Academic Stress Archives - The American Institute of Stress

Neurons use built-in ‘backup batteries’ that fuel the brain under stress

William Heckman — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 14:38:46 +0000

A new Yale study reveals that neurons store their own sugar reserves that kick in to keep the brain functioning during metabolic stress.

A new Yale study has revealed that neurons — the energy-hungry cells that connect and direct activity in the brain — are equipped with “backup batteries” that kick in to keep the brain running during periods of metabolic stress.

Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe how neurons store their own glycogen, a form of sugar that helps neurons stay resilient when their main energy sources falter.

The findings illustrate how neuron cells can adapt their metabolism, researchers say, and could shape new treatments for neurological conditions like stroke, neurodegeneration, and epilepsy, all disorders in which energy failure plays a role.

It’s like discovering that your car is a hybrid — it’s not just reliant on gas stations, it’s been carrying an emergency battery the whole time.

Milind Singh

“Traditionally, it was believed that glial cells served as ‘energy warehouses,’ storing glycogen and supplying neurons with fuel as needed,” said co-lead author Milind Singh, a doctoral student in cell biology at the Yale School of Medicine (YSM). “But we now know that neurons themselves store glycogen and can break it down when the pressure is on. It’s like discovering that your car is a hybrid — it’s not just reliant on gas stations, it’s been carrying an emergency battery the whole time.”

For the study, the research team used a microscopic roundworm called Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) — a type of worm commonly used in research — and a genetically encoded fluorescent biosensor called HYlight, which glows in response to changes in glycolysis (the process cells use to break down sugar for energy.)

With custom-built devices, researchers precisely controlled the level of oxygen the living worms experienced and monitored how neurons responded to energy stress in real time.

A breakthrough came when researchers discovered the enzyme PYGL-1, the worm’s version of the human glycogen phosphorylase enzyme that converts glycogen into fuel for neurons. When researchers removed PYGL-1, the worm neurons could no longer ramp up energy during low-oxygen stress conditions; when the enzyme was specifically restored in neurons, that failure was reversed.

“We discovered that neurons use two different strategies to adapt to energy stress: one that’s glycogen-dependent, and one that isn’t,” explained co-lead author Aaron Wolfe, a postdoctoral neuroscience researcher. “The glycogen-dependent pathway is particularly critical when the mitochondria — one of the cell’s primary energy producers — aren’t functioning well. In those situations, glycogen serves as a backup system to provide energy via glycolysis.”

This research reshapes our understanding of brain energy metabolism and opens new avenues for exploring how to protect and support neuronal function in disease.

Daniel Colón-Ramos

The team coined the term “glycogen-dependent glycolytic plasticity” (GDGP) to describe this phenomenon. They found that GDGP is especially important when mitochondrial function is compromised — such as during hypoxia, a condition of limited oxygen supply. Under these conditions, glycogen serves as a low-cost, rapid-access fuel source, helping neurons stay active when other systems might stall. This metabolic adaptability, known as “glycolytic plasticity,” helps neurons maintain their core functions under stress.

“Our work challenges the textbook model of how the brain fuels itself. Neurons are more self-sufficient than we thought,” Singh said.

This research was done in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through a grant that includes reimbursement for facilities and administrative expenses (also known as indirect cost reimbursements) that are necessary to ensure the safe conduct of research and compliance with federal regulations.

In February, the NIH announced it would dramatically cut such reimbursements to universities, including Yale. The courts have blocked the cuts, but the threat remains.

At stake is research that saves lives, strengthens the economy, and bolsters national interests. Yale projects in danger include research that saves infants born with heart defects, extends the lives of cancer patients, addresses mental health challenges, and prevents and slows the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Co-author Daniel Colón-Ramos, the Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at YSM, said the study supports the notion of glycogen as an “energy capacitor” in neurons.

“Just like in muscles, this reserve can buffer rapid shifts in energy demand,” Colón-Ramos said. “That flexibility might be crucial for how the brain maintains function and responds to stress. This research reshapes our understanding of brain energy metabolism and opens new avenues for exploring how to protect and support neuronal function in disease.”

