Family Medicine

Will $1 Billion Given to a Bronx Medical School Improve the Boroughs Health? – The New York Times

For Trevor Barker, a first-year student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, the $1 billion gift from a longtime former professor that will eliminate tuition at the medical school could well be life-changing.

Mr. Barker works two campus jobs and sends money home to his mother in California. He had expected to graduate hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. But the free tuition has made him ponder new options for his career.

I hadnt really been able to consider family medicine, but I might want to, he said.

Family medicine doctors do everything from delivering babies to caring for older people usually in underserved communities. Mr. Barker said he might consider practicing medicine in the Bronx, even though doctors there generally earn less.

The billion-dollar donation by Dr. Ruth Gottesman made national news last week for its generosity and because of her life story. It also resonated because it did not go to a school in Manhattan, where top medical and educational institutions are regularly feted with gifts from billionaires.

Instead her gift went to the only medical school in the poorest and unhealthiest county in New York State: Einstein, a well-regarded medical school with over 1,000 students that is affiliated with a major hospital, Montefiore Medical Center. Almost immediately, doctors and health experts began to consider what effect it would have on health care in a borough with high rates of chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma, and with relatively few primary care physicians.

Dr. Gottesmans gift is intended to help Einstein and its medical students and encourage more lower-income students to apply to medical school. It might also encourage students like Mr. Barker to practice medicine in the borough. And some health care experts and doctors were optimistic that the boon to Einstein would be felt beyond the campus, with a trickle-down effect that would eventually improve health care across the Bronx.

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Will $1 Billion Given to a Bronx Medical School Improve the Boroughs Health? - The New York Times

Family Medicine

Open House Held Thursday at Knoxville Hospital and Clinics – KNIA KRLS Radio

An open house was held Thursday at Knoxville Hospital and Clinics for the new Don and Margaret Long Infusion Center and Weiler Specialty Clinics.

The community came out to the hospital to celebrate the first phase of the $21 million expansion project. The Weiler Foundation Specialty Clinics, home to 24 visiting specialists, is located on the east side of the hospital and shares a waiting room with the Dr. Earl J. McKeever Clinic for family medicine. The Don & Margaret Long Infusion Center, located on the south side of the hospital, provides private treatment spaces featuring 12 treatment chairs with room for loved one support. Knoxville Hospital and Clinics CEO Kevin Kincaid says he was excited to see the communitys response to the effort.

People really wanted to have an open house. We were able to open this project about a month earlier than expected, so it kind of threw some of the original planning into a little bit of chaos when it came to, how do we do an open house when were already open? The community has been really flexible picking a good day that is good from a patient activity perspective. Its been a great turnout and we just love having people come see what we do.

The next phase of the construction project will focus on the Emergency Department, with work expected to begin this month.

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Open House Held Thursday at Knoxville Hospital and Clinics - KNIA KRLS Radio

Family Medicine

Mommy Minute: What to keep in your medicine cabinet – Yahoo! Voices

We keep all sorts of things in our medicine cabinets but whats really essential to have on hand?

Neha Vyas, MD, family medicine physician for Cleveland Clinic, said adhesive bandages are a must, but if theyre always falling off, you may want to try the liquid kind.

They actually make liquid bandages, which are really good for those cuts that are somewhat annoying and dont seem to hold very well with the adhesive bandages, said Dr. Vyas. They seem to hold up under water much better than the adhesive bandages.

Its also a good idea to have some type of pain reliever in your medicine chest.

And if youre prone to achy muscles, pain relieving patches may be useful.

Antacids can come in handy for the occasional bout with heart burn, upset stomach or diarrhea.

For itchy insect bites, hydrocortisone cream may provide relief.

Speaking of itch, people who suffer from allergies will want to stock up on some antihistamines.

Those are great to have around if you have the seasonal allergies, or right as youre starting to develop a respiratory infection and you have that runny nose or the sneezing, or the itchy, watery eyes, Dr. Vyas explained.

She recommends checking your medicine cabinet every six months to toss and replace expired items.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.

The rest is here:

Mommy Minute: What to keep in your medicine cabinet - Yahoo! Voices

Neuroscience

Linking Childhood Adversity to Adult Mental Health – Neuroscience News

Summary: Researchers delved into how adverse childhood experiences contribute to the risk of psychiatric illness in adulthood, leveraging data from over 25,000 twins in the Swedish Twin Registry. The study uncovers a dose-response relationship between childhood adversity and later mental health problems, while also highlighting the significant role of genetic and environmental factors within families.

