neuroscience blog

November 24 2022

Does Breathing Shape Our Brain? New Outstanding Evidence

George Nestoros Health and Longevity, Mental Health breathing, breathing affects brain, neuroscience blog

Breathing brain.

The fudamentals

Breathing is something we do automatically, without thinking. We often forget about it, but let me remind you of something. Our average respiration rate at rest, as adults, is from 12 to 16 breaths per minute.

As we all know, this homeostatic process allows the oxygen in the air we inhale to enter the blood. At the same time, CO₂ leaves the bloodstream and reaches our lungs which are ready to discard it via exhaling. And yet there’s much more than that.

Does breathing shape our brain?

In the last few years, researchers have been studying how breathing is related to our emotions, one uncharted territory of scientific psychology. They eventually started to investigate how breathing shapes the brain.

Brainwaves as a tool to examine the influence of breathing in brain.

The key to understanding this link is to look closely at the gamma oscillations. These are a special type of so-called ‟brainwaves”; rhythmic fluctuations that are generated by neural tissue in response to neural activity. The various kinds of oscillations differ in frequency. Gamma oscillations span the range of 25-100 Hz.

When we are learning something new, our brains produce gamma oscillations.

It has already been noticed² that respiration affects the modulation of odor-evoked gamma oscillations. The same is true⁴ for emotion-induced oscillations, especially fear and anxiety.

It seems that the center for such outputs lies in the amygdala. Stimulating the amygdala increases the respiratory rate as a result of delta oscillations production in the olfactory bulb. If one electrically stimulates a particular spinal nerve region (the C4 ventral root), which is connected to the limbic system where the amygdala lives, it is possible to burst our breath.

Yes, it does!

A natural question that arises is whether the olfactory system is somehow special in this regard, or if these astonishing results remain true when considering other brain areas. It turns out that⁴ the olfactory system does have a certain importance, mainly due to evolution.

The cerebral cortex has always maintained a link with the olfactory system, and only later did it adapt so as to expand its influence on other sensory systems. Our nose has acted as a fast way to perceive eventual damages coming from the environment surrounding us since prehistoric times.

Nonetheless³, breathing also shapes other areas of the brain. Measuring at the same time the breathing rhythm and the neural activity in awake mice, researchers have found that both delta oscillations and gamma oscillations influence the barrel cortex.

A crucial role in this is still played by the olfactory bulb, which when is removed³causes a notable decrease in the respiration frequency. In particular, the delta oscillations are reduced by 80-90%.

New outstanding evidence

A group of scientists followed the road that these seminal achievements paved. They consideredan additional factor – the neural gain – to develop a model that describes the influence of breathing rhythms on our cognition, emotions, and perception. Loosely speaking, the neural gain is an amplifier of neuronal activity; augmenting the gain leads to an increase of the electrical activity along the nerve cell (an action commonly defined as ‟neurons firing”), and vice versa, decreasing the gain inhibits neurons.¹

According to their most recent paper on this topic¹, delta oscillations modulate sensory inputs and responses. Depending on the neuron firing rates, there are alterations in blood temperature and oxygenation, as well as arterial pulsation. The significant aspect here is that, even for small changes in visceral rhythms, the perception of external stimuli sensations (such as smell, sight, etc.) is highly influenced.

Moreover, since gamma oscillations can alter synaptic plasticity, the way we breathe might have a tremendous effect on our brain. Intranasal or intraoral breath, deep or shallow, and so forth – might have a long-term effect on our health.

For example, intranasal breathing specifically modulates hippocampal theta rhythms as well as performance on memory and emotion tasks.modulates hippocampal theta rhythms and⁵ Based on these findings, Allen, M. et al. suggest that intranasal respiration plays a dominant role in modulating slower neural oscillations associated with top-down computations, and in particular those that regulate affective and motivational processing.¹

The post-COVID-19 hypothesis

Although more research is needed before drawing precise conclusions, there are already some relevant elements supporting this hypothesis. For instance, there’s the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed¹, of the more than 600 million people who recovered from COVID-19 as of November 2022, it is estimated that about 15% have suffered (or are still suffering) from long-covid effects despite the absence of any physiological damage.

The reasons are not completely clear, but scientists suspect that many of these consequences may be related to how the patients’ ways of breathing have been changed by this infectious disease.

Takeaway

The good news is that one can learn to regulate and control the rhythm of the breath, as soldiers and snipers do during their training. This could lay¹ the foundation for new insights that could help doctors treat some kinds of illnesses, psychiatric disorders, and mental health symptoms such as depression, panic attacks, and anxiety.

