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DATE: July 23, 2024 at 12:32PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: Blood pressure high for years? Beware of stroke risk

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240723123259.htm

Years of high systolic blood pressure are linked to a greater risk for the two most common types of stroke. The results suggest that early diagnosis and sustained control of high blood pressure over the lifespan are critical to preventing stroke, especially in Black and Hispanic patients who are more likely to have uncontrolled hypertension.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240723123259.htm

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 07:39PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: New drug shows promise in clearing HIV from brain

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240725193914.htm

An experimental drug originally developed to treat cancer may help clear HIV from infected cells in the brain, according to a new study. By targeting infected cells in the brain, drug may clear virus from hidden areas that have been a major challenge in HIV treatment.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240725193914.htm

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 07:39PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: New drug shows promise in clearing HIV from brain

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240725193914.htm

An experimental drug originally developed to treat cancer may help clear HIV from infected cells in the brain, according to a new study. By targeting infected cells in the brain, drug may clear virus from hidden areas that have been a major challenge in HIV treatment.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240725193914.htm

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DATE: July 23, 2024 at 12:32PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Blood pressure high for years? Beware of stroke risk

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240723123259.htm

Years of high systolic blood pressure are linked to a greater risk for the two most common types of stroke. The results suggest that early diagnosis and sustained control of high blood pressure over the lifespan are critical to preventing stroke, especially in Black and Hispanic patients who are more likely to have uncontrolled hypertension.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240723123259.htm

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 03:47PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: Size doesn't matter for mammals with more complex brains

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240725154746.htm

Mammals that have evolved more developed brains tend to have a smaller size difference between males and females of that species, according to new research.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240725154746.htm

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 03:47PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Size doesn't matter for mammals with more complex brains

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240725154746.htm

Mammals that have evolved more developed brains tend to have a smaller size difference between males and females of that species, according to new research.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240725154746.htm

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DATE: July 22, 2024 at 03:51PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: New tools reveal neuropeptides, not neurotransmitters, encode danger in the brain

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240722155157.htm

Scientists created new tools to study brain messenger proteins called neuropeptides in the brains of behaving animals, discovering they are the primary messengers in the fear circuit in mouse brains, and that multiple neuropeptides work together to achieve this--explaining why some clinical trials that target just one neuropeptide have failed. The new tools and findings can be used to direct drug development for fear-related neurological disorders like PTSD and anxiety, design better painkillers, and uncover new information for other neural circuits in the brain.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240722155157.htm

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DATE: July 22, 2024 at 03:51PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: New tools reveal neuropeptides, not neurotransmitters, encode danger in the brain

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240722155157.htm

Scientists created new tools to study brain messenger proteins called neuropeptides in the brains of behaving animals, discovering they are the primary messengers in the fear circuit in mouse brains, and that multiple neuropeptides work together to achieve this--explaining why some clinical trials that target just one neuropeptide have failed. The new tools and findings can be used to direct drug development for fear-related neurological disorders like PTSD and anxiety, design better painkillers, and uncover new information for other neural circuits in the brain.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240722155157.htm

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **

TITLE: How culture shapes hand gestures: Comparing Italian and Swedish storytelling

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-culture-shapes-hand-gestures-comparing-italian-and-swedish-storytelling/

When talking, we commonly use our hands to stress, re-enact, or signal breaks or new information. But is it true that some cultures gesture more than others? A team of researchers has set out to learn if the stereotype that Italians gesture more than Swedes is true – and found it is. The team’s results, however, also showed that speakers coming from different cultures tended to use different types of gestures when they tell a story. This may mean that members of certain cultures construct stories differently than members of others.

When we talk, we often use our hands in addition to words. Gesturing is a phenomenon that has been observed across languages and cultures. Some cultures are typically thought to use more gestures than others.

To find out if the deeply rooted stereotype of Italians gesturing more than other cultures is true, researchers in Sweden have examined the differences in gesture rate and function between Italians and Swedes who were telling a story to a friend.

“We show that Italians do gesture more than Swedes, which was expected,” said Dr Maria Graziano, the first author of the Frontiers in Communication article and associate professor at Lund University Humanities Lab. “More interestingly, we demonstrate that people from different cultures use gestures differently, due to varying rhetorical styles and different ways of constructing a story.”

Talking hands

Together with Prof Marianne Gullberg, a psycholinguist at the same lab, Graziano had 12 Italian and 12 Swedish participants retell the story of a 90-second clip from the cartoon ‘Pingu’ to a friend who had not watched the cartoon. Researchers who study gestures commonly use cartoons because the characters often do not speak, and viewers can retell the story using their own words without input from the source.

As expected, the findings showed that Italian speakers did gesture more frequently overall. Per 100 words, Italians used an average of 22 gestures, whereas Swedes used just 11.

Example gestures from the study. In image 5, a Swedish speaker produces a representational gesture with her palms pointing down, fingers bending slightly around a loose, round shape. The gesture represents the action of pressing the molds for shaping the dough. Image: Dr Maria Graziano.

In addition to gesture frequency, the researchers observed who used which gestures to what end. “When we tell stories we combine several kinds of information: we introduce characters and events, describe actions, and explain why. We check that our listener understands what we’re saying. And if we are telling a story based on cartoon, we refer to the act of watching, too,” Graziano explained. “When we describe an action, it is more likely that we produce a gesture that represents that action; while if we talk about characters or settings, it is more likely that we make a gesture that ‘offers’ this information to the listener.”

Read and download the original article

Italians tended to use more pragmatic gestures – those that mainly comment on the story and present new parts of it to the listener. Swedes, instead, tended to use more representational gestures, which mostly represent the events and actions of the story. “This indicates that Italians and Swedes adopt different rhetorical styles in telling a story and that they conceptualize it in a different way,” Graziano pointed out.

Example gestures from the study. In images 3 and 4, an Italian speaker opens her hands, with the palms facing up with a slight inward rotation and brings her hands up and down in the space immediately in front of her. The gestures follow each other rapidly. This pragmatic gesture is used to present what she is saying to the listener. Image: Dr Maria Graziano.
How cultures think about stories

Currently, it is unclear why Swedes and Italians may conceptualize narratives differently. A possible explanation is that some cultures attribute different values to narration than others, which could lead to varying ways of organizing speech content and impact gesturing. This, however, needs to be confirmed by further studies, the researchers pointed out.

Future studies should also include more participants, including participant pairs who do not know each other, as familiarity may impact rhetorical choices made by speakers. Taking an approach that looks closely at both the content of the speech and the function of gestures can also help understand why cultures differ in narrative production, the researchers said.

“I hope that this study helps people consider gestures from a different perspective and go beyond stereotypical and folkloristic views. Gestures are produced in all languages and cultures, and they are not a mere embellishment of speech; they are closely related to what we are saying and how we want to say it,” Graziano concluded.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-culture-shapes-hand-gestures-comparing-italian-and-swedish-storytelling/

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 03:43PM
SOURCE:
NEW YORK TIMES PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS FEED

TITLE: The Chimps Who Learned to Say ‘Mama’

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/science/chimpanzee-speech-mama.html

Old recordings show captive chimps uttering the word, which some scientists believe may offer clues to the origins of human speech.

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/science/chimpanzee-speech-mama.html

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **

TITLE: Abstinence-only sex education linked to higher pornography use among women

URL: https://www.psypost.org/abstinence-only-sex-education-linked-to-higher-pornography-use-among-women/

A recent study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior has found a relationship between the type of sexuality education women receive and their subsequent use of pornography. Women who were taught abstinence-only education reported higher frequencies of pornography use compared to those who received comprehensive sexuality education. This finding adds to the ongoing conversation about the effectiveness and impacts of different sexuality education approaches.

