Has Social Media Altered Beauty?

    The emergence of social media has our current generation surrounded. Media, whether that be via the internet or newspapers, has always had some control over people's mindsets. This has been observed with presidential elections, the increased power of certain movements, and the latest fashion trends. However, recently, social media apps, such as Instagram or TikTok, have shown us hundreds of new faces a day, which we were not used to before. Beauty throughout the years shows us that it is forever changing; however, the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" stays constant throughout conversations. This sparked interest in psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers. How do we perceive beauty? Is it like what Plato or Aristotle believed, which explains that beauty comes from mathematical explanations such as symmetry? Or is it like Locke, who believed that it was a subjective matter? 

    In the journal article Is Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder or an Objective Truth? A Neuroscientific Answer by Norberto M. Grzywacz, et al., Grzywacz explains the phenomenon of how we see beauty. They determined that not only was it objective, relying on mathematical purposes like Plato or Aristotle, but also subjective, like Locke. Additionally, the subjective view is more flexible and individualized; therefore, it is more influenced.

    Recently, I’ve been seeing people talk about internal vs. external beauty and which is more important. With that being said, beauty is always up for debate. For example, what do you seek in a partner—is personality or looks more important? Although people will say both, it is difficult to argue that people don’t care about looks. The BBC notes that the connection between social media and body image is purely correlational but still noticeable. Although beauty is influenced by possible insecurities, peers don’t help much either. The BBC article mentions a survey of female university students, who said that they would tend to compare themselves with influencers, celebrities, or their peer group. Beauty has been tainted with self-hatred and negative body images. Additionally, this article continues to mention that those who post about loving their bodies will tend to get negative comments from other people who follow suit.

    Overall, it is important to take a break from social media every once in a while. Although I know that can be a big ask, it can be critical to how you see others or yourself. If it is difficult to give up social media, it is advised to follow people that are good for your self-image or that have motivational quotes that remind you to feel good about yourself.

BBC Article: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190311-how-social-media-affects-body-image 

The Need for Sleep Education as a Means of Improving Public Health and Wellbeing

 The importance of sleep in relation to overall well being and health has been understated in our society. Sleep regulates, as Dr. Zee phrased it, an ‘orchestra’ of internal functions that play crucial roles in our health. Our circadian clocks, which are involved in numerous pathways including homeostatic, metabolic, neuronal, etc., are aligned with the rotation of the sun around its axis. Due to this, our sleep wake cycle follows a pattern of light and dark in relation with the sun's rotation. Any disruption to this innate and self regulated circadian clock leads to misalignment of the multitude of pathways that feed into tissues and organs. Dr. Zee’s and her collaborators article “Circadian Disruption and Human Health” points out, the timing of when we sleep is crucial to maintaining our internal clock as for example the endocrine system releases certain hormones such as melatonin to help us sleep (Zee et al.,2021). As she said in her talk, timing supersedes the amount of sleep we get.  In her experiments, Dr. Zee’s team found that the artificial light and disturbing this cycle negatively impacts weight regulation, insulin sensitivity, hypertension, and cardiometabolic functions. They tested lights at night (LAN) in older patients and found it impacted heart rate and caused the patients to be more prone to diabetes and obesity (Zee et al.,2021). In patients whose sleep schedule differed from the norm, such a sleeping late or missing sleep, they were also at a greater risk for diabetes and obesity (Zee et al.,2021). Overall, when we sleep and how much time we sleep is crucial to our overall and future health. 

The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine published an article, “Sleep is essential to health: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement”, on the education and alterations that need to be made to highlight the biological and psychological necessity of proper sleep. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and Sleep Research Society (SRS), they recommend a total of 7 or more hours in all adults (Ramar et al., 2021). The CDC, however, reported that 32.5% of all adults fail to reach a full 7 hours and 74.6% of high school students, adolescents, also don't meet their sleep requirement (Ramar et al., 2021). This figure of 74.6% needs to change and the AASM is pushing for later school start times in order to fight this lack of sleep in teenagers, which they say has negatively impacted the entire population. In the medical field, the Journal points out that there is no formal sleep education or training for nurses, physician assistants, or registered nurses (Ramar et al., 2021). By educating health workers and emphasizing the importance of sleep, it can be possible to reduce health complications that arise from lack of sleep. It can also help to prevent unnecessary complications in older age and improve the overall public health. 