In a sense, this is not so different from what physical activity does to our brain: when we exercise, our body releases endorphins, chemical signals that ‟cheat” our brain and make us feel happier, also reducing our pain.

We can therefore conclude that this discovery is opening the doors to plenty of yet-to-be-answered questions. Questions that will surely shed some light on the relationship between our breathing and seemingly unrelated matters. It will take some time to elaborate on the new hypothesis and apply the results in the medical field. However, in the end, the world will feel the difference by using more strategies to cure a range of illnesses.

That’s all. Thanks for reading, stay informed.. and breathe!

References

[1] Allen, M. et al. (2022). Respiratory rhythms of the predictive mind. Psychological Review, advance online publication

[2] Kay, L. M. et al. (2009). Olfactory oscillations: the what, how and what for. Trends Neurosci, 32(4), 207-14

[3] Ito, J., et al. (2014). Whisker barrel cortex delta oscillations and gamma power in the awake mouse are linked to respiration. Nat Commun, 5, 3572

[4] Homma, I.; Masaoka, Y. (2008). Breathing rhythms and emotions. Exp. Physiol., 93(9), 1011-21

[5] Zelano, C; et al. (2016) Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations and Modulates Cognitive Function. J Neurosci. 2016;36(49):12448-12467.

April 23 2022

Oxytocin: 5 Facts You Didn’t Know About The “Love Hormone”

George Nestoros Behavioral Neuroscience, Neuroscience Basics love hormone, neuroscience blog, oxytocin

Introduction

Hello Internet, today’s guest is Oxytocin. Oxytocin is another significant neurotransmitter/hormone which is normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary.

It could be categorized among the main happy chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, even though each one of them has a specific impact on happiness (from boosting pleasure to managing anxiety).

Oxytocin was first known for its role in female reproduction, as long as it is released in large amounts during labor and contributes to lactation.¹ Consequently for many years, researchers saw it primarily as a pregnancy hormone.

However, its role is broader than this. Only over the last decades, researchers have focused on what functions Oxytocin might have in the brain. And the discoveries, huh, are spectacular!

The “love hormone”

As we mention in the title, oxytocin is usually called a “love hormone” (or “love drug”). It appears that humans are experiencing high levels of Oxytocin in the first stages of a romantic attachment. Interestingly, those high levels of Oxytocin persisted for at least (!) six months.²

The above observations in combination with the secretion of Oxytocin during sex and orgasm led to the domination of the term “love hormone”.

However, Oxytocin’s role in love attachments is just the tip of the iceberg. Oxytocin contributes to or has starring roles in many other functions of the human brain as well.

The 5 facts you didn’t Know

Fact #1: The sex hormone

The first fact we are going to investigate is the relation of Oxytocin with sex. It appears that the “love hormone” can contribute to causing erection during sexual arousal, in both men and women. Studies have shown that during sexual arousal the levels of Oxytocin in humans are increased.^3–6

Can oxytocin indeed increase the lust for sex? Interestingly, it seems that the answer is yes. Not only it increases the desire for sex but also Oxytocin is raised during, or immediately after, the orgasm or ejaculation.^4,7

It should be also noted that a study shows that anorgasmic women showed lower oxytocin levels than orgasmic ones before and after sexual intercourse.⁸ And, if you think about it, this is something that, in a way, seals the previously mentioned results!

Fact #2: Social Bonding, Love, and Trust

To understand how oxytocin is related to some complex social behaviors such as bonding, trust, and love, we will mobilize the love life of some (!) voles. Yes, you read correctly.

In the woodlands of Europe and Asia can someone meet one of the only 3% of mammal species that appear to form monogamous relationships, the prairie vole. It will take 24 hours of tremendous effort for them to mate but once they do it, they will spend the rest of their lives together.³ It sounds like a Disney novel, right? And yet, it’s true.

Moving now from Disney’s novel to “American Pie 3”, we meet another vole, the montane vole. Even though those two kinds of vole are 99% genetically alike, the montane vole has exactly the opposite love habits. It has no interest in partnership beyond one–night–stand sex! This major difference is just because of different endocrine functions.

But what actually does happen here? Well, when prairie voles have sex, Oxytocin, and vasopressin are released. Interestingly if the release of those two hormones is blocked, then prairie voles act exactly as their montane cousins!³

Consequently, Oxytocin has a starring role in love, and more generally in every social bonding (from attachment security, mating, paternal behavior, and motherhood). It appears that the key role of Oxytocin is that contributes to building trust between people.

