Tag: brain

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Understanding Brain’s Orexin System Could Combat Obesity

Understanding what happens in the brain to facilitate this decision-making process is essential for developing new strategies to promote physical activity…reports Asian Lite News

According to the World Health Organization, 80 per cent of adolescents and 27 per cent of adults do not get enough exercise, and obesity rates are rising alarmingly among both adults and children…reports Asian Lite News

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Is your brain in a dilemma wondering if you should go for exercise or instead have those tasty extra fries? A study released by Swiss researchers on Tuesday may finally provide your answer.

Until now, science has had no idea what happens in our brain when we make this decision.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have uncovered a key factor in the brain’s decision-making process when it comes to this particular decision. Scientists discovered that the chemical messenger orexin and its neurons may be transferable to humans, explaining why some resist temptations and maintain regular physical activity.

Researchers found that mice with a blocked orexin system preferred a milkshake over exercise, while those with an intact orexin system spent more time on the running wheel and less time at the milkshake bar.

Denis Burdakov, Professor of Neuroscience at ETH Zurich, explains the significance of these findings. He notes that while many people struggle to get enough exercise, some manage to resist daily temptations and stay active.

Understanding what happens in the brain to facilitate this decision-making process is essential for developing new strategies to promote physical activity.

According to the World Health Organization, 80 per cent of adolescents and 27 per cent of adults do not get enough exercise, and obesity rates are rising alarmingly among both adults and children.

The study focused on orexin, a relatively recently discovered messenger substance in the brain. While other chemicals like serotonin and dopamine have long been known and studied, orexin’s functions are only now being clarified. The researchers found that when mice were given a choice between running on a wheel and enjoying a strawberry-flavoured milkshake, the presence of an intact orexin system significantly influenced their preference for physical activity.

The implications of these findings extend beyond basic neuroscience. Daria Peleg-Raibstein, a group leader at ETH Zurich, emphasises that this research could help in understanding and addressing the global obesity epidemic and related metabolic disorders.

By exploring how the brain arbitrates between food consumption and physical activity, scientists can develop more effective interventions to overcome barriers to exercise, particularly for those whose physical activity is limited.

The next step for the researchers is to verify these results in humans, given that the brain functions involved are known to be practically the same in both species. This could involve examining patients with a restricted orexin system due to genetic reasons or observing people who receive drugs that block orexin. Such studies could pave the way for new approaches to encourage exercise and reduce obesity rates, ultimately improving public health outcomes.

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Arousal’s Influence on Brain Scan Accuracy

The fMRI scans are commonly used to non-invasively map brain connectivity in a variety of situations, including planning for surgery, understanding the impact of a stroke, and studying how mental illness affects neurological function…reports Asian Lite News

Some brain scans can give false readings as people tend to become more relaxed and sleepy and changes in breathing and heart rates alter blood oxygen levels in the brain — which are then falsely detected on the scan as normal neuronal activity, a new study showed on Wednesday.

The tendency of people’s arousal to wane over the course of brain scans has been distorting the brain connection maps produced by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), said investigators from McLean Hospital (a member of Mass General Brigham), Harvard Medical School and the National Institute on Drug Abuse – Intramural Research Programme (NIDA-IRP) in the US.

“These arousal-dampening conditions create the illusion that people’s brain connection strengths continuously inflate throughout the scan to help better connect the ideas,” said Cole Korponay, a Research Fellow at the McLean Hospital Imaging Center, in the study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

The fMRI scans are commonly used to non-invasively map brain connectivity in a variety of situations, including planning for surgery, understanding the impact of a stroke, and studying how mental illness affects neurological function.

However, since fMRI relies on changes in brain blood oxygen to indirectly measure neuronal activity, it is vulnerable to “noise” from other processes that can affect blood oxygen – such as changes in breathing and heart rates.

Since breathing and heart rate patterns are closely tied to arousal levels, changes in arousal can introduce significant noise into fMRI data.

In the study, the research team identified a specific blood flow signal that seemed to track both the decline in subject arousal levels and the illusory inflation of functional brain connection strengths.

This non-neuronal, physiological noise signal – termed the “systemic low frequency oscillation” (sLFO) signal – grew over time during scanning, that tightly matched the pattern of the connection strength increases.

“By adopting this sLFO denoising procedure, future studies can mitigate the distortive effects of arousal changes during brain scans and enhance the validity and reliability of fMRI findings,” said Korponay.

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ADHD Study Finds Brain Region Linked to Emotional Regulation

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). (File Photo: IANS)

Mood disorders such as depression, anxiety disorder, and verbal or physical outbursts due to an inability to regulate their emotions in children with ADHD were previously thought to be a result of problems with cognition and motivation…reports Asian Lite News

A smaller brain region responsible for control over behaviour, processing of emotion, and communication may explain why about one in two children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is likely to experience depression, anxiety, and explosive outbursts, according to a study on Wednesday.

ADHD affects around one in 14 young people under the age of 18 and in around half of these cases it persists into adulthood.

Mood disorders such as depression, anxiety disorder, and verbal or physical outbursts due to an inability to regulate their emotions in children with ADHD were previously thought to be a result of problems with cognition and motivation.

But in the study, scientists from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and the University of Cambridge showed that emotional dysregulation occurs independently of these, and is because of a brain region called pars orbitalis.

“The pars orbitalis is a well-connected part of the brain, and if it hasn’t developed properly it might make it difficult for individuals to control their emotions and communicate with others appropriately, especially in social situations,” said Barbara Sahakian from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.

