Neuroscience

The Effect of the Color Red on Brain Waves – Neuroscience News

Summary: The color red is not particularly strong in terms of the strength of gamma oscillations it generates in the brain.

Source: ESI

Red traffic lights make drivers stop. The color red produces a signaling and warning effect. But is this also reflected in the brain?

Researchers at the Ernst Strngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience have now investigated this question. They wanted to know whether red triggers brain waves more strongly than other colors.

The study, titled Human visual gamma for color stimuli, is published in the journaleLife.

The research of Benjamin J. Stauch, Alina Peter, Isabelle Ehrlich, Zora Nolte, and ESI director Pascal Fries focuses on the early visual cortex, also known as V1. It is the largest visual area in the brain and the first to receive input from the retina.

When this area is stimulated by strong and spatially homogeneous images, brain waves (oscillations) arise at a specific frequency called thegammaband (3080 Hz). But not all images generate this effect to the same extent.

Color is hard to define

Recently, a lot of research has attempted to explore which specific input drives gamma waves, explains Benjamin J. Stauch, first author of the study. One visual input seems to be colored surfaces. Especially if they are red. Researchers interpreted this to mean that red is evolutionarily special to the visual system because, for example, fruits are often red.

But how can the effect of color be scientifically proven? Or refuted? After all, it is difficult to define a color objectively, and it is equally difficult to compare colors between different studies.

Every computer monitor reproduces a color differently, so red on one screen is not the same as on another. In addition, there are a variety of ways to define colors: based on a single monitor, perceptual judgments, or based on what their input does to thehuman retina.

Colors activate photoreceptor cells

Humans perceive color when photoreceptor cells, the so-called cones, are activated in the retina. They respond to light stimuli by converting them into electrical signals, which are then transmitted to the brain.

To recognize colors, we need several types of cones. Each type is particularly receptive to a specific range of wavelengths: red (L cones), green (M cones), or blue (S cones). The brain then compares how strongly the respective cones have reacted and deduces a color impression.

It works similarly for all human beings. It would therefore be possible to define colors objectively by measuring how strongly they activate the different retinal cones. Scientific studies with macaques have shown that the early primate visual system has two color axes based on these cones: the L-M axis compares red to green, and the S(L+M) axis is yellow to violet.

We believe that a color coordinate system based on these two axes is the right one to define colors when researchers want to explore the strength of gamma oscillations. It definescolorsaccording to how strongly and in what way they activate the earlyvisual system, Benjamin J. Stauch says.

He and his team wanted to measure a larger sample of individuals (N = 30) because previous work on color-related gamma oscillations has mostly been run withsmall samplesof a few primates or human participants, and the spectra of cone activation can vary genetically from individual to individual,

Red and green have an equal effect

In doing so, Benjamin J. Stauch and his team investigated whether the color red is special and whether this color causes stronger gamma oscillations than green of comparable color intensity (i.e., cone contrast).

They also explored a side question: Can color-induced gamma oscillations also be detected by magnetoencephalography (MEG), a method for measuring the magnetic activities of the brain?

They conclude that the color red is not particularly strong in terms of the strength of the gamma oscillations it induces. Rather, red and green produce equally strong gamma oscillations in the early visual cortex at the same absolute L-M cone contrast.

Moreover, color-induced gamma waves can be measured in human MEG when treated carefully, so future research could follow the 3R principles foranimal experiments(reduce, replace, refine) by using humans rather than nonhuman primates.

Colors that activate only the S-cone (blue) generally appear to elicit only weak neuronal responses in the early visual cortex. To some extent, this is to be expected, since the S-cone is less common in the primate retina, evolutionarily older, and more sluggish.

The results of this study led by ESI scientists contribute to understanding how the early human visual cortex encodes images and may one day be used to help develop visual prostheses. These prostheses may attempt to activate the visual cortex to induce vision-like perceptual effects in people with damaged retinas. However, this goal is still a long way off.

Much more needs to be understood about the specific responses of the visual cortex to visual input.

Author: Press OfficeSource: ESIContact: Press Office ESIImage: The image is credited to ESI/C. Kernberger

Original Research: Open access.Human visual gamma for color stimuli by Benjamin J Stauch et al. eLife

Abstract

Human visual gamma for color stimuli

Strong gamma-band oscillations in primate early visual cortex can be induced by homogeneous color surfaces (Peter et al., 2019; Shirhatti and Ray, 2018). Compared to other hues, particularly strong gamma oscillations have been reported for red stimuli.

However, precortical color processing and the resultant strength of input to V1 have often not been fully controlled for. Therefore, stronger responses to red might be due to differences in V1 input strength.

We presented stimuli that had equal luminance and cone contrast levels in a color coordinate system based on responses of the lateral geniculate nucleus, the main input source for area V1. With these stimuli, we recorded magnetoencephalography in 30 human participants.

We found gamma oscillations in early visual cortex which, contrary to previous reports, did not differ between red and green stimuli of equal L-M cone contrast.

Notably, blue stimuli with contrast exclusively on the S-cone axis induced very weak gamma responses, as well as smaller event-related fields and poorer change-detection performance.

The strength of human color gamma responses for stimuli on the L-M axis could be well explained by L-M cone contrast and did not show a clear red bias when L-M cone contrast was properly equalized.

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The Effect of the Color Red on Brain Waves - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

New Study Undermines the Theory That Depressed People Are Just More Realistic – Neuroscience News

Summary: Depressive realism, a theory that has been touted since the late 1970s, states those with depression are more realistic in how they judge the control they have over their lives. A new study says the evidence is not there to sustain this old theory.