Consider this, research, which contained a money game, showed that people’s trust, even in a stranger, was raised with a nasal spray of Oxytocin. Somebody can even invest more money if he was given intranasal Oxytocin 50 minutes before the decision.⁹

Fact #3: Social Behavior

The recognition of individuals and having the proper response to them is a supreme ability we, humans, take for granted. Imagine a world where life is the same as now and you can have the exact same behaviors with people BUT you can’t recognize any person. You will have all these feelings of admiration, liking, anger, love, etc. but you will not remember to who; or maybe you won’t generate all these feelings at all.

Well, thanks to our complex minds we can recognize a conspecific and figure out the proper reaction to that individual, leading to the formation of a ‘social memory’ of people and displaying of appropriate behaviors within a social group. This is where Oxytocin shows up since it is involved in forming social memory and the ability of social recognition.¹⁰

The social story, though, didn’t come to an end.

What comes after social memory?

A bond; A social bond! (For the few 😁).

As you could imagine, Oxytocin plays a crucial role in the formation of different kinds of affiliative bonds. It appears that oxytocin is greatly implicated in a broad spectrum of bond formation. From parental behavior to friendship bonds to bonds with pups, and, of course, to sexual affiliations.¹⁰

Fact #4: Non-Social Behavior

Believe it or not, Oxytocin contributes to other behaviors except the social ones we have already mentioned. One of these is its role in stress, anxiety, and depression.

Apart from the association of Oxytocin’s imbalances with both anxiety and depression cases, it also seems to have an anxiolytic behavioral profile. Since both physiological and psychological stressors increase Oxytocin release in a few key brain regions which leads to dampening of the release of stress hormones. ¹⁰

And voila, the magnificent catchphrase: “Love Decreases Stress”.

And what is Oxytocin’s role in cognition ability? Well, it seems that the news is not as good as the latter. Although the evidence is not enough to give a confident conclusion; still, research shows that Oxytocin can affect learning and memory.

For instance, the administration of Oxytocin significantly decreases memory, accuracy, and decisiveness. It also shows deficits in learning processes.^10,11

Fact #5: Feeding, Grooming, and (!) Pain Perception

Feeding, grooming, and pain perception. What affiliations might have those with Oxytocin levels? Well, it seems that they have, and they are very interesting. I am getting started with the one that impressed me, and this is pain perception.

Interestingly, it appears that Oxytocin reduces pain perception. What does this mean? It means that when someone is exposed to a painful event, either physical or physiological, Oxytocin plays a significant role in the pain one perceives.^12,13

When Oxytocin levels are high, one will “experience” less pain! Okay, someone might say that the pain is the same; what is, actually, changing is the perception of it.

And here I am for another great catchphrase: “Love Reduces Pain”. How does it sound?

Moving forward to grooming I think that everyone who has read this article will guess that Oxytocin and grooming have a positive correlation. And this is true.

Research on beloved rodents has shown that the administration of Oxytocin enhances grooming activity in both males and females.¹⁴

Finally, feeding seems to be the more complex one of the three. This is because a lot of factors might contribute to this; just so to mention one, remember the dopamine reward system. However, someone can claim that generally, Oxytocin suppresses food intake.¹⁰

Takeaway

What a magnificent molecule Oxytocin is, huh? We just saw that the known “love hormone” plays a significant role in severe sections of our life.

This hormone, when first discovered, was connected only with female reproduction; it evolves into the neurotransmitter that most people recognize for its affiliations with love; and now it appears to be a great facilitator for life. Consider the broad spectrum of its role, from its contribution to sex and social bonding to depression and pain perception. Wow!

Reaching the end, I could say that this article was so lovely. Thanks for reading, stay informed and give love a chance.

References

April 17 2022

The Neuroscience Of A Decision, The Existing Scientific Knowledge

George Nestoros Behavioral Neuroscience decision making, neuroscience blog, neuroscience of decision

Introduction

“What dress shall I wear?”

Every day we make several series of decisions that, one way or the other, shape our lives and our future. From simpler questions like ‟What dress shall I wear?” to more complex matters that may induce the most disparate consequences on our society. The beloved scientists are working to decipher the actions undertaken by our nervous system during this process. So far, though, this problem is not completely understood.

A philosophical or a science question?

One of the main issues is that decision-making often appears as a rather philosophical question that involves free will. Thus, one may cut out the problem from the field of science, believing that determinism cannot agree with such a concept. However, there are neural mechanisms that can at least explain which areas of our brain come into play during perceptual decision-making. That is when we choose one option from a list of possibilities.¹

In fact, the first significant research papers started to appear in the fifties yet this topic has become a central issue in neuroscience only in the last two decades. Thanks to more advanced technologies, it is now possible to observe the brain at work and study the receptors which activate during the decision-making process.^2,3

To comprehend the current state of the art, we shall proceed step by step. Due to evolution, there are animals whose nervous system is less complex than ours. Consequently in such cases, it is easier to predict and study how the brain behaves.

