Regeneration of Spinal Cord Neurons

 Regeneration of Spinal Cord Neurons

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating injury due to limited repair and regeneration of  neural cells. The injury-induced neuronal loss cannot be easily replenished through endogenous mechanisms (Puls et al., 2020). Research around treating spinal cord injuries has been an important topic as spinal cord injuries impact many aspects of individuals who have been affected by SCI as these individuals can be left paralyzed completely or partially. The goal of SCI research is to find methods or mechanisms that can be used to treat individuals who suffer from spinal cord injury. There have been many different methods scientists have used to treat SCI. Some examples are usage of nanofiber-hydrogel, rehabilitation, chemicals, gene therapy, etc. 

In the article “The effect of a nanofiber-hydrogel composite on neural tissue repair and regeneration in the contused spinal cord” by Li et al, researchers use nanofiber-hydrogel composite (NHC) to repair and regenerate endogenous nervous tissue damaged by spinal cord injury (2020). After 28 days of NHC treatment, researchers observed a 2-fold larger width of the contused spinal cord segment. They also found 2-fold higher M2/M1 macrophage ratio, 5-fold higher blood vessel density, 2.6-fold higher immature neuron presence, 2.4-fold higher axon density, and a similar glial scar presence in the contused tissue (Li et al., 2020). Another research conducted on SCI looked at propriospinal neurons. When propriospinal neurons grow in an area of complete injury, they could sustain limited motor function (Willingham, 2018). Laminin, a protein often used as a scaffold, has been used to transfer chemicals to propriospinal neurons. It is also suggested that after bridging the gaps between neurons that there is also a need for rehabilitation. Rehabilitation allows regenerated axons to execute new functions (Willingham, 2018). In the article “Regeneration of Functional Neurons After Spinal Cord Injury via in situ NeuroD1-Mediated Astrocyte-to-Neuron Conversion” by Puls et al., researchers have regenerated reactive astrocytes after SCI through adeno-associated virus (AAV) NeuroD1-based gene therapy (2020). They suggest a shift from axonal regeneration to neuronal regeneration in treating SCI (Puls, 2020).

All three of these methods aim to regenerate and repair neurons that have been damaged due to a spinal cord injury. There are many different ways scientists approach this issue and come up with different methods. A lot of these researches use animal models, which are great for understanding the ways we can treat SCI better; however, these may not always reflect exactly the ways we can treat human spinal cord injuries. Scientists are always working to better their understanding of ways to treat SCI and ease the lives of people that live with SCI. 

References

Puls, B., et al. (2020). Regeneration of Functional Neurons After Spinal Cord Injury via in situ NeuroD1-Mediated Astrocyte-to-Neuron Conversion. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology, 8, 591883. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.591883 

Li, X., et al. (2020). The effect of a nanofiber-hydrogel composite on neural tissue repair and regeneration in the contused spinal cord. Biomaterials, 245, 119978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119978

Willingham, E. (2018, August 30). Growth Cocktail Helps Restore Spinal Connections in the Most Severe Injuries. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/growth-cocktail-helps-restore-spinal-connections-in-the-most-severe-injuries/ 

Peripheral Nerve and Spinal Cord Damage, Recent Advancements in Treatment

    Nerve and spinal injuries affect 10s of 1000s of people each year and accounts for over $150 billion in healthcare costs annually (Fadia et al., 2020). These injuries can result in life changing impairments to movement. Generally, nerve damage greater than 2-3cm usually requires the grafting of another nerve to facilitate recovery. This process, called autografting, proves problematic because there are often complications arising from the excision of the peripheral nerve used in the graph (Fadia et al., 2020). These complications include surgical risks as well as problems at the donor site such as neuroma formation (Fadia et al., 2020). In addition, the excised nerve may prove to be too small depending on the size of the injury. Nerve grafting is not an option for mixed nerves or in the spinal cord due to a morphology mismatch (Fadia et al., 2020). This is especially problematic for the spinal cord because any nervous tissue loss often becomes long lasting due to a failure of nervous tissue repair and the formation of a glial scar (Li et al., 2020). The development of more efficacious treatments for nerve damage in both peripheral nerves and the spinal cord is of great interest as current methodologies do not always produce great patient outcomes.