The researchers aimed to explore how different forms of sexuality education influence women’s engagement with pornography. Understanding this relationship can help policymakers and educators improve sexuality education programs to better support healthy sexual development and mitigate potential negative impacts of pornography use. The study also sought to fill gaps in the literature regarding the specific effects of abstinence-only versus comprehensive sexuality education on adult behaviors.

The study employed a quantitative approach, surveying 866 women aged 18-34 who attended public schools in the United States. Participants were recruited through Qualtrics Online Panels and were asked about their pornography use and the type of sexuality education they received during high school. The survey included detailed questions about the frequency and types of pornography consumed, as well as demographic information.

Participants were divided into two groups based on the type of sexuality education they received: abstinence-only sexuality education and comprehensive sexuality education. Abstinence-only programs typically emphasize waiting until marriage for sexual activity and often exclude information on contraception and safe sex practices. In contrast, comprehensive sexuality education covers a broad range of topics, including contraception, safe sex, consent, and sexual orientation, aiming to provide medically accurate and inclusive information.

The researchers found that both groups reported similar rates of hardcore pornography use, suggesting that the type of sexuality education does not significantly impact the consumption of highly explicit content. However, significant differences emerged when the researchers examined overall frequencies of general pornography use. Women who received abstinence-only education reported using pornography more often compared to their counterparts who received comprehensive education.

The researchers also found that a significant portion of women, 36.38%, were first exposed to pornography between the ages of 12 and 15, while 25.17% encountered it between 16 and 18 years old. Troublingly, 5.66% were exposed as early as ages 4 to 8.

These findings have important implications for sexuality education policies and practices. The higher frequency of pornography use among women who received abstinence-only education suggests that these programs may not adequately address the informational needs of young people. As a result, these individuals may seek out pornography to learn about sex, which can lead to distorted perceptions of sexual behavior and relationships.

“The alarming exposure of girls to pornography prior to adulthood, notably before adolescence, highlights an educational gap,” the researchers wrote. “This reliance on unregulated sources for sexual information should concern both researchers and policymakers… Policymakers should focus on inclusive and comprehensive sexuality education that addresses youth interests and needs, aiming to prevent reliance on unreliable sources like pornography. Such education should prioritize sexual consent and safety in the digital age.”

The researchers controlled for age and religiosity. But the study, like all research, includes some caveats. The cross-sectional design only captures data at one point in time, which prevents establishing causality between sex education type and pornography use. In addition, the reliance on self-reported data can introduce biases such as underreporting or overreporting due to social desirability or memory recall issues.

The study, “Women’s Pornography Use Patterns and Sexuality Education in U.S. Public Schools,” was authored by Julie Fraumeni-McBride and Brian J. Willoughby.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/abstinence-only-sex-education-linked-to-higher-pornography-use-among-women/

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 02:01PM
SOURCE: PSYCHIATRIC TIMES

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **

TITLE: New research sheds light on cannabinoids’ impact on anxiety during alcohol withdrawal

URL: https://www.psypost.org/new-research-sheds-light-on-cannabinoids-impact-on-anxiety-during-alcohol-withdrawal/

Anxiety disorders are common in the United States, affecting about 15% of individuals each year. These disorders often occur alongside alcohol use disorders, creating a challenging combination that leads to poor treatment outcomes and high relapse rates. Chronic alcohol use and withdrawal can increase anxiety and stress sensitivity, which further drives alcohol consumption in a harmful cycle.

A recent study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience explored the potential of cannabinoids, specifically cannabidiol (CBD) and a CBD to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) mix, to manage anxiety during alcohol withdrawal in mice. The findings suggest that the timing of cannabinoid use during alcohol withdrawal is critical in determining its effects on anxiety.

The study aimed to investigate whether cannabinoids could alleviate anxiety during alcohol withdrawal, potentially reducing relapse rates in people with alcohol use disorders. Previous research has shown that cannabinoids have therapeutic potential for anxiety and stress-related disorders.

However, the effects of cannabinoids on alcohol withdrawal-induced anxiety were not well understood. Given that many individuals using cannabis consume mixtures of CBD and THC, the researchers sought to determine how these cannabinoids, alone and in combination, affect anxiety during alcohol withdrawal.

“In recent years, cannabinoids such as CBD and THC have been discussed as potential therapeutics for improving various mental health disorders, including alcohol use disorder,” said study author Yuval Silberman, an associate professor of neural and behavioral sciences and associate dean for interdisciplinary research at Penn State College of Medicine.

“There are numerous potential reasons why cannabinoids could reduce alcohol use. We sought to examine two potentially interactive reasons, reduction in alcohol-withdrawal induced anxiety-like behavior and alterations to alcohol’s known effects on modulation of neuroimmune cell activity.”

To explore this, the researchers used a sample of 248 adult male and female mice. These mice were exposed to chronic intermittent ethanol vapor to induce alcohol dependence, a well-established model for studying alcohol withdrawal. The mice were divided into groups and subjected to either 4-hour or 24-hour withdrawal periods following their last exposure to ethanol vapor.

The researchers then treated the mice with either a vehicle solution, 10 mg/kg of CBD, or a 3:1 mixture of CBD to THC. Thirty minutes before behavioral testing, the mice were either left unstressed or exposed to a 30-minute restraint stress. Following this, the mice underwent an open field test, which measures anxiety-like behavior by observing the amount of time the mice spend in the center of the field versus the edges.

To understand the neurobiological mechanisms behind the observed behaviors, the researchers also analyzed plasma levels of CBD and THC and conducted immunohistochemical analyses of brain tissues to assess changes in neuroimmune cell activity in the central amygdala, a brain region crucial for regulating anxiety and alcohol intake.

The behavioral results indicated that mice in 4-hour withdrawal were more anxious, spending less time in the center of the open field, while mice in 24-hour withdrawal were less anxious, spending more time in the center. At the 4-hour withdrawal mark, both CBD and the CBD mixture increased anxiety-like behaviors. But treatment with the CBD mixture at 24-hour withdrawal increased the time spent in the center, suggesting reduced anxiety.

“Timing matters,” Silberman told PsyPost. “We looked at two short term alcohol withdrawal timepoints (4 hours and 24 hours) and found that CBD and CBD:THC increased anxiety at 4-hour withdrawal, while CBD reduced anxiety-like behavior at the 24-hour withdrawal time point. Cannabinoid effects may be distinct when used singly or in combination. CBD and CBD:THC mixtures appeared to have different effects dependent on timing of withdrawal. This has strong implications for future treatment development.”

The researchers also found changes in neuroimmune cell activity in the central amygdala. At the 4-hour withdrawal mark, there was a decrease in the number of astrocytes and microglia, key neuroimmune cells. Interestingly, CBD and the CBD mixture appeared to normalize these changes, suggesting a potential mechanism by which these cannabinoids could influence anxiety during alcohol withdrawal.

Plasma analysis revealed that mice in 24-hour withdrawal had higher THC concentrations and faster CBD metabolism compared to control mice. This difference in cannabinoid metabolism might contribute to the observed behavioral effects, particularly the reduction in anxiety seen with the CBD mixture at 24-hour withdrawal.

“Our data showed that mice undergoing alcohol withdrawal achieve higher plasma CBD and THC levels than mice that have not had alcohol exposure even though they were all given the same doses originally,” Silberman explained. “This may, in part, explain our findings regarding timing of withdrawal and cannabinoid exposure.