By analyzing twins with differing experiences of abuse but shared family backgrounds, the research provides nuanced insights into the interplay between direct abuse effects and inherited or environmental influences. This study underscores the importance of family-wide health interventions to mitigate the long-term mental health risks associated with childhood adversities.

Key Facts:

Source: Karolinska Institute

A research team has examined the link between adverse childhood experiences and the risk of mental health problems later in life, according to a study inJAMA Psychiatry.

The researchers from Karolinska Institutet and University of Iceland have found that the risk of suffering from mental illness later in life among those experiencing significant adversity in childhood can be partly explained by factors shared by family members, such as genetics and environment.

Several previous studies have shown that people who have experienced various types of adverse childhood experiences have a higher risk of suffering from psychiatric illness later in life.

Now, a new study from Karolinska Institutet, using a special type of twin research design, can confirm the link, show a clear dose-response relationship and at the same time broaden the picture.

The researchers can now show that there are also significant genetic and environmental factors that play a role and contribute to mental illness.

The researchers used three different cohorts of the Swedish Twin Registry, comprising over 25,000 individuals. The twins responded to a large web-based questionnaire and answered questions about different types of adverse childhood experiences including family violence, emotional abuse or neglect, physical neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, rape and hate crime. In addition, information about adult psychiatric disorders was obtained from the Swedish Patient Registry.

These are of course very difficult questions to answer, but this is the best data source we have access to, says Hilda Bjrk Danelsdttir, a doctoral student at the University of Iceland and visiting doctoral student at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and the studys first author.

By identifying twin pairs who reported different experiences of abuse while growing up in the same family and then following those who later received a psychiatric diagnosis, the researchers have been able to sort out how much of the increased risk is due to the abuse itself and how much is due to genetics and environment.

Most previous studies on the mental health effects of childhood adversity have not been able to take these things into account. Now we can show that the increased risk of mental health problems after adverse childhood experiences can be partly explained by factors shared by family members, such as genetic factors or factors in the childhood environment, says Hilda Bjrk Danelsdttir.

She argues that this finding should therefore lead to health care interventions addressing risk factors within the whole family, not just the affected child or children.

The more different types of childhood adversities individuals experienced, the higher the risk was of receiving a psychiatric diagnosis later in life. The researchers can also show that sexual abuse and rape in childhood as well as having experienced three or more types of adversities were the experiences most strongly linked to future mental health problems. This is something that is also important knowledge when treating vulnerable children and their families.

I hope that our study can raise awareness of childhood circumstances as possible causes of psychiatric disorders in adulthood and how to best address them, says Hilda Bjrk Danelsdttir.

Funding: The research was funded by the European Research Council, the Icelandic Research Center and the EUs Horizon 2020.

Author: Hilda Bjrk Danelsdttir Source: Karolinska Institute Contact: Hilda Bjrk Danelsdttir Karolinska Institute Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access. Adverse Childhood Experience and Adult Mental Health Outcomes by Hilda Bjrk Danelsdttir et al. JAMA Psychiatry

Abstract

Adverse Childhood Experience and Adult Mental Health Outcomes

Importance

Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has consistently been associated with multiple negative mental health outcomes extending into adulthood. However, given that ACEs and psychiatric disorders cluster within families, it remains to be comprehensively assessed to what extent familial confounding contributes to associations between ACEs and clinically confirmed adult psychiatric disorders.

Objective

To investigate whether associations between ACEs and adult mental health outcomes remain after adjusting for familial (genetic and environmental) confounding.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This Swedish twin cohort study used a discordant twin pair design based on monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. A total of 25252 adult twins (aged 18-47 years) from the Swedish Twin Registry born between 1959 and 1998 were followed up from age 19 years until 2016, with a maximum follow-up time of 39 years. Data were analyzed from April 2022 to November 2023.

Exposures

A total of 7 ACEs, including family violence, emotional abuse or neglect, physical neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, rape, and hate crime, were assessed with items from the Life Stressor Checklist-Revised in a web-based survey.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Adult (ages >18 years) clinical diagnosis of psychiatric disorders (ie, depressive, anxiety, alcohol or drug misuse, or stress-related disorders) were obtained from the Swedish National Patient Register.