These models represent an approximation of the decision-making process in humans. Yet they give us a very clear idea of the situation: if we represent our possible choices with little walls scattered around, we can imagine our line of thoughts as a floating ball which, never touching the ground, continuously bounces on such walls and hits each of them several times until we choose what to do – then, the ball stops near the corresponding wall.

Neuroscience of Decision

The monkey experiment

Indeed, extraordinary progress has been recently made by some Stanford University researchers. When we are taking a decision, the choices our brain is in front of fluctuating, leading us to hesitation and doubts.³

More precisely, they used a very well-known method called ‘random dot motion discrimination task’. Every monkey was shown one or more dots on a screen. At first, the dots are still, so that the animal can focus on them and scan their position. After a while, the dots start moving, and the monkeys are asked to determine the direction.³

Meanwhile, researchers have developed a system which allowed them to visualize what was going on in the monkey’s brain cells as they decided whether the dots were shifting right or left. This led them to a striking achievement: they were capable of predicting what the animals were going to choose a few seconds before they took their final choice.³

Sound – Smell – Touch

Although this is already exciting, studies have not stopped with monkeys. These animals indeed provide interesting insights. However, it is useful to search for other suitable models to investigate the decision-making process.⁴

One of these is provided by rodents, which allowed researchers to extend the sensory modalities of their experiments, hence giving them the chance to take into account three other senses: sound, touch, and smell.⁴

This yielded a great result: neurons encode choice signals which are heavily influenced by the region of the brain and the sense we are dealing with. For instance, if the anterior lateral motor cortex is not activated in a mouse, then only decisions involving the touch are affected.⁴

Does the past determine our decisions?

At this point, one may wonder whether a similar argument can be carried on in more general cases, and the answer is yes. The decision-making process is influenced by lots of factors, and among them, we can find, apart from our senses, past decisions and the promise of some reward, which by the way are also bridged.⁵

To prove this, scientists have exploited game theory. In this context, the mathematical framework of game theory can be employed to estimate the behavior of animals and humans when they play a zero-sum game (which means that one player’s gain is equivalent to a loss for the opponent).⁵

It turned out, after analyzing monkeys playing free-trial and competitive games against a computer, that the essential information is encoded by neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.⁵

Following this direction, scientists have found out that decision-making is a process that also involves memory and learning.⁶

The ventral striatum, the amygdala, the insula, and the orbitofrontal cortex – areas of the brain which are activated during the learning process – also have a crucial impact on social decisions.⁷

It appears that an individual often tries to figure out how other people are going to behave and subsequently adjusts personal decisions in a way that recalls the result of the theory of mind, expanding the areas of the brain involved in the process as the group of people enlarges.

The present and the future

This discussion on its own gives us an overview of how the decision-making process works, or at least of how it is understood to date. Researchers are currently approaching the problem from several perspectives, and the next few years may bring to light new important discoveries within this field.

In the meantime, we can additionally consider some applications of these studies. The most promising ones include the chance of having a more accurate overview of some mental issues like depression and schizophrenia; in a few cases, moreover, it has been possible to help people with paralysis, foreseeing their movements and, literally, readingtheir intentions thanks to a new real-time decoding technique.³

This opens the doors to a wide range of medical consequences that will probably shape the future treatment of these diseases.

Takeaway

To conclude our discussion about Decision-Making, we could point out that the investigation hasn’t to be only philosophical but scientific as well.

We constantly obsess our minds with everyday questions like “What shall I wear?”, “What shall I have for lunch?” or “What career fits better for me?”. And then we decide; I will wear my jeans with my favorite yellow TH T-shirt and I will eat salmon with rice. (Of course, I didn’t decide yet about the career thing, who did?)

However, behind this process, much more happened. Different regions of our brains are activating; memories and expectations are contributing; and surely, scientists will need more evidence to make more concrete conclusions.

Until then, stay informed and remember “Take care of your mind”.

References

April 9 2022

Covid-19 And Mental Health, The Indirect Effects On The Brain

George Nestoros Mental Health covid-19, covid-19 and mental health, mental health awareness, neuroscience blog

Introduction to the indirect effects

So, Covid-19 and mental health. In the previous post, we talked thoroughly about the direct effects of Covid-19 on the brain. We saw how SARS-Cov-2 manages to penetrate the brain and cause damage, leading to severe neurological issues and even depression. As we mentioned back then, to understand the relation between Covid-19 and mental health we need to examine two main questions:

What are the direct effects of Covid-19 on the brain and mental health?
What are the indirect effects of Covid-19 on the brain and mental health?