“Furthermore, it appears that CBD is preferentially metabolized over THC in alcohol exposed mice, which has some very important implications regarding use of cannabinoids after alcohol intake. A better understanding of this phenomenon could provide for improved therapeutic strategies in the future.”

But as with all research, there are some caveats to consider.

“These studies were performed in mice with a well validated but short-term passive alcohol exposure and dependence model,” Silberman noted. “Replicating these studies in longer term, active alcohol self-administration models may provide for different results. The cannabinoids were given via intraperitoneal injection and only at one time point. Alternative routes of administration and multiple cannabinoid exposures may produce different results as well.”

The findings of this study highlight the complexity of cannabinoid effects on anxiety during alcohol withdrawal and suggest several avenues for future research. For instance, future studies could also continue to explore how these cannabinoids are metabolized to better understand how they are processed by the body during different stages of alcohol withdrawal.

“We are very interested in the CBD and THC metabolism differences between alcohol withdrawal and control mice,” Silberman said. “We think this key finding opens the door to mechanistic insights that will be critically important for future potential therapies involving cannabinoids.”

“This work was a collaboration between numerous labs that would not have been possible without the support of the Penn State Center for Cannabis and Natural Product Pharmaceuticals (CCNPP). The relatively new CCNPP, having been officially started at Penn State in 2023, has already been highly successful in engaging and growing research around cannabis and natural products at Penn State. For more information visit Medical Marijuana Academic Clinical Research Center Penn State College of Medicine Research (psu.edu).”

The study, “Effects of cannabidiol, with and without ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol, on anxiety-like behavior following alcohol withdrawal in mice,” was conducted by Mariam Melkumyan, Vibha M. Annaswamy, Alexandra M. Evans, Opeyemi F. Showemimo, Zari E. McCullers, Dongxiao Sun, Terrence E. Murphy, Kent E. Vrana, Amy C. Arnold, Wesley M. Raup-Konsavage, and Yuval Silberman.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/new-research-sheds-light-on-cannabinoids-impact-on-anxiety-during-alcohol-withdrawal/

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: Abortion restrictions tied to elevated mental distress among both men and women

URL: https://www.psypost.org/abortion-restrictions-tied-to-elevated-mental-distress-among-both-men-and-women/

A new study published in Science Advances has found a troubling link between recent abortion restrictions in the United States and elevated levels of mental distress, particularly among people of lower socioeconomic status. The study’s findings suggest that legislative changes, enacted after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, may have far-reaching consequences on mental health.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, delivered on June 24, 2022, overturned the constitutional right to abortion access, returning regulatory control to individual states. This landmark decision led to a patchwork of abortion laws across the country, with some states imposing severe restrictions or outright bans.

“There has been intense practical and academic interest in the after effects of the Dobbs decision, which in essence returned control of abortion access to state legislatures,” said study author Brad N. Greenwood, the Maximus Professor of Business at George Mason University’s Costello College of Business.

“At the same time, there is both extraordinary misinformation about the implications of abortion for the mental health of women and a long body of scholarship (see, for example, the Turnaway Study) which suggests that denying women access to abortion services can harm mental health. The goal of this paper was to see: i) if those effects persist when state legislatures curb access to reproductive care in the form of abortion access and ii) if so, which parts of the population are affected to a greater or lesser degree.”

The researchers utilized data from the national Household Pulse Survey (HPS), conducted by the United States Census Bureau. The HPS is a detailed survey originally designed to assess the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic but has since been expanded to include other areas such as financial well-being, education, and mental health.

Participants included in the study were at least 18 years old, had a fixed address, and access to the internet. The sample covered survey waves 34 to 58, from July 2021 to June 2023, with over 60,000 respondents per wave and a response rate between 5% and 7%. This timeframe provided a balanced view around the period when most state-level abortion restrictions were enacted.

The researchers focused on four key mental health outcomes: anxiety, disinterest in activities, worry, and feelings of depression. Respondents rated their experiences with these feelings on a four-point scale over the past two weeks. For analysis, the researchers coded frequent experiences of these feelings as indicators of significant mental distress.

To identify the impact of abortion restrictions, the researchers employed a difference-in-differences design. This method compared mental health outcomes before and after the enactment of abortion restrictions across different states, controlling for various demographic factors such as age, sex, marital status, race, education, and income.

The researchers found increases in reports of anxiety and disinterest in states that enacted abortion restrictions. These increases were modest but notable: a 0.35 to 0.7 percentage point rise in the average prevalence of these mental health concerns, translating to an approximate 3% relative increase over the baseline.

Further analysis showed that the negative mental health impacts were particularly pronounced among individuals of lower socioeconomic status. For those with household incomes below $25,000, the institution of abortion restrictions was associated with increased anxiety, disinterest, worry, and feelings of depression. In contrast, these effects were less severe for individuals with higher incomes, suggesting that financial resources may mitigate some of the mental health impacts of these legislative changes.

“Our findings indicate that people living in states which restrict access to abortion services in the wake of Dobbs, either through more restrictive gestational limits or outright bans, are more likely to self-report mental health problems than people living in non-restricting states,” Greenwood told PsyPost. “Moreover, these effects appear to affect the socioeconomic lower class to a greater degree. Finally, the effects exist for the duration of the sample, which opens the door to the possibility that these effects persist in the long term.”

Interestingly, the study found no significant differences in the mental health impacts of abortion restrictions across other demographic factors such as sex, race, marital status, or sexual orientation. This suggests that the negative effects of these restrictions may be experienced broadly across various segments of the population, though the financial burden appears to be a key moderator.

“One of the things we expected to see was a significant differences across the sexes,” Greenwood said. “However, the results indicated no significant differences across sex assigned at birth, race, sexual orientation, age, or marital status. And while absence of evidence should be interpreted cautiously, the fact that we observed no significant differences was striking and unexpected.”

This study highlights the need for further investigation into the broader mental health impacts of restrictive abortion laws. While the current findings are significant, several questions remain unanswered.

Future research could explore the specific mechanisms driving the observed mental health impacts. For instance, it is unclear whether the distress arises primarily from increased travel costs to access abortion services, the financial and emotional burden of carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term, or broader perceptions of diminishing individual rights.

In addition, while this study provides valuable insights into the mental health impacts of abortion restrictions, it relies on self-reported data. Future research could benefit from incorporating clinical assessments and diagnoses to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the mental health consequences.

“As with any secondary empirical investigation, there are obvious limitations with what we can do with the data that are available to us,” Greenwood said. “States do not implement abortion restrictions at random and the available data only permit us to observe self-reported mental health (i.e. we cannot observe clinical diagnosis). This underscores the need for continued empirical research on the subject to understand how abortion restriction affects not just mental health, but other downstream outcomes.”

The study, “The impact of abortion restrictions on American mental health,” was authored by Michaela R. Anderson, Gordon Burtch, and Brad N. Greenwood.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/abortion-restrictions-tied-to-elevated-mental-distress-among-both-men-and-women/

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 10:30AM
SOURCE: PSYCHIATRIC TIMES

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: Secularists revealed as a unique political force in America, with an intriguing divergence from liberals

URL: https://www.psypost.org/secularists-revealed-as-a-unique-political-force-in-america-with-an-intriguing-divergence-from-liberals/

Over the last few decades, America has witnessed a substantial decline in religiosity. Although the United States remains relatively religious compared to other nations, it is markedly less religious today than it was thirty years ago. However, a recent study published in Advances in Political Psychology uncovers an important nuance: secularism is distinct from mere nonreligiosity. The findings reveal that secularists form a unique group within the American electorate, suggesting a more nuanced understanding of secular trends is essential for grasping contemporary political dynamics.

