408-854-1883 starts at $30 per hr home care

Source: Research Suggests Association Between Gut Bacteria and Emotion

Source: Stiff Vessels and Low Blood Flow in the Brain Forewarn of Dementia

Summary: According to researchers, people tend to change the pitch of their voice depending on who they are talking to and how dominant they feel. The study found that a person’s vocal characteristics altered in response to people of different social status. When a person was believed to be more dominant, people’s voices became more high pitched.

Source: University of Stirling.

People tend to change the pitch of their voice depending on who they are talking to, and how dominant they feel, a study by the University of Stirling has found.

The psychology research, published in PLOS ONE, put participants through a simulated job interview task and discovered that individuals’ vocal characteristics – particularly pitch – are altered in response to people of different social status.

Regardless of self-perceived social status, people tend to talk to high status individuals using a higher pitch.

Dr Viktoria Mileva, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Stirling, said: “A deep, masculine voice sounds dominant, especially in men, while the opposite is true of a higher pitched voice. So, if someone perceives their interviewer to be more dominant than them, they raise their pitch. This may be a signal of submissiveness, to show the listener that you are not a threat, and to avoid possible confrontations.

“These changes in our speech may be conscious or unconscious but voice characteristics appear to be an important way to communicate social status. We found both men and women alter their pitch in response to people they think are dominant and prestigious.”

The researchers also found that participants who think they are dominant – who use methods like manipulation, coercion, and intimidation to acquire social status – are less likely to vary their pitch and will speak in a lower tone when talking to someone of a high social status.

Individuals who rate themselves as high in prestige – they believe people look up to them and value their opinions, thereby granting them social status – do not change how loud they are speaking, no matter who they are speaking to. This may signal that they are more calm and in control of a situation.

The participants responded to introductory, personal, and interpersonal interview questions. They lowered the pitch of their voice most in response to the more complex, interpersonal questions, for example when explaining a conflict situation to an employer.

Dr Mileva added: “Signals and perceptions of human social status have an effect on virtually every human interaction, ranging from morphological characteristics – such as face shape – to body posture, specific language use, facial expressions and voices.

“Understanding what these signals are, and what their effects are, will help us comprehend an essential part of human behaviour.”

Experts believe the vocal changes identified in this study could be true for other situations where there are perceived social status differences between two people talking. This includes talking with a rival on the football pitch or interacting with a colleague.

Source: University of Stirling
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Full open access research for “Perceived differences in social status between speaker and listener affect the speaker’s vocal characteristics” by Juan David Leongómez, Viktoria R. Mileva, Anthony C. Little, and S. Craig Roberts in PLOS ONE. Published online June 14 2017 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0179407

Abstract

Perceived differences in social status between speaker and listener affect the speaker’s vocal characteristics

Non-verbal behaviours, including voice characteristics during speech, are an important way to communicate social status. Research suggests that individuals can obtain high social status through dominance (using force and intimidation) or through prestige (by being knowledgeable and skilful). However, little is known regarding differences in the vocal behaviour of men and women in response to dominant and prestigious individuals. Here, we tested within-subject differences in vocal parameters of interviewees during simulated job interviews with dominant, prestigious, and neutral employers (targets), while responding to questions which were classified as introductory, personal, and interpersonal.

We found that vocal modulations were apparent between responses to the neutral and high-status targets, with participants, especially those who perceived themselves as low in dominance, increasing fundamental frequency (F0) in response to the dominant and prestigious targets relative to the neutral target. Self-perceived prestige, however, was less related to contextual vocal modulations than self-perceived dominance.

Finally, we found that differences in the context of the interview questions participants were asked to respond to (introductory, personal, interpersonal), also affected their vocal parameters, being more prominent in responses to personal and interpersonal questions. Overall, our results suggest that people adjust their vocal parameters according to the perceived social status of the listener as well as their own self-perceived social status.