Source: UC Berkeley

Are depressed people simply more realistic in judging how much they control their lives, while others view the world through rose-colored lenses, living under the illusion that they have more control than they do?

Thats the general idea behind depressive realism, a theory that has held sway in science and popular culture for more than four decades.

The problem is, its just not true, new research finds.

Its an idea that exerts enough appeal that lots of people seem to believe it, but the evidence just isnt there to sustain it, says Professor Don Moore, the Lorraine Tyson Mitchell Chair in Leadership and Communication at UC Berkeleys Haas School of Business and co-author of the study in the journalCollabra:Psychology. The good news is you dont have to be depressed to understand how much control you have.

Depressive realism

The concept of depressive realism stems from a 1979 study ofcollege studentsexamining whether they could predict how much control they had over whether a light turned green when they pushed a button.

The original research concluded that the depressed students were better at identifying when they had no control over the lights, while those who werent depressed tended to overestimate their level of control.

Moore and his colleagues set out to try to replicate those findings as part of a broader effort to restore trust inscientific research, much of which is woven into the fabric of the scientific community and wider culture. Researchers are revisiting bedrock studies to shore up the most basic of scientific principles: Can the researchand its conclusionsbe replicated?

Why test the theory of depressive realism in particular? Its decades-long infusion into science, culture, and even potential mental health treatment policy makes it important, Moore says. The original study, for instance, was cited more than 2,000 times in subsequent studies or research, according to Google Scholar.

At the top of the list of reasons why we ought to revisit this particular article is its widespread acceptance in both the scholarly and popular literature, says Moore, who studies overconfidence, confidence, and decision-making. That means a lot of people are building theories or policies premised on this effect being true. If its not, its really important to establish that.

Replicating the original study

Moore co-authored the study with University of California Berkeley psychology professor Sheri Johnson and former undergraduate student researcher Karin Garrett, BA 21, along with University of Miami doctoral student Amelia Dev, BA 17.

The authors studied two groups of participants, whom they screened for depression via a questionnaire. The first group of 248 participants came from Amazons Mechanical Turk, an online service that provides paid survey-takers and study participants from a range of backgrounds, in this case all over 18 years old. The second group was made up of 134 college students who participated in return for college credit.

The researchers added or used more modern and robust measurements for the study. For example, they added a mechanism to measure bias, and experimentally varied the amount of control participants actually had.

Participants performed a task similar to that in the 1979 study. In 40 rounds, each chose whether to press a button, after which a lightbulb or a black box appeared. Each was told to figure out whether pushing (or not pushing) the button impacted whether the light came on. After the rounds, each reported how much control they had over the light.

Both the online groups and college student groups were split into three experimental conditions. Each condition experienced different relationships between the button and the light during the 40 rounds.

The participants in the first two conditions had no actual control over the lights appearance, yet saw it illuminate one-quarter or three-quarters of the time, respectively. Participants in the third condition had some control, seeing the light three-quarters of the time after pushing the button.

The researchers were unable to replicate the original studys results. In fact, people in the online group with a higher level of depression overestimated their controla direct contradiction to the original study. That finding may be driven by anxiety rather than depression, the researchers note, an observation Moore says merits further study.

In the college student group, depression levels had little impact on their view of their control, the authors found.

Researchers also tested for overconfidence. Study participants were asked to estimate their scores on an intelligence test. Depression had no impact there, either.

Results undermine the theory

The results, Moore says, undermined his belief in depressive realism.

The study does not suggest that there are benefits to being depressed, so no one should seek depression as a cure to their cognitive biases, Moore says.

Imagine, for example, a manager hiring someone who is depressed because they believebased on the original studythat the person is less likely to be overconfident and will have better judgment. That would be a mistake, Moore says.

While depression may not improve judgment, the issue of how to accurately gauge our level of control in various situations has broader implications throughout life, Moore says.

We live with a great deal of uncertainty about how much control we haveover our careers, our health, our body weight, our friendships, or our happiness, says Moore. What actions can we take that really matter? If we want to make good choices in life, its very helpful to know what we control and what we dont.

Author: Press OfficeSource: UC BerkeleyContact: Press Office UC BerkeleyImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Sadder Wiser: Depressive Realism is not Robust to Replication by Amelia Shepley Dev et al. Collabra:Psychology

Abstract

Sadder Wiser: Depressive Realism is not Robust to Replication

The theory of depressive realism holds that depressed individuals are less prone to optimistic bias, and are thus more realistic, in assessing their control or performance.

Since the theory was proposed 40 years ago, many innovations have been validated for testing cognitive accuracy, including improved measures of bias in perceived control and performance.

We incorporate several of those innovations in a well-powered, pre-registered study designed to identify depressive realism. Amazon MTurk workers (N = 246) and undergraduate students (N = 134) completed a classic contingency task, an overconfidence task, and measures of mental health constructs, including depression and anxiety.

We measured perceived control throughout the contingency task, allowing us to compare control estimates at the trial-level to estimates assessed at task conclusion. We found no evidence that depressive symptoms relate to illusory control or to overconfidence.

Our results suggest that despite its popular acceptance, depressive realism is not replicable.

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New Study Undermines the Theory That Depressed People Are Just More Realistic - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

A New Function of the Cerebellum – Neuroscience News

Summary: The cerebellum plays a key role in the storage of both positive and negative memories of emotional events.