For the study, published in the journal Nature Mental Health, the team identified 350 individuals with high symptoms of ADHD and found that more than half (51.4 per cent) had signs of emotion dysregulation and this was independent of cognitive and motivational problems.

Children with only low-ADHD symptoms but with a high score of emotion dysregulation at age 13 years were 2.85 times more likely to have developed high-ADHD symptoms by age 14 years.

Using brain imaging data, they found that pars orbitalis was smaller among children who scored highly for ADHD and emotional problems.

The research also revealed that the commonly-prescribed drug to help the condition Ritalin appears to be less effective at treating this symptom.

Adding emotional dysregulation as a key part of ADHD will help people better understand the problems the child is experiencing, Sahakian said.

He said this may help advance effective treatments for the regulation of emotion, such as cognitive behavioural therapy.

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Why men, women process pain signals differently

When female rats had their ovaries removed, the difference disappeared, pointing to a hormonal connection…reports Asian Lite News

Neurons in the spinal cord process pain signals differently in women compared to men, suggests a study.

The finding, published in the journal BRAIN, could lead to better and more personalised treatments for chronic pain, which are desperately needed, especially in light of the opioid epidemic.

Women are disproportionately impacted by the burden of chronic pain. They are more likely than men to report low back pain, neck pain, orofacial pain and neuropathic pain, and twice as many women report common migraines or headaches.

But to date, most research on pain was conducted on male rodents.

The new study led by researchers at The Ottawa Hospital in Canada, however, used female and male spinal cord tissue from both rats and humans (generously donated by deceased individuals and their families).

By examining the spinal cord tissue in the laboratory, the researchers were able to show that a neuronal growth factor called BDNF plays a major role in amplifying spinal cord pain signalling in male humans and male rats, but not in female humans or female rats.

When female rats had their ovaries removed, the difference disappeared, pointing to a hormonal connection.

“Developing new pain drugs requires a detailed understanding of how pain is processed at the biological level,” said Dr. Annemarie Dedek, lead author of the study.

“This new discovery lays the foundation for the development of new treatments to help those suffering from chronic pain.”

This is the first time a sex-related difference in pain signalling has been identified in human spinal cord tissue.

Future studies are required to understand how this biological difference may contribute to differences in pain sensation between men and women, the researchers said.

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Two brain dead give life to eight in PGI Chandigarh

Despite the best of the efforts by the attending medical team, Kumar could not be revived from his irretrievable condition and was declared brain dead on August 17…reports Asian Lite News.

Two donor families displayed exemplary magnanimity amid the tragedy of losing their loved ones and kindled hope in critical eight patients with the transplantation of four kidneys and four corneas at the PGI Hospital here, doctors said on Friday.

“We are overwhelmed by their spirit of giving of the donor families and hope their generous gesture inspires others and makes them realize that death is not the end of things, people can live on through others, through this noble cause of organ donation,” said Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Director Jagat Ram said.

Ashwani Kumar (54) a resident of Kaithal in Haryana met with a road accident in his town on August 14 and was taken to the Civil Hospital there. As his condition worsened, Kumar was rushed to the PGIMER on the same day.

Despite the best of the efforts by the attending medical team, Kumar could not be revived from his irretrievable condition and was declared brain dead on August 17.

When doctors informed the family that their dear one did not pull through, the family knew they didn’t want Kumar’s death to be in vain. Being fairly clued about the concept and having already pledged for organ donation, the grief-stricken but resolute family consented for organ donation.

Anita, the wife of Kumar, showcased unparalleled courage amid her own tragedy as she said, “It’s something no family should have to go through. We said ‘yes’ to organ donation because it is far better to give someone a new life than reducing these organs to ashes.

“That’s why despite the heartache that we are going through, we knew it was the right thing to do.”

Reflecting on the case, H.S. Kohli, Head of the Department of Nephrology, said, “Following the family’s decision, the two best matching recipients who were suffering from end-stage debilitating kidney ailment and dependent on renal dialysis for long, were identified and retrieved kidneys were transplanted to them giving them second chance at life.

“Looking at the kidney waiting list which is getting lengthier with passing time, yes by any donor family like that of Ashwani Kumar creates a perceptible difference between life and death for end stage kidney failure patients.”

Apart from the kidneys, the corneas of the donors were also harvested, which on transplantation, restored the eyesight of two other patients here at the PGIMER.

Earlier on August 9, a young and promising life was mercilessly cut short by a speeding vehicle, causing fatal head injuries.

After the mishap, the youth aged 28 years from Punjab was immediately rushed to a local hospital and then on being referred to the PGIMER, was shifted here on August 10.

As the ill-luck would have it, all the efforts to save the young man proved futile and after three days of struggle between life and death; he was declared brain-dead on August 13.

Then, the transplant coordinators at the PGIMER counseled the family about organ donation for which the family consented, braving their own grave tragedy. With the family’s generous decision, four lives were impacted with the transplantation of two kidneys and two corneas here at the PGIMER.

The grieving mother, who wanted to keep the identity anonymous due to her personal sentiments, said, “We would just want people to know about the cause, we have done it so that our son can relive through others. We have done it for our own peace and solace.”

Endorsing the need for public awareness for the cause to save precious lives, Vipin Koushal, Nodal Officer, ROTTO (North), PGIMER, said, “The gift of life that has been given by these two donor families conveys much about our capacity for great compassion and generosity. This cause needs to be taken seriously as anyone can suffer from organ failure.”

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