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The Lancet. Public Health Oct 2023Healthy sleep is essential for physical and mental health, and social wellbeing; however, across the globe, and particularly in developing countries, national public... (Review)
Review
Healthy sleep is essential for physical and mental health, and social wellbeing; however, across the globe, and particularly in developing countries, national public health agendas rarely consider sleep health. Sleep should be promoted as an essential pillar of health, equivalent to nutrition and physical activity. To improve sleep health across the globe, a focus on education and awareness, research, and targeted public health policies are needed. We recommend developing sleep health educational programmes and awareness campaigns; increasing, standardising, and centralising data on sleep quantity and quality in every country across the globe; and developing and implementing sleep health policies across sectors of society. Efforts are needed to ensure equity and inclusivity for all people, particularly those who are most socially and economically vulnerable, and historically excluded.
Topics: Humans; Public Health; Public Policy; Health Education; Health Policy; Sleep
PubMed: 37777291
DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00182-2 -
Sleep Medicine Clinics Dec 2023
Topics: Female; Humans; Women's Health; Sleep
PubMed: 38501533
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2023.09.001 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Aug 2023The consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks (UPF) has been associated with depression and inflammation and preclinical studies showed that some UPF components...
BACKGROUND
The consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks (UPF) has been associated with depression and inflammation and preclinical studies showed that some UPF components disrupt the amygdala-hippocampal complex. We combine diet, clinical and brain imaging data to investigate the relationship between the UPF consumption, depressive symptoms, and brain volumes in humans, considering interactions with obesity, and the mediation effect of inflammation biomarkers.
METHODS
One-hundred fifty-two adults underwent diet, depressive symptoms, anatomic magnetic resonance imaging assessments and laboratory tests. Relationships between the % of UPF consumption (in grams) of the total diet, depressive symptoms, and gray matter brain volumes were explored using several adjusted regression models, and in interaction with the presence of obesity. Whether inflammatory biomarkers (i.e., white blood cell count, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, c-reactive protein) mediate the previous associations was investigated using R mediation package.
RESULTS
High UPF consumption was associated with higher depressive symptoms in all participants (β = 0.178, CI = 0.008-0.261) and in those with obesity (β = 0.214, CI = -0.004-0.333). Higher consumption was also associated with lower volumes in the posterior cingulate cortex and the left amygdala, which in the participants with obesity also encompassed the left ventral putamen and the dorsal frontal cortex. White blood count levels mediated the association between UPF consumption and depressive symptoms (p = 0.022).
LIMITATIONS
The present study precludes any causal conclusions.
CONCLUSIONS
UPF consumption is associated with depressive symptoms and lower volumes within the mesocorticolimbic brain network implicated in reward processes and conflict monitoring. Associations were partially dependent on obesity and white blood cell count.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Food, Processed; Depression; Fast Foods; Diet; Obesity; Inflammation; Biomarkers
PubMed: 37207947
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.05.009 -
Sleep Medicine Clinics Dec 2023Postmenopause is defined retrospectively after 12 consecutive months of amenorrhea. It represents the end of the reproductive period and ovarian failure. A decrease in... (Review)
Review
Postmenopause is defined retrospectively after 12 consecutive months of amenorrhea. It represents the end of the reproductive period and ovarian failure. A decrease in estrogen leads to several changes in the short and long term. Among the early changes, vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) are particularly common, occurring in about 70% of women. In addition, there are changes in mood, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Insomnia occurs in almost 60% of postmenopausal women. Psychosocial aspects may also affect sleep. Proper diagnosis may lead to adequate treatment of sleep disturbances during menopause. Hormonal or other complementary therapies can improve sleep quality.
Topics: Female; Humans; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Retrospective Studies; Menopause; Sleep; Postmenopause
PubMed: 38501515
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2023.06.004 -
Cell Host & Microbe Dec 2023Gut microbiota has been linked to infant neurodevelopment. Here, an association between infant composite cognition and gut microbiota composition is established as soon...