    In a recent article published by Fadia et al., 2020 titled “Long-gap peripheral nerve repair through sustained release of a neurotrophic factor in nonhuman primates” the researchers examined the effect of using a synthetic conduit that continually releases glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in long-gap peripheral nerve repair in rhesus macaque monkeys. From previous experiments the researchers had designed an optimized polymeric nerve conduit combined with a microsphere delivery system. This conduit was surgically placed into a critical-sized 5 cm nerve defect in the monkeys. For controls, the researchers also used the more normal autografting technique. They also implanted some monkeys with a synthetic conduit that did not contain any GDNF. In order to test the functional recovery of the monkeys, the researchers trained the monkeys in a pinching task. In order to successfully complete the test, the primates had to use only their thumb and index finger to pick up sugar pellets from a board which has four wells of varying different diameters. The researchers found that pre surgery, the monkeys sat at about 90% correct pinches. After surgery and one year of healing, monkeys with the active conduit pinched correctly, on average, 75.49% of the time, those with a non-active conduit 49.95% of the time, and those with the traditional autograph, 77.49% of the time. Histological analysis was also performed. The researchers found that the axonal areas of distal nerves were greater in the autograft condition than the active conduit condition. This indicates that the axons and nerve fibers were more mature in the autograft condition. This is expected; however, the active conduit group was able to regenerate a significant amount of nerve fibers, significantly more than the non-active conduit condition. In addition, the active conduit appeared to generate more myelination in the regenerated nerve fibers than either of the other conditions. These results taken together suggest that a synthetic conduit that continually releases GDNF is efficacious in bridging large peripheral nerve gaps (Fadia et al., 2020).

    As for spinal injuries, the researchers involved in the article by Li et al., 2020 titled “The effect of a nanofiber-hydrogel composite on neural tissue repair and regeneration in the contused spinal cord” examined the effect of a nanofiber-hydrogel composite (NHC) on an induced spinal cord contusion in rats. The NHC is unique in that it relies on interfacial bonding between the fibers and the hydrogel network. This allows the composite to retain the rigidity needed to keep spinal contusions from collapsing while also retaining enough porosity to allow cellular migration within the gel matrix. This unique combination closely resembles the extracellular matrix (ECM) natively seen in the spinal cord. The researchers set up the experiment to compare the effects of NHC against three other conditions. Those conditions were a hydrogel with a G1 of 80 (H-80), a hydrogel with a G1 of 210 (H-210) (the same as the NHC), and a phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS). The rats were precisely contused in the same spot and then given a subacute injection, at the site of injury, of either NHC, H-80, H-210, or PBS. After a determined amount of time (3 Days Post-Injury (dpi), 7 dpi or 28 dpi) the rats were anesthetized, and the spinal cords were dissected. Spinal cords were analyzed for their width, volume, extent of inflammation, vascularization, number of axons, and number of neuron-like cells. The researchers found that rats injected with NHC (as well as H-210) presented with reduced spinal cord thinning as well as a gradual increase in axon density at 28 dpi. In addition, NHC (as well as H-80 and H-210) seemed to facilitate vascularization measured through blood vessel density in the injury. Effects that were exclusive to NHC include a greater ratio of M2 to M1 macrophages in the injury as well as a greater number of neuron-like cells found in the injury. These data present the case that NHC is able to provide adequate mechanical strength to prevent spinal cord collapse while also being porous enough to allow cell infiltration and tissue formation. These unique characteristics encourage vascularization, neurogenesis, and an increased number of M2 macrophages in the injury compared to other hydrogels and substances. These properties make NHC a promising substance to be used to facilitate healing, potentially in human patients.

    Taken together these articles demonstrate recent advancements in the development of efficacious treatments of nerve and spinal cord damage. It is possible that combining the knowledge gained from these studies could help further this area even more. For example, Li et al., 2020 mentions that NHC may prove to be more effective when used in combination with specific cells and growth factors. Based on the results of Fadia et al., 2020, GDNF could be a promising candidate for inclusion in NHC to facilitate myelination and axon maturation. Potentially, a combination of NHC and synthetic conduit could be used to treat nerve damage in mixed nerves. The conduit could help bridge the gap while NHC could provide growth factors and a strong porous surface for axons and nerve fibers to develop on. More research is needed into these possibilities as well as the efficacy of these treatments on their own. In particular, neither of these treatments have moved past the animal model testing phase. This means that their results could potentially not translate to success in human trials. Despite this, they are both promising techniques for the treatment of nerve and spinal cord damage.