Results

Of 25252 twins included in the study (15038 female [59.6%]; mean [SD] age at ACE assessment, 29.9 [8.7] years), 9751 individuals (38.6%) reported exposure to at least 1 ACE. A greater number of ACEs was associated with increased odds of any psychiatric disorder in the full cohort (odds ratio [OR] per additional ACE, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.48-1.57). The association remained but ORs per additional ACE were attenuated in DZ (1.29; 95% CI, 1.14-1.47) and MZ (1.20; 95% CI, 1.02-1.40) twin pairs. Individuals who were exposed to sexual abuse compared with those who were not exposed had increased odds of any clinically confirmed psychiatric disorder in all comparisons: full cohort (OR, 3.09; 95% CI, 2.68-3.56), DZ twin pairs (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.33-3.32), and MZ twin pairs (1.80; 95% CI, 1.04-3.11).

Conclusions and relevance

This study found that associations between ACEs and adult mental health outcomes remained after controlling for shared genetic and environmental factors, which was particularly evident after multiple ACEs or sexual abuse. These findings suggest that targeted interventions may be associated with reduced risks of future psychopathology.

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Linking Childhood Adversity to Adult Mental Health - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Refined Carb Intake’s Effect on Facial Attractiveness – Neuroscience News

Summary: A new study reveals a statistical connection between the consumption of refined carbohydrates and decreased facial attractiveness, as judged by heterosexual volunteers of the opposite sex. Participants who consumed a high-glycemic breakfast, rich in refined carbohydrates, were rated as less attractive than those who had a low-glycemic meal.

This research, involving 104 French adults, adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that diet, specifically the intake of refined carbohydrates found in the Western diet, may impact non-medical traits such as attractiveness. The study also observed sex-specific differences in how snack consumption affects attractiveness, highlighting the complex relationship between diet and social perceptions.

Key Facts:

Source: PLOS

In a new study, participants levels of consumption of refined carbohydrates were statistically linked with their facial attractiveness as rated by heterosexual volunteers of the opposite sex.

Visine and colleagues at the University of Montpellier, France, present these findings in the open-access journalPLOS ONEon March 6, 2024.

The Western diet consists of high levels of refined carbohydratesfoods processed in ways that typically remove much of their nutritional value, such as white flour, table sugar, and ingredients in many packaged snacks.

Prior research has linked increased consumption of refined carbohydrates with adverse health effects, such as obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Preliminary evidence has suggested that consuming high levels of refined carbohydrates might also affect non-medical traits, such as a persons attractiveness.

To further explore this possibility, Visine and colleagues conducted a study involving 104 French male and female adults.

The researchers gave some of the participants a high-glycemic breakfastone with refined carbohydrates known to boost blood sugar levelswhile others received a low-glycemic breakfast.

The participants also completed a questionnaire to evaluate their typical habits of consumption of refined carbohydrates. Additional heterosexual volunteers were then asked to rate the facial attractiveness of opposite-sex participants as captured in photos taken two hours after the provided breakfast.

Only participants and volunteers with four grandparents of European origin were included in this research, to reduce cultural heterogeneity.

Statistical analysis showed that consuming the high-glycemic breakfast was associated with lower subsequent facial attractiveness ratings for both men and women.

Chronic consumption of refined carbohydrates during breakfast and snacks was also associated with lower attractiveness ratings, although consumption of high-energy foods at these times was associated with higher attractiveness ratings.

The researchers noted some sex differences: for afternoon snacking in men specifically, high-energy intake was instead associated with lower attractiveness ratings, while high-glycemic intake was linked to higher attractiveness ratings.

All results held true after statistically accounting for other factors that could affect attractiveness, such as actual age, perceived age, BMI, smoking habits, and facial hairiness.

Further research, including for larger and more diverse sample sizes, is needed to deepen understanding of exactly how refined carbohydrates may be linked to attractiveness and other social traits.

The authors add: Facial attractiveness, an important factor of social interactions, seems to be impacted by immediate and chronic refined carbohydrate consumption in men and women.

Funding:This work was supported by Agence Nationale pour la Recherche HUMANWAY project (ANR-12- BSV7-0008-01). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Author: Hanna Abdallah Source: PLOS Contact: Hanna Abdallah PLOS Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access. Chronic and immediate refined carbohydrate consumption and facial attractiveness by Visine A et al. PLOS ONE

Abstract

Chronic and immediate refined carbohydrate consumption and facial attractiveness

The Western diet has undergone a massive switch since the second half of the 20thcentury, with the massive increase of the consumption of refined carbohydrate associated with many adverse health effects.

The physiological mechanisms linked to this consumption, such as hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinemia, may impact non medical traits such as facial attractiveness.

To explore this issue, the relationship between facial attractiveness and immediate and chronic refined carbohydrate consumption estimated by glycemic load was studied for 104 French subjects.