Source: University of Basel

The cerebellum is known primarily for the regulation of movement. Researchers at the University of Basel have now discovered that the cerebellum also plays an important role in remembering emotional experiences.

The study appears in the journalPNAS.

Both positive and negative emotional experiences are stored particularly well in memory. This phenomenon is important to our survival, since we need to remember dangerous situations in order to avoid them in the future.

Previous studies have shown that a brain structure called the amygdala, which is important in the processing of emotions, plays a central role in this phenomenon.

Emotions activate the amygdala, which in turn facilitates the storage of information in various areas of the cerebrum.

The current research, led by Professor Dominique de Quervain and Professor Andreas Papassotiropoulos at the University of Basel, investigates the role of the cerebellum in storing emotional experiences. In a large-scale study, the researchers showed 1,418 participants emotional and neutral images and recorded the subjects brain activity using magnetic resonance imaging.

In a memory test conducted later, the positive and negative images were remembered by the participants much better than the neutral images. The improved storage of emotional images was linked with an increase in brain activity in the areas of the cerebrum already known to play a part.

However, the team also identified increased activity in the cerebellum.

The cerebellum in communication with the cerebrum

The researchers were also able to demonstrate that the cerebellum shows stronger communication with various areas of the cerebrum during the process of enhanced storage of the emotional images. It receives information from the cingulate gyrus a region of the brain that is important in the perception and evaluation of feelings.

Furthermore, the cerebellum sends out signals to various regions of the brain, including the amygdala and hippocampus. The latter plays a central role in memory storage.

These results indicate that the cerebellum is an integral component of a network that is responsible for the improved storage of emotional information, says de Quervain.

Although an improved memory for emotional events is a crucial mechanism for survival, it does have its downsides: in the case of very negative experiences, it can lead to recurring anxiety.

This means that the findings, which have now been released, may also be relevant in understanding psychiatric conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Basel research on emotions and memory

The current study forms part of a large-scale research project conducted by the Research Platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences (MCN) at the University of Basel and the University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK) Basel.

The aim of this project is to gain a better understanding of emotional and cognitive processes and to transfer results from basic research to clinical projects.

Author: Angelika JacobsSource: University of BaselContact: Angelika Jacobs University of BaselImage: The image is credited to MCN, University of Basel

Original Research: Open access.Human cerebellum and corticocerebellar connections involved in emotional memory enhancement by Dominique de Quervain et al. PNAS

Abstract

Human cerebellum and corticocerebellar connections involved in emotional memory enhancement

Emotional information is better remembered than neutral information. Extensive evidence indicates that the amygdala and its interactions with other cerebral regions play an important role in the memory-enhancing effect of emotional arousal.

While the cerebellum has been found to be involved in fear conditioning, its role in emotional enhancement of episodic memory is less clear.

To address this issue, we used a whole-brain functional MRI approach in 1,418 healthy participants. First, we identified clusters significantly activated during enhanced memory encoding of negative and positive emotional pictures. In addition to the well-known emotional memoryrelated cerebral regions, we identified a cluster in the cerebellum.

We then used dynamic causal modeling and identified several cerebellar connections with increased connection strength corresponding to enhanced emotional memory, including one to a cluster covering the amygdala and hippocampus, and bidirectional connections with a cluster covering the anterior cingulate cortex.

The present findings indicate that the cerebellum is an integral part of a network involved in emotional enhancement of episodic memory.

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A New Function of the Cerebellum - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Beautiful brain: exhibit illuminates the human connections behind neuroscience – University of Alberta

It can be hard to get your head around the scope of neuroscience. The never-ending and complex interactions between all of the neurons that drive our nervous systems and our brains are almost unfathomable. Just a small malfunction can lead to disease, yet research to find potential repairs so far just scratches the surface of what there is to know and understand.

This is why pharmacology professor Simonetta Sipione an expert in the causes of neurodegeneration in Huntingtons disease and member of the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute reached out to experts from other disciplines to give others insight into neuroscience research.

The result is Connections: Bringing Neuroscience and Art Together, a luminous art exhibit of 70 multimedia pieces and a few poems that has been on display at the Friends of University Hospitals McMullen Gallery over the summer and is now available online and as a book.

The exhibit depicts the beauty of the brain, its fragility, and the hope that connects everyone touched by the field of neuroscience from patients to family members, scientists and clinicians. The institute conceived and sponsored the cross-faculty collaboration between the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and the Faculty of Arts.

As scientists, we had this desire to share with the general public our excitement for the beauty of the brain, for the way the brain works, things that are revealed on a daily basis during our research work at the institute, says Sipione.

But they also wanted to connect directly on an emotional level with people living with brain diseases and mental health problems.

We wanted to send the message that we hear them, we see them, and we really work hard as scientists and as clinicians to clarify the mysteries of the brain and understand what goes wrong in diseases and develop treatments, Sipione says.

The images on their own and as a collection are striking. A fractured photo collage depicts the nonlinear thought of a person with dementia. A painted face with flesh dripping off one side to reveal the skull illustrates the experience of chronic migraines. A sculpture of wool, silk, wire and wood shows a female figure bent over with the anguish of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social anxiety, stress, stroke, autism, benign brain tumour, depression, borderline personality disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder all are explored in submissions sent in by U of A students, neuroscience researchers, professional artists, and community members with lived experience who make art to heal.