Gut microbiota has been linked to infant neurodevelopment. Here, an association between infant composite cognition and gut microbiota composition is established as soon as 6 months. Higher diversity and evenness characterize microbial communities of infants with composite cognition above (Inf-aboveCC) versus below (Inf-belowCC) median values. Metaproteomic and metabolomic analyses establish an association between microbial histidine ammonia lyase and infant histidine metabolome with cognition. Fecal transplantation from Inf-aboveCC versus Inf-belowCC donors into germ-free mice shows that memory, assessed by a novel object recognition test, is a transmissible trait. Furthermore, Inf-aboveCC mice are enriched in species belonging to Phocaeicola, as well as Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium, previously linked to cognition. Finally, Inf-aboveCC mice show lower fecal histidine and urocanate:histidine and urocanate:glutamate ratios in the perirhinal cortex compared to Inf-belowCC mice. Overall, these findings reveal a causative role of gut microbiota on infant cognition, pointing at the modulation of histidine metabolite levels as a potential underlying mechanism.
Topics: Humans; Infant; Animals; Mice; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Histidine; Microbiota; Feces; Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
PubMed: 38052208
DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.11.004 -
Journal of Sleep Research Nov 2023Sleep problems are common in neurological conditions for which ketogenic dietary therapies (KDTs) are recognised as an effective intervention (drug-resistant epilepsy,... (Review)
Review
Sleep problems are common in neurological conditions for which ketogenic dietary therapies (KDTs) are recognised as an effective intervention (drug-resistant epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, and migraine). Given the composite framework of action of ketogenic dietary therapies, the prevalence of sleep disturbance, and the importance of sleep regulation, the present scoping review aimed at identifying and mapping available evidence of the effects of ketogenic dietary therapies on sleep. A comprehensive web-based literature search was performed retrieving publications published to June 2023 using PubMed and Scopus, yielding to 277 records. Twenty papers were finally selected and included in the review. Data were abstracted by independent coders. High variability was identified in study design and sleep outcome evaluation among the selected studies. Several changes in sleep quality and sleep structure under ketogenic dietary therapies were found, namely an improvement of overall sleep quality, improvement in the difficulty falling asleep and nighttime awakenings, improvement in daytime sleepiness and an increase of REM sleep. The relevance and possible physiological explanations of these changes, clinical recommendations, and future directions in the field are discussed.
PubMed: 37932966
DOI: 10.1111/jsr.14073 -
Psychophysiology May 2024
PubMed: 38108528
DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14504 -
Biology of Sex Differences Sep 2023In addition to social and cultural factors, sex differences in the central nervous system have a critical influence on behavior, although the neurobiology underlying...
BACKGROUND
In addition to social and cultural factors, sex differences in the central nervous system have a critical influence on behavior, although the neurobiology underlying these differences remains unclear. Interestingly, the Locus Coeruleus (LC), a noradrenergic nucleus that exhibits sexual dimorphism, integrates signals that are related to diverse activities, including emotions, cognition and pain. Therefore, we set-out to evaluate sex differences in behaviors related to LC nucleus, and subsequently, to assess the sex differences in LC morphology and function.
METHODS
Female and male C57BL/6J mice were studied to explore the role of the LC in anxiety, depressive-like behavior, well-being, pain, and learning and memory. We also explored the number of noradrenergic LC cells, their somatodendritic volume, as well as the electrophysiological properties of LC neurons in each sex.
RESULTS
While both male and female mice displayed similar depressive-like behavior, female mice exhibited more anxiety-related behaviors. Interestingly, females outperformed males in memory tasks that involved distinguishing objects with small differences and they also showed greater thermal pain sensitivity. Immunohistological analysis revealed that females had fewer noradrenergic cells yet they showed a larger dendritic volume than males. Patch clamp electrophysiology studies demonstrated that LC neurons in female mice had a lower capacitance and that they were more excitable than male LC neurons, albeit with similar action potential properties.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, this study provides new insights into the sex differences related to LC nucleus and associated behaviors, which may explain the heightened emotional arousal response observed in females.
Topics: Female; Male; Mice; Animals; Locus Coeruleus; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Neurons; Norepinephrine; Emotions
PubMed: 37770907
DOI: 10.1186/s13293-023-00550-7 -
JAMA Psychiatry Jun 2024Current interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are efficacious, yet effectiveness may be limited by adverse effects and high withdrawal rates.... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
IMPORTANCE
Current interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are efficacious, yet effectiveness may be limited by adverse effects and high withdrawal rates. Acupuncture is an emerging intervention with positive preliminary data for PTSD.