Facial attractiveness was assessed by opposite sex raters using pictures taken two hours after a controlled breakfast. Chronic consumption was assessed considering three high glycemic risk meals: breakfast, afternoon snacking and between-meal snacking.

Immediate consumption of a high glycemic breakfast decreased facial attractiveness for men and women while controlling for several control variables, including energy intake. Chronic refined carbohydrate consumption had different effects on attractiveness depending on the meal and/or the sex.

Chronic refined carbohydrate consumption, estimated by the glycemic load, during the three studied meals reduced attractiveness, while a high energy intake increased it.

Nevertheless, the effect was reversed for men concerning the afternoon snack, for which a high energy intake reduced attractiveness and a high glycemic load increased it.

These effects were maintained when potential confounders for facial attractiveness were controlled such as age, age departure from actual age, masculinity/femininity (perceived and measured), BMI, physical activity, parental home ownership, smoking, couple status, hormonal contraceptive use (for women), and facial hairiness (for men).

Results were possibly mediated by an increase in age appearance for women and a decrease in perceived masculinity for men. The physiological differences between the three meals studied and the interpretation of the results from an adaptive/maladaptive point of view in relation to our new dietary environment are discussed.

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Refined Carb Intake's Effect on Facial Attractiveness - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Overnight neuronal plasticity and adaptation to emotional distress – Nature.com

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Original post:
Overnight neuronal plasticity and adaptation to emotional distress - Nature.com

Neuroscience

Unlocking Creative Flow: How the Brain Enters the Zone – Neuroscience News

Summary: A new study unveils how the brain enters the creative flow state, famously known as being in the zone. By analyzing jazz improvisations through EEGs, the research confirms that creative flow combines extensive experience with a conscious release of control, allowing for automatic idea generation.

This expertise-plus-release model suggests that deep creative flow is more accessible to those with significant experience and the ability to let go. The findings offer a new understanding of flow, challenging previous theories and opening avenues for enhancing creativity through practice and relinquishment of control.

Key Facts:

Source: Drexel University

Effortless, enjoyable productivity is a state of consciousness prized and sought after by people in business, the arts, research, education and anyone else who wants to produce a stream of creative ideas and products.

Thats theflow, or the sense of being in the zone. A new neuroimagingstudyfrom Drexel UniversitysCreativity Research Labis the first to reveal how the brain gets to the creative flow state.

The study isolated flow-related brain activity during a creative task: jazz improvisation. The findings reveal the creative flow state involves two key factors:extensive experience, which leads to a network of brain areas specialized for generating the desired type of ideas, plus therelease of control letting go to allow this network to work with little or no conscious supervision.

Led by John Kounios, PhD, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and Creativity Research Lab director, and David Rosen, PhD, a recent graduate from the College and Johns Hopkins University postdoc the team determined their results suggest that creative flow can be achieved by training people to release control when they have built up enough expertise in a particular domain.

Flow was first identified and studied by the pioneering psychological scientist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, said Kounios. He defined it as a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.

Kounios noted that although flow has long been a topic of public fascination as well as the focus of hundreds of behavioral research studies, there has been no consensus about what flow is. Their new study decided between different theories of how flow is involved when people produce creative ideas.

One view is that flow might be a state of highly focused concentration or hyperfocus that shuts out extraneous thoughts and other distractions to enable superior performance on a task.

A related theory based on recent research on the neuroscience of creativity is that flow occurs when the brains default-mode network, a collection of brain areas that work together when a person daydreams or introspects, generates ideas under the supervision of the executive control network in the brains frontal lobes, which directs the kinds of ideas the default-mode network produces. Kounios likened it to the analogy of a person supervising a TV by picking the movie it streams.

An alternative theory of creative flow is that through years of intense practice, the brain develops a specialized network or circuit to automatically produce a specific type of ideas, in this case musical ones, with little conscious effort. In this view, the executive control network relaxes its supervision so that the musician can let go and allow this specialized circuit to go on autopilot without interference.

The research team said the key to this notion is the idea that people who do not have extensive experience at a task or who have difficulty releasing control will be less likely to experience deep creative flow.

The studys results support the expertise-plus-release view of creative flow.

The researchers tested these competing theories of creative flow by recording high-density electroencephalograms (EEGs) from 32 jazz guitar players, some highly experienced and others less experienced. Each musician improvised to six jazz lead sheets (songs) with programmed drums, bass and piano accompaniment and rated the intensity of their flow experience for each improvisation.

The resulting 192 recorded jazz improvisations, or takes, were subsequently played for four jazz experts individually so they could rate each for creativity and other qualities. The researchers then analyzed the EEGs to discover which brain areas were associated with high-flow takes (compared to low-flow takes).

