass Amherst, are conducting a first-of-its-kind study on preschoolers, sleep, memory and the brain.
Riggins said children typically drop the nap between two and eight years of age. They want to understand why the transition happens, and why it might occur at different points in time for different kids.
“We hope it’s a first step in understanding those intricate relations between memory, sleep, and the brain,” Riggins said. “We know they’re tied together, but we don’t actually know how they’re tied together.”
She hopes the research provides more answers for educators, day care providers and parents. Riggins said there are currently no scientifically-based recommendations for napping in preschoolers, which is why daycares handle naptime differently.
“Some of them have a mandatory two-hour rest period. Others have a 45-minute optional rest period, and some have no rest period at all,” she said. “And they might not remember anything from that class if they’re not able to take a nap, which will help them consolidate the information.”
Riggins says they are looking to recruit about 180 children, ages 3-5, to participate in this study. Those children should be napping on average five days a week or more. Researchers would measure memory and brain activity while the kids are awake as well as when they’re sleeping. Participants will be compensated.
If you’re interested in learning more about the study, visit the university’s Neurocognitive Development Lab website.
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© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Linh Bui
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‘Collective Mind’: Researchers Examine Social Effects of Watching the Same Thing Together | High Times
More than 123 million people tuned in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs (and Taylor Swift) claim yet another Super Bowl triumph on Sunday, making it the most-watched television program in history.
That’s useful grist for recently published research examining how watching the same thing can bring people together.
It is known as the “theory of the collective mind,” which refers to the human ability to take in a collective perspective.
Garriy Shteynberg, a professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, published the research on the theory last year, and recently expounded upon the scholarship in a piece published last month.
“Theory of mind research has traditionally focused on the ascription of mental states to a single individual. Here, we introduce a theory of collective mind: the ascription of a unified mental state to a group of agents with convergent experiences. Rather than differentiation between one’s personal perspective and that of another agent, a theory of collective mind requires perspectival unification across agents,” Shteynberg and his colleagues wrote in the study’s abstract last year.
“We review recent scholarship across the cognitive sciences concerning the conceptual foundations of collective mind representations and their empirical induction through the synchronous arrival of shared information. Research suggests that representations of a collective mind cause psychological amplification of co-attended stimuli, create relational bonds, and increase cooperation, among co-attendees.”
In his piece last month, Shteynberg noted the relevance of such research, given the increased polarization and decline in institutional trust in the United States.
“Only about 1 in 4 Americans said that they had trust in the nation’s institutions in 2023 – with big business (1 in 7), television news (1 in 7) and Congress (1 in 12) scraping the very bottom,” he wrote.
“While institutional trust is decreasing, political polarization is increasing. The majority of Republicans (72%) and Democrats (64%) think of each other as more immoral than other Americans – a nearly 30% rise from 2016 to 2022. When compared with similar democracies, the United States has exhibited the largest increase in animus toward the opposing political party over the past 40 years.”
In a context in which we can’t agree on anything where, Shteynberg wonders, does that leave us?
“When public trust and political consensus disappear, what remains? This question has occupied my research for the past 20 years, both as a scholar trained in social anthropology, organizational science and social cognition and as a professor of psychology,” he said.
“Researchers don’t have all the answers, but it seems that even in the absence of public trust and agreement, people can share experiences. Whether watching a spelling bee or a football game, ‘we’ still exist if ‘we’ can witness it together.”
Shteynberg goes on to explain that he and his colleagues have been driven to explore the “foundation of collective mind,” saying that what they study in the lab “is shared attention, instances when people experience the world with others.”
Those lab experiments, he says, underscore the value of “shared experiences,” saying they “amplify psychological and behavioral reactions to the world” in adults.
“My colleagues and I find that compared with attending to the world alone, or at different times than others, synchronous attention with others yields stronger memories, deeper emotions and firmer motivations. Studies show that seeing words together renders them more memorable, watching sad movies together makes them sadder, and focusing together on shared goals increases efforts toward their pursuit. Sharing attention to the behavior of others yields more imitation of that behavior,” he says.