Resources:

Fadia, N. B., Bliley, J. M., DiBernardo, G. A., Crammond, D. J., Schilling, B. K., Sivak, W. N., Spiess, A. M., Washington, K. M., Waldner, M., Liao, H.-T., James, I. B., Minteer, D. M., Tompkins-Rhoades, C., Cottrill, A. R., Kim, D.-Y., Schweizer, R., Bourne, D. A., Panagis, G. E., Asher Schusterman, M., … Marra, K. G. (2020). Long-gap peripheral nerve repair through sustained release of a neurotrophic factor in nonhuman primates. Science Translational Medicine, 12(527). https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aav7753

Li, X., Zhang, C., Haggerty, A. E., Yan, J., Lan, M., Seu, M., Yang, M., Marlow, M. M., Maldonado-Lasunción, I., Cho, B., Zhou, Z., Chen, L., Martin, R., Nitobe, Y., Yamane, K., You, H., Reddy, S., Quan, D.-P., Oudega, M., & Mao, H.-Q. (2020). The effect of a nanofiber-hydrogel composite on Neural Tissue Repair and regeneration in the contused spinal cord. Biomaterials, 245, 119978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119978

Different Approaches to Studying Spinal Cord Regeneration

 The world of science has been grappling over the question of spinal cord injuries and their long-term effects on motor function, which in serious cases, can affect all motor abilities in the body. The concern with spinal cord injuries is the inability of nerve cells to proliferate near the site of the injury, which in turn, leads to the inability of these nerve cells to send signals to the brain for controlled movement. Since the spinal cord plays a crucial role in sending nerve cells from the brain to the body (as well as the body to the brain), a severe case of a spinal cord injury can lead to untreatable paralysis of the body's motor function. There has been a dilemma for medical and scientific professionals to find solutions for spinal cord regeneration due to its extremities towards sensation, movement, and coordination. Usually, research towards finding a cure is done using an animal model due to the high level of risk for humans with spinal cord injuries.  There have been many discoveries made with advancements in biomedicine, including the usage of stem cells, hydrophilic polymers (hydrogels), along other potential treatments that could possibly lead to a solution for spinal cord injuries.

With further research being instigated towards finding a possible cure to promote spinal cord regeneration, many researchers have been using animal models to test their new treatments for potential use on human patients. In one study conducted by Li et al., the researchers focus on the usage of hydrogels, in which they produced an "injectable nano fibber-hydrogel composite (NHC)" that would be injected into the spinal cord contusions near the injury site (Li et al. 2020). They were trying to find regenerate outcomes based on the discovery that there is a formed connection near the site between the fibers and the hydrogel that aids in promoting 'mechanical strength' (Li et al. 2020). What the researchers found after injecting the NHC was that there was less spinal cord thinning, an increase in blood density and axon density, and an increase in tissue formation (Li et al. 2020). Although there was an overall positive outcome towards spinal cord regeneration at the injury site, the research was conducted using rats and not humans. This isn't to say that there couldn't be further research instigated for human spinal cord regeneration with the usage of hydrogels. 

Stem cells have also played a major role in the repair system for the body by providing new specialized cells that have been damaged. There has been much research conducted using the usage of stem cells for the regeneration of cells and overall repair and healing. A 2022 study conducted by Obara et al. focused on the recruitment of "encapsulated hair-follicle-associated pluripotent (HAP) stem cells" using a mouse model to examine chronic spinal cord injuries (Obara et al. 2022). The focus on HAP stem cells is due to previous research using various stem cells and their inability to differentiate into specialized cells, such as Schwan cells and neurons that are needed in spinal cord functionality. The researchers had implanted the HAP stem cells into the severed spinal cords of mice and found that there was a production of Schwann cells that aided in repair of the severed spinal cord, which lead to the spinal cord rejoining and a "regained comprehensive hind-limb locomotor performance" (Obara et al. 2022). Again, research on HAP stem cells was done using an animal model, but human HAP stem cells have been used on mice with considerable outcomes for regeneration to spinal cells. So there is a possibility for human HAP stem cells to produce positive regenerate outcomes for spinal cord injuries that must be further researched.