“Perceived differences in social status between speaker and listener affect the speaker’s vocal characteristics” by Juan David Leongómez, Viktoria R. Mileva, Anthony C. Little, and S. Craig Roberts in PLOS ONE. Published online June 14 2017 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0179407

Summary: A new study reveals a link between a food allergy diagnosis and social anxiety in children of low socioeconomic status. The study found 57% of children with food allergies report anxiety symptoms. Researchers suggest food allergies are linked to elevated social anxiety, fear of social rejection and also humiliation in children.

Source: Columbia University.

Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and Albert Einstein College of Medicine studied the link between food allergy and childhood anxiety and depression among a sample of predominantly low socioeconomic status minority children. The results showed that children with a food allergy had a significantly higher prevalence of childhood anxiety. Food allergies were not associated with symptoms of childhood depression or with symptoms of anxiety or depression among their caregivers. The results are published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Food allergies are increasingly common among youth in the U.S. with recent estimates as high as 8 percent. Until nowlittle was known about the prevalence of food allergy in low socioeconomic ethnic minority populations.

The researchers studied 80 pediatric patients ages 4-12 years, 8 years old on average, with and without food allergy and their caregivers from urban pediatric outpatient clinics in the Bronx, New York. They controlled for an asthma diagnosis in the children, as anxiety and mood disorders are more prevalent among youth with asthma and especially more common in low socioeconomic minority children.

Among the children with a food allergy, 57 percent reported having symptoms of anxiety compared to 48 percent of children without a food allergy. Approximately 48 percent of the children had symptoms of depression with or without a food allergy.

“Management of food allergy can be expensive both in terms of food shopping, meal preparation, and the cost of epinephrine auto-injectors, which expire annually,” said Renee Goodwin, PhD, in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and lead author. “These demands could result in higher levels of anxiety for those with fewer financial resources and further heighten anxiety symptoms in children and their caregivers.”

The results suggest that food allergy is particularly linked to elevated social anxiety and fear of social rejection and humiliation. “There are a number of possible explanations for the relationship found between food allergy diagnosis and increased social anxiety issues in this sample of pediatric patients,” noted Dr. Goodwin. “Management of a potentially life-threatening condition may be anxiety provoking, and some children may experience increased social anxiety about being “different” from other children depending on their age and how food allergy is managed by adults in a particular setting.”

The researchers also point out a possible explanation for not finding a link between food allergy and depression in children. The sample was young, and the mean age of onset for depression is significantly later than anxiety. “It would be worthwhile to examine these relationships among older adolescents and young adults with food allergy who are at the peak of risk for depression onset, especially because early anxiety is associated with increased risk for subsequent onset of depression,” said Jonathan Feldman, PhD, professor at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

“With the high prevalence of food allergies today, education in schools remains a priority,” said Dr. Goodwin. “Given the strong association between food allergy and social anxiety in children future investigations on the food allergy-mental health relationship are also warranted in clinical, school, and community-based settings which could aid in the development of interventions.”

Co-authors: Sandra Rodgin, Rachel Goldman, and Jonathan Feldman, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University; Juliana Rodriguez, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Gabriele deVos and Denise Serebrisky, Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, NY. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

NeuroscienceNews would like to thank Stephanie Berger for submitting this article for inclusion.

Source: Stephanie Berger – Columbia University
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to Columbia University.
Original Research: Abstract for “Food Allergy and Anxiety and Depression among Ethnic Minority Children and Their Caregivers” by Renee D. Goodwin, PhD, MPH, Sandra Rodgin, MA, Rachel Goldman, MA, Juliana Rodriguez, MD, Gabriele deVos, MD, Denise Serebrisky, MD, and Jonathan M. Feldman, PhD in Journal of Pediatrics. Published online June 5 2017 doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.04.055

Abstract

Food Allergy and Anxiety and Depression among Ethnic Minority Children and Their Caregivers

Objective

To investigate the relationship between food allergy and symptoms of anxiety and depression among ethnic minority, low socioeconomic status (SES) children and their caregivers.

Study design

Pediatric patients ages 4-12 years with and without food allergy and their caregivers were recruited from urban pediatric outpatient clinics. Statistical analyses were used to examine the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression among patients and their caregivers with and without food allergy, adjusting for asthma.