“Critically, those experiencing something with you need not be physically present. Although in some experiments participants sit side by side, in other studies participants believe they are attending together from different lab rooms or even across the nation. Irrespective of the location, the sense that ‘we are attending’ to something together at the same time – as compared with in solitude or on your own schedule – amplifies the experience.”
Shteynberg highlights two examples of disparate sizes –– watching a movie in a theater or watching the Super Bowl –– as important instances of shared experiences with Americans, who are increasingly isolated in a society that conducts more and more business online.
“Before the advent of the internet, Americans shared attention broadly – they watched the same nightly news together, even if they did not always agree whether it was good or bad. Today, with people’s attention divided into media silos, there are more obstacles than ever to sharing attention with those with whom you disagree,” he says. “And yet, even when we can no longer agree on what ‘we’ believe, sharing attention to the basic sights and sounds of our world connects us. These moments can be relatively small, like watching a movie in the theater, or large, like watching the Super Bowl. However, remembering that we are sharing such experiences with Americans of all political persuasions is important.”
Thomas Edward
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The Best Way To Support Brain Longevity, From A Neuroscientist
As Kirin Central Research Institute’s lead researcher, Eri Nakazaki, Ph.D., has engaged in many clinical research trials on nutritional bioactives to determine their brain health potential. After all, there’s a lot of research and development that goes into nootropic ingredients.
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Bullying may leave teens at greater risk of psychosis
Bullying may leave teens at greater risk of psychosis, research has found.
The study from researchers at the University of Tokyo, which is published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry, reports that bullying was linked to a chemical change in the brain, that increased the risk of psychosis-like symptoms. Psychosis is a disconnect from reality and comes in the form of several disorders, such as schizophrenia. The researchers found that the psychotic episodes experienced by these teens did not meet the criteria needed in order to diagnose them with a psychotic disorder; however, there was a clear increased risk of hallucinations, radical change in behavior or thinking, and paranoia.
A stock photo shows a girl being bullied by peers. A study found that teens who are bullied are more likely to have psychotic disorders.
Daisy-Daisy/Getty
“Studying these subclinical psychotic experiences is important for us to understand the early stages of psychotic disorders and for identifying individuals who may be at increased risk for developing a clinical psychotic illness later on,” Naohiro Okada, lead author of the study and project associate professor at the University of Tokyo’s International Research Center for Neurointelligence said in a summary of the research findings.
To reach these findings, the researchers measured the glutamate levels in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) region of Japanese teenagers’ brains. The ACC is a neurotransmitter in the brain that works to regulate the body’s emotions and cognitive control. They compared the changes in glutamate levels when the teenager had experienced bullying, and when they had not experienced bullying.
They also considered whether the teenager had sought help for the bullying.
Along with an increased risk of psychotic episodes, the scientists found that being bullied had a significant impact on the teens’ well-being, the study reported.
Scientists already knew that bullying at school can be highly determinantal to an adolescent’s wellbeing. But the link between bullying, the ACC, glutamate levels and teenagers, has never been studied before.
These findings suggest that the neurotransmitter could be a future target for treatments in psychotic disorders.
However, the researchers stress that non-medical treatment options, such as talking therapy, remain important for psychotic disorders. It is also vital to provide support to those who are experiencing bullying, the study reports.
“First and foremost, anti-bullying programs in schools that focus on promoting positive social interactions and reducing aggressive behaviors are essential for their own sake and to reduce the risk of psychosis and its subclinical precursors,” Okada said in the summary. “These programs can help create a safe and supportive environment for all students, reducing the likelihood of bullying and its negative consequences.”