Zee’s work showing the detrimental effects of sleep disruption and the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine’s emphasis on sleep education shows the urgent necessity of better sleep in our society. People need to know how much sleep they need and the effects of sleeping late or habitually staying in an altered sleep cycle. Proper education, changing school (and other public functions) start times, and altering when and how long one sleeps will lead to improved public health for everyone. By having the information at hand, people can then choose to alter their sleeping habits and hopefully improve their future wellbeing as well. Prevention of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. can start with better sleeping habits. 

References:

Fishbein, Anna B., et al. “Circadian Disruption and Human Health.” Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 131, no. 19, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1172/jci148286.

Ramar, Kannan, et al. “Sleep Is Essential to Health: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine Position Statement.” Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, vol. 17, no. 10, 2021, pp. 2115–2119., https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.9476.

Cannabis: The Future of Epilepsy and Cancer Treatment

Endocannabinoids and cannabinoids questions have risen on a large scale in the past few years. Along with questions have risen distinct types of research. The goal has continued to be discovering what cannabinoids can do, how they can help, and how they can negatively affect the human body. Cannabinoids are compounds that come from the cannabis plant. Endocannabinoids are produced endogenously, meaning they are produced naturally inside the human body. Both have recently been found to help modulate and regulate distinct biological functions.  

In this paper by Scheyer et al., the different effects cannabinoids have on health were discussed. These included the effects on stress regulation, episodic memory, spatial memory, epilepsy, seizures, obesity, energy, neurodevelopment disorders, autism, and substance use disorders. It was found that eCB has had a substantial influence on the control of epileptic seizures. It was stated that eCB has a positive effect in different areas of the brain such as the temporal lobe and the hippocampus (Scheyer et al. 2023). Epileptiform activity and seizure were significantly decreased by the presence of eCBs, making it a possible option for seizure disorders treatment. 

In this paper by Laezza et al., we learn about cannabinoids and endocannabinoids that trigger distinct types of pathways in the central nervous system. One of these pathways being cancer-related signaling pathways. It was found that cannabinoids often behave as a modulator in cancer related signaling pathways. Some of the major components of cancer spreading are invasion, migration, metastasis mechanism, and angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the physiological process in which new blood vessels are formed from other vessels. Angiogenesis is an important process for tissue growth. However, it also happens to play a significant role in assisting with tumor growth. It was found that cannabinoids are inhibitors of angiogenesis, a process that then leads to inducing the release of TIMP-1, a tissue inhibitor (Laezza et al. 2020). Then, exhibiting the antitumor potential of cannabinoids. Although there is many more research to be done on cannabinoids, this research highlights that cannabinoids could potentially be a treatment for cancer and tumor growth.  

Endocannabinoids and cannabinoids have become a topic of focus in the past few years. Although there is yet to be enough research to prove their effects in their totality, there is various research so far that can allow us to conclude that endocannabinoids and cannabinoids could potentially be used as treatment against diseases like cancer and epilepsy. 

 

 

 

 

 

References: 

Scheyer, A., Yasmin, F., Naskar, S., & Patel, S. (2023). Endocannabinoids at the synapse and beyond: implications for neuropsychiatric disease pathophysiology and treatment. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 48(1), 37–53. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01438-7 

 

Laezza, C.; Pagano, C.; Navarra, G.; Pastorino, O.; Proto, M.C.; Fiore, D.; Piscopo, C.; Gazzerro, P.; Bifulco, M. The Endocannabinoid System: A Target for Cancer Treatment. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21, 747. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21030747 

PTSD and The Amygdala: How Our Emotional Center May Define Our Disease

    The amygdala throughout human existence has served as an evolutionarily brain structure. It encodes memory of fearful stimuli, playing an essential role in fear generalization arousal and processing of rewards. All of which may be disrupted in PTSD. Exaggerated amygdala activity in response to trauma-related stimuli is a frequent finding in fMRI studies of PTSD(www.ptsd.va.gov).

    PTSD is a disorder that can develop after an individual experiences a traumatic event, usually life altering. It involves intrusive nightmares, flashbacks and memories linked to specific trauma. This leads to various other problems with cognition such as trouble sleeping due to fear, guilt or sadness, trouble concentrating and irritability. The frontal lobe of our brain normally acts to regulate amygdala function, keeping it under control when there is not a threat to devote attention to. Dr. Stevens and colleagues focused on the transition from late childhood to early adulthood, stating that the prevalence of fear related disorders dramatically increases during this period. Suggesting that this window of time in adolescent life may be critical for identifying neurobiological mechanisms that give rise to these anxiety disorders (Stevens et al., 2022).