The high-experience musicians experienced flow more often and more intensely than the low-experience musicians. This shows that expertise enables flow. However, expertise is not the only factor contributing to creative flow.

The EEGs showed that a high-flow state was associated with increased activity in left-hemisphere auditory and touch areas that are involved in hearing and playing music. Importantly, high flow was also associated withdecreasedactivity in the brains superior frontal gyri, an executive control region.

This is consistent with the idea that creative flow is associated with reduced conscious control, that is, letting go. This previously hypothesized phenomenon has been called transient hypofrontality.

For the high-experience musicians, flow was associated with greater activity in auditory and vision areas. However, they also showedreducedactivity in parts of the default-mode network, suggesting that the default-mode network was not contributing much to flow-related idea generation in these musicians.

In contrast, the low-experience musicians showed little flow-related brain activity.

A practical implication of these results is that productive flow states can be attained by practice to build up expertise in a particular creative outlet coupled with training to withdraw conscious control when enough expertise has been achieved, said Kounios. This can be the basis for new techniques for instructing people to produce creative ideas.

Kounios added, If you want to be able to stream ideas fluently, then keep working on those musical scales, physics problems or whatever else you want to do creativelycomputer coding, fiction writingyou name it. But then, try letting go. As jazz great Charlie Parker said, Youve got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.

Author: Annie Korp Source: Drexel University Contact: Annie Korp Drexel University Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access. Creative flow as optimized processing: Evidence from brain oscillations during jazz improvisations by expert and non-expert musicians by John Kounios et all. Neuropsychologia

Abstract

Creative flow as optimized processing: Evidence from brain oscillations during jazz improvisations by expert and non-expert musicians

Using a creative production task, jazz improvisation, we tested alternative hypotheses about the flow experience: (A) that it is a state of domain-specific processing optimized by experience and characterized by minimal interference from task-negative default-mode network (DMN) activity versus (B) that it recruits domain-general task-positive DMN activity supervised by the fronto-parietal control network (FPCN) to support ideation. We recorded jazz guitarists electroencephalograms (EEGs) while they improvised to provided chord sequences.

Their flow-states were measured with the Core Flow State Scale. Flow-related neural sources were reconstructed using SPM12. Over all musicians, high-flow (relative to low-flow) improvisations were associated with transient hypofrontality. High-experience musicians high-flow improvisations showed reduced activity in posterior DMN nodes.

Low-experience musicians showed no flow-related DMN or FPCN modulation. High-experience musicians also showed modality-specific left-hemisphere flow-related activity while low-experience musicians showed modality-specific right-hemisphere flow-related deactivations.

These results are consistent with the idea that creative flow represents optimized domain-specific processing enabled by extensive practice paired with reduced cognitive control.

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Unlocking Creative Flow: How the Brain Enters the Zone - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Less Obesity and Depression in NPD Individuals – Neuroscience News

Summary: A comprehensive study across 38 states in the U.S. has revealed a surprising link between narcissism and positive health outcomes, including lower obesity and depression rates. States with higher levels of narcissism also showed a lower likelihood of heart failure and hypertension deaths, highlighting the complex role of narcissistic traits in public health.

However, these states also experienced less sleep and a higher demand for plastic surgeons, suggesting a nuanced interplay between narcissisms adaptive and maladaptive aspects. This groundbreaking research underscores the importance of considering psychological traits in public health strategies and interventions.

Key Facts:

Source: Neuroscience News

The exploration of narcissisms association with state-level health outcomes across the United States reveals a fascinating paradox within the realm of public health and personality psychology.

This extensive study, drawing on data from over 4,000 individuals in 38 states, transcends the traditional confines of individual behavior to uncover the broader societal implications of the dark triad traits, particularly narcissism.

It challenges the pervasive narrative that narcissism is solely detrimental, highlighting instead its complex dual naturewherein lies a potential ally for public health.

Narcissism, part of the dark triad of personality traits alongside Machiavellianism and psychopathy, is typically characterized by grandiosity, entitlement, and a preoccupation with self-image. However, this study sheds light on its less recognized facet: the adaptive qualities that can foster resilience, ambition, and an enhanced focus on personal health.

The findings intriguingly suggest that these adaptive aspects may lead to healthier lifestyle choices, such as regular exercise, dietary mindfulness, and engagement with preventive healthcare measures.

At a societal level, the study reveals that states with higher levels of narcissism exhibit lower rates of obesity and depression, alongside reduced mortality from heart failure and hypertension.