The one is already answered (if you haven’t read it yet, do it now!). In this post, we are going to reveal the indirect effects that might Covid-19 have on the brain and mental health.

A careful approach

Switching to the effects of restrictive measures, we must be careful about the kind of approach we employ in the study. In contrast to the biological question of the previous post, here there are many more variables that play an important role and hence modify the results, making them less reliable, if not treated properly.

Even though quarantine, social distancing, and other restrictive measures appear to be good reasons for causing issues in mental health, still it’s difficult and tricky to give results and conclusions about their effects.

Let’s dig in

The first distinction we could make involves data gathered from European countries; from those with the most severe measures, such as Germany, to those with the mildest measures, like Lithuania. It appears that exposure to lockdown did not significantly increase the cases of mental health issues. Less than a fifth of the adult population showed signs of depression and anxiety.^1,2

As might be expected, though, the risk was higher for those who for any reason were staying alone at home. For instance, those who were not married and were passing their days lonely had tougher times than people who had company. Hard times, also had, and still have the ones who were subject to stressing factors like the unemployed ones and people with lower income or any disadvantaged setting.²

Moreover, if we conversely look at adolescents and children, we discover that for 70.2% of them, mental health conditions have worsened in at least one of the following categories: depression, anxiety, compulsions, and irritability. In particular, the deterioration of such issues was related to the presence of pre-COVID conditions of the same kind. Social isolation and ethnicity are the major factors in this aggravation.³

A foggy landscape

Generally, we could say that the pandemic has had a tremendous impact on our lives. For the sake of the truth, it is observed a major increase in the number of U.S. citizens who report symptoms of stress, insomnia, anxiety, and even depression during the pandemic, compared with the times before the pandemic. Something that could be proof of this statement, it’s the increase in the use of substances (alcohol and prescription and non-prescription drugs) during the last year.⁴

But, as you can see, we cannot have a lot of clear evidence about the indirect effects of Covid-19 on mental health. However, by combining the two scenarios (direct and indirect effects), we can see that the risk of developing neurological issues after the infection by COVID-19 is non-negligible. This is why scientists collected lots of data to give an indicative percentage that measures these manifestations.⁵

Such papers prove that fatigue (58%), headaches (44%), and attention disorders (27%) are among the most probable long-term effects; while anxiety (13%), depression (12%), sleep disorders (11%) and psychiatric illnesses (6%) tend to last less. The good news is that has been observed severe depression lasting more than twelve weeks only in a small number of cases (3% – 12%).^5,6

Takeaway

To sum up the two posts, we could say that Covid-19 seems to have some effects on mental health either direct or indirect. The effects, though, don’t last for long periods and are usually reversible.

The truth, though, is that Covid-19 has changed completely our lives. I, personally, experienced a lot of ups and downs in my mental health over the last two years. I have no idea if Covid-19/pandemic was the reason for that, even though, I was infected twice with Covid-19. However, I strongly believe that the paranoia of the past years contributed to my any piccolo mental issues. And so did to many other people.

Anyhow, that’s all for now. Until the next post, stay informed, find out our book recommendations, and take care of your mind!!

References

March 19 2022

Covid-19 and Mental Health, The Direct Effects on The Brain

George Nestoros Mental Health covid-19, covid-19 and mental health, mental health matters, neuroscience blog

Covid-19 and Mental Health

The spread of Covid-19 has had – and is still having – a significant impact on our lives. The consequences are the most disparate ones, ranging from direct problems (severe symptoms which affect the lungs and may lead to intensive care or, in the worst cases, to death) to rather indirect matters (sociopolitical and economic issues).

Among these, we must not forget to take care of our mental health. In this regard, several studies have shown that a high percentage of people (especially adolescents and elderly men and women) have faced conditions like depression, anxiety, loneliness, and sleeping trouble during the periods of lockdown and after recovering from Covid-19.¹

Two Ways of Effect

To understand these results, it is useful to analyze two different questions separately:

What are the direct effects of Covid-19 on the brain and mental health?
What are the indirect effects of Covid-19 on the brain and mental health?

In this post, we will answer the first question. To do this, we will consider some biological processes which indicate how SARS-Cov-2 invades the brain and damages some areas. Brain areas that, in turn, increase the risks of developing (!) depression.

And for those who I am listening to that are questioning “what about the second question?”, you can read it in another post. In this demand, we will review the impact of restrictive measures and quarantine on mental health.

The Effects of Covid-19 on Brain

How does Sars-Cov-2 invade the brain?

To begin, the key issue to investigate is: how does SARS-Cov-2 “penetrate” the brain?

