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Psychedelics Effect on Right-Brain Dominance Explored

Psychedelics and Cerebral Dominance: A Hypothesis

Adam Levin, a postdoctoral scholar and psychiatrist at The Ohio State University College of Social Work, has introduced an intriguing hypothesis regarding the action of psychedelic substances on cerebral dominance. According to his hypothesis, these substances may reverse the traditional hierarchical dynamic between the brain’s hemispheres, potentially inducing a state of right-brain dominance. Such a shift could offer a biological basis for the heightened states of empathy and profound realizations often reported by individuals who consume psychedelic drugs.

The HEALS Theory

Levin’s interdisciplinary experience in the domain of therapeutic psychedelics and psychiatry laid the foundation for his formulation of the Hemispheric Annealing and Lateralization Under Psychedelics (HEALS) theory. The HEALS concept was shared with the academic world through the Journal of Psychopharmacology and posits that psychedelics induce a rare cerebral state wherein the two hemispheres synchronize in a manner that diverges from our standard conscious experience.

In our ordinary state, the left hemisphere, adept at dissecting details and managing discrete components, usually exerts greater control compared to the right hemisphere. However, under the influence of psychedelics, Levin’s HEALS framework hypothesizes that this dominance is challenged, thereby elevating the right hemisphere’s integrative, holistic mode of operation. This theory gains traction through Levin’s clinical experiences with stroke patients who have suffered impairment in their right hemisphere, resulting in a more constricted attention span—lending credibility to the right hemisphere’s role in fostering an expansive attentional field.

Potential Psychological Enhancements

Enhanced psychological traits, such as flexibility in thought, creativity, emotional and social intelligence, along with an amplified sense of empathy, interconnectedness, and a vivid awareness of novelty and ‘aliveness,’ have all been observed in subjects partaking in psychedelic studies. These traits parallel the right hemisphere’s capabilities, a correlation seemingly substantiated by neuroimaging research that has identified elevated right frontal lobe activity and blood circulation during psychedelic experiences.

The proposal that psychedelics could nurture heightened awareness, paralleling the heightened states in seasoned meditators, opens up the discussion for potential long-term enhancement of right-brained faculties. Levin is hopeful that these substances could sustain mindfulness-related brain alterations akin to those spurred by consistent meditation practice.

Multifaceted Nature of Psychedelic Investigations

In light of the burgeoning interest and advancements in psychedelic investigations, particularly within therapeutic spheres, Levin postulates that a variety of theories will likely surface to tackle the complexities of how these drugs shape brain function. In his view, maintaining openness to multiple explanations is crucial, as becoming too entrenched in a singular narrative may distract from the multifaceted nature of brain activity and behavior.

Levin’s extensive analysis suggests that despite the necessity for diverse theoretical orientations, the relationship between psychedelics and right-brain dominance presents a compelling narrative that warrants further exploration. Such inquiries will not only enrich the academic understanding of psychedelic substances but also their potential for psychotherapeutic applications.

Unlocking Vagus Nerve Potential To Fight Inflammation

Exploring the Potential of the Vagus Nerve in Diminishing Chronic Inflammation

Dr. Kevin Tracey, a distinguished neuroscientist and neurosurgeon with an impressive track record in researching the body’s mechanisms, has concentrated on the vagus nerve, which plays a vital role in managing functions such as digestion and heart rhythm. His discoveries point towards the prospect that activating this nerve may be key in lowering persistent inflammatory responses, which could translate to enhanced longevity outcomes.

As the head of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Dr. Tracey has integrated certain lifestyle practices into his routine, drawing from the wealth of knowledge he has acquired through his investigations into inflammation. Among these practices are meditation, invigorating cold showers, and a consistent exercise regimen, all geared toward stimulating the vagus nerve. Dr. Tracey likens these activities to Pascal’s wager—a gamble on the potential health benefits, even with the absence of exhaustive proof.

Harnessing the Vagus Nerve: Potential Health Benefits

The vagus nerve consists of a network of about 200,000 fibers that stretch from the brainstem down to the abdomen, forming a crucial part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for slowing down the body’s stress responses. Dr. Tracey underscores this nerve’s potential in moderating inflammation, which could provide an avenue for addressing health conditions marked by inflammatory processes, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders.

Current medical devices approved by the FDA for afflictions like epilepsy and depression emphasize the therapeutic significance of vagus nerve stimulation, but the exploration of its application in inflammatory diseases is ongoing.

Despite doubts within the scientific community about at-home vagus nerve stimulation strategies, Dr. Tracey incorporates such techniques into his daily life, supported by promising indicators from his own research findings and those of his peers.