Other authors, all from Yale, include Sarah Emerson, a postdoctoral researcher in neuroscience; Ian J. Gonzalez, a graduate student in cell biology; Anjali A. Vishwanath and Anastasia Tsives, post-doctoral researchers in neuroscience; and Richard Goodman, a research scientist in neuroscience.

Original Post YaleNews

Image by Herney Gómez from Pixabay

UCF community weighs in on stress during “Stress Awareness Month”

William Heckman — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:20:59 +0000

Stress can be a significant and often overlooked threat to health that can impact daily lives. Since April is considered “Stress Awareness Month,” it’s important to recognize that stress can lead to various serious health issues, a former neurologist said.

“Neurologically, stress doesn’t really cause a lot of changes, but if a person experiences (stress) for a long time, it can cause memory loss and behavioral changes,” Grisel Rada, former neurologist and Orlando resident, said.

Caitlyn Vasey, a sophomore English major, was recently diagnosed with depression and anxiety due to college stressors.

Even before the diagnosis, she felt like anything that didn’t involve lying in bed and playing on her phone felt like a waste of time. The thought of being in big crowds and dealing with final exams gave her a lot of anxiety.

“Classes felt like such a difficult task; I just couldn’t do it,” Vasey said. “The biggest symptom I noticed was just being in bed all the time, not going to class, not seeing my friends. I was kind of isolating myself in a way.”

Vasey works as a resident assistant for the Rosen College campus and says her job is the most stressful thing in her life.

“When I’m on call, I’m normally super on edge because at any moment, if a situation arises, I have to deal with it, no matter if I’m in the middle of like a test, if I’m hanging out with friends, I have to report to it,” Vasey said.

According to the Valley Professionals Community Health Center, a study by The American Institute of Stress, about 33% of people report feeling extreme stress, 77% of people experience stress that affects their physical health, 73% of people have stress that impacts their mental health and 48% of people have trouble sleeping because of stress.

Rada said when a person is under a lot of stress for a long time, the levels of serotonin and dopamine, the main neurotransmitters in the brain in charge of making a person feel good, start decreasing. Interchangeably, the levels of cortisol — a steroid hormone that affects several aspects of a person’s health and helps regulate their body’s response to stress — start increasing.

Rada said that on an anatomical level, people don’t experience a lot of changes. It’s more about physiological changes that can potentially present.

According to The American Institute of Stress, different types of stress can potentially affect a person’s life. Eustress is the good stress in life, such as making new friends or graduating. Distress involves bad experiences like financial problems or work difficulties. Acute stress is the flight-or-fight response and chronic stress is the general cost of living such as bills.

Olivia Smith, sophomore English and legal studies double major, said during finals week she only focuses her attention on studying, nothing else matters, which helps her deal with anxiety levels.

“There’s no work and I don’t hang out with my friends; I’m literally just focusing on finals,” Smith said. “I make a schedule or spend a lot of time at the library; I don’t just stay in my room, but finals week is literally just all about finals.”

UCF offers students access to multiple services and programs to help them cope with the stress and anxiety caused by not only school but their daily lives as well, including Counseling and Psychological Services and Wellness and Health Promotion Services.

Vanessa Stein, CAPS assistant director and outreach prevention, said one of the most important treatments they offer is counseling.

Stein said that 60% of students seek help at CAPS because of anxiety problems, making it the number one reason for counseling. Stress and depression are number two, making up around 37% of the student body.

UCF’s Wellness and Health Promotion Services also offers different programs to help students deal with stress, the most common being Biofeedback: Relaxation Training Program, which is a one-on-one counselor-assisted training program that educates students to implement relaxation techniques in a six-session time period.

Pam Mills, WHPS biofeedback and stress management coordinator, said students are always looking for ways to manage stress and that the biofeedback program is a good way to help them achieve that goal.

The program involves breathing techniques, muscle relaxation, monitoring the circulatory response to stress, relaxation techniques such as meditation and guided imagery. This one involves guiding the student through a scene like a beach scene and takes them outside of a stressful situation and puts them in a relaxing scenario.