For a while¹, evidence for this fact was lacking, and there was only space for conjectures. Recently, however, it has been observed that SARS-Cov-2 harms the olfactory system (the bodily structures that serve the sense of smell). The latter also contributes to a loss of gray matter (the darker tissue of the brain, consisting mainly of nerve cell bodies and branching dendrites).

It is probably from the olfactory mucosa, which is confines within the brain, that SARS-Cov-2 contacts with the star-shaped cells that regulate many functions in our central nervous system named astrocytes.²

Sars-Cov-2 needs not reach the brain, only astrocytes

More precisely, Sars-Cov-2 activates pro-inflammatory cytokines that cross the blood-brain barrier and trigger microglia and astrocytes. This leads to an upregulation of a certain kind of receptors, called NMDA, that might consequently result in neurotoxicity (which takes various forms).¹

Following this path, it has been proven that both people with mild and severe symptoms of Covid-19 show damage to astrocytes, while neurons seem to remain untouched by the virus.^2,3

This is interesting to notice because Sars-Cov-2 needs not to reach the brain. It is because of the role of astrocytes and their link to the synopsis that brain injuries take place. These infected cells do not act anymore normally, and they provoke some damage to neurons. In turn, these synaptic deficits are related to changes in the expression of some genes which, in several cases, produce additional dysfunctions.^2,3

Although this information already gives a detailed overview of what goes on in the brain after the infection by Covid-19, the researchers have gone a little further.

The explanation

Indeed, they have identified a cluster of astrocytes with a dis-regularization of the genes of neurotransmissions. The presence of disease-associated microglia, moreover, confirms that the brain undergoes a process of inflammations that may or may not evolve in more severe neurological consequences.³

Such inflammations alter the levels of chemical substances like putamen and caudate, causing a type of depression. In most cases, it cannot be treated with common antidepressants. It is hypothesized that this process is similar to traumatic brain injuries since even in this case the inflammations and the loss of neurons eventually evolve into depression.¹

It is thus this peculiarity that yields the solution to the initial problem: A modification of the normal work of astrocytes explains the development of depression and other neurological issues, precisely because of their special function.

However, among other long-term effects of people who are infected with Covid-19, neurological issues are less probable. And even for those who reported long-term depression effects, only 3% to 12% of those cases, it has been observed severe depression lasting more than twelve weeks.^2,4

Takeaway

It is the truth that Covid-19 has changed completely our lives. This pandemic came out of nowhere and it generated a “new normal”. Although we used to say that is temporary, seems that it’s becoming more than permanent. Nowadays, when we have to protect ourselves and our beloved people from this new disease, it appears that we have, also, to take into account the information we learned today.

Covid-19 not only affects our lunges and leads to severe symptoms or intensive care and even death (in worst cases) but it’s also affecting our brains. Even though we could expect indirect effects, the direct effects on our mental health are something unexpected. And, of course, this is a further reason to take care of ourselves and protect our beloved people from Sars-Cov-2.

Read the post in which we discuss the indirect effects of Covid-19 on mental health; you will have a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. Otherwise, stay informed, find out our book recommendations, and take care of your mind!!

References

January 29 2022

Effects of Diet on Brain, Breakthrough Evidence

George Nestoros Neuroscience Basics brain food, effects of diet on brain, neuroscience blog

Introduction

Have you ever considered the effects of diet on your brain? And anything that affects the brain can affect the functioning of the human body.

The brain is the hub of all physiological activities and emotional sensations that are performed and experienced by a human. The brain manages this with the aid of various neurological functions and neurotransmitters, special chemical messengers that control and perform brain function.

Different types of neurotransmitters perform different functions. Consequently, anything that changes the levels of chemical messengers can affect you. One such thing that can have an effect is diet.

Effects of Diet on Brain Neurotransmitters

Diet and Serotonin

So, let’s start with a happy chemical, serotonin. Serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter and it is involved in mood, behavior, blood clotting, memory, and circadian rhythms.¹ Most importantly, it also plays a significant role in depression and anxiety.²

The precursor of serotonin is the amino acid tryptophan. So, we would expect that eating a protein-rich diet and so increasing our intake of tryptophan would greatly increase serotonin levels, right?