While the increase in nonreligiosity, often termed “the rise of the nones,” has been widely documented, the new study sought to delve deeper into the distinctions between secularism and nonreligiosity. By doing so, the researchers aimed to clarify the political implications of these trends and how they might shape the future of American politics.

The researchers drew on data from several large-scale surveys, including the General Social Survey, Gallup Poll, Pew Research Center, and the Public Religion Research Institute. These data sources provided a robust foundation for examining trends in secularization and religiosity in the United States over the past several decades.

The study’s findings provide evidence that secularism is not simply the absence of religion but a distinctive identity characterized by specific beliefs and orientations. Unlike nonreligiosity, which denotes a lack of religious affiliation or belief, secularism involves an active identification with principles grounded in empirical evidence and rational thought. Secularists, therefore, are defined by what they believe in rather than what they lack.

For instance, secularists exhibited strong opposition to conspiracy theories. The researchers found that secularists are less likely to believe in various conspiracy theories compared to nonreligious individuals. This skepticism towards conspiracy theories is consistent with secularists’ reliance on empirical evidence and rational thought.

By contrast, nonreligiosity did not show a consistent relationship with opposition to conspiracy theories. This highlights the importance of the affirmative secular identity, which actively seeks evidence-based explanations and rejects unsubstantiated claims.

One of the most significant findings of the study is the strong association between secularism and liberal political attitudes. Secularists are more likely to support Democratic candidates and align with liberal policies compared to their nonreligious counterparts. This tendency is evident across various policy areas, including social welfare, environmental protection, and immigration.

The study also reveals that secularists are staunch supporters of core democratic values. Secularists exhibit strong support for participatory democracy, advocating for the inclusion of all individuals in the political process and the removal of barriers to voting. They also emphasize the importance of freedom of expression, opposing censorship and supporting the right to express even unpopular or controversial ideas.

“We suspect that having traditionally been the subject of political intolerance, secularists — particularly atheists — are highly supportive of extending political rights and civil liberties to other groups, even groups they dislike,” the researchers remarked.

Interestingly, the researchers found that liberals, particularly those identifying as very liberal, are generally unsupportive of allowing disliked groups such as “MAGA supporters,” “racists,” or “Muslim extremists” to hold rallies, teach, or have their books in local libraries. On the other hand, secularists, despite having similar disliked groups, are more likely than nonsecularists to extend civil liberties to these groups, demonstrating a higher level of political tolerance.

“It is striking that when the American right accuses secular liberals of trying to censor it or ‘cancel’ it for expressing ideas they find distasteful, they are only half right. Ideological liberals do appear to support censoring and limiting the expression of some types of ideas and certain kinds of groups,” the researchers explained.

“However, when ideology and partisanship are held constant, secularists are just the opposite. They oppose censorship and limits on freedom of expression, and they support allowing all groups—even groups they find dangerous or distasteful—to have a societal forum for expressing their perspectives.”

Despite their strong secular identity and political engagement, secularists exhibit relatively low levels of participation in organized secular activities. The study found that while religious individuals often engage in regular communal activities, such as attending services and participating in church-related events, secularists do not have a comparable level of organized social engagement.

This finding suggests that secularism functions primarily as a psychological and ideological identity rather than a social movement with formal structures and regular communal activities. The lack of organized secular behavior highlights the individualistic nature of secularism, where personal beliefs and identities take precedence over collective action.

“In American politics, religion has long mattered,” the researchers concluded. “The contours of American public opinion have been shaped by the nuances of religiosity, and religious appeals by candidates are commonplace. Now, secularism matters too—although its presence in the electorate remains largely hidden. However, as current trends continue, secularism will only be ignored at politicians’ peril. No understanding of the American electorate is complete without attention to the secular voter.”

The study, “The secular voter: Secularism and political attitudes in the United States,” was authored by Geoffrey C. Layman, David E. Campbell, and Levi G. Allen.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/secularists-revealed-as-a-unique-political-force-in-america-with-an-intriguing-divergence-from-liberals/

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 09:00AM
SOURCE: NIH DIRECTORS BLOG

TITLE: Epigenetic Editor Silences Toxic Proteins in the Mouse Brain, Offering Promising Path to Treat Deadly Prion Diseases

URL: https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2024/07/25/epigenetic-editor-silences-toxic-proteins-in-the-mouse-brain-offering-promising-path-to-treat-deadly-prion-diseases/

Credit: Donny Bliss/NIH

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by a malfunction of the prion protein in the brain. Exposure to a misfolded version of the protein triggers normal proteins of the same type in the brain to misfold, forming clumps that produce infectious disease and fatal brain damage over time. There are currently no treatments, preventive vaccines, or cures for prion diseases, which can be acquired, like mad cow disease, or inherited, like fatal familial insomnia. But an encouraging new study in mice suggests a potentially promising path for developing a treatment for people with these deadly conditions.

Findings from an NIH-supported study reported in Science show that the key to this approach is a molecular tool capable of silencing prion protein throughout the brain using epigenetic editing.1 Unlike gene editing approaches, which change the sequence of genes, epigenetic editing can turn gene expression off with the addition of a chemical tag that prevents genes from being translated into proteins. Such a strategy may be able to deliver modifying tools to the brain or other parts of the body to silence specific toxic or disease-causing genes, including the one encoding the prion protein, without the risks associated with altering DNA sequences.

Earlier findings in mouse studies have shown that reducing prion protein levels can halt disease progression. However, attempting this with gene editing approaches has been a challenge. In the new study, researchers led by Jonathan Weissman at the Whitehead Institute and Sonia Vallabh at the Broad Institute, both in Cambridge, MA, pursued an epigenetic approach to this problem as a potentially more feasible and safer option than gene editing. To do it, they first had to develop an epigenetic silencer that was compact enough for delivery into cells using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector, which is the preferred way to get therapeutic payloads into the central nervous system, including the brain.

They call their programmable epigenetic silencer “CHARM,” short for Coupled Histone tail for Autoinhibition Release of Methyltransferase. To target a gene with the needed specificity, CHARM uses a guide protein to direct the tool to a target site in DNA. The tool also recruits enzymes that are naturally present in cells to deliver a silencing methyl group. The researchers engineered their tool to include parts that successfully switch the methyltransferase enzyme on to do its work of silencing the prion gene in just the right spot.

To get the molecular tools into the brain, the researchers built on a previous NIH-supported advance made by a team including study co-author Benjamin Deverman, also at the Broad Institute, that improves the delivery of therapeutic molecular tools such as CHARM into the brain. As reported in Science, the researchers showed they could shuttle an AAV across the blood-brain barrier using a receptor that normally brings iron into the brain.2

The latest study shows that, when delivered to the mouse brain using this new AAV, CHARM efficiently silences the prion gene in most neurons without altering the underlying DNA sequence. As a result, prion protein levels dropped by more than 80%. That’s important given that earlier studies have shown that reducing prion protein by as little as 20% can improve symptoms. The researchers also engineered their CHARM editors such that they turn themselves off after silencing the target gene to limit the possibility of unwanted effects.

This study was supported in part by the NIH Common Fund as part of the NIH Somatic Cell Genome Editing (SCGE) Program. The researchers report they are now fine-tuning their tool to make it more effective, safer, and easier to manufacture in quantities that are necessary for future testing in clinical trials enrolling people with degenerative and otherwise fatal prion diseases. It’s likely to be a long road, but if all goes well, this impressive work could one day enable effective treatments for people with prion diseases. This approach may also hold promise for treating other neurodegenerative conditions that involve the accumulation of toxic protein aggregates in the brain.