Incorporating cold water immersion for the last few minutes of his shower, Dr. Tracey aims to trigger the body’s natural defenses and subsequently lower inflammation. Physical activity is another pillar of his well-being strategies, with a focus on sustaining cardiovascular health and muscle mass. Finally, he practices meditation, adopting platforms like Headspace, to potentially ease inflammation by activating the vagus nerve.

Dr. Tracey concedes that concrete evidence linking these practices to specific effects on inflammation and vagus nerve activation is not yet definitive. However, given the dire consequences associated with inflammatory diseases, he persists with these habits in anticipation of their possible beneficial effects as the horizon of scientific discovery continues to expand.

Unlocking Brain’s Habit Formation Mechanism at UCL

Recent studies at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (SWC), part of University College London, have unveiled groundbreaking insights into the brain’s learning mechanisms

Researchers have illuminated a novel system in the brain that is instrumental in both forming habits and potentially dismantling them. This revelation about the dual nature of learning through trial and error is poised to have profound effects on dealing with habitual behavior disorders, such as addictions, compulsive conditions, and Parkinson’s disease.

Double Dopamine Responses Facilitate Learning

Researchers at SWC have identified an additional dopamine signaling pathway termed the action prediction error (APE), which operates in conjunction with the well-documented reward prediction error (RPE). “We believe we’ve uncovered the neural mechanism that underlies habitual behaviors. This could enable an individual to conserve cognitive resources for value-based decision-making in other areas,” stated Dr. Marcus Stephenson-Jones, the primary author of the study.

The team’s groundbreaking research, published in the prestigious journal “Nature,” relied on an auditory task for mice and employed an advanced genetically encoded dopamine sensor to track dopamine releases. Their findings suggest RPE is tied to the positivity of an outcome, while APE monitors the action’s frequency—offering the brain alternative ways to effectively store knowledge.

The research indicates that behavior driven by habits, such as automatically picking a preferred sandwich, eventually skips the value-based decision-making cognitive process. “We think that it’s the APE dopamine signal in the brain that helps encode this kind of default behavioral strategy,” Dr. Stephenson-Jones elaborated.

Implications for Clinical Interventions

Empowered by this discovery, the scientific community now has a solid foundation to craft strategies for disrupting persistent habits. “With the realization of this second brain learning system, we are now equipped with a scientific framework for devising methods to counteract entrenched habits,” remarked Dr. Stephenson-Jones. Moreover, this insight could cast light on movement-related issues observed in Parkinson’s disease patients, which might stem from impaired APE signal generation in decaying neurons that govern movement.

The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre team at UCL is committed to deepening their inquiry into APE’s role in forming habits, the interplay between the two dopamine signals, and how this influences Parkinson’s disease-related movement difficulties. Their research has been catalyzed by financial support from an EMBO Long-Term Fellowship, the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre Core Grant from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Wellcome, and a grant from the European Research Council.

Linking Gum Health to Alzheimer’s Disease Risk

Emerging Evidence Suggests a Link Between Periodontal Health and Alzheimer’s Disease

Recent research indicates a surprising potential origin for Alzheimer’s disease, which has historically been connected to aging processes. The new potential culprit? Dental health. More specifically, the health of one’s gums may play a significant role.

The connection between dental health and Alzheimer’s disease has been gaining attention among researchers. A pivotal 2019 study led by microbiology expert Jan Potempa from the University of Louisville found the bacterium responsible for causing chronic gum disease, known as Porphyromonas gingivalis, in Alzheimer’s patients’ brains. Stephen Dominy, co-author of the study, highlighted the importance of their findings by stating, “We now have convincing evidence showing the link between the intracellular, Gram-negative pathogen P. gingivalis and the progression of Alzheimer’s.”

The Research Study and Potential Consequences for Alzheimer’s Understanding

The biopharmaceutical company Cortexyme has played a crucial role in this research. They discovered that the presence of P. gingivalis in the brain is associated with increased levels of the neurotoxin amyloid beta (Aβ), a protein heavily implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Unexpectedly, the harmful enzymes secreted by P. gingivalis, known as gingipains, were not only present in Alzheimer’s patients but also in people who had passed away without a diagnosis of the condition, which raises new questions about the sequence of disease development.

In Cortexyme’s laboratory experiments on mice, administering a compound named COR388 resulted in reduced levels of both the bacterial infection in the brain and of amyloid-beta. The outcomes from these animal studies offer a glimmer of hope for the scientific and medical communities. David Reynolds, who is the chief scientific officer at Alzheimer’s Research, points out the lack of new dementia treatments in the recent past and underlines the critical need to explore various strategies to combat Alzheimer’s.