The materials used are just as varied as the artists: paint, beads, glass, metal, even sticky notes. Some are actual medical images, such as the live photo of a larval zebrafishs eye submitted by neuroscience post-doctoral fellow Chinmayee Das. Her piece, An angle of observation, captures the moment when the fish perceives a threat and calcium rushes into its eye cells to trigger a fight-or-flight response.

A masters student in the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute graduate program, An Bui studies recovery after stroke, but she also works as a freelance artist and illustrator. Her print, A beautiful mind, shows a doctor peering into the eye of a patient, with flowers and leaves of gold depicting what the doctor sees inside her mind.

There are so many ways connections are made in neuroscience, between different parts of the brain, between the brain and the rest of the body systems, and most importantly, between humans and humans, Bui says.

Master of fine arts candidate Emily Legleitners woodcut on mulberry paper, entitled I will nestle myself within your hunger for the ground, depicts her personal struggle with anxiety. Legleitner says sharing her own experiences helps others feel safe to share stories of their own mental health.

Art can be a very powerful tool in this way: it opens doors and asks us to grapple with difficult questions, Legleitner says.

Sipione collaborated with assistant professor of art Marilne Oliver, assistant professor in design studies Gillian Harvey, and professor of French and media studies Daniel Laforest. The trio had previously worked together on Dyscorpia, an exhibition exploring the impact of technology on the human body.

They considered the title Disconnections, since that is often what happens in disease, but instead settled on Connections as a better description of the goals of the project. A class ofHarveys visual communication design students designed concepts for the visualidentity, which Harvey applied to the design of the catalogue, website and exhibition. Laforest wrote an essay on the overarching theme of the exhibition and introductions to the three parts of the collection.

The purpose of our efforts is to display the beautiful connections that exist among our brain cells; to weave together the threads that bridge neuroscience research, clinical care, and recovery from brain diseases and mental health disorders; to amplify the warm, inspiring, healing power of art; and most importantly, to highlight our human connection, he wrote on the projects website.

Laforest is struck by how the artists reveal their own stories through their art.

It reaches very deep for a lot of these artists, showing experiences that are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes awesome, but every time there's a lot of personal emotion tied to both being ill and to healing, he says.

For Oliver, the exhibit is like a conversation between the artworks and the artists, illuminating connections between people, between art and science, and between illness and health.

Its only when we're surrounded by the pieces that we realize there are very few images that have depth of field, and the surfaces are often kind of fragmented or fractured, Oliver notes.

Harvey agrees, pointing out that the layering in each piece is almost like a symbolic representation of psychosis or brain dysfunction.

For Sipione, she hopes the exhibit will help people understand the importance of scientific research on disease mechanisms and treatments, and that her neuroscience colleagues and students will find a powerful emotional stimulus for their work from the exhibit.

The art and the contributions of all these many artists help us remember why we do what we do.

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Beautiful brain: exhibit illuminates the human connections behind neuroscience - University of Alberta

Neuroscience

Omega-3s Linked to Improved Brain Structure and Cognition at Midlife – Neuroscience News

Summary: Boosting omega-3 fatty acid intake helps to preserve brain health and improve cognition in middle age, a new study reports. For those with the Alzheimers associated APOE4 gene, omega-3 fatty acid intake was associated with greater hippocampal volume and less small vessel disease.

Source: UT San Antonio

Eating cold-water fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids may preserve brain health and enhance cognition in middle age, new evidence indicates.

Having at least some omega-3s in red blood cells was associated with better brain structure and cognitive function among healthy study volunteers in their 40s and 50s, according to research published online Oct. 5 inNeurology.

Faculty of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) and other investigators of the Framingham Heart Study conducted the analysis.

Studies have looked at this association in older populations. The new contribution here is that, even at younger ages, if you have a diet that includes some omega-3 fatty acids, you are already protecting your brain for most of the indicators of brain aging that we see at middle age, said Claudia Satizabal, PhD, assistant professor of population health sciences with the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimers and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio. Satizabal is the lead author of the study.

Volunteers average age was 46. The team looked at the relation of red blood cell omega-3 fatty acid concentrations with MRI and cognitive markers of brain aging. Researchers also studied the effect of omega-3 red blood cell concentrations in volunteers who carried APOE4, a genetic variation linked to higher risk of Alzheimers disease.

The study of 2,183 dementia- and stroke-free participants found that:

Researchers used a technique called gas chromatography to measure docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrations from red blood cells. The omega-3 index was calculated as DHA plus EPA.

Omega-3 fatty acids such as EPA and DHA are key micronutrients that enhance and protect the brain, said study coauthor Debora Melo van Lent, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow at the Biggs Institute. Our study is one of the first to observe this effect in a younger population. More studies in this age group are needed.

The team divided participants into those who had very little omega-3 red blood cell concentration and those who had at least a little and more.

We saw the worst outcomes in the people who had the lowest consumption of omega-3s, Satizabal said. So, that is something interesting. Although the more omega-3 the more benefits for the brain, you just need to eat some to see benefits.

Researchers dont know how DHA and EPA protect the brain. One theory is that, because those fatty acids are needed in the membrane of neurons, when they are replaced with other types of fatty acids, thats when neurons (nerve cells) become unstable. Another explanation may have to deal with the anti-inflammatory properties of DHA and EPA.

Its complex. We dont understand everything yet, but we show that, somehow, if you increase your consumption of omega-3s even by a little bit, you are protecting your brain, Satizabal said.