    Dr. Stevens and her collaborators explain how childhood trauma promotes functional changes in neural circuits involved in threat responses, specifically the amygdala. Through development these circuits become dysregulated, causing negative emotional reactivity. This  result contributes to the emergence of anxiety disorders (Stevens et al., 2022). A total of 75 participants aged 9 were recruited through an ongoing study of child trauma exposure conducted by the Detroit Trauma Project. During fMRI scanning, participants completed a emotional faces task developed by Dr. Stevens and her colleagues. The task consisted of 24 neutral faces and 24 fearful faces, totaling 48 trials that were presented in pseudo-random order. They found a positive association between increasing amygdala response to threatening faces and fear load. Amygdala habituation to fear faces has been linked between childhood trauma and PTSD symptom severity (Stevens et al., 2022).

    Juxtaposed to Dr. Stevens findings in adolescents, Dr. Korem alludes to PTSD and amygdala volume in Veterans. Two independent samples of veterans were tested through conditioning, where a (CS)visual stimulus was paired with an (US)electric-shock. Dr. Korem contrasted the activation of the amygdala to the CS+US pairing in 40 individuals, 20 of which had PTSD.  Dr. Korem found that the PTSD group portrayed a reduction in amygdala reactivity (Korem et al., 2022). He concluded that the “all or none” reaction can be observed in individuals with PTSD due to lower amygdala reactivity to pain.Veterans were  given fMRI brain scans to look at structural changes in the brain. These tests demonstrated that PTSD diagnosis was associated with a smaller volume in the left and right amygdala.

Additionally, the left hippocampus volume was decreased in PTSD patients, although the right hippocampal volume was unaffected. Supporting that PTSD induced changes in the limbic system, specifically the amygdala in this experiment. A meta analysis showed increased hyper activation of the amygdala, which may reflect an exaggerated response of fear circuitry. This may explain PTSD symptoms, such as hypervigilance and hyperarousal that patients often report(Korem et al.,).

In conclusion, the amygdala is the key that controls our emotional center. The amygdala is implicated in how we perceive and interpret fear, social behavior and emotional processing. Dysfunctions in the amygdala have been linked to severe anxiety disorders, depression and PTSD. Attempting to understand this almond-shaped structure buried deep in the temporal lobe could lead to ground breaking discoveries on the human condition.

References:

Korem, Nachshon. “Emotional Numbing in PTSD Is Associated with Lower Amygdala Reactivity to Pain.” Neuropsychopharmacology, Aug. 2022 

Stevens, Jennifer. “Anxiety, Fear Extinction, and October-December 2022: 1 © the Author(s ...” Anxiety, Fear Extinction, and Threat-Related Amygdala Reactivity in Children Exposed to Urban Trauma, Dec. 2022, 

PTSD, National Center for. "VA.gov: Veterans Affairs." Home, 15 Aug. 2013, http://www.ptsd.va.gov/

No sleep, no memories: The effects of sleep cycle disruptions on the hippocampus and memory related disorders

 The importance of sleep has long been overlooked, as discrepancies in this cycle can influence everyday health/performance as well as being a risk factor for a plethora of developmental and cognitive disorders. However, through diligent research the significance and positive consequences that a consistently adequate amount of sleep could lead to has finally started to branch out from the field of neuroscience and into the general public. A study done at the University of Tsukuba examines how vital an undisrupted sleep cycle is for hippocampal regulation and memory formation. 

Through a technique called ‘immediate early gene imaging’, the researchers were able to look at neural clusters in an entire rat hippocampus and visualize their activity during memory formation. This allowed them to scope out specific groups of neurons that were responsible for memory production. Taking their study a step further, the scientists at the University of Tsukuba decided to measure the effects of sleep on the aforementioned neuron clusters and consequently, hippocampal dependent memory. In the second half of the experiment, hippocampal activity of fear conditioned rats was recorded when they were asleep. Results showed that recollection of the fear inducing stimulus in rats that were able to sleep was much stronger and more prevalent than in the group that received little to no sleep. It was concluded that these neurons require sleep during periods of memory formation in order to stabilize those physical engrams that form. These findings are of great importance as they suggest more research on sleep and memory consolidation should be done as it could potentially lead to development of treatment options for those with memory disorders.