Published in Science Advances, this study suggests that maintaining oral hygiene may be more closely connected to Alzheimer’s disease than once thought, prompting more in-depth investigations into how dental health could influence the prevention and management of this debilitating condition. Further studies are anticipated to provide a clearer picture of these preliminary findings and their possible impact on strategies for preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease.

Uncovering Shared Genetics in Psychiatric Disorders

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In a notable advancement for psychiatric research, a team based in the United States has identified a shared genetic underpinning across eight psychiatric disorders, as revealed by a study in the esteemed journal Cell

Scientists scrutinized particular gene variants and their involvement during the development of the brain. These genetic elements are not fleeting; they persist over time, influencing several stages of brain development, posing as promising treatment targets that could concurrently combat multiple psychiatric conditions.

Groundbreaking Perspectives on Mental Health Disorders

“The gene-derived proteins we examined show extensive connections to other proteins within the brain,” commented geneticist Hyejung Won from the University of North Carolina. “Alterations within these specific proteins could have extensive impacts, leading to a cascade of effects within the brain.”

In the landmark year of 2019, researchers internationally first associated 109 genes with psychiatric conditions, including autism, ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anorexia. These common genetic threads may clarify why these disorders not only frequently co-occur in individuals but also tend to run in families.

The research team delved into gene variants unique to each condition against those that span across all eight, infusing nearly 18,000 gene mutations into neuron precursor cells to observe gene expression alterations during brain maturation.

In this process, they unveiled 683 variants that had a regulatory effect on gene function, looking into their implications in neuron development using mouse models. These pleiotropic variants—having the ability to affect multiple disparate traits—showed extensive connectivity in protein interactions and were observed to be active in diverse brain cell types.

This uncovering of pleiotropy, often viewed as an obstacle due to its potential to cloud disorder classification, may now be a beacon of hope, as Won explained. “Understanding the genetic roots of pleiotropy could lead us to devise therapies that target these underlying shared factors, potentially providing a single treatment strategy for several psychiatric conditions.”

This research holds considerable significance, echoing the World Health Organization’s data that report about 1 in 8 people globally experience a psychiatric condition. With these new findings, there is potential to streamline treatment approaches, impacting close to a billion people across the globe..

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Unraveling Neurological Foundations of Habits

Recent studies are continuing to elucidate the complex neurological foundation of habit development, uncovering the sophisticated processes which determine our habitual actions.

A significant portion of our behavior, nearly fifty percent, is dictated by these automatic routines that we perform with scant conscious awareness. These revelations have emerged from research spearheaded by Dr. Marcus Stephenson-Jones and colleagues at University College London.

The Innate Nature of Habitual Behaviors

The common belief holds that we have complete conscious control over our habits, assuming we can initiate or terminate them at whim. Contrary to this belief, habits are in fact entrenched behaviors that evolve through repetitive exposure to specific stimuli and the brain’s learning capabilities. This process leads to the fortification of certain neural connections, transforming deliberate actions into reflexive responses that diminish the need for ongoing deliberation.

On average, the adoption of a new habitual behavior requires roughly 70 days, although individual experiences can differ. The prospect of future rewards significantly influences the incentive to develop a habit, with the neurotransmitter dopamine fortifying this learned behavior. While immediate satisfaction may not be present for every habit, the act’s regularity becomes rewarding in itself as the pattern becomes more ingrained within the brain.

Dopamine’s Influence and Neural Learning Pathways

Dr. Stephenson-Jones notes that habitual engagement in certain behaviors can foster a preference for those activities, permitting a person to “forgo your value-assessment system and simply depend on your prior conduct pattern.” In parallel, a team from Sweden has pinpointed two distinct learning systems within the brain; one contingent on rewards and the other on repeated actions. These systems both play crucial roles in establishing our daily routines.

Research on mice has provided insights into the role of dopamine in reinforcing habits. Mice exhibited increased dopamine activity in their motor areas whenever they began a task. This association of action with prediction errors has been tied to a ‘teaching signal’ that aids in preserving repetitive movements, even as the direct reward lessens.

Potential Insights into Parkinson’s Disease and Habit Modification

The implications of these findings are not limited to understanding habitual behaviors; they may also extend to potential treatments for Parkinson’s disease. As dopamine is instrumental in regulating movement, an interruption in the brain’s system responsible for habit formation may contribute to the motor symptoms characteristic of Parkinson’s. This leads to potentially new therapeutic interventions.

To change a negative habit, specialists recommend substitifying it with a positive one. For instance, replacing the habit of eating unhealthy snacks under stress with taking a brisk walk could be a healthier alternative, emphasizing movement as a key to modifying established behaviors.

The latest research is slowly unraveling the complexities of our habitual actions and is laying the groundwork for deliberate lifestyle changes. By exploiting our knowledge of neurobiology, we can facilitate significant personal development..