This correlation suggests that the positive health behaviors adopted by narcissistic individuals could aggregate to influence broader health trends within populations. Such a pattern points towards the potential of harnessing narcissisms adaptive aspects for public health benefits.

However, the study also unveils the downsides of these traits at a societal scale, including reduced sleep durations and an elevated demand for plastic surgery.

These findings hint at the societal pressures and possibly unhealthy standards of beauty that might be more prevalent in areas with higher narcissistic tendencies.

It underscores the importance of a balanced view of narcissism, recognizing both its potential to motivate healthful behaviors and its capacity to drive less beneficial outcomes, such as sleep deprivation and an obsession with physical appearance.

The nuanced understanding of narcissisms impact on health outcomes has profound implications for public health policies and interventions.

Recognizing the dual nature of narcissism can inform the development of more targeted health promotion strategies that leverage its adaptive qualities while mitigating its maladaptive aspects.

For instance, public health campaigns could emphasize self-enhancement and confidence as motivators for healthy living, while also addressing the potential pitfalls of excessive self-focus and appearance-based self-esteem.

Moreover, this study highlights the importance of psychological traits in shaping health behaviors and outcomes at a population level.

It suggests that public health strategies could benefit from considering the psychological makeup of target populations, tailoring interventions to not only address physical health needs but also the underlying personality factors that influence behavior.

While this study provides valuable insights into the relationship between narcissism and health outcomes, it also opens the door for further research.

Future studies could explore the mechanisms through which narcissism influences health behaviors and outcomes, and how these may vary across different contexts and populations.

Additionally, research could examine the interactions between narcissism and other psychological and social factors, offering a more comprehensive understanding of its role in public health.

This groundbreaking study challenges conventional views of narcissism, revealing its complex relationship with health at both individual and societal levels. By illuminating the adaptive aspects of narcissism that can contribute to positive health outcomes, it invites a reevaluation of how we understand and leverage personality traits in public health.

As we move forward, this research not only broadens our understanding of the interplay between psychology and health but also offers a promising avenue for developing more nuanced and effective public health strategies.

Author: Neuroscience News Communications Source: Neuroscience News Contact: Neuroscience News Communications Neuroscience News Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access. Mirror, mirror on the wall, whos the healthiest of them all The surprising role of narcissism in state-level health outcomes by DritjonGruda et al. Journal of Research in Personality

Abstract

Mirror, mirror on the wall, whos the healthiest of them all The surprising role of narcissism in state-level health outcomes

This study investigates narcissisms role in state-level health outcomes across the U.S. While often seen as maladaptive, narcissisms adaptive aspects, like self-enhancement, might promote better health.

Analyzing data from 4,230 participants in 38 states, we explore the link between dark triad traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) and health outcomes.

States with higher narcissism had lower obesity and depression rates, and a lower likelihood of heart failure and hypertension deaths. However, these states reported less sleep and higher demand for plastic surgeons.

This study is the first to provide a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between dark triad traits and health on the state level, with significant implications for public health policies and interventions.

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Less Obesity and Depression in NPD Individuals - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Loneliness Linked to Personality Disorders – Neuroscience News

Summary: A systematic review synthesizing data from 70 studies reveals significant insights into the relationship between loneliness, perceived social support (PSS), and personality disorders.

The review found that individuals with personality disorder traits or diagnoses, except those with narcissistic traits, experience higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of PSS compared to the general population and other clinical groups. Certain risk factors were identified, including previous depression, sleep disruption from nocturnal hot flashes, and concurrent stressful life events, which heighten the risk of depressive symptoms during menopause.

These findings underscore the pressing need for targeted interventions to address the social and emotional challenges faced by individuals with personality disorders.

Key Facts:

Source: Neuroscience News

In a society where mental health awareness is steadily rising, the shadows cast by loneliness and insufficient social support, particularly among individuals with personality disorders, remain a significant concern.

A groundbreaking systematic review conducted by researchers delves into the prevalence and severity of loneliness and deficits in perceived social support (PSS) among people with personality disorder traits or diagnoses.

This comprehensive analysis, which synthesized data from 70 studies, sheds light on the intricate relationship between social isolation, the quality of interpersonal relationships, and personality disorders.

The Intricate Web of Loneliness and Personality Disorders

Personality disorders, characterized by enduring patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience that deviate markedly from the expectations of an individuals culture, often lead to significant distress or impairment.

The systematic review uncovers that individuals with traits or diagnoses of personality disorders, barring those with narcissistic traits, report feeling lonelier and having lower levels of perceived social support compared to both the general population and other clinical groups.