References:

[1] Neumann EN, et al. Brainwide silencing of prion protein by AAV-mediated delivery of an engineered compact epigenetic editor. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.ado7082 (2024).

[2] Huang Q, et al. An AAV capsid reprogrammed to bind human transferrin receptor mediates brain-wide gene delivery. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.adm8386 (2024).

NIH Support: Common Fund Somatic Cell Genome Editing Program, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

URL: https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2024/07/25/epigenetic-editor-silences-toxic-proteins-in-the-mouse-brain-offering-promising-path-to-treat-deadly-prion-diseases/

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: People with this socio-cognitive skill tend to leave more positive first impressions

URL: https://www.psypost.org/people-with-this-socio-cognitive-skill-tend-to-leave-more-positive-first-impressions/

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General reports that individuals with stronger theory of mind skills leave more positive first impressions.

Building social connections is an important part of human survival, health, and happiness. While social structures like family and community provide a foundation, the expansion of social networks hinges on the ability to connect with new others. Theory of mind, the everyday skill of imputing mental states to others, is a critical cognitive skill facilitating smoother social interactions. This skill is associated with various social outcomes, including larger social networks, higher relationship satisfaction, and greater social competence.

There is substantial research on theory of mind across various disciplines. However, there is little research on its role in forming new social connections. In this work, Chloe C. Hudson and colleagues examined how individual differences in theory of mind accuracy and motivation influence first impressions through observable behaviors during social interactions.

A total of 334 young adult participants were recruited from first- and second-year psychology courses and through advertisements placed around campus. Participants were paired with a peer for a first-time meeting. They completed several measures assessing theory of mind accuracy and motivation.

The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task involved viewing 36 photographs of the eye region of faces, each surrounded by four mental state adjectives (e.g., cautious, insisting, bored, and aghast). Participants were instructed to choose the adjective that best described the photograph as quickly as possible. The Adult False Belief Task included 13 videos with two animated characters interacting with three boxes, where participants had to infer which box a character would choose based on their beliefs. The Mind-Reading Motivation Scale, a 13-item self-report questionnaire, assessed participants’ motivation to understand others’ thoughts and emotions.

The primary interaction task involved a cooperative Lego-building activity, where each pair was instructed to build a Lego model within seven minutes. Participants were told they could only touch two of the four colors of Lego pieces, necessitating cooperation. The interactions were videotaped and later coded for behavioral manifestations of theory of mind by independent raters.

Cognitive sensitivity was measured using an 11-item coding scheme assessing behaviors such as clear verbal directions, positive nonverbal directions, and sensitivity to the partner’s mental states. Pragmatic conversational skills were rated using the Conversational Skills Rating Scale, which evaluated features like speaking rate, vocal variety, volume, and humor.

The researchers found that participants with higher theory of mind accuracy and motivation were rated as more cognitively sensitive by third-party observers. Cognitive sensitivity, in turn, was positively correlated with more favorable first impressions from their interaction partners. Participants who demonstrated higher theory of mind skills exhibited behaviors that reflected clear communication, appropriate humor, and responsiveness to their partners’ needs.

Theory of mind accuracy was significantly associated with paralinguistic features, such as volume and clarity of speech, but not with discourse management, which includes behaviors like topic initiation and use of humor. Conversely, theory of mind motivation was significantly linked to discourse management but not paralinguistic features. These findings highlight the distinct roles of theory of mind accuracy and motivation in shaping different aspects of social interactions.

An important mediating factor was cognitive sensitivity, which was a key predictor of positive first impressions, suggesting that individuals who are better at understanding and responding to their partners’ mental states are more likely to leave a favorable impression. While pragmatic conversational skills were related to theory of mind, they did not significantly predict first impressions, indicating that cognitive sensitivity might be a more crucial factor in initial social encounters.

A limitation outlined by the authors is the homogeneity of the sample, which comprised primarily undergraduate students from a suburban Canadian university, limiting the generalizability of the findings.

The study, “How Theory of Mind Leads to Positive First Impressions,” was authored by Chloe C. Hudson, Mark A. Sabbagh, and Kate L. Harkness.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/people-with-this-socio-cognitive-skill-tend-to-leave-more-positive-first-impressions/

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 07:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: Women who rarely have sex are at an increased risk of dying, study finds

URL: https://www.psypost.org/women-who-rarely-have-sex-are-at-an-increased-risk-of-dying-study-finds/

A recent study, based on data from the 2005–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), has found that women who rarely engage in sexual activity have a 70% higher risk of dying compared to those who have sex at least once per week. Additionally, individuals with depression who had sex much less than once per week had a 197% higher risk of dying than those who had sex around once per week. These findings were published in the Journal of Psychosexual Health.

Frequent sex has been shown to offer numerous health benefits. It helps reduce stress and improve mood through the release of endorphins and oxytocin. It can also boost the immune system, making the body more resistant to infections and illnesses.

Regular sexual activity promotes cardiovascular health by increasing heart rate and circulation. It enhances sleep quality due to the release of the hormone prolactin, which is associated with relaxation. Frequent sex can also improve intimacy and strengthen relationships, contributing to overall emotional well-being.

A previous study highlighted that the critical frequency of sex seems to be one intercourse per week when relationship duration, gender, and age are considered. Frequencies greater than once per week do not appear to produce greater well-being outcomes, but there is a significant difference in well-being between individuals having sex once per week and those having it less frequently.

Another study reported that decreased sexual activity was related to adverse health outcomes for both men and women, and a relationship between erectile dysfunction and cancer in older men was also found.

The current study, led by Srikanta Banerjee and his colleagues, aimed to explore the relationship between sexual frequency and all-cause mortality, i.e., the likelihood that a person will die. They analyzed data from the NHANES, a program of the National Center for Health Statistics designed to evaluate the health of adults in the United States using consolidated data from interviews and physical exams.

The study sample included 14,542 noninstitutionalized U.S. adults aged between 20 and 59 years, with an average age of 46 years. The researchers used data on all-cause mortality (whether the study participant died during the follow-up period, by December 2015), depression (measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9), sexual frequency (participants were asked, “In the past 12 months, about how many times have you had vaginal or anal sex?”), obesity, and various demographic factors.

The results showed that younger participants tended to have sex more often. Individuals with low frequencies of sex tended to have elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, an indicator of inflammation, were more likely to have never smoked, to be more educated, and to be depressed. Black participants were slightly more often among those with high sex frequencies, while Hispanic and White participants were more frequent in the group having sex rarely. Overall, 95% of participants aged 20-59 years had sex more than 12 times per year, and 38% had sex more than once per week.

Women who had sex rarely were 70% more likely to have died during the follow-up period compared to women who had sex more often. The researchers examined the link between frequency of sex and death separately among individuals who had sex less often than once per week and those who had it more than once per week.

Among individuals having sex less than once per week, participants with depression and low sexual frequency (i.e., had sex much less than once per week) were 197% more likely to die than those who had depression and high sexual frequency (i.e., had sex once per week or close to that).

When the same analysis was done on individuals having sex more than once per week, there was no association between the frequency of sex and the risk of death. This supports the idea that having sex at least once per week might be critical for achieving the sex-related health benefits.