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about mental health? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Brain Fog & Low Mood? People Swear By This For Support*
Passing each day with mental clarity and an even-keeled mood isn’t some pipe dream: It’s actually well within your grasp. Lifestyle factors including what you eat (like leafy greens and healthy fats), how you move, and even what you supplement with play an outsized role in helping your brain stay sharp and balanced.*
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How Mindful Eating Can Supercharge Dynamic Thinking | Entrepreneur
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Entrepreneurs are ever in search of ways of reducing the number of decisions they make, in part to save brain space for the “big stuff.” Some thought leaders pare down their wardrobe to a standard look (à la Steve Jobs), for example, while others optimize (and not necessarily healthfully) by eating the same thing every day.
A novel take on this efficiency principle came in the form of a Bay Area company that marketed a product called Soylent in 2013. Tired of wasting money and energy on food, one of its founders, Rob Rhinehart, invented a “super sludge” intended to supply the body’s essential nutrients — a mixture of maltodextrin, amino acids, fiber, olive oil and other ingredients. According to a journalist from Wired, that original formula looked like pancake mix and tasted like chalk.
After reading that article, I could grasp why the concept could be regarded as potentially dystopian (its name inspiration, after all, a 1973 movie in which humans are forced to consume reprocessed human corpses), but Soylent is still going strong. The company, now based in Los Angeles, continues to grow and innovate (now offering tastier options like chocolate and strawberry). Its success supports the notion that busy professionals will spring for convenience when it comes to their appetites.
I’m a big proponent of simplifying as many tasks as possible. And while no stranger to the occasional lunch-replacement smoothie, I’m not sold on outsourcing meals entirely. Luckily, for food-loving entrepreneurs, there are creative benefits to thinking more about and diversifying what and how we eat.
Related: 7 Tips for Startup Food Entrepreneurs
Ingredients for creativity
As something of a counterpoint to Rhinehart-esque food practicality, a 2021 literature review written by a team of researchers and academicians offered evidence to suggest that people with a view of food as simply fuel miss out on the creative benefits of eating more mindfully. Engaging multiple senses during a meal (taste, smell, tactile qualities, etc.), they wrote, can boost creative thinking in various ways, and offered the experience of wine as an example: Those who enjoy it think about taste, smell, color and mouthfeel, and might come up with descriptive metaphors for each. Creative wheels start turning. It follows that engaging with food by paying attention to analogous qualities (and any metaphorical associations) may likewise boost inventiveness.
The authors also made a case for eating foods that result in genuine enjoyment. Creativity is enhanced, they suggest, when people feel happy, including being relaxed or moderately excited. So, to borrow a phrase from author Marie Kondo, consider foods that spark joy when you eat them. Maybe it’s your partner’s famous lasagna (which gets even better the next day as leftovers), a burrito from a favorite food truck or a big, colorful salad.
Eating something delicious and taking the time to appreciate it can prime the brain for exploration. Better yet, certain foods can actually boost the brain’s power.
Related: Your Poor Eating Habits Are Hurting Business
Nutrition that sharpens the mind
The first rule of thumb for choosing meals that give rise to sharp thinking is to think about them beforehand: to make choices before you’re ravenous. Various studies make plain that humans are far better at resisting salt, calories and fat in the future than in the present.
Glucose, a type of sugar, is the main energy source for the body’s cells, and it’s worth keeping in mind that brain cells use the most energy. But when it comes to glucose, not all foods are created equal: Some release theirs quickly, leading to a sudden spike in energy (and an equally fast plummet). Members of this “simple carbohydrates” family include pizza, pasta, bread and sugary drinks. Others, termed “slow carb foods,” release glucose gradually, among them starchy vegetables (sweet potato, squashes, beets), whole grains, beans and legumes.