Some people prefer to try different coping mechanisms on their own, such as finding a different environment to decompress.

“I’m an English major, so I usually find myself very stressed and anxiety-ridden when it comes to my finals because of writer’s block,” Vasey said. “My room usually holds a lot of that anxiety, so I try to find a different environment like my boyfriend’s house because I know he’ll help cope through that.”

Smith feels like reading is the best way to get out of her head and focus on just one thing.

“It’s genuinely one of the only times where I’m not in my head about something,” Smith said. “I’m completely focused on the book and, like, in a different world and just kind of detached from what’s going on in my life.”

Stress can represent a threat to a person’s well-being, but Vasey said finding a support system or a coping mechanism to help navigate through it can be useful.

“My biggest advice is to ask for help and rely on your support system,” Vasey said. “For a long time, I kept thinking that I could do this on my own, but if you surround yourself with people who truly love you, they’ll understand, and they’ll do their best to support you through anything that may stress you out or give you anxiety.”

Photo by Buro Millennial

Seeking Relief From Stress

William Heckman — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:17:38 +0000

We don’t know about you but we’re feeling overstressed these days. Thinking about the conflicts overseas and civil discord at home can be overwhelming. It’s challenging enough to navigate one’s own personal issues, even in the best of times, but contemplating the world’s troubles can become too much. We need some relief.

Rather than pontificate on any of the divisive issues that are confronting us, we thought we would use this space this week to focus on finding relief from the stressors that are overwhelming us. Our mental and physical well-being depends on our finding such sources of relief.

It just so happens that April – less than a week away – is National Stress Awareness Month. According to the National Institutes of Health, “This year it coincides with a very challenging time in our country. Stress can affect your body, thoughts, feelings and behavior. Being able to recognize common symptoms of stress can help you manage them. Stress that’s left unchecked can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

“Incivility and conflict in the workplace can lead to increased stress levels. As stress levels among staff increase, productivity suffers. When staff [members] are stressed, their ability to objectively deal with emotionally charged situations decreases and all of this can fuel existing conflict and lead to even more stress.

“A kind and inclusive workplace that fosters civility can mitigate adverse outcomes for staff and improve overall organizational effectiveness. … ” On a personal level, being kind to others in our everyday interactions is one of the best ways that we can all reduce our levels of stress. Proactively practicing acts of kindness to those we encounter can also make this world a better place.

The American Heart Association advises us to “talk about stress and its effects – let’s work together to reduce the stigma that is associated with stress by talking about the topic openly and freely with friends, family and colleagues.

“Share your coping mechanisms – if something has worked for you, why not share it? It might benefit someone you care about and in the meantime, it might help you take your focus off your own challenges.

“Be nice to those who are stressed and anxious – we are all undoubtedly going to experience stress and anxiety in our lifetime so treat others going through it with compassion and empathy.

“Look after yourself – we all need to think more about self–care. Take time out of your day to relax or do something that you enjoy. Don’t forget to exercise and eat well, even when you feel too stressed.

“The most crucial thing you can do when you are stressed or anxious is to make sure you are continuing to look after yourself. Make time to relax when you need to and learn to say no to requests that are too much for you.”

Something we should all keep in mind is that we can’t control everything that happens in our lives. According to the American Institute for Stress, everyone needs to “learn to overcome issues you cannot change. Sometimes the stress in our lives is not something we have the power to change. Recognize when you don’t have control, and let it go; avoid getting anxious about situations that you cannot change; take control of your reactions and focus your mind on something that makes you feel calm and in control. Develop a vision for healthy living, wellness and personal growth, and set realistic goals to help you realize your vision.”

We invite everyone to join us in doing what we can to reduce the stress that is filling our lives. Above all, make an effort to be kind to one another.

Visit STRESS.ORG

Original post The News-Gazette Corp.

Photo by cottonbro studio

Chronic stress affects the way mice perceive loudness

William Heckman — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 14:57:45 +0000

‘Prolonged stress … can subtly alter how we perceive the world around us.’