Dr. Anna Fishbein, Dr Phyllis Zee, and colleagues also examine the impacts of poor sleep health and the several disorders they can contribute to in their paper “Circadian disruption and human health”. Amongst the many illnesses they outline and discuss, a big group is neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s disease. Disruptions in the sleep wake cycle, more specifically the circadian cycle, is considered to be a huge risk factor for disorders like these. Extensive research as presented in this paper, shows that loss or degeneration of neurons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and environmental factors like reduced exposure to light can have severe effects on the amplitude and alignment of a person’s circadian rhythm, especially in those with Alzheimer’s or dementia. The article points out a symptom of circadian disruption is such a patient could be an cognitive decline and memory impairment as this misalignment could affect the different brain regions the SCN is connected to, such as the hippocampus. 

With regards to these memory disorders, findings like from the papers described above emphasize the importance of sleep in human health and the consequences that irregular and poor sleep can lead to . Both articles argue for the idea that more research should be done on the effect of sleep on the pathology of memory related illnesses as it is clear the hippocampus is not a brain region immune to the effects inadequate sleep can have.

Sources:

Fishbein, A. B., Knutson, K. L., & Zee, P. C. (2021). Circadian disruption and human health. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 131(19). https://doi.org/10.1172/jci148286 

University of Tsukuba. (2022, November 29). For memory formation, organization matters. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 1, 2023 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221129112857.htm

Dynamic Lighting for Patient Environments

Sleep is a necessity for everyone. Proper and sufficient amounts of sleep have been correlated to many health benefits including improved health and memory capabilities, at the least. It is essential that those who are ill get to rest in sufficient and optimal amounts. One thing that can affect the quality of sleep is exposure to blue light. Blue light is a type of light that every person who owns an electronic device with a screen has heard of and has been exposed to. It is present in devices such as computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Many electronic companies and producers boast about how they have very little blue light emission, or how they have reduced their blue light emission by a certain percentage in their products. Interestingly, blue light is also emitted from LED lights that can be found in hospitals and in patients’ rooms. Can this exposure to blue light be effectively limited in a patient’s environment to aid in their recovery?

In the article “Circadian Disruption and Human Health” by Zee et al., Dr. Zee presented a detailed overview of the effects of the circadian rhythm on the different aspects of human health. She highlighted the possible effects of a disrupted circadian rhythm which range from neurological disorders to immunological disorders. Furthermore, the different categories of people who can have a possibly disrupted circadian rhythm were explored. Those categories include approximately 16% of adults who work outside of a daytime schedule, approximately 70% of those who work indoors, and an estimated 99% affected by light pollution (Zee et al., 2021). Even though these populations are encompassing individuals residing in the US, an astounding number of individuals are exposed to light pollution in the US and around the world daily. Zee et al. state that several studies have shown that excessive light pollution in the evening can be a reason for a disruption in the circadian rhythm. This is a crucial finding as many people may fall within this category.

The article “The Evening Light Environment in Hospitals can be Designed to Produce Less Disruptive Effects on the Circadian System and Improve Sleep” discusses a study on the effect of lighting on patients’ circadian rhythms and their quality of sleep. This study aimed to show the reduced effects of blue-depleted lighting on circadian rhythms in naturalistic settings because this has not been extensively studied outside of laboratory settings. Vethe et al. studied blue-depleted lighting in a psychiatric hospital unit where new dynamic lighting systems were installed. Half of the unit in the hospital had blue-depleted lighting whereas the other half of the unit had standard lighting. The study was set up in a way that 12 healthy adults stayed in each light setting for 5 days in a randomized cross-over trial order. Vethe et al. found that adults who were in the blue-depleted lighting had lower suppression of their levels of melatonin when compared to the levels of suppression of melatonin in standard lighting. Also, total sleep time was 8.1 minutes longer and REM sleep was 13.9 minutes longer in blue-depleted lighting when compared to the results from individuals in standard lighting (Vethe et al., 2021).