Its encouraging that DHA and EPA also protected APOE4 carriers brain health. Its genetics, so you cant change it, Melo van Lent said, referring to the vulnerability of this risk group.

So, if there is a modifiable risk factor that can outweigh genetic predisposition, thats a big gain.

Author: Will SansomSource: UT San AntonioContact: Will Sansom UT San AntonioImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: The findings will appear in Neurology

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Omega-3s Linked to Improved Brain Structure and Cognition at Midlife - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Scientists Hit Their Creative Peak Early in Their Careers – Neuroscience News

Summary: Overall, scientists and researchers are most innovative and creative early in their careers, a new study reports.

Source: Ohio State University

A new study provides the best evidence to date that scientists overall are most innovative and creative early in their careers.

Findings showed that, on one important measure, the impact of biomedical scientists published work drops by between one-half to two-thirds over the course of their careers.

Thats a huge decline in impact, saidBruce Weinberg, co-author of the study and professor ofeconomics at The Ohio State University.

We found that as they get older, the work of biomedical scientists was just not as innovative and impactful.

But the reasons behind this trend of declining innovativeness make the findings more nuanced and show why it is still important to support scientists later in their careers, Weinberg said.

The study was published online Oct. 7, 2022 in theJournal of Human Resources.

Researchers have been studying the relationship between age or experience with innovativeness for nearly 150 years, but no consensus has emerged. Findings, in fact, have been all over the map, Weinberg said.

For a topic that so many people with so many approaches have studied for so long, it is pretty remarkable that we still dont have a conclusive answer.

One advantage of this study is that the authors had a huge dataset to work with 5.6 million biomedical science articles published over a 30-year period, from 1980 to 2009, and compiled by MEDLINE. These data include detailed information on the authors.

This new study measured the innovativeness of the articles by biomedical scientists using a standard method the number of times other scientists mention (or cite) a study in their own work. The more times a study is cited, the more important it is thought to be.

With detailed information on the authors of each paper, the researchers in this study were able to compare how often scientists work was cited early in their careers compared to later in their careers.

As they analyzed the data, Weinberg and his colleagues made a discovery that was a key to understanding how innovation changes over a career.

They found that scientists who were the least innovative early in their careers tended to drop out of the field and quit publishing new research. It was the most productive, the most important young scholars who were continuing to produce research 20 or 30 years later.

Early in their careers, scientists show a wide range of innovativeness. But over time, we see selective attrition of the people who are less innovative, Weinberg said.

So when you look at all biomedical scientists as a group, it doesnt look like innovation is declining over time. But the fact that the least innovative researchers are dropping out when they are relatively young disguises the fact that, for any one person, innovativeness tends to decline over their career.

Results showed that for the average researcher, a scientific article they published late in their career was cited one-half to two-thirds less often than an article published early in their careers.

But it wasnt just citation counts that suggest researchers were less innovative later in their career.

We constructed additional metrics that captured the breadth of an articles impact based on the range of fields that cite it, whether the article is employing the best and latest ideas, citing the best and latest research, and whether the article is drawing from multiple disciplines, said Huifeng Yu, a co-author, who worked on the study as a PhD student at the University at Albany, SUNY.

These other metrics also lead to the same conclusion about declining innovativeness.

The findings showing selective attrition among less-innovative scientists can help explain why previous studies have had such conflicting results, Weinberg said.

Studies using Nobel Laureates and other eminent researchers, for whom attrition is relatively small, tend to find earlier peak ages for innovation. In contrast, studies using broader cross-sections of scientists dont normally find an early peak in creativity, because they dont account for the attrition.

Weinberg noted that attrition in the scientific community may not relate only to innovativeness. Scientists who are women or from underrepresented minorities may not have had the opportunities they needed to succeed, although this study cant quantify that effect.

Those scientists who succeeded probably did so through a combination of talent, luck, personal background and prior training, he said.

The findings suggest that organizations that fund scientists have to maintain a delicate balance between supporting youth and experience.

Young scientists tend to be at their peak of creativity, but there is also a big mix with some being much more innovative than others. You may not be supporting the very best researchers, said Gerald Marschke, a co-author of the study and associate professor of economics at the University at Albany,

With older, more experienced scientists, you are getting the ones who have stood the test of time, but who on average are not at their best anymore.

Other co-authors on the study were Matthew Ross of New York University and Joseph Staudt of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Funding: The research was supported by theNational Institute on Aging, theOffice of Behavioral and Social Science Research, theNational Science Foundation, theEwing Marion KauffmanandAlfred P. Sloanfoundations, and theNational Bureau of Economic Research.

Author: Jeff GrabmeierSource: Ohio State UniversityContact: Jeff Grabmeier Ohio State UniversityImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Publish or Perish: Selective Attrition as a Unifying Explanation for Patterns in Innovation over the Career by Bruce Weinberg et al. Journal of Human Resources

Abstract

Publish or Perish: Selective Attrition as a Unifying Explanation for Patterns in Innovation over the Career

Studying 5.6 million biomedical science articles published over three decades, we reconcile conflicts in a longstanding interdisciplinary literature on scientists life-cycle productivity by controlling for selective attrition and distinguishing between research quantity and quality.

While research quality declines monotonically over the career, this decline is easily overlooked because higher ability authors have longer publishing careers.

Our results have implications for broader questions of human capital accumulation over the career and federal research policies that shift funding to early-career researchers while funding researchers at their most creative, these policies must be undertaken carefully because young researchers are less able on average.