While stress is an unfortunate fact of modern life, scientists are still learning how it affects us. Chronic stress, in particular, has been linked with many negative health outcomes—and a new study published February 11 in PLOS Biology finds that in mice, at least, it can also affect the way in which the brain processes sound.

The team’s work investigated the effect of chronic stress on mice’s perception of sounds as being loud or quiet. The paper describes how two groups of mice were subjected to a number of noises, some loud and some soft. The mice were taught to choose one source of water in response to the quiet noises, and an alternative source in response to loud noises. Some mice were then placed in a state of chronic stress by repeated exposure to a mildly stressful situation (in this case, being restrained for half an hour).

Both groups then played a variety of noises. For very loud and very quiet noises, the responses of the stressed and non-stressed mice were largely identical. However, as study co-author Jennifer Resnik explains to Popular Science, the mice experiencing chronic stress appeared to become less sensitive to a range of “mid-level” sounds between about 50dB and 70dB, reporting these sounds as “quiet” more often than their non-stressed peers. (A level of 50dB is roughly equivalent to quiet conversation or rainfall, while 70dB is comparable to a vacuum cleaner operating in the same room.)

Physiological and behavioral evidence of stress. Left: Schematics of two-photon imaging during baseline and repetitive stress conditions. In repetitive stress sessions, the mice were placed in a 50 ml tube for 30 min to achieve mild stress. The imaging session started directly after the restraint. Individual cells were tracked over imaging days. Shown are examples of 2 imaging planes on day 1 and day 9 (scale bar, 50 μm) and the noise-evoked responses of 3 exemplar cells (mean ± SE). Credit: Bisharat G et al., 2025, PLOS Biology, CC-BY 4.0

So does the stress affect the mice’s actual ability to hear? Or does it change the way in which their brains process the signals sent to it from their ears? Resnik explains that the answer seems to be the latter: while stress does not change the actual signal sent to a mouse’s brain by its ears in response to a given noise, it does seem to change how the animal perceives that noise.

Resnik says that this effect is caused by the fact that stress induces an increased level of “background noise” within the brain. In the stressed mice, she explains, “we observed an increase in baseline (spontaneous) activity in excitatory cells in the auditory cortex.”

In a brain without this increased baseline activity, a signal from the ears is relatively strong; in a stressed brain, however, there’s less of a difference between the level of the signal and the ambient level of neural activity. The result, Resnik says, “[is that] the brain becomes less sensitive to mid-level sounds. You can think of it this way: when you’re under chronic stress, your kids might need to speak louder to get your attention.”

Very loud noises, however, appear to be able to break through this barrier: “Responses to high sound levels appear to be preserved,” says Resnik. “No matter what, the brain still reacts when a sound is loud enough. So if your kids shout, you’ll hear them just as clearly, regardless of stress.”

Beyond its loudness, the actual nature of a noise doesn’t appear to matter: Resnick says that “chronic stress alters auditory processing in a way that primarily affects sensitivity to sound intensity, rather than … particular frequencies or sound types.” So the effect is the same whether it’s your kids speaking, the doorbell ringing or the bass frequencies from a passing car’s stereo. All that matters is how loud the noise is.

Resnik says that the implications of this work could reshape our understanding of how stress affects us: “We often think of chronic stress as primarily influencing complex cognitive functions like decision-making and learning. However, our findings show that it also affects much more fundamental processes, such as the perception of sound. This raises an intriguing question: How much of our daily experience is shaped by chronic stress in ways we don’t even realize?”

There are also many other questions raised by the study’s findings. Resnik says that one particularly important subject of research is developing a better understanding of how long the effects of chronic stress can linger after the actual source of stress has been removed. The mice in this study, for instance, were not studied while actively stressed, but the stress they had experienced nevertheless had a material effect on their hearing. With regard to this particular effect, she says, “Our current findings suggest that it persists for several days.” However, she says, “We are now conducting further experiments to determine whether these changes have longer-term consequences.”