Other foods are linked with memory and cognition. Research published in a 2014 edition of the Journal of Psychiatric Research revealed that the amino acid tyrosine (the precursor of the “feel good” hormone, dopamine) enhances cognitive performance, particularly in short-term stressful or cognitively demanding situations. So, load up on seaweed, bananas and almonds. Other research has found that the plant-based omega-3 fat, alpha-linolenic acid, which is abundant in walnuts and flaxseed, likewise improves memory and cognition, as do the antioxidants in berries. Foods high in choline and folate, like eggs, are linked to improved cognitive performance and memory. A 2014 study published in the British Journal for Health Psychiatry found that young adults who ate more fruits and vegetables reported boosted well-being, more intense feelings of curiosity and greater creativity.
The bad news is that, in the real world, we don’t always have time to prepare balanced meals, but it’s actually a cinch to supplement whatever you’re eating with nutrient-packed options. If I have pizza for lunch, for example, I’ll add a handful of almonds for a snack. If there’s a bagel for breakfast, some olive oil seaweed chips will be added later in the morning. The goal is balance. I also automate snack selection by programming delivery orders ahead of time. That way, when my stomach rumbles, I reach for brain-boosting dried fruits rather than a bag of M&Ms.
Related: Fueling Your Body is Key to Fueling Your Business
As CEO of Jotform, and the author of a book on automation, I understand the inclination to optimize as many tasks as possible. If I want to carve out time for important creative work (aka “the big stuff”) and reserve more hours to spend with my family, something has to hit the chopping block. But I also believe in the tangible and intangible benefits of being thoughtful about what I eat — I would rather invest time in identifying and automating busywork than skipping a lunch with colleagues or friends. If you are what you eat, after all, then wouldn’t it simply be wise to make that food high-quality, enjoyable and creative?
Aytekin Tank
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Why Sleep Doesn’t Come Easy To People With ADHD (& What To Do About It)
Because we have difficulty focusing, homework, chores, and bedtime routines can take longer for us to finish. We might find ourselves staying up late to take care of things we forgot, cramming for tests at the last minute, or finishing projects the night before they’re due. Time management, motivation, and focus also pose significant challenges for those with ADHD—and our struggles in these areas often cut into our sleep.
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Scientists warn 1-in-3 kids with meningitis suffer permanent brain damage
One in three children who have been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis experience permanent neurological disabilities as a result of the infection, scientists have warned.
Meningitis causes inflammation in the layers of tissue that surround the brain and spinal cord. The infection can be caused by bacteria or a virus, although the bacterial infection is usually considered to be more dangerous. Indeed, bacterial meningitis can be life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention.
In the U.S., roughly one in 100,000 people—or roughly 3,000 individuals—are diagnosed with bacterial meningitis every year, according to Boston Children’s Hospital. Many are children.
Photo of a child in a hospital bed receiving antibiotic treatment for bacterial meningitis. The condition can be life-threatening and, according to new research, can leave one in three of those children infected with permanent brain damage.
gorodenkoff/Getty
Even if it is treated effectively with antibiotics, bacterial meningitis can inflict permanent damage on the brain, including hearing loss and neurological issues. And, according to a new study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, these permanent disabilities affect one in three infected children.
“When children are affected, the whole family is affected,” Federico Iovino, associate professor in medical microbiology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and one of the authors of the current study, said in a statement. “If a 3-year-old child has impaired cognition, a motor disability, impaired or lost vision or hearing, it has a major impact. These are lifelong disabilities that become a major burden for both the individual and society, as those affected need health care support for the rest of their lives.”
By analyzing data from the Swedish quality register on bacterial meningitis from 1987 to 2021, the team was able to compare over 3,500 cases of childhood infection with just over 32,000 matched controls in the general population. Over a 23-year period, the team saw that those who had been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis were consistently more likely to develop neurological disabilities, such as cognitive impairment, vision or hearing loss, motor impairment, seizures, behavior disorders or structural damage to the head. This equated to one in three individuals who had been infected as children, compared to one in 10 who had not.
“This shows that even if the bacterial infection is cured, many people suffer from neurological impairment afterwards,” Iovino said.