Results

Eighty patients ranging from ages 4 to 12 years, with a mean age of 8.1 years, and their caregivers participated in the study. Food allergy was associated with significantly higher t scores on the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) Total (P = .007), MASC Humiliation Rejection, (P = .02) and MASC Social Anxiety (P = .02) among pediatric patients, adjusting for asthma. Food allergy was not associated with child depression symptoms, nor was there a significant difference in anxiety or depression symptoms among caregivers of patients with and without food allergy.

Conclusions

Food allergy appears to be associated with increased symptoms of social anxiety and higher levels of anxiety overall, but not depression, in ethnic minority children of lower socioeconomic status. This finding was not due to confounding by asthma. Food allergy was not associated with higher levels of depression or anxiety symptoms among caregivers of pediatric patients with food allergy. Future studies should investigate potential pathways between food allergy and anxiety that may be unique to children in underserved populations, and develop interventions to reduce anxiety in children with food allergy.

“Food Allergy and Anxiety and Depression among Ethnic Minority Children and Their Caregivers” by Renee D. Goodwin, PhD, MPH, Sandra Rodgin, MA, Rachel Goldman, MA, Juliana Rodriguez, MD, Gabriele deVos, MD, Denise Serebrisky, MD, and Jonathan M. Feldman, PhD in Journal of Pediatrics. Published online June 5 2017 doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.04.055

Summary: A new study identifies gut bacteria that appears to interact with brain areas associated with mood and behavior.

Source: UCLA.

Researchers have identified gut microbiota that interact with brain regions associated with mood and behavior. This may be the first time that behavioral and neurobiological differences associated with microbial composition in healthy humans have been identified.

BACKGROUND

Brain-gut-microbiota interactions may play an important role in human health and behavior. Previous research suggests that microbiota, a community of microorganisms in the gut, can influence behavior and emotion. Rodent models have demonstrated the effects of gut microbiota on emotional and social behaviors, such as anxiety and depression. There is, however, little evidence of this in humans.

For this study the researchers sought to identify brain and behavioral characteristics of healthy women clustered by gut microbiota profiles.

METHOD

Forty women supplied fecal samples for profiling, and magnetic resonance images were taken of their brains as they viewed images of individuals, activities or things that evoked emotional responses. The women were divided by their gut bacteria composition into two groups: 33 had more of a bacterium called Bacteroides; the remaining seven had more of the Prevotella bacteria. The Bacteroides group showed greater thickness of the gray matter in the frontal cortex and insula, brain regions involved with complex processing of information. They also had larger volumes of the hippocampus, a region involved in memory processing. The Prevotella group, by contrast, showed more connections between emotional, attentional and sensory brain regions and lower brain volumes in several regions, such as the hippocampus. This group’s hippocampus was less active while the women were viewing negative images. They also rated higher levels of negative feelings such as anxiety, distress and irritability after looking at photos with negative images than did the Bacteroides group.

IMPACT

These results support the concept of brain-gut-microbiota interactions in healthy humans. Researchers do not yet know whether bacteria in the gut influence the development of the brain and its activity when unpleasant emotional content is encountered, or if existing differences in the brain influence the type of bacteria that reside in the gut. Both possibilities, however, could lead to important changes in how one thinks about human emotions.

Funding: This research was supported by grants from Danone Research and from the National Institutes of Health, including R01 DK048351, P50 DK64539, P30 DK041301 and R01 HD076756. In addition, pilot funds were provided for brain scanning by the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center.

DISCLOSURE ​Tillisch received funding from Danone Research. Mayer is on the advisory boards for yogurt product company Dannon and its parent company Danone. Derrien, Le Nevé, Guyonnet and Brazeilles are or were employed by Danone Research at the time of the study. The remaining authors disclose no conflicts.

Source: Enrique Rivero – UCLA
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to NIH.
Original Research: The study will appear in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Source: Top posts 6-30-2017

Source: Key Mechanism Behind Some Forms of Deafness Identified