Work Cited

Li, X., Zhang, C., Haggerty, A. E., Yan, J., Lan, M., Seu, M., Yang, M., Marlow, M. M., Maldonado-Lasunción, I., Cho, B., Zhou, Z., Chen, L., Martin, R., Nitobe, Y., Yamane, K., You, H., Reddy, S., Quan, D.-P., & Mao, H.-Q. (2020). The effect of a nanofiber-hydrogel composite on Neural Tissue Repair and regeneration in the contused spinal cord. Biomaterials. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0142961220302246?via%3Dihub

Obara, K., Shirai, K., Hamada, Y., Arakawa, N., Yamane, M., Takaoka, N., Aki, R., Hoffman, R. M., & Amoh, Y. (2022, January 27). Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Functionally repaired by direct implantation of encapsulated hair-follicle-associated pluripotent (HAP) stem cells in a mouse model: Potential for Clinical Regenerative Medicine. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0262755

Novel Treatments for Spinal Cord Injuries

    Spinal cord injuries often leave patients in a state of pain and loss, with few treatment options that could assist in healing such an extreme injury. In March of 2020, one group of researchers published a paper with results that could change the landscape of this type of injury treatment far into the future. The article "The Effect of a Nanofiber-Hydrogel Composite on Neural Tissue Repair and Regeneration in the Contused Spinal Cord" by Xiaowei Li et al. introduces a novel treatment called a nanofiber-hydrogel composite (NHC) to assist in the healing process for spinal cord injuries in rats. The NHC used to treat these contusions was designed to be an injectable liquid (the hydrogel component) but mimic and uphold a structure similar to existing soft tissue in the spine (nanofiber component). After spinal cord injuries, there are often changes in the area affected such as thinning of the spinal cord and an increase in translucency (indicating weakness). In addition, the motor neurons in the area of injury are often severely affected, with lower amounts of functional neurons due to tissue scarring. Li et al. measured all of these factors in rats with NHC injected following a contusion to the base of the spinal cord. The results showed a reduction in translucency and spinal cord thinning as well as increased amounts of new blood cells, axons, and neurons. (Li et al. 2020) With these results, the research concluded with a hopeful look to the future and how these rat models could pave the way for a potential human treatment with such a successful amount of recovery at the injury site.

A more recent article provides a prudent extension of this same technology with promising results. Samuel Stupp and his lab team at Northwestern University performed an experiment published in the journal Science in November of 2021. They used a similar gel injection to Li’s experiment, but the contents differed. Stupp used dissolvable peptide polymers in the hydrogel, while Li used nanofiber components. Stupp injected this gel into mice with spinal cord injuries in a similar way that Li did, and also found increased healing capacity in factors such as regeneration of motor neurons, axons, and myelination (the protective sheath surrounding neurons). (Stupp et al. 2021) On of the biggest differences I noticed between these two major research findings was that Stupp et al. engineered their hydrogel mixture in a way to increase the internal motions of the fiber molecules creating the scaffold imitating the spinal tissue. They seemed to be very successful with this approach, while Li et al. seemed successful with their approach of inserting more stable and stationary nanofibers to imitate the tissue. As far as the future directions, Stupp makes a point of saying how the research points to a promising recovery option once more advanced technology is available to improve upon their work, ultimately leaving the case open for more advancements to be made. I find this research fascinating in the fact that these treatments could really pave a path towards a better recovery option for these types of injuries, and more is being developed and discovered every day. 

 

References:

Li, Xiaowei, et al. “The Effect of a Nanofiber-Hydrogel Composite on Neural Tissue Repair and Regeneration in the Contused Spinal Cord.” Biomaterials, vol. 245, 2020, p. 119978., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119978. 

Stupp, S., et al. “Bioactive Scaffolds with Enhanced Supramolecular Motion Promote Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury.” Science, vol. 374, no. 6569, 12 Nov. 2021, pp. 848–856., https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abh3602. 

Circadian rhythm clocks in different animals

We have circadian rhythms for all kinds of body functions and behaviors. Not only us, but animals and insects do too. It’s on a bigger scale than just environmental, although that definitely plays a role. Many scientists have studied this on a molecular level and have discovered many interesting things that seem to be common findings across several experiments. 

In the research article “Central and Peripheral Clock Control of Circadian Feeding Rhythms”, Dr. Cavanaugh and his colleagues researched the different types of circadian rhythms in Drosophila fruit flies. They realized that there were different circadian clocks for different functions that were located in various parts of the body. Some of these clocks depend on various environmental factors; for example when it’s constantly dark out, the fat body gene in the Drosophila becomes under the control of the central clock. They concluded that there are central brain clocks that control feeding, courtship/mating, learning/memory, etc, that are supported by peripheral clocks that can regulate feeding behavior. 