This is the first study to assess the burden of bacterial meningitis on populations in this way, the authors say. Using this data, they hope to accelerate research into treatments and prevention strategies for this life-changing infection.
“We are trying to develop treatments that can protect neurons in the brain during the window of a few days it takes for antibiotics to take full effect,” Iovino said. “We now have very promising data from human neurons and are just entering a preclinical phase with animal models. Eventually, we hope to present this in the clinic within the next few years.”
Is there a health problem that’s worrying you? Do you have a question about meningitis? Let us know via health@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured in Newsweek.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Munchies Explained Scientifically in New Study | High Times
A new study has found scientific evidence and further explanation for why cannabis increases and stimulates the appetite, more commonly known as “the munchies.”
The study, championed by researchers at Washington State University and published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports was performed by administering vaporized cannabis sativa to mice, after which they scanned their brains using technology similar to an MRI machine to see how the mice reacted.
According to a press release, the researchers found that a particular set of neural cells in the hypothalamus of the mice, an area of the brain most associated with maintaining homeostasis in the body, was activated in the mice who were exposed to cannabis. The same neural cells did not appear to become activated in the mice who were not exposed to the cannabis vapor.
“When the mice are given cannabis, neurons come on that typically are not active,” said Jon Davis, an assistant professor of neuroscience at WSU and corresponding author on the paper. “There is something important happening in the hypothalamus after vapor cannabis.”
Now, this is not the first study to associate cannabis use with hypothalamus stimulation. A 2015 study published in Nature found that activation of a certain cannabinoid receptor in the brain which in turn regulates a group of neurons that normally suppress appetite is believed to be what causes cannabis to increase hunger in its users. A 2019 study by UC Davis built on this knowledge by introducing vaporized cannabis as opposed to injected, as was used by most cannabis-related studies before it. The most recent study at Washington State University attempted to build on that knowledge in a bit of a different way.
The exact methods used by Davis and the Washington State University researchers were described in Scientific Reports using the following language:
“To determine how cannabis vapor affects temporal feeding patterns, we housed rats in metabolic chambers with real-time automated feeding measurement of meal frequency and meal size following exposure to air or a behaviorally characterized dose of cannabis vapor known to elicit feeding behavior,” the study said. “Further analysis of meal patterns revealed that cannabis vapor exposure promoted increased meal frequency and reduced meal size throughout the evaluation period, suggesting that inhaled cannabis may provoke motivational components of feeding.”
Beyond the more-or-less direct association that inhaling cannabis vapor tends to increase appetite, the research team involved in this study took it a step further. They used what’s known as a “chemogenetic” technique, which according to the National Library of Medicine is “technique that allows for the reversible remote control of cell populations and neural circuitry via systemic injection or microinfusion of an activating ligand.” This is a very scientific and fancy way of saying that certain groups of cells can be turned on and off like a “light switch” as Washington State University described it.
This light switch technique was used to essentially block the effects of cannabis from the group of neurons that were lit up in the mice, scientifically known as Agouti Related Peptide (AgRP) neurons. Essentially, what they found was that cannabis increased appetite in mice who did not have these neurons turned off and had no effect on appetite when the neurons were blocked.
The researchers also found that cannabis managed to stimulate appetite in the mice without inhibiting their ability to move around, referred to as “locomotor activity.”
“Our data demonstrate that inhalation of cannabis vapor augments the appetitive phases of feeding behavior as evidenced by an increase in the number of meals consumed, a decrease in meal size and enhanced effort-based responding for palatable food,” the study said. “Notably, these behavioral observations occurred in the absence of reduced locomotor activity, and in the presence of increased energy expenditure.”
If all of that scientific jargon didn’t really make sense to you, Davis best summarized the findings of this study in the following, very succinct statement:
“We now know one of the ways that the brain responds to recreational-type cannabis to promote appetite,” Davis said.
Patrick Maravelias
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Assistant Beauty & Health Editor
Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.
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