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Scientists Hit Their Creative Peak Early in Their Careers - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

3D Neuroscience Market Demand Analysis and Projected huge Growth by 2030 – openPR

The most recent report published by Market Research Inc. indicates that the 3D Neuroscience Market is likely to accelerate significantly in the next few years. Specialists have studied market drivers, restraints, risks and prospects in the global market. The 3D Neuroscience Market report shows the likely direction of the market in the coming years along with its assessments. A meticulous study purposes to understand the market price. By analyzing the competitive landscape, the authors of the report have made excellent efforts to help readers understand the key business strategies that significant organizations are utilizing to keep up with market sustainability.3D neuroscience is defined as 3 dimensional study of nervous system, which is related to evaluating and imaging of the brain activity. It is broad term which focuses on cellular, molecular, developmental, structural, evolutionary computing, psychosocial and medical aspects of the nervous system.

Key Players in the 3D Neuroscience Market Research Report:Doric lenses Inc., GE Healthcare, Siemens Helthineers, Laserglow Technologies, Mightex Systems, Kendall Research Systems, Neuronexus Technologies, Prixmatic Ltd., Noldus Information Technology, Bioserve GmbH

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The report includes organizational profiles of virtually all major players in the 3D Neuroscience market. The Company Profiles segment provides important analysis of strengths and weaknesses, business trends, recent advances, mergers and acquisitions, expansion plans, global presence, market presence, and portfolios of products from significant market players. This data can be used by players and other market members to expand their productivity and streamline their business strategies.

By Type:Instruments and consumablesSoftware and services

By Technology:Brain imagingNeuro-MicroscopyElectrophysiologyNeuroproteomic Analysis

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The global market for 3D Neuroscience is segmented on the basis of product, type. These segments have been concentrated separately. The detailed examination permits evaluation of the factors influencing the 3D Neuroscience Market. Specialists have analyzed the nature of growth, investments in research and development, changing utilization patterns, and rising number of applications. Furthermore, experts have additionally assessed the changing economics around the 3D Neuroscience Market that are likely affect its course.

The report's regional analysis segment allows players to focus on high-growth regions and countries that could help them to expand their presence in the 3D Neuroscience market. Aside from expanding their footprint in the 3D Neuroscience market, the regional analysis assists players to increase their sales while having a better comprehension of customer behavior in specific regions and countries. The report provides CAGR, revenue, production, consumption and other significant measurements and figures related to the global and regional markets. It shows how different type, application, and regional segments are advancing in the 3D Neuroscience market in terms of growth.

Some of the Key benefit in the report:Which are the five top players of the 3D Neuroscience market?How might the 3D Neuroscience showcase change in the following five years?Which item and application will take a largest part of the 3D Neuroscience showcase?What are the drivers and limitations of the 3D Neuroscience market?Which local market will show the most elevated development?What will be the CAGR and size of the 3D Neuroscience market all through the estimate period?

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3D Neuroscience Market Demand Analysis and Projected huge Growth by 2030 - openPR

Neuroscience

New Star Rating System Helps People Make Informed Decisions About Diet and Healthy Habits – Neuroscience News

Summary: A new meta-analysis focuses on what we know, and what we dont know about whats good and bad for our health.

Source: IHME

A new set of meta-analysesclarifies the often complex and contradictory health guidance linking certain diets, behaviors, and conditions to illness.

The analyses, conducted by researchers from theInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washingtons School of Medicine, were published today inNature Medicine.

IHME analyzed the strength of the evidence for 180 pairs of risk factors and health outcomes such as smoking and lung cancer, diet low in vegetables and type 2 diabetes, and high systolic blood pressure and ischemic heart disease.

The findings are presented in an easy-to-understand star rating system showing the strength of evidence for each link.

The new star rating system aims to help people make personal health decisions, inform health policy, and guide future research.

There has been extensive research on the links between various risks and health outcomes, but findings are often very different across studies, explained Dr. Christopher Murray, Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and a lead author of the study.

One of the goals of this new star rating system is to clear up confusion and help consumers make informed decisions about diet, exercise, and other activities that can affect their long-term health.

In many areas, IHME found that the link between a risk factor and a health outcome was weaker than some might believe. Nearly two-thirds of the risk-outcome pairs investigated 112 out of 180 received only a one- or two-star rating.

These include widely publicized pairings such as diet high in unprocessed red meat and ischemic stroke (one star). In other cases, IHMEs analysis confirmed widely held consensus.

Eight risk-outcome pairs received a five-star rating, including smoking and lung cancer and high systolic blood pressure and ischemic heart disease. A list of the star ratings, including a data visualization tool, can be found onIHMEs website.

Additional star ratings will be added in the near future.

The analysis takes into account both the magnitude of risk shown by studies to date, as well as the consistency of findings between those studies.

The star ratings are based on the most conservative interpretation of the available evidence, to limit the impact of error or bias in the underlying data. A one-star rating indicates that there may be no true association between the behavior or condition and the health outcome.

Two stars indicates the behavior or condition is at least associated with a 0-15% change in the likelihood of a health outcome, while three stars indicates at least a 15-50% change, four stars indicates at least a 50-85% change, and five stars indicates a more than 85% change.

For example, the five-star rating for smoking and lung cancer means that smoking increases the likelihood of developing or dying of lung cancer by more than 85%. At the other end of the scale, the one-star rating for red meat and ischemic stroke means that there may not be an association in this case, because studies of this link have produced inconsistent results.