“In an ethnically diverse population, we found that low sexual frequency can lead to three times increased overall mortality, even after controlling for health and demographic factors. Consistent with our findings, sexual activity is important for overall cardiovascular health possibly due to reduction of heart rate variability and blood flow increase. Public health interventions should be designed taking into consideration sexual health,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the links between how often a person has sex and the likelihood of dying. However, it is important to note that the study design does not allow for cause-and-effect conclusions. While it is possible that having sex improves health, it is also possible that people in poor health are less able to have sex, creating the association. Additionally, the study did not examine other aspects of sexual health, such as sexual satisfaction or the quality of sexual relationships, which could also play significant roles in overall well-being. Future research could benefit from exploring these additional dimensions of sexual health to provide a more comprehensive understanding.

The study,“Connection Between Depression, Sexual Frequency, and All-cause Mortality: Findings from a Nationally Representative Study,” was authored by Srikanta Banerjee, Peter Anderson, and W. Sumner Davis.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/women-who-rarely-have-sex-are-at-an-increased-risk-of-dying-study-finds/

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DATE: July 25, 2024 at 05:02AM
SOURCE:
NEW YORK TIMES PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS FEED

TITLE: Simone Biles Sticks the Landing

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/opinion/simone-biles-olympics-paris.html

She may yet add to her impressive Olympic legacy in Paris. But by changing the way we talk about mental health, Simone Biles has scored a different victory.

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/opinion/simone-biles-olympics-paris.html

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:14PM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORG

TITLE: Video Shows Uncontacted Indigenous People Emerging From Amazon Forest

URL: http://www.socialpsychology.org/client/redirect.php?from=rss_feed&id=181333&url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2024/07/17/mashco-piro-indigenous-tribe-peru-amazon-rain-forest/74445685007/

Source: Google News - Health

New photos and rare video footage of an uncontacted indigenous tribe in the Peruvian Amazon show people emerging from a rain forest—perhaps due to encroaching logging operations. The Mashco Piro people, which human rights group Survival International says is the largest uncontacted tribe in the world, were given a territorial reserve in 2002. But the Peruvian government also gave concessions to several logging companies within the tribe's...

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Daily rhythms depend on receptor density in biological clock

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171542.htm

Tweaking the numbers of receptors in a key brain area changes the daily rhythms of rest and wake in mice.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171542.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Preventing brain damage in preterm babies

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171528.htm

An interdisciplinary team of physicians and scientists show for the first time that a blood protein called fibrin blocks an essential biological process that drives brain development in early life. They identified a root cause of developmental delays that result from brain bleeds in premature infants, opening a path for new therapeutic strategies to counter long-term health risks.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171528.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Researchers are closing in on a mouse model for late-onset Alzheimer's

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171505.htm

Researchers are working to create the first strain of mice that's genetically susceptible to late-onset Alzheimer's, with potentially transformative implications for dementia research.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171505.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:31PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Neuroscientists discover brain circuitry of placebo effect for pain relief

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123119.htm

Researchers have discovered a novel pain control pathway that links the cingulate cortex in the front of the brain, through the pons region of the brainstem, to cerebellum in the back of the brain.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123119.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Targeted Alzheimer's research and drug discovery

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171502.htm

Researchers offer the first comprehensive ranking of the relative role and significance of every known gene and protein in the development of Alzheimer's Disease.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171502.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: Preventing brain damage in preterm babies

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171528.htm

An interdisciplinary team of physicians and scientists show for the first time that a blood protein called fibrin blocks an essential biological process that drives brain development in early life. They identified a root cause of developmental delays that result from brain bleeds in premature infants, opening a path for new therapeutic strategies to counter long-term health risks.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171528.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:31PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: Neuroscientists discover brain circuitry of placebo effect for pain relief

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123119.htm

Researchers have discovered a novel pain control pathway that links the cingulate cortex in the front of the brain, through the pons region of the brainstem, to cerebellum in the back of the brain.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123119.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Stroke recovery: It's in the genes

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171553.htm

New research has found that specific genes may be related to the trajectory of recovery for stroke survivors, providing doctors insights useful for developing targeted therapies.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171553.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Does your body composition affect your risk of dementia or Parkinson's?

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171545.htm

People with high levels of body fat stored in their belly or arms may be more likely to develop diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's than people with low levels of fat in these areas, according to new research. The study also found that people with a high level of muscle strength were less likely to develop these diseases than people with low muscle strength.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171545.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:30PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Traffic-related ultrafine particles hinder mitochondrial functions in olfactory mucosa

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123042.htm

Ultrafine particles, UFPs, the smallest contributors to air pollution, hinder the function of mitochondria in human olfactory mucosa cells, a new study shows. The study showed that traffic-related UFPs impair mitochondrial functions in primary human olfactory mucosa cells by hampering oxidative phosphorylation and redox balance.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123042.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:30PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Language affects how quickly we perceive shades of color

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123040.htm

People who speak a language that has multiple words for different shades of colour perceive the shades more quickly.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123040.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHIATIRY FEED

TITLE: Stroke recovery: It's in the genes

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171553.htm

New research has found that specific genes may be related to the trajectory of recovery for stroke survivors, providing doctors insights useful for developing targeted therapies.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171553.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: Stroke recovery: It's in the genes

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171553.htm

New research has found that specific genes may be related to the trajectory of recovery for stroke survivors, providing doctors insights useful for developing targeted therapies.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171553.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:30PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: Traffic-related ultrafine particles hinder mitochondrial functions in olfactory mucosa

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123042.htm

Ultrafine particles, UFPs, the smallest contributors to air pollution, hinder the function of mitochondria in human olfactory mucosa cells, a new study shows. The study showed that traffic-related UFPs impair mitochondrial functions in primary human olfactory mucosa cells by hampering oxidative phosphorylation and redox balance.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123042.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 05:16PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Could wearable devices adversely affect health?

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171606.htm

For patients with Afib, using a wearable device can lead to higher rates of anxiety about their Afib symptoms and treatment, doctor visits, and use of informal healthcare resources, according to a new study.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724171606.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **

TITLE: The power of humble leadership: Elevating employee status and driving initiative

URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-power-of-humble-leadership-elevating-employee-status-and-driving-initiative/

A new study in the Journal of Organizational Behavior reveals that humble leadership in the workplace boosts employees’ sense of respect and prominence, leading to increased leadership potential. Humble leadership behaviors, such as acknowledging personal limitations, appreciating employees’ strengths, and demonstrating teachability, were found to elevate employees’ workplace status, which in turn motivates them to take on leadership roles and initiatives.

Humble leadership is characterized by leaders who openly acknowledge their limitations, value the contributions of others, and remain open to learning. This approach not only fosters a supportive and collaborative workplace but also helps employees feel respected and valued.

Previous research has shown that humble leadership enhances various outcomes like work engagement, team innovation, and overall well-being. However, the specific mechanism of how humble leadership elevates employees’ status and leadership potential had not been thoroughly investigated until this study.

To understand the impact of humble leadership on employees’ workplace status and leadership potential, the researchers conducted two comprehensive field studies. The first study was set in China and involved employees from various service industries. The researchers reached out to organizations through personal networks and collected data in three stages over six weeks.

At the first stage, employees rated their supervisors’ humility, their own individualistic orientation, and provided demographic information. Two weeks later, these employees rated their perceived workplace status. Finally, supervisors rated the employees’ motivation to lead and their taking charge behaviors. The final sample consisted of 216 matched supervisor-subordinate pairs.

The second study mirrored the first but was conducted online via the platform Prolific, targeting employees from Western countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This study also collected data in three stages, with two-week intervals, ensuring a similar multi-wave, multi-source design.