Well, it actually seems that this is not the case. The reason will be explained in a future blog post (stay tuned!), but what actually happens is that serotonin levels increase after a nice meal that is high in carbohydrates.^2,3

Diet and Dopamine

Another happy chemical is dopamine which is both an excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter. It is important for movement coordination, blood flow, pain processing, sleep, stress response, behavior, learning, and memory. Dopamine is best known for being released during pleasurable activities.⁴

The amino acid L-Tyrosine plays a critical role in the production of dopamine. So, increasing the number of amino acids in the diet can also increase dopamine production.⁵ Correspondingly, when these amino acids are removed from the diet, the level of dopamine falls.⁶

Consequently, eating a protein-rich diet can increase dopamine levels. Furthermore, there is some evidences that dopamine signals in the brain is reduced when saturated fats are consumed in high amounts.⁷

However, dopamine release is much more complex than this because of its significant role in the reward pathway.⁸ We discussed this in a previous post: every time we eat that little piece of chocolate that we love so much, our brain is “flooded” by dopamine.

Of course, this is a big and very interesting topic and we will reveal more about it in future posts.

Diet and Acetylcholine

We are moving forward to acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is one excitatory neurotransmitter. In addition to its role in the autonomic nervous system, muscle movement, and in stimulating significant body function, it also play a role in learning and memory. ^9,10

The latter is the reason why nootropics, which are supplements that increase acetylcholine levels, are a topic of so much interest.

Acetylcholine is formed of acetyl coenzyme A and choline with the help of the enzyme choline acetyltransferase.⁹ As a result, eating food that is rich in choline can increase the acetylcholine stores in the body, thus ensuring normal muscle function and improving learning and memory. Such a diet includes beef liver, egg, soybeans, fish, milk, quinoa, kidney beans, and others. The good news here is that choline is not a rare nutrient, and it is easy to incorporate it into your diet..¹¹

However, there are dietary supplements such alpha-GPC and citicoline which can increase choline levels.¹² Moreover, some dietary supplements, such as ginkgo Biloba, seem to slow acetylcholine breakdown and so potentially increase acetylcholine levels.¹³

Diet and GABA

The next neurotransmitter we will examine is GABA. Gamma-aminobutyric acid is a mood regulator. It is inhibitory in action, thus preventing the neurons from becoming overexcited.¹⁴ As a result, low levels of it can cause anxiety, irritability, and restlessness.

GABA itself is an amino acid, meaning protein-rich diets can increase its production by containing high levels of glutamate, its precursor amino acid.

Another way to increase GABA is by taking it directly from food and, specifically, foods like fish, shellfish, beans, lentils, tomatoes, seaweed, and berries.

Even though it is still unclear whether taking supplements increases GABA levels in the body, some food supplements have some effects on behavior.¹⁵

Diet and Epinephrine

Last, but not least, is the neurotransmitter epinephrine, which is also known as adrenaline. Epinephrine functions as both a hormone and a neurotransmitter.

Certainly, epinephrine is a neurotransmitter you don’t want to have at high levels most of the time. It is released under high-stress conditions and increases heart rate and provides energy to muscles.¹⁶

Epinephrine and norepinephrine are important, however, for keeping you focused and motivated. More importantly, it aids the brain in making rapid decisions in times of danger.

It seems that protein-rich diets decrease epinephrine levels. Correspondingly, sticking to a low-protein diet increases epinephrine levels.¹⁷ Moreover, high-calorie diets including lots of fats and carbohydrates increase epinephrine levels.¹⁸

You can experience some increase in epinephrine levels after a cup of coffee which will keep you more focused throughout the day.¹⁹

To Sum Up

So, what did we learn today? Diet and food habits have a strong effect on our brains since the levels of brain regulators are greatly affected by the food we consume.

Consequently, diet can influence our mood, behavior, energy, and much more. The truth is that these things are very complex, but this is just a simple introduction so we can dive into much more detail in the future. Until then, stay informed, find out our book recommendations, and remember – we are what we eat!

References

January 3 2022

What is the role of Neuroscience in our Everyday Life?

George Nestoros Neuroscience Basics neuroscience blog, neuroscience in everyday life

The Role of Neuroscience in Everyday Life

Have you ever thought about how our everyday life affects our brain function? Or how are our activities are related to the chemistry of our brains? What is the role of neuroscience in our lives?

I am sure you have, at least once, heard about dopamine secretion when you eat a piece of chocolate; or about the “love” hormone, oxytocin; or the endorphins that are flooding your brain when you exercise. And the list goes on and on.

The above are all true. Everything we experience in our life affects one or more specific pathways in our neural system. It causes the secretion of a unique cocktail of chemical compounds which affects first our brains in a specific and unique way, and then our bodies.

So, this is the first article of the blog. My goal is to introduce you to the chemical world of our brains. In this context, you will read some basic information about the main chemical compounds of our nervous systems, which will bring us into contact with neurochemistry. Eventually, we will get an idea of the role of neuroscience in our everyday lives!

Let’s Roll!