This revelation underscores the nuanced challenges faced by those with personality disorders, challenges that extend beyond the symptoms of the disorders themselves and into the realm of social and emotional well-being.

The Methodology Behind the Insights

The systematic review, a meticulous synthesis of quantitative data, included studies from Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Social Science, Google scholar, and Ethos British Library, spanning up to December 2021.

The majority of the included studies were cross-sectional and predominantly based in the United States, focusing on community samples.

By employing quality appraisals and grading the certainty of evidence, the review prioritized high-quality studies to draw its conclusions, providing a robust understanding of the social challenges faced by individuals with personality disorders.

Key Findings: A Closer Look

The reviews findings paint a complex picture of the social landscape for individuals with personality disorders:

The Implications: Toward Targeted Interventions

The systematic reviews findings hold significant implications for mental health professionals, policymakers, and researchers alike. By highlighting the critical role of social factors in the mental health and recovery of individuals with personality disorders, the review calls for a shift in therapeutic approaches.

Traditional treatments focusing solely on symptom management may not suffice; there is a pressing need for interventions that also address the social and emotional needs of these individuals.

Developing targeted interventions to enhance social support and reduce loneliness could have profound effects on the mental health outcomes for individuals with personality disorders.

Such interventions could range from group therapy sessions designed to foster social skills and connections, to community-based programs aimed at integrating these individuals into supportive social networks.

Challenges and Future Directions

The review acknowledges several challenges, including the low quality of evidence and the cross-sectional nature of most studies, which limits the ability to establish causality. Furthermore, the focus on primarily U.S.-based studies and community samples may limit the generalizability of the findings.

These challenges highlight the need for further research, particularly longitudinal studies, to explore the causative links between personality disorders, loneliness, and social support deficits.

A Call to Action

The systematic review serves as a call to action for mental health professionals, researchers, and policymakers to prioritize the social and emotional well-being of individuals with personality disorders.

By recognizing the profound impact of loneliness and social support deficits, and developing targeted interventions, we can take a significant step toward improving the quality of life and mental health outcomes for this vulnerable population.

In conclusion, this systematic review shines a spotlight on the critical yet often overlooked aspect of mental health care for individuals with personality disorders.

As we move forward, it is imperative that we address the complex interplay between social isolation, perceived social support, and personality disorders with compassion, understanding, and targeted interventions.

Breaking the cycle of isolation for those with personality disorders is not just a matter of improving individual lives; it is about fostering a more inclusive, supportive, and mentally healthy society.

Author: Neuroscience News Communications Contact: Neuroscience News Source: Neuroscience News Communications Neuroscience News Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access. The prevalence and severity of loneliness and deficits in perceived social support among who have received a personality disorder diagnosis or have relevant traits: a systematic review by Sarah Ikhtabi et al. BMC Psychiatry

Abstract

The prevalence and severity of loneliness and deficits in perceived social support among who have received a personality disorder diagnosis or have relevant traits: a systematic review

Loneliness and struggles with unmet social needs are a common experience among people with personality disorder diagnoses/traits. Given the impact of loneliness and poor perceived social support on mental health, and the importance of a sense of belonging for recovery, a systematic review examining the prevalence/severity of loneliness and deficits in perceived social support among people with personality disorder diagnoses/traits is an essential step towards developing an intervention targeting the social needs of people with diagnoses/traits personality disorder. Despite an extensive literature on loneliness and deficits of perceived social support among people with personality disorder diagnosis/traits, to date there has been no systematic review of this evidence.

We conducted a systematic review synthesising quantitative data on the prevalence/severity of loneliness and deficits of perceived social support among people with diagnoses/traits of personality disorder in comparison with other clinical groups and the general population. We searched Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Social Science, Google scholar and Ethos British Library from inception to December 2021. We conducted quality appraisals using the Joanna Briggs Critical appraisal tools and rated the certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. A narrative synthesis was used describing the direction and strength of associations prioritising high quality studies.

A final set of 70 studies are included in this review, most of which are cross-sectional studies(n=55),based in the United States(51%)and focused on community samples. Our synthesis of evidence found that, across all types of personality disorders (except narcissistic personality traits), people with traits associated with personality disorder or meeting criteria for a diagnosis of personality disorder, have higher levels of loneliness, lower perceived relationship satisfaction, and poorer social support than the general population or other clinical samples.

The quality of evidence is judged as low quality. However, given the distressing nature of loneliness and the known negative effects of loneliness on mental health and recovery, it is important for future research to explore mechanisms by which loneliness may exacerbate personality disorder symptoms and the impact this has on recovery.