The second article was really interesting when viewing it in light of Zee et al.’s work because Zee et al. focused on the negative implications of a disturbed circadian rhythm on human health. On the other hand, Vethe et al. focused on how effective a blue-depleted lighting environment can be in regard to reducing/removing the impact on the circadian rhythm. The paper by Zee et al. mentioned how immune disorders may arise from a disrupted circadian rhythm. The study by Vethe et al. shows that it is effective and possible to create a lighting environment that has a minimal impact on the circadian rhythm and sleep without serious side effects in a naturalistic setting. Since this study was done in a hospital with a dynamic lighting environment, it shows that hospitals can be designed, or even renovated, to incorporate this type of environment which can benefit patients’ sleep, and therefore, possibly their recovery. Patients' recoveries can have a chance to be at an optimal pace as their immune systems would not indirectly be harmed via a disrupted circadian rhythm. 

 

References

Fishbein, A. B., Knutson, K. L., & Zee, P. C. (2021). Circadian disruption and human health. The Journal of clinical investigation, 131(19), e148286. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI148286

Vethe, D., Scott, J., Engstrøm, M., Salvesen, Ø., Sand, T., Olsen, A., Morken, G., Heglum, H. S., Kjørstad, K., Faaland, P. M., Vestergaard, C. L., Langsrud, K., & Kallestad, H. (2021). The evening light environment in hospitals can be designed to produce less disruptive effects on the circadian system and improve sleep. Sleep, 44(3), zsaa194. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa194

 

The Relationship Between the Circadian Rhythm and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's

 The circadian rhythm can be described as oscillations that have about a 24 hour cycle. The suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN, is responsible for organizing the circadian rhythm in both physiology and behavior. The circadian rhythm is regulated by the SCN, behavioral factors, and environmental factors (Fishbein, et al., 2021). The disruption of the circadian rhythm by any factor can result in poor health, both mentally and physically (Fishbein, et al., 2021). A large number of people are at risk for disruption of their circadian rhythm including night shift workers, those who work indoors, and the majority of the population that is affected by light pollution (Fishbein, et al., 2021). Shen, et al. further discusses the relationship between circadian rhythm and neurodegenerative disorders, specifically Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Shen, et al. discuss that “dysregulated circadian rhythm and sleep could predispose disease onset and exacerbate disease progression” (Shen, et al., 2023). They focus on studying specifically how dysregulation of the circadian rhythm relates to PD and AD. Shen, et al. define PD as a blend of motor and nonmotor disorders. They classify the disruption of the circadian rhythm in PD in three ways: behavioral, physiologic, and molecular alterations. In PD, the circadian rhythm disruption is “characterized by a reduction in the amplitude of the circadian rhythm”, meaning there is not a shift in circadian rhythm phases (Shen, et al., 2023). Shen, et al. studied patients with PD that reported excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and those who did not. It was found that patients with PD that reported EDS had significantly lower amplitudes of the melatonin rhythm (Shen, et al., 2023). Studies have found that those who have reported EDS “have a twofold risk of developing PD” (Shen, et al., 2023). In relation to AD, rest-activity rhythm is a common indicator of circadian disruption. Patients with AD have been found to have an increased fragmentation in rest-activity rhythm as well as a decrease in daytime activity (Shen, et al., 2023). More studies need to be done in regards to circadian amplitude. Lastly, researchers noticed that greater sleep efficiency was associated with a decrease in AD risk (Shen, et al., 2023).

In regards to Parkinson’s disease, the findings described above indicate that it is possible that circadian rhythm disruption is a preliminary marker for PD. In regards to Alzheimer's disease, the above finding supports the idea that those with circadian rhythm disruption are at a higher risk for developing AD. Through the work done by Shen, et al. it can clearly be seen the toll that the disruption of the circadian rhythm can take on one’s health, as described by Fishbein, et al. Fishbein, et al. also discuss the population of people that are at risk for circadian rhythm disruption, including night shift workers and those who work indoors. With the work done by Shen, et al. more studies can be done to see if there are correlations between PD and AD in night shift workers and those who work indoors.

References: 

Fishbein, A. B., Knutson, K. L., & Zee, P. C. (2021, October 1). Circadian Disruption and human health. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Retrieved from https://www.jci.org/articles/view/148286#version_history  

Shen Y, Lv QK, Xie WY, Gong SY, Zhuang S, Liu JY, Mao CJ, Liu CF. Circadian disruption and sleep disorders in neurodegeneration. Transl Neurodegener. 2023 Feb 13;12(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s40035-023-00340-6. PMID: 36782262; PMCID: PMC9926748.