Notable ratings from the study include:

In addition to helping consumers, our analysis can guide policymakers in developing health and wellness education programs, so that they focus on the risk factors with the greatest impact on health, said Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou, Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and a lead author of the study.

Health researchers can also use this analysis to identify areas where current evidence is weak and more definitive studies are needed. The IHME researchers also note that while the meta-analytical approach employed by this study should not replace expert deliberation, it can provide useful input for expert committees and advisory groups making formal health policy recommendations.

IHMEs analysis, which draws from the landmarkGlobal Burden of Disease study, which marks 30 years this year, will be updated on a regular basis.

As a result of constantly evolving research, the star ratings may change as more data becomes available. This is particularly the case for pairings with low star ratings due to limited or contradictory research.

On the other hand, high star ratings are unlikely to change significantly because the evidence is already strong.

Author: Connie KimSource: IHMEContact: Connie Kim IHMEImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: The findings will appear in Nature Medicine

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New Star Rating System Helps People Make Informed Decisions About Diet and Healthy Habits - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Patients at Higher Risk of Cancer Spread to the Brain – Neuroscience News

Summary: Individuals with a rare type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer are at greater risk of their cancer spreading to the brain.

Source: Wiley

New research indicates that among individuals with breast cancer, those with a rare subtype called inflammatory breast cancer face a higher risk that their cancer will spread, or metastasize, to the brain.

The study is published byWileyonline inCANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Studies have demonstrated higher rates of brain metastases in patients with inflammatory breast cancer, but detailed information is lacking. To provide insights into the incidence and risk factors for brain metastases in this patient population, Laura E.G. Warren, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and her colleagues analyzed data on 372 patients with stage III inflammatory breast cancer and 159 with stage IV inflammatory breast cancer.

Over a median follow-up of 5 years, the incidence of brain metastases at 1, 2, and 5 years was 5%, 9%, and 18% among patients who presented with stage III disease, and 17%, 30%, and 42% among those with stage IV disease.

Patients with triple-negative breast cancer faced a particularly high risk, and when they did experience brain metastases, their survival time was shorter than those with hormone receptorpositive or HER2-positive breast cancer who experienced brain metastases.

Higher risks of brain metastases were also seen in patients whose cancer had metastasized to other parts of the body besides the brain, especially when this occurred at a young age.

The relatively high incidence of brain metastases seen in the study population highlights the need for future research on the potential role for surveillance brain imaging for high-risk patients. There is an open, phase II, single armstudyat Dana-Farber Cancer Institute examining this question, said Dr. Warren.

It also emphasizes the need to obtain brain imaging in patients with inflammatory breast cancer presenting with neurologic symptoms given the high incidence of brain metastases in this population.

Most patients in this study who were diagnosed with brain metastases had neurologic symptoms, but because some patients may have undetected, asymptomatic brain metastases, the true incidence in patients with inflammatory breast cancer is likely even higher than what Dr. Warren and her colleagues observed.

An accompanyingeditorialnotes that when considering whether to implement routine brain imaging tests in patients with inflammatory breast cancer, it will be important to determine whether earlier detection of brain metastases leads to improvements in both survival and quality of life.

Author: Sara Henning-StoutSource: WileyContact: Sara Henning-Stout WileyImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Incidence, characteristics, and management of central nervous system metastases in patients with inflammatory breast cancer by Laura E.G. Warren et al. CANCER

Abstract

Incidence, characteristics, and management of central nervous system metastases in patients with inflammatory breast cancer

Patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) have a high risk of central nervous system metastasis (mCNS). The purpose of this study was to quantify the incidence of and identify risk factors for mCNS in patients with IBC.

The authors retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with IBC between 1997 and 2019. mCNS-free survival time was defined as the date from the diagnosis of IBC to the date of diagnosis of mCNS or the date of death, whichever occurred first. A competing risks hazard model was used to evaluate risk factors for mCNS.

A total of 531 patients were identified; 372 patients with stage III and 159 patients with de novo stage IV disease. During the study, there were a total of 124 patients who had mCNS. The 1-, 2-, and 5-year incidence of mCNS was 5%, 9%, and 18% in stage III patients (median follow-up: 5.6years) and 17%, 30%, and 42% in stage IV patients (1.8years). Multivariate analysis identified triple-negative tumor subtype as a significant risk factor for mCNS for stage III patients. For patients diagnosed with metastatic disease, visceral metastasis as first metastatic site, triple-negative subtype, and younger age at diagnosis of metastases were risk factors for mCNS.

Patients with IBC, particularly those with triple-negative IBC, visceral metastasis, and those at a younger age at diagnosis of metastatic disease, are at significant risk of developing mCNS. Further investigation into prevention of mCNS and whether early detection of mCNS is associated with improved IBC patient outcomes is warranted.

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Inflammatory Breast Cancer Patients at Higher Risk of Cancer Spread to the Brain - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Mechanism for the Antidepressant Effect of Ketamine Revealed – Neuroscience News

Summary: Those with treatment-resistant depression showed significant improvement in symptoms and became more receptive to positive experiences following a one-week ketamine treatment regimen.

Source: Paris Brain Institute

Researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne University and clinicians from the AP-HP and at Paris Brain Institute identified one of the mechanisms explaining ketamine effect as an antidepressant.

Ketamine, usually used as an anesthetic, was administered to patients with severe resistant depression. This treatment led patients to present an increased ability to overcome their negative beliefs about themselves and the world when researchers presented them positive information.