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Loneliness Linked to Personality Disorders - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

3D Maps Reveal Molecular Complexities of the Brain – Neuroscience News

Summary: Researchers pioneered the use of spatial omics and deep learning to craft 3D molecular maps of the brain, offering new insights into its function across different scales. Their study employs advanced mass spectrometry imaging and single-cell metabolomics to decode the brains intricate biochemistry.

This groundbreaking work aims to unravel the complex chemical interactions within the brain, potentially paving the way for breakthroughs in treating neurological diseases. The collaborative effort underscores the importance of interdisciplinary research in advancing our understanding of the brains molecular landscape.

Key Facts:

Source: Beckman Institute

Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology researchersJonathan Sweedler, a professor of chemistry, andFan Lam, a professor of bioengineering, outlined how spatial omics technologies can reveal the molecular intricacy of the brain at different scales.

Their research appeared this month inNature Methods.

The researchers and their colleagues used a biochemical imaging framework integrated with deep learning to create 3D molecular maps with cell specificity to better understand how the brain functions in health and disease. Their research is supported by a$3 million grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health.

If you look at the brain chemically, its like a soup with a bunch of ingredients, Lam said. Understanding the biochemistry of the brain, how it organizes spatiotemporally, and how those chemical reactions support computing is critical to having a better idea of how the brain functions in health as well as during disease.

To understand how the brains chemical ingredients interact with one another, the researchers used a new imaging technique called mass spectrometry imaging to collect and analyze massive amounts of high-resolution data.

They also used single-cell metabolomics and computational tools to extract data about individual molecules in single brain cells, which enabled data acquisition at unprecedented speeds and scales.

Most people have a feeling that brain diseases such as depression and Alzheimers are caused by neurochemical imbalances, Sweedler said. But those imbalances are really hard to study and its difficult to understand how chemicals interact at different scales (for example, at the tissue level and individual cell level) during problems in the brain.

According to Sweedler, creating 3D maps of chemical distributions with cell-type specificity enables researchers to further understand the complicated biochemistry withinthe brain, which in the long term should help address currently intractable neurological diseases.

Single-cell metabolomics, a technology critical to the researchers findings, was named as one of Natures Seven technologies to watch in 2023 along with CRISPR and the James Webb Space Telescope, speaking to the high impact these tools will continue to have as it relates to looking at cell-specific data, Sweedler said.

The research wouldnt have been possible without the collaborative nature of the Beckman Institute.

It truly amazes me how small interactions can turn into interesting research conversations and eventually into large-scale collaborative studies, said first author Richard Xie, aBeckman Institute Graduate Fellow.

The key is to be open-minded and interdisciplinary, as you may draw inspirations from another field. I feel very excited about the progress on leveraging different expertise across groups to engineer tools to better depict the biochemical landscape of the brain.

Lam and Sweedler met at Xies behest to discuss his work on single-cell and tissue mass spectrometry imaging. The team had a breakthrough in how informatics and computational methods could lead to a new kind of multimodal, multiscale biochemical imaging thats highlighted in their recent Nature Methods paper.

Funding: Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01AG078797. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Author: Jenna Kurtzweil Source: Beckman Institute Contact: Jenna Kurtzweil Beckman Institute Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access. Multiscale biochemical mapping of the brain through deep-learning-enhanced high-throughput mass spectrometry by Fan Lam et al. Nature Methods

Abstract

Multiscale biochemical mapping of the brain through deep-learning-enhanced high-throughput mass spectrometry

Spatial omics technologies can reveal the molecular intricacy of the brain. While mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) provides spatial localization of compounds, comprehensive biochemical profiling at a brain-wide scale in three dimensions by MSI with single-cell resolution has not been achieved.

We demonstrate complementary brain-wide and single-cell biochemical mapping using MEISTER, an integrative experimental and computational mass spectrometry (MS) framework.

Our framework integrates a deep-learning-based reconstruction that accelerates high-mass-resolving MS by 15-fold, multimodal registration creating three-dimensional (3D) molecular distributions and a data integration method fitting cell-specific mass spectra to 3D datasets.

We imaged detailed lipid profiles in tissues with millions of pixels and in large single-cell populations acquired from the rat brain. We identified region-specific lipid contents and cell-specific localizations of lipids depending on both cell subpopulations and anatomical origins of the cells.

Our workflow establishes a blueprint for future development of multiscale technologies for biochemical characterization of the brain.

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3D Maps Reveal Molecular Complexities of the Brain - Neuroscience News