The nervous system not only controls the physical functions of our body but also the psychological. It even controls the functioning of the organs of the human body.¹ For this, different neurotransmitters regulate the necessary functions, which include:

Concentration and focus
Heart rate and breathing
Sleep cycles and digestion
Mood and appetite
Muscle movement and locomotion (movement from one location to another).

Neurotransmitters are endogenous chemicals that permit neurotransmission, communicating information throughout our brain and body. Therefore, they act as a relay for different messages when they travel between the receptors of different target cells. Different neurotransmitters play either inhibitory or excitatory functions in response to specific stimuli.²

Neurotransmitter levels can be put out of balance in many ways which can cause various unfavorable symptoms. For instance, stress, a “bad” diet, genetic predisposition, both prescription and recreational drugs, alcohol, caffeine intake, and many more factors can push these levels out of optimal range.²

We will discuss all of them and more in future posts. However, for now, we have to meet the main chemical messengers of our neural system.

Dopamine

Dopamine is a significant neurotransmitter for more functions than we can list. Some of these include movement coordination, rewarding experiences, behavior, learning, memory, sleep regulation, attention, and motivation. It is critical for different muscle movements and a deficiency of dopamine can be responsible for Parkinson’s disease, among others disorders.^1,3

You can experience a high amount of dopamine every day during excitatory and pleasurable activities. Your brain produces dopamine when you eat that little piece of chocolate, when you receive a message on Facebook, when your picture on Instagram gets lots of likes, and when you watch those videos online.

However, dopamine is not only a molecule of pleasure but also a “molecule of more”. You don’t just enjoy that little piece of chocolate; you want more! In other words, we produce a little dopamine when we achieve a goal and so we want more.

We produce a little dopamine with a like or a text message on Insta, and so we want more. We produce a little dopamine by watching those videos online, and so, guess what? We want more!!

Whole industries are based on this function of dopamine, which is something we are going to discuss thoroughly in the future.

Epinephrine – Norepinephrine

Epinephrine or adrenaline and norepinephrine have significant functions in the bodily fight or flight response. Whenever a person is in a stressful condition, their body releases epinephrine in response to stress.²

Epinephrine is vital in increasing heart and respiratory rates, while norepinephrine has more of an effect on our blood vessels. When under chronic stress, the body’s epinephrine concentration can exceed exceptional levels. This could lead to heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension.^2,3

Epinephrine also plays a role by giving muscles jolts of energy, while low levels of norepinephrine are associated with decreased focus ability, low energy, and sleep cycle problems.²

You will notice higher levels of those chemical compounds after a warm cup of coffee since several studies have demonstrated the effect of caffeine on the excretion of both urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine have been shown to increase after caffeine administration.⁴

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)

GABA is an amino acid neurotransmitter widely distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) which functions as a mood regulator in the body. It is the most important inhibitory transmitter.

For instance, in cases of stressful or exciting conditions, GABA can act as an inhibitory agent to prevent the over-excitation of the neuron cells. In other words, when GABA interacts with the receptors of a neuron, it makes the neuron less likely to fire an action potential or release neurotransmitters.^1–3

Sedatives and tranquilizing medication, such as benzodiazepines, work to treat anxiety in patients according to the principle of the GABA neurotransmitter. These medications increase the concentration of GABA to inhibit restlessness, irritability, and anxiety in the patients.⁵

Serotonin

Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter (5-hydroxytryptamine) that regulates mood, sleep cycle, blood clotting, circadian rhythm, appetite, and more.³

We could call it the molecule of happiness and gratitude. When we feel calm, happy, and “full”, we are probably experiencing high levels of serotonin.

In addition, in times of anxiety and depression, serotonin could play a vital role. Whenever a person goes through intense stress or depression, their levels of serotonin decrease, causing more anxiety and mood swings. Serotonin supplements, such as the widespread SSRI drugs, can help ease the symptoms of depression and anxiety.^1,5,6

Acetylcholine

Acetylcholine is another significant neurotransmitter of the brain, which plays its role in the:

Regulating memory
Causing muscle contraction
Stimulating significant body function.²

People who have memory issues or Alzheimer’s disease often suffer from low levels of acetylcholine in their brains.⁵ Medications and drugs which slow acetylcholine breakdown can help control vital symptoms of depression and memory loss.^1,3

Takeaway

Our everyday lives significantly affect our brain functioning. What we are experiencing at any moment causes a secretion of a unique chemical mixture. This chemical cocktail not only affects our brain, but also our mood, appetite, and behavior.

Consider how important is to keep your neurotransmitter levels in a healthy balance! In the future, we will discuss what can cause those levels to become imbalanced and how we can optimize them. This was just an introduction to this science and, in the future, we will dive into more detail. Until then stay informed!

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