At each stage, employees and their supervisors provided ratings on humble leadership, perceived workplace status, motivation to lead, and taking charge behaviors. The final sample included 210 participants, ensuring a broad cultural representation to validate the findings across different contexts.

The study’s findings were consistent across both the Eastern and Western contexts. Firstly, humble leadership was positively correlated with employees’ perceived workplace status. Employees felt more respected and prominent when their leaders admitted mistakes, appreciated their strengths, and were open to learning from them. This elevation in perceived status was stronger for employees with a high individualistic orientation, who are more sensitive to status cues and driven by a desire for recognition and personal uniqueness.

Moreover, the increased workplace status resulting from humble leadership translated into greater motivation to lead and proactive behaviors such as taking charge. Employees with higher perceived status were more likely to aspire to leadership roles and engage in activities demonstrating leadership potential. This correlation held true across both cultural contexts, indicating the universal applicability of humble leadership’s benefits.

The study highlights the importance of humble leadership in fostering a supportive and empowering workplace environment. Organizations should invest in training programs to help leaders develop and express humility, which includes acknowledging their limitations, appreciating employees’ contributions, and being open to learning from others. Performance management systems should also incorporate humility as a key leadership trait to encourage and reward humble leadership behaviors.

“Understanding and implementing humble leadership is essential as it’s been shown to positively impact individual and team outcomes in the workplace including work engagement, proactive behaviour, wellbeing and resilience and increased innovation, learning and performance,” said study author Xiaoshuang Lin, a senior lecturer at the University of South Australia and a member of the Centre for Workplace Excellence.

“Humble leadership is a powerful tool for lifting employees’ status and unlocking their potential, leading to a more engaged, innovative and high-performing workplace. It can also help build a pool of effective leaders for the future. By fostering the leadership potential of employees, organisations can maintain competitive advantages.”

Lin explained that employees’ responses to humble leadership vary based on their personal characteristics, with those focused on individual development and competition reacting more positively. On the other hand, “people who don’t place as much value on their own development and success in the workplace are less likely to benefit from humble leadership behaviors. These sorts of employees will do whatever the leaders tell them. They have no interest in teaching their leaders or displaying their own strengths or contributions.”

The study, “How do humble leaders unleash followers’ leadership potential? The roles of workplace status and individualistic orientation,” was authored by Xiaoshuang Lin, Herman H. M. Tse, Bo Shao, and Jinyun Duan.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-power-of-humble-leadership-elevating-employee-status-and-driving-initiative/

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:30PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Study across multiple brain regions discerns Alzheimer's vulnerability and resilience factors

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123012.htm

Genomics and lab studies reveal numerous findings, including a key role for Reelin amid neuronal vulnerability, and for choline and antioxidants in sustaining cognition.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123012.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:30PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Building a molecular brain map to understand Alzheimer's disease

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123007.htm

Resulting atlas of the aging human brain holds molecular insights into the brain's vulnerability and resilience.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123007.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:30PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: Study across multiple brain regions discerns Alzheimer's vulnerability and resilience factors

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123012.htm

Genomics and lab studies reveal numerous findings, including a key role for Reelin amid neuronal vulnerability, and for choline and antioxidants in sustaining cognition.

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:30PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED

TITLE: Building a molecular brain map to understand Alzheimer's disease

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123007.htm

Resulting atlas of the aging human brain holds molecular insights into the brain's vulnerability and resilience.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724123007.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 12:26PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Physical activity improves early with customized text messages in patients with heart problems

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724122611.htm

Personalized text messages effectively promoted increased physical activity for patients after significant heart events -- such as a heart attack or surgery -- but those effects later diminished. Researcher say the results show incredible promise for simple, low cost interventions delivered through mobile technology and their potential to help prevent secondary cardiovascular events in patients.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240724122611.htm

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DATE: July 23, 2024 at 08:47PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Researchers leveraging AI to train (robotic) dogs to respond to their masters

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240723204753.htm

An international collaboration seeks to innovate the future of how a mechanical man's best friend interacts with its owner, using a combination of AI and edge computing called edge intelligence. The overarching project goal is to make the dog come 'alive' by adapting wearable-based sensing devices that can detect physiological and emotional stimuli inherent to one's personality and traits, such as introversions, or transient states, including pain and comfort levels.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240723204753.htm

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **

TITLE: How stress can erode your brain’s ability to fight dementia

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-stress-can-erode-your-brains-ability-to-fight-dementia/

Some people have the biological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s – proteins called amyloid and tau that gum up the brain – but have no disease symptoms. Researchers suggest that this could be because some people build up a “cognitive reserve” – the brain’s ability to find new ways to handle and overcome problems.

People with greater cognitive reserve seem to be better at staving off dementia symptoms, but when stress levels are high or persistent, they can weaken this reserve by making it less likely that they will socialise and less likely that they will be physically active – both of which are known to protect against dementia.

Stress itself has also been linked to faster cognitive decline and an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

In a recent study, we examined the relationship of cognitive reserve with cognition, and Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers – the previously mentioned tau and amyloid. We assessed whether the potential benefits of cognitive reserve vary by stress.

For our study, we looked at 113 participants from a memory clinic in Sweden. They were part of the Cortisol and Stress in Alzheimer’s Disease cohort study.

There are many ways cognitive reserve can be built up, such as staying mentally active throughout life. This could be by spending more years in formal education, playing bridge, learning a new language or having a complex job. Being physically active and maintaining healthy social relationships are important too.

To get an overall measure of cognitive reserve, we created an index by combining different information on the level of lifelong education participants had acquired, the complexity of the longest-held job, and engagement in physical, leisure activity and social interactions in later life.

Stress

We also looked at participants’ stress levels. Both subjective and biological measures were taken.

Subjective stress was measured using a questionnaire. People rated how much they perceived their life to be uncontrollable and unpredictable, and whether or not they had too much to deal with during the previous month.

For an objective measure of stress, we used salivary cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol follows a rhythm. It typically increases rapidly as soon as we wake up, peaks 30 minutes later (known as “cortisol awakening response”), and then decreases during the remainder of the day. It is lowest at nighttime, as our body gets ready to sleep.

Salivary cortisol was taken at different times of the day to measure these patterns. Previous studies have shown that a disruption of the cortisol pattern may increase Alzheimer’s disease risk.

We found greater cognitive reserve improved cognition in memory clinic patients, but when we factored physiological stress (cortisol) into the equation, the beneficial association of cognitive reserve was weakened – in other words, cortisol seems to deplete cognitive reserve.

Interestingly, though, subjective stress did not change the relation in a similar manner. So subjective stress doesn’t seem to use up cognitive reserve in the same way as biological stress seems to. We don’t know why this is. It could be that subjective and biological measures assess different aspects of stress.

Participants who had a good balance of morning and evening cortisol levels improved their working memory, but this wasn’t true for those who had an imbalance. Working memory stores information for short periods but allows us to actively process and manipulate the information. For example, we rely on working memory to solve a maths problem.

If cortisol levels are too high in the evening, it affects sleep. And if they are too low in the morning, it can affect morning alertness. The right balance is essential.

In those with unusually high amounts of cortisol shortly after waking up, having a higher cognitive reserve was linked to increased tau – a protein that forms tangles in brain cells, thereby disrupting their function. It could be that tau protein accumulation might make a person more prone to be stressed or stress itself may bring about changes to tau. This might lower a person’s ability to control and avoid actions that support the development of cognitive reserve.