In the article “Integration of feeding behavior by the liver circadian clock reveals network dependency of metabolic rhythms”, Greco et al. researched the effects of BMAL 1 and its transcription factor CEBPB, and found that when the two work together they regulate the functions of daily liver metabolic transcription programs. They discovered this by separating the interaction between the feeding and liver clock. 

These discoveries are interesting because Greco proved Cavanaugh’s idea that there are different circadian clocks in different parts of the body. By spending more time researching the way similar clocks work in different specimens, we might be able to use the data from one study as the baseline information for another experiment or be able to fix an issue in one of those clocks in another animal. 

Restoration of Spinal Connections in Severe Spinal Injuries

There are approximately 265,000 Americans who are living with spinal cord injuries, with resurfacing cases of 11,000 and 12,500 each year. However, since over 20% of injuries do not get reported, this may be an underestimate. Spinal cord injuries, especially those that cause paralysis, can be extremely devastating for patients. People suffering from paralysis may be vulnerable to certain health conditions such as skin infections, obesity, and life-threatening respiratory infections. The fact that the mind and body are connected becomes evident in people suffering from spinal cord injuries. When the body is physically dysfunctional in certain areas, the mind seems to mirror the effects too, but in terms of mental health issues. Depression and anxiety are very common in people dealing with the challenges of living with a spinal cord injury, and maybe exacerbated. Some medications also have the ability to change the way the brain processes certain neurotransmitters, increasing vulnerability to mental illnesses. Contusions in the spinal cord may also lead to other changes in physical capabilities such as difficulty controlling bladder or bowels, difficulty with sexual function and fertility, phantom pain radiating from site of injuring to elsewhere, and breathing difficulties and sleep apnea. People with spinal cord injuries may also face discrimination in the workplace, household, and schools, which is an additional stress on their mental health.  

In the article, The effect of a nanofiber-hydrogel composite on neural tissue repair and regeneration in the contused spinal cord, Oudega et al engineered an injectable nanofiber-hydrogel composite (NHC) which could provide mechanical strength and porosity due to it’s interfacial abilities. They investigated “the mechanical support of NHC and its effects on neural tissue generation by assessing the presence of macrophages, blood vessels, axons, and neural-like cells.” in an adult rat model of spinal contusion. They hypothesized that the NHC should provide mechanical support to the spinal cord segment that is damaged, and it should also create a microenvironment allowing the infiltration of endogenous cells, which is necessary for nervous tissue to generate and repair itself. One of the main results of this study show that there was a growth of M2 macrophages in the contused areas. The researchers concluded that NHC is able to mechanically support the contused spinal cord and support “pro-regenerative macrophage polarization, angiogenesis, axon growth, and neurogenesis in the injured tissue without any exogenous factors or cells” (Oudega et al., 2020). 

The article, Growth Cocktail Helps Restore Spinal Connections in the Most Severe Injuries by Emily Willingham, talks about research done based on the fact that a certain type of nerve cell, aids the signaling restoration in spinal cords that are partially damaged. These cells can also restore limited walking ability even when direct connections to the brain are damaged. Michael Sofroniew, one of the senior authors of the study and his colleagues used this idea and wanted to see if they could create an area of complete spinal injury in their experimental animals and use propriospinal neurons. If these neurons could flourish into this area of injury, then they might be able to follow the same idea. Their attempts using only propriospinal cells failed, so they then turned to adding laminin which is a set of chemicals that promote nerve cell growth and trigger production of a structural protein, along with chemicals that help in placement of regenerating axons. Laminin acts as a support protein in tissue engineering. They called this the trifecta of axon growth factors. This current study was finally successful – enough of the neuron fibers were accumulated to bridge the gap in the spinal contusion. The axons could also fully pass electrical signals. The results of this study led to the generation of the future goal of figuring out how to use their three-part protocol and apply it in patient care. Sofroniew said that their protocol is just the first step to a longer process and that this treatment may not be applicable for other kinds of spinal cord neurons. Their three-pronged method, he said, could be applied to other neurons to try and bring to reality the ability to restore certain functions, such as control of stepping. Although they were able to bridge the gap, they think that it is just the first step. The experimental animals did not regain their locomotion abilities all of a sudden when the gap was bridged. This is mainly because the axons that have been regenerated need communication pathways around the injury, so that the restored signals can flow through the brain and spinal cord. This could be brought about by rehabilitation, training of the new axons to perform their new duties, combined with their three-pronged relationship. The experimenters plan to take their spinal cord injury repair protocol and add it to different types of rehabilitation. The team’s current goal is to see if they can use rehabilitation training to “reboot the whole system”.   