Similarly, the way in which such effects take hold also remain the topic of ongoing research. “A single exposure to stress had little impact, but as stress became chronic, we observed increasingly pronounced changes in auditory cortex activity.” Does the effect continue to intensify as levels of stress increase? Resnik says this remains an open question.

Either way, Resnik says, the creeping way in which the effects of stress take hold suggests its effects can be as subtle as they are pernicious. “This gradual progression has important implications for daily life,” she says. “It suggests that prolonged stress doesn’t just affect how we feel—it can subtly alter how we perceive the world around us.”

For more information about stress-related issues, go to stress.org.

By Tom Hawking for Popular Science

Photo by Ольга А

From all-nighters to health risks: The true impact of chronic stress

William Heckman — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 14:46:13 +0000

Forty-five percent of college students report experiencing chronic stress, or stress above the average level, according to data from The American Institute of Stress. At Hope College, that would be roughly 1,500 students out of 3,400. Stress for this grouping of students may occur on an everyday basis for prolonged periods of time. While being a college student is far from easy, chronic stress shouldn’t become the norm– it carries much more serious consequences than one may expect.

Alexandria Switzer (’26), a biochemistry major and neuroscience minor, emphasizes the importance of taking care of your brain and discusses the long-term effects that chronic stress can have on your brain and body functions.

“It’s important to take care of your brain because once you damage it, it’s not something that can fix itself,” she said. Your brain is responsible for nearly everything you do. When you experience stress, your brain can’t tell the difference between imminent danger and something less threatening; therefore, you’re activating your sympathetic nervous system– your fight or flight response,” Switzer explained.

“Psychology impacts your physiology,” she said. If you’re consistently activating your sympathetic nervous system due to stress, it’s not going to be as effective when you experience real danger. High stress levels lead to chronically higher blood pressure, which can put you at risk for cardiovascular disease. It also suppresses your immune system. “If you’re activating [your sympathetic nervous system] to the point where it’s not as effective,” Switzer explained, “you’re more likely to get sick; you’re not able to recover as quickly.”

Stress affects mood disorders, too. “If you’re constantly having this sympathetic system activated. . . it’s going to mess with the hormones– the signals that are being sent– and put you at a higher risk for things like depression and anxiety.”

So, where does stress come from? Switzer says it’s perceptive. “We’re all going to see it differently,” she said. “What really stresses someone out isn’t going to stress someone else out.” But she continued, “For a lot of students, there’s so much pressure on us being involved in so much.” This pressure can make it difficult to maintain balance, leading to uneasiness about deadlines, projects, homework, employment and more. So, how can we manage this stress? Switzer encourages shifting the focus on perspective.

“First, you have to recognize that something is stressing you out,” she said. Once you can identify it, she suggests analyzing your beliefs surrounding the stress trigger. Ask yourself, is this belief negative or disempowering? Then, think about the outcome. What kind of outcome would the negative beliefs around the task warrant? What would occur if you didn’t complete the task? Lastly, she recommends changing your beliefs to something more positive– seeing it as opportunistic instead of burdensome. “Changing your perspective gives you more energy to put towards that stressful event,” Switzer said, “which helps you mitigate it and make it less stressful.”

Changing your perspective on stress can lead to long-term health benefits. “If stress keeps attacking you and you’re not able to deal with it. . . your overall level of well-being is getting lower,” she said. “If you’re able to handle stress, then you’re functioning well, you’re able to thrive.” Successfully managing stress will allow your immune system to work efficiently; you’ll be less likely to develop mental health issues, and your sympathetic system will be less elevated.

Not all stress is bad; some stress is beneficial. “Stress is good,” Switzer asserted, “it challenges you to be creative and come up with solutions.” She explained how challenges that induce stress can help build resilience and personal growth. “Acute stress– short periods that you can handle– great,” she reinforced. “But chronic stress where it’s constantly beating at you is not good.”

Overcoming stress doesn’t have to be a solo task either. Switzer suggests having an empathetic conversation if you notice a friend dealing with large amounts of stress. “Letting them talk about it is the first step,” she said. “We’re social creatures, we need that interaction with people to