Higher chronic stress may lessen the cognitive advantages of stimulating activities and enriching experiences in later life. Adding stress management techniques, such as mindfulness and meditation into your daily routine may contribute to overall brain health and slow cognitive decline.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-stress-can-erode-your-brains-ability-to-fight-dementia/

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DATE: July 24, 2024 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **

TITLE: Researchers identify behavioral signs of future cannabis use in adolescents

URL: https://www.psypost.org/researchers-identify-behavioral-signs-of-future-cannabis-use-in-adolescents/

In a recent study published in the journal Psychopharmacology, researchers found that adolescents who exhibit conduct problems and who are more socially engaged with their peers are more likely to use cannabis in the future. Furthermore, using cannabis during adolescence may lead to increased hyperactivity and inattention symptoms, though these effects seem to diminish with age.

Adolescence is a critical period for brain maturation, with significant changes occurring in brain structures and functions that are essential for cognitive and emotional development. Cannabis, being one of the most commonly used illicit substances during this stage, has the potential to interfere with these developmental processes. However, the exact effects of cannabis on the adolescent brain remain unclear, prompting the need for detailed research in this area.

Researchers were particularly interested in distinguishing whether cannabis use is a result of preexisting behavioral and psychological traits or if it contributes to the development of such traits. This distinction is important because it informs whether preventive measures should focus more on identifying at-risk individuals based on their existing behaviors and social dynamics or on mitigating the effects of cannabis use once it has begun.

“Ever since the beginning of society, humans have been using psychoactive substances. Nowadays, cannabis is among the most widely used, making it crucial to understand its long-term effects, especially when use begins during adolescence – a very critical period for brain development. I believe knowledge is power! Through research, we can help people make informed decisions, which is my main motivation to investigate this topic,” said study author Inês Macedo, a PhD student and member of the Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology at the University of Porto.

The researchers used data from the IMAGEN study, a large longitudinal cohort involving 2341 adolescents from England, Ireland, France, and Germany. Participants were assessed at ages 14, 19, and 22 using a variety of psychological, cognitive, and neuroimaging measures.

To be included in the study, participants had to report no or minimal use of alcohol and nicotine at the baseline assessment (age 14). Exclusion criteria included using any illicit substance more than twice or reporting the use of a fictitious substance. This left a sample of 1946 drug-naïve adolescents, with 164 going on to use cannabis by age 19.

Participants completed the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task during functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) sessions to assess brain activity related to reward processing. This task involved responding to cues that signaled potential monetary gains, allowing researchers to examine activity in brain regions like the ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex.

The study found that certain behavioral traits at age 14 could predict cannabis use by age 19. Adolescents with higher scores for conduct problems and lower scores for peer problems were more likely to use cannabis. Conduct problems included behaviors like breaking serious rules, while peer problems referred to difficulties in making friends.

“It was very curious to find that adolescents who had fewer peer problems at 14 years old were more likely to transition to cannabis use within five years!” Macedo told PsyPost. “One possible explanation for this unexpected result is that being more sociable may increase exposure to peer pressure and to other peers with conduct problems, providing more favorable social contexts for future cannabis use.”

By age 19, those who used cannabis showed higher levels of hyperactivity and inattention compared to non-users. Interestingly, these symptoms seemed to decrease over time, with no significant differences observed by age 22 between those who continued to use cannabis and those who abstained for at least a month. This suggests that while cannabis use during adolescence may increase certain behavioral symptoms, these effects are not necessarily permanent.

“Our study suggests that adolescents with more conduct problems (e.g., who break serious rules) and who have less problems with their peers (e.g., who have less trouble making friends) are at greater risk for future cannabis use,” Macedo explained. “We also found that cannabis use might increase hyperactivity and inattention symptoms during adolescence, although these effects seem to subside with age.”

“It’s important to note that our study mainly involved light cannabis users, with few daily or near-daily users. Still, it is interesting that we had some significant differences, even in such low frequency cannabis users! This indicates that daily users might experience other effects and have distinct neuropsychological characteristics than light users. Therefore, it is very important to emphasize that our results cannot be generalized to more frequent, adolescent cannabis users.”

Contrary to expectations, the study did not find significant differences in reward-related brain activity or cognitive functioning between future cannabis users and non-users at age 14. Additionally, no significant changes in these measures were observed in those who used cannabis by age 22. This implies that light cannabis use may not have long-term effects on brain function or cognitive abilities, at least within the age range studied.

“Like all studies, ours has limitations,” Macedo noted. “We had a significant amount of missing data for the neurocognitive measures, which may explain the lack of significant results. Additionally, having a greater representation of daily cannabis users would increase the generalization of our findings (although I don’t necessarily see this as a major limitation, it is a very important point to emphasize).”

“This study is part of my ongoing PhD project, where I am investigating the long-term effects of cannabis use on the brain and the potential reversibility of these effects with abstinence. We are currently recruiting participants at the University of Porto (Portugal) and collecting data on brain activity (via electroencephalography), psychopathology (e.g., depression, anxiety, psychosis), cognition (e.g., memory, attention, inhibitory control), and substance use patterns. Given the inconsistencies in the cannabis literature, we aim to provide new insights and inform the general population about our findings.”

The findings highlight the importance of identifying adolescents at risk for future cannabis use based on conduct problems and social engagement. It also underscores the need for continued research to fully understand the long-term effects of cannabis on the developing brain.

“We need more funding for longitudinal studies that track individuals from before cannabis use onset,” Macedo said. “These will be essential to uncover the true effects of cannabis on the brain; longitudinal research can allow us to distinguish the effects of cannabis use from pre-existing individual differences that may predispose individuals to substance use.”

The study, “Light Cannabis Use and the Adolescent Brain: An 8-years Longitudinal Assessment of Mental Health, Cognition, and Reward Processing,” was authored by Inês Macedo, Tiago O. Paiva, Rita Pasion, Laura Daedelow, Andreas Heinz, Ana Magalhães, Tobias Banaschewski, Arun L. W. Bokde, Sylvane Desrivières, Herta Flor, Antoine Grigis, Hugh Garavan, Penny Gowland, Rüdiger Brühl, Jean-Luc Martinot, Marie-Laure Paillère Martinot, Eric Artiges, Frauke Nees, Dimitri Papadopoulos Orfanos, Tomáš Paus, Luise Poustka, Sarah Hohmann, Nathalie Holz, and Juliane H. Fröhner.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/researchers-identify-behavioral-signs-of-future-cannabis-use-in-adolescents/

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DATE: July 23, 2024 at 01:22PM
SOURCE: AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

TITLE: Score for predicting dementia risk also may predict depression

URL: https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/23/health/brain-care-score-depression-risk-wellness/index.html

The Brain Care Score is a tool for assessing dementia or stroke risk without medical procedures.

URL: https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/23/health/brain-care-score-depression-risk-wellness/index.html

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DATE: July 22, 2024 at 01:35PM
SOURCE: AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

TITLE: The pandemic caused an increase in teen eating disorders

URL: https://www.parents.com/study-shows-the-pandemic-caused-increase-in-teen-eating-disorders-8680847

Findings show increases in adolescents and young adults seeking both inpatient and outpatient care for an eating disorder in the aftermath of COVID-19.

URL: https://www.parents.com/study-shows-the-pandemic-caused-increase-in-teen-eating-disorders-8680847

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DATE: July 23, 2024 at 12:33PM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

TITLE: Protein discovery linked to Parkinson's disease opens future research areas

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240723123346.htm

Researchers have discovered two proteins that act as regulators for mitophagy. The discovery opens a new avenue for researchers to boost mitophagy activity, to promote mitochondrial and neuronal health.

URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240723123346.htm

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