These results, published in JAMA Psychiatry, open new therapeutic avenues for the management of antidepressant-resistant mood disorders.

Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder: it is estimated that 5 to 15% of the French population will experience a major depressive episode during their lifetime. All age groups and all social backgrounds are affected.

The disease is characterized by sadness and loss of hedonic feelings that positive events do not improve. Depressed patients progressively develop negative beliefs about themselves, the world, and the future, that may develop into suicidal thoughts. These negative beliefs remain even when the patient receives positive information.

About one-third of people with depression do not respond to the most prescribed antidepressants, leading to a diagnosis of treatment-resistant depression (TRD). For these people, finding new and effective therapies is a priority.

Ketamine, a commonly used anesthetic, has been shown to influence resistant depression. While conventional antidepressant treatments take time to be efficient (on average three weeks), ketamine has a rapid antidepressant effect, only a few hours after administration. The mechanisms associated with this fast-acting antidepressant effect are still unknown.

To identify these mechanisms, Dr. Hugo Bottemanne and the research team co-led at the Paris Brain Institute by Pr Philippe Fossati and Liane Schmidt, Inserm researcher, coordinated a clinical study involving 26 antidepressant-resistant patients (TRD) and 30 healthy controls.

During the protocol, patients and healthy subjects were first asked to estimate the probability of 40 negative events which could occur in their lives (e.g., have a car accident, get cancer, or lose their wallet).

After being informed of the actual occurrence risks in the general population, patients and healthy subjects were again asked to estimate the probability of these events occurring in their lives. The research team was interested in the updating of beliefs after getting information.

Results showed that healthy subjects tended to update their initial beliefs more after receiving factual and positive information, which was not the case in the depressed patient population.

In the suite of the study, TRD patients received three administrations of ketamine at a subanesthetic dose (0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes) in one week.

Only four hours after the first administration, patients ability to update their beliefs after receiving a positive information was increased. They became less sensitive to negative information and recovered an ability to update their knowledge com parable to that of control subjects.

Moreover, improvement in depressive symptoms after ketamine treatment was associated with these changes in belief updating, suggesting a link between clinical improvement and changes in this cognitive mechanism. In other words, the more patients belief updating ability was increased, the greater the improvement in symptoms was.

In conclusion, in this study, patients with antidepressant-resistant depression showed a significant decrease in symptoms and became more receptive to positive experiences after one week of ketamine treatment.

This work highlights for the first time a cognitive mechanism potentially involved in the early effect of ketamine. It paves the way to new research on antidepressant therapies modulating the mechanisms of belief updating.

Author: Nicolas BrardSource: Paris Brain InstituteContact: Nicolas Brard Paris Brain InstituteImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Evaluation of Early Ketamine Effects on Belief-Updating Biases in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression by Hugo Bottemanne et al. JAMA Psychiatry

Abstract

Evaluation of Early Ketamine Effects on Belief-Updating Biases in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression

Importance

Clinical research has shown that persistent negative beliefs maintain depression and that subanesthetic ketamine infusions induce rapid antidepressant responses.

Objective

To evaluate whether ketamine alters belief updating and how such cognitive effects are associated with the clinical effects of ketamine.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This study used an observational case-control protocol with a mixed-effects design that nested 2 groups by 2 testing time points. Observers were not blinded. Patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and healthy volunteer participants aged 34 to 68 years were included. Patients with TRD were diagnosed with major depressive disorder or bipolar depression, had a Montgomery-sberg Depression Rating Scale score greater than 20, a Maudsley Staging Method score greater than 7, and failed to respond to at least 2 prior antidepressant trials. Exclusion criteria were any other psychiatric, neurological, or neurosurgical comorbidities, substance use or addictive disorders, and recreational ketamine consumption. Data were collected from January to February 2019 and from May to December 2019, and data were analyzed from January 2020 to July 2021.

Exposures

Patients with TRD were observed 24 hours before single ketamine infusion, 4 hours after the infusion, and 4 hours after the third infusion, which was 1 week after the first infusion. Healthy control participants were observed twice 1 week apart without ketamine exposure.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Montgomery-sberg Depression Rating Scale score and belief updating after belief updating when patients received good news and bad news measured by a cognitive belief-updating task and mathematically formalized by a computational reinforcement learning model.

Results

Of 56 included participants, 29 (52%) were male, and the mean (SEM) age was 52.3 (1.2) years. A total of 26 patients with TRD and 30 control participants were included. A significant grouptesting time pointnews valence interaction showed that patients with TRD updated their beliefs more after good than bad news following a single ketamine infusion (controlled for age and education: =0.91; 95% CI, 1.58 to 0.24;t216=2.67;P=.008) than controls. Computational modeling showed that this effect was associated with asymmetrical learning rates (LRs) after ketamine treatment (good news LRs after ketamine, 0.51 [SEM, 0.04]; bad news LRs after ketamine 0.36 [SEM, 0.03],t25=3.8;P<.001) and partially mediated early antidepressant responses (patha*b: =1.00 [SEM, 0.66];t26=1.53;z=1.98;P=.04).

Conclusions and Relevance

These findings provide novel insights into the cognitive mechanisms of the action of ketamine in patients with TRD, with promising perspectives for augmented psychotherapy for individuals with mood disorders.

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Mechanism for the Antidepressant Effect of Ketamine Revealed - Neuroscience News