If the results of both studies could be applied in patient care, it could have the potential to change the lives of millions of people around the world who are suffering from severe spinal cord injuries. They could potentially regain many of the physical bodily functions that were lost or weakened due to their injuries. These studies also open doors for further studies on specific areas which may also aid in specialized patient care.   

 Works Cited:  

SpinalCord.com. (n.d.). Life after a spinal cord injury. SpinalCord.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.spinalcord.com/life-after-a-spinal-cord-injury  

Li, X., Zhang, C., Haggerty, A. E., Yan, J., Lan, M., Seu, M., Yang, M., Marlow, M. M., Maldonado-Lasunción, I., Cho, B., Zhou, Z., Chen, L., Martin, R., Nitobe, Y., Yamane, K., You, H., Reddy, S., Quan, D.-P., Oudega, M., & Mao, H.-Q. (2020). The effect of a nanofiber-hydrogel composite on Neural Tissue Repair and regeneration in the contused spinal cord. Biomaterials, 245, 119978. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119978  Willingham, E. (2018, August 30). Growth cocktail helps restore spinal connections in the most severe injuries. Scientific American. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/growth-cocktail-helps-restore-spinal-connections-in-the-most-severe-injuries/    URL:  https://restoration-of-spinal-connections.blogspot.com/2022/03/restoration-of-spinal-connections-in.html

A Rise in ADHD Diagnosis Must Lead to Changes in the Classroom

 

In “Top-Down Attention Modulates Auditory-Evoked Neural Responses in Neurotypical, but not ADHD, Young Adults,” Kwasa et al tested a combination of forty-five patients, 20 neurotypical and 25 with ADHD. The research team set up their experiment with a “challenging auditory task that required strong top-down attention” consisting of layered syllables: ‘ba’, ‘da’, and ‘ga’. In order to record data, electroencephalography (EEG) was conducted in tandem with the auditory task. It was hypothesized that those with ADHD would show weaker neural signaling as well as poorer performance in comparison to the control group under these auditory tasks. There were two auditory tests, one to study the ability of the listener to switch their attention (a task that would likely be very difficult to those with ADHD) and another to focus solely on attention. Results showed that “ADHD listeners demonstrate weaker top-down modulation of neural responses evoked by an unpredictable interrupting sound”.

            According to research gathered in the article (published in the Washington Post in 2018) “ADHD Numbers are Rising, and Scientists are Trying to Understand Why” by Rachel Bluth, there has been a rise in patients diagnosed with ADHD. This increase is likely as a combination of advances in healthcare leading to more premature babies surviving and increased access to medical access via the Affordable Care Act. There has also been an expansion of the symptoms list as ADHD may present differently in females as opposed to males. With the rise in the diagnosis of ADHD across not only gender but race and ethnicity as well, it is imperative that educators can provide quality education to all their students no matter their diagnosis.

            Journal articles like Kwasa et al. about ADHD assist in establishing useful ways to help students afflicted with the condition not only better understand ADHD but also guide their guardians and instructors to improve their learning environment. For example, in interpreting the data collected in Kwasa’s experiment an instructor may suggest that students wear headphones when taking the listening portion of a language test or a parent may create a very quiet environment for their child when they must conduct a specific task like homework. As the child grows into an independent adult, they may make decisions that reflect the ideas of the research. Conducting meetings in small groups where people refrain from speaking over one another or abstain from switching between assignments and projects to keep their attention on one area of work. It is in the interpretation of research that allows society and science to move forward without leaving others behind.

 

Works Cited

Bluth, Rachel. “ADHD Numbers Are Rising, and Scientists Are Trying to Understand Why – The Washington Post.” Washington Post, The Washington Post, 7 Sept. 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/adhd-numbers-are-rising-and-scientists-are-trying-to-understand-why/2018/09/07/a918d0f4-b07e-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html.

Kwasa, Jasmine, et al. “Top-down Attention Modulates Neural Responses in Neurotypical, but Not ADHD, Young Adults.” The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, no. 4, Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Oct. 2021, pp. A64–A64. Crossref, doi:10.1121/10.0007633.