OBJECTIVE
To compare verum acupuncture with sham acupuncture (minimal needling) on clinical and physiological outcomes.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This was a 2-arm, parallel-group, prospective blinded randomized clinical trial hypothesizing superiority of verum to sham acupuncture. The study was conducted at a single outpatient-based site, the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California, with recruitment from April 2018 to May 2022, followed by a 15-week treatment period. Following exclusion for characteristics that are known PTSD treatment confounds, might affect biological assessment, indicate past nonadherence or treatment resistance, or indicate risk of harm, 93 treatment-seeking combat veterans with PTSD aged 18 to 55 years were allocated to group by adaptive randomization and 71 participants completed the intervention protocols.
INTERVENTIONS
Verum and sham were provided as 1-hour sessions, twice weekly, and participants were given 15 weeks to complete up to 24 sessions.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The primary outcome was pretreatment to posttreatment change in PTSD symptom severity on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale-5 (CAPS-5). The secondary outcome was pretreatment to posttreatment change in fear-conditioned extinction, assessed by fear-potentiated startle response. Outcomes were assessed at pretreatment, midtreatment, and posttreatment. General linear models comparing within- and between-group were analyzed in both intention-to-treat (ITT) and treatment-completed models.
RESULTS
A total of 85 male and 8 female veterans (mean [SD] age, 39.2 [8.5] years) were randomized. There was a large treatment effect of verum (Cohen d, 1.17), a moderate effect of sham (d, 0.67), and a moderate between-group effect favoring verum (mean [SD] Δ, 7.1 [11.8]; t90 = 2.87, d, 0.63; P = .005) in the intention-to-treat analysis. The effect pattern was similar in the treatment-completed analysis: verum d, 1.53; sham d, 0.86; between-group mean (SD) Δ, 7.4 (11.7); t69 = 2.64; d, 0.63; P = .01). There was a significant pretreatment to posttreatment reduction of fear-potentiated startle during extinction (ie, better fear extinction) in the verum but not the sham group and a significant correlation (r = 0.31) between symptom reduction and fear extinction. Withdrawal rates were low.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The acupuncture intervention used in this study was clinically efficacious and favorably affected the psychobiology of PTSD in combat veterans. These data build on extant literature and suggest that clinical implementation of acupuncture for PTSD, along with further research about comparative efficacy, durability, and mechanisms of effects, is warranted.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02869646.
Topics: Humans; Adult; Male; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Female; Middle Aged; Combat Disorders; Veterans; Young Adult; Treatment Outcome; Acupuncture Therapy; Reflex, Startle; Prospective Studies; Acupuncture, Ear
PubMed: 38381417
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.5651 -
The American Journal of Psychiatry Aug 2023The transition from childhood to adulthood represents the developmental time frame in which the majority of psychiatric disorders emerge. Recent efforts to identify risk... (Review)
Review
The transition from childhood to adulthood represents the developmental time frame in which the majority of psychiatric disorders emerge. Recent efforts to identify risk factors mediating the susceptibility to psychopathology have led to a heightened focus on both typical and atypical trajectories of neural circuit maturation. Mounting evidence has highlighted the immense neural plasticity apparent in the developing brain. Although in many cases adaptive, the capacity for neural circuit alteration also induces a state of vulnerability to environmental perturbations, such that early-life experiences have long-lasting implications for cognitive and emotional functioning in adulthood. The authors outline preclinical and neuroimaging studies of normative human brain circuit development, as well as parallel efforts covered in this issue of the , to identify brain circuit alterations in psychiatric disorders that frequently emerge in developing populations. Continued translational research into the interactive effects of neurobiological development and external factors will be crucial for identifying early-life risk factors that may contribute to the emergence of psychiatric illness and provide the key to optimizing treatments.
Topics: Humans; Child; Adolescent; Young Adult; Mental Disorders; Psychopathology; Brain; Emotions; Neurosciences
PubMed: 37525605
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.19010091