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The International Journal of Behavioral... Mar 2021Physical activity (PA) may positively stimulate the brain, cognition and mental health during adolescence, a period of dynamic neurobiological development.... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of a one-year vigorous physical activity intervention on fitness, cognitive performance and mental health in young adolescents: the Fit to Study cluster randomised controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
Physical activity (PA) may positively stimulate the brain, cognition and mental health during adolescence, a period of dynamic neurobiological development. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or vigorous PA interventions are time-efficient, scalable and can be easily implemented in existing school curricula, yet their effects on cognitive, academic and mental health outcomes are unclear. The primary aim of the Fit to Study trial was to investigate whether a pragmatic and scalable HIIT-style VPA intervention delivered during school physical education (PE) could improve attainment in maths. The primary outcome has previously been reported and was null. Here, we report the effect of the intervention on prespecified secondary outcomes, including cardiorespiratory fitness, cognitive performance, and mental health in young adolescents.
METHODS
The Fit to Study cluster randomised controlled trial included Year 8 pupils (n = 18,261, aged 12-13) from 104 secondary state schools in South/Mid-England. Schools were randomised into an intervention condition (n = 52), in which PE teachers delivered an additional 10 min of VPA per PE lesson for one academic year (2017-2018), or into a "PE as usual" control condition. Secondary outcomes included assessments of cardiorespiratory fitness (20-m shuttle run), cognitive performance (executive functions, relational memory and processing speed) and mental health (Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire and self-esteem measures). The primary intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis used linear models and structural equation models with cluster-robust standard errors to test for intervention effects. A complier-average causal effect (CACE) was estimated using a two-stage least squares procedure.
RESULTS
The HIIT-style VPA intervention did not significantly improve cardiorespiratory fitness, cognitive performance (executive functions, relational memory or processed speed), or mental health (all p > 0.05). Subgroup analyses showed no significant moderation of intervention effects by sex, socioeconomic status or baseline fitness levels. Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness were not significantly related to changes in cognitive or mental health outcomes. The trial was marked by high drop-out and low intervention compliance. Findings from the CACE analysis were in line with those from the ITT analysis.
CONCLUSION
The one-academic year HIIT-style VPA intervention delivered during regular school PE did not significantly improve fitness, cognitive performance or mental health, but these findings should be interpreted with caution given low implementation fidelity and high drop-out. Well-controlled, large-scale, school-based trials that examine the effectiveness of HIIT-style interventions to enhance cognitive and mental health outcomes are warranted.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN registry, 15,730,512 . Trial protocol and analysis plan for primary outcome prospectively registered on 30th March 2017. ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03286725 . Secondary measures (focus of current manuscript) retrospectively registered on 18 September 2017.
Topics: Academic Performance; Adolescent; Brain; Cardiorespiratory Fitness; Cognition; England; Executive Function; Exercise; High-Intensity Interval Training; Humans; Male; Mathematics; Mental Health; Mental Processes; Physical Education and Training
PubMed: 33789683
DOI: 10.1186/s12966-021-01113-y -
Brain and Behavior Jun 2023This review provides an overview of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, including the four partially distinct subtypes of the disorder, current diagnostic... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
This review provides an overview of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, including the four partially distinct subtypes of the disorder, current diagnostic criteria, and common comorbidities. Critically, it focuses on the etiology of OCD, including its underlying neuropathology, and examines cognitive dysfunction in OCD.
METHODS
This review study was conducted by library method.
RESULTS
We show how dysfunction in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuits may underpin symptoms; and shed light on the putative neurochemistry within these loops such as the role of serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate systems. We also show how OCD is characterized by cognitive dysfunction including problems in cognitive flexibility, visuospatial memory, response inhibition, and goal-directed behavior, linked to aberrant activity within CSTC circuits.
CONCLUSIONS
In brief, research questions we shed light on include (1) what are the symptoms in OCD; (2) what is the etiology of the disorder and do existing models explain OCD; and (3) what are key cognitive deficits in OCD and do these improve with treatment?
Topics: Humans; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Mental Processes; Glutamic Acid; Cognitive Dysfunction
PubMed: 37137502
DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3000 -
International Journal of Environmental... Nov 2022Executive function is among the most affected cognitive dimensions in depression. Physical exercise may improve executive function (e.g., working memory, inhibition,... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Executive function is among the most affected cognitive dimensions in depression. Physical exercise may improve executive function (e.g., working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility), although this is without consensus on adults with depression. Through this systematic review, we aim to elucidate the effects of physical exercise programs on executive functions in adults with depression. The literature search was performed in four relevant electronic databases, combining keywords and medical subject headings, from inception until September 2022. Controlled interventions, involving adults with depression, and reporting working memory, inhibition, and/or cognitive flexibility pre-post-intervention data, were considered includable. Results from meta-analyses included effect size (ES, i.e., Hedges' g) values reported with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs), with set at ≤0.05. Seven studies were included, including 202 men and 457 women (age: 21.0-51.2 years; mild-moderate depression). For working memory, a small favoring effect was observed in the experimental groups compared with controls (ES = 0.33, 95%CI = 0.04-0.61; = 0.026; I = 64.9%). For inhibition, physical exercise had a small favoring non-significant effect compared with controls (ES = 0.28, 95%CI = -0.17-0.74; = 0.222; I = 72.4%). Compared with the control group, physical exercise had a trivial effect on cognitive flexibility (ES = 0.09, 95%CI = -0.21-0.39; = 0.554; I = 68.4%). In conclusion, physical exercise interventions may improve working memory behavioral measures in adults with mild-to-moderate depression when compared with active and passive control conditions. However, the reduced number of available high-quality studies precludes more lucid conclusions.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Female; Young Adult; Middle Aged; Executive Function; Depression; Exercise; Cognition; Exercise Therapy
PubMed: 36429985
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192215270 -
Nature Apr 2023The central amygdala (CeA) is implicated in a range of mental processes including attention, motivation, memory formation and extinction and in behaviours driven by...
The central amygdala (CeA) is implicated in a range of mental processes including attention, motivation, memory formation and extinction and in behaviours driven by either aversive or appetitive stimuli. How it participates in these divergent functions remains elusive. Here we show that somatostatin-expressing (Sst) CeA neurons, which mediate much of CeA functions, generate experience-dependent and stimulus-specific evaluative signals essential for learning. The population responses of these neurons in mice encode the identities of a wide range of salient stimuli, with the responses of separate subpopulations selectively representing the stimuli that have contrasting valences, sensory modalities or physical properties (for example, shock and water reward). These signals scale with stimulus intensity, undergo pronounced amplification and transformation during learning, and are required for both reward and aversive learning. Notably, these signals contribute to the responses of dopamine neurons to reward and reward prediction error, but not to their responses to aversive stimuli. In line with this, Sst CeA neuron outputs to dopamine areas are required for reward learning, but are dispensable for aversive learning. Our results suggest that Sst CeA neurons selectively process information about differing salient events for evaluation during learning, supporting the diverse roles of the CeA. In particular, the information for dopamine neurons facilitates reward evaluation.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Avoidance Learning; Central Amygdaloid Nucleus; Dopaminergic Neurons; Motivation; Reward; Neuronal Plasticity; Somatostatin; Electroshock
PubMed: 37020025
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05910-2 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Oct 2023Perhaps it is no accident that insight moments accompany some of humanity's most important discoveries in science, medicine, and art. Here we propose that feelings of... (Review)
Review
Perhaps it is no accident that insight moments accompany some of humanity's most important discoveries in science, medicine, and art. Here we propose that feelings of insight play a central role in (heuristically) selecting an idea from the stream of consciousness by capturing attention and eliciting a sense of intuitive confidence permitting fast action under uncertainty. The mechanisms underlying this Eureka heuristic are explained within an active inference framework. First, implicit restructuring via Bayesian reduction leads to a higher-order prediction error (i.e., the content of insight). Second, dopaminergic precision-weighting of the prediction error accounts for the intuitive confidence, pleasure, and attentional capture (i.e., the feeling of insight). This insight as precision account is consistent with the phenomenology, accuracy, and neural unfolding of insight, as well as its effects on belief and decision-making. We conclude by reflecting on dangers of the Eureka Heuristic, including the arising and entrenchment of false beliefs and the vulnerability of insights under psychoactive substances and misinformation.
Topics: Humans; Bayes Theorem; Heuristics; Uncertainty; Emotions; Mental Processes
PubMed: 37598874
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105363 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2023Research in dance psychology and mental health is rapidly growing. Yet, evidence in the field can seem dispersed due to few existing meta overviews that outline research... (Review)
Review
Research in dance psychology and mental health is rapidly growing. Yet, evidence in the field can seem dispersed due to few existing meta overviews that outline research in dance related to mental health. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review is to strengthen future dance research by gathering and contextualizing existing findings on mental health in dance. Following the PRISMA guidelines and protocols, 115 studies were included in the review. Overall, the data analysis shows a predominant adoption of quantitative research but a lack of applied interventions of preventive and reactive procedures in mental health. Similarly, there is a tendency to study pre-professional dancers, whereas research into professional dancers, especially aged 30-60 is underrepresented. Dance genres have been unevenly investigated, with classical ballet being the most researched, whereas different dance styles and freelance employment are in dire need of in-depth investigation. Conceptualizing mental health as a dynamic state, the thematic analysis identified three main categories: and These factors appear to be in a complex interaction. Overall, the existing literature gives indications of components essential to understanding dancers' mental health but has several blind spots and shortcomings. Therefore, a lot of in-depth understanding and research is still needed to fully grasp the dynamic complexity of mental health in dance.
PubMed: 36968742
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1090645 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Nov 2023A central question in understanding cognition and pathology-related cognitive changes is how we process time. However, time processing difficulties across several... (Review)
Review
A central question in understanding cognition and pathology-related cognitive changes is how we process time. However, time processing difficulties across several neurological and psychiatric conditions remain seldom investigated. The aim of this review is to develop a unifying taxonomy of time processing, and a neuropsychological perspective on temporal difficulties. Four main temporal judgments are discussed: duration processing, simultaneity and synchrony, passage of time, and mental time travel. We present an integrated theoretical framework of timing difficulties across psychiatric and neurological conditions based on selected patient populations. This framework provides new mechanistic insights on both (a) the processes involved in each temporal judgement, and (b) temporal difficulties across pathologies. By identifying underlying transdiagnostic time-processing mechanisms, this framework opens fruitful avenues for future research.
Topics: Humans; Time Perception; Mental Disorders; Cognition; Judgment; Auditory Perception
PubMed: 37871780
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105430 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Sep 2019In conditions of constant illumination, the eye pupil diameter indexes the modulation of arousal state and responds to a large breadth of cognitive processes, including... (Review)
Review
In conditions of constant illumination, the eye pupil diameter indexes the modulation of arousal state and responds to a large breadth of cognitive processes, including mental effort, attention, surprise, decision processes, decision biases, value beliefs, uncertainty, volatility, exploitation/exploration trade-off, or learning rate. Here, I propose an information theoretic framework that has the potential to explain the ensemble of these findings as reflecting pupillary response to information processing. In short, updates of the brain's internal model, quantified formally as the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence between prior and posterior beliefs, would be the common denominator to all these instances of pupillary dilation to cognition. I show that stimulus presentation leads to pupillary response that is proportional to the amount of information the stimulus carries about itself and to the quantity of information it provides about other task variables. In the context of decision making, pupil dilation in relation to uncertainty is explained by the wandering of the evidence accumulation process, leading to large summed KL divergences. Finally, pupillary response to mental effort and variations in tonic pupil size are also formalized in terms of information theory. On the basis of this framework, I compare pupillary data from past studies to simple information-theoretic simulations of task designs and show good correspondance with data across studies. The present framework has the potential to unify the large set of results reported on pupillary dilation to cognition and to provide a theory to guide future research.
Topics: Arousal; Attention; Cognition; Decision Making; Humans; Learning; Photic Stimulation; Pupil; Uncertainty
PubMed: 31530143
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1593 -
Perspectives on Psychological Science :... Jan 2024Norms permeate human life. Most of people's activities can be characterized by rules about what is appropriate, allowed, required, or forbidden-rules that are crucial in...
Norms permeate human life. Most of people's activities can be characterized by rules about what is appropriate, allowed, required, or forbidden-rules that are crucial in making people hyper-cooperative animals. In this article, I examine the current cognitive-evolutionary account of "norm psychology" and propose an alternative that is better supported by evidence and better placed to promote interdisciplinary dialogue. The incumbent theory focuses on rules and claims that humans genetically inherit cognitive and motivational mechanisms specialized for processing these rules. The cultural-evolutionary alternative defines normativity in relation to behavior-compliance, enforcement, and commentary-and suggests that it depends on implicit and explicit processes. The implicit processes are genetically inherited and domain-general; rather than being specialized for normativity, they do many jobs in many species. The explicit processes are culturally inherited and domain-specific; they are constructed from mentalizing and reasoning by social interaction in childhood. The cultural-evolutionary, or "cognitive gadget," perspective suggests that people alive today-parents, educators, elders, politicians, lawyers-have more responsibility for sustaining normativity than the nativist view implies. People's actions not only shape and transmit the rules, but they also create in each new generation mental processes that can grasp the rules and put them into action.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Aged; Social Behavior; Problem Solving
PubMed: 37439763
DOI: 10.1177/17456916221112075 -
Trends in Cognitive Sciences Jun 2022An increasing recognition that brain and body are dynamically coupled has enriched our scientific understanding of mental health conditions. Peripheral signals interact... (Review)
Review
An increasing recognition that brain and body are dynamically coupled has enriched our scientific understanding of mental health conditions. Peripheral signals interact centrally to influence how we think and feel, generating our sense of the internal condition of the body, a process known as interoception. Disruptions to this interoceptive system may contribute to clinical conditions, including anxiety, depression, and psychosis. After reviewing the nature of interoceptive disturbances in mental health conditions, this review focuses on interoceptive pathways of existing and putative mental health treatments. Emerging clinical interventions may target novel peripheral treatment mechanisms. Future treatment development requires forward- and back-translation to uncover and target specific interoceptive processes in mental health to elucidate their efficacy relative to interventions targeting other factors.
Topics: Anxiety; Awareness; Brain; Emotions; Humans; Interoception; Mental Health
PubMed: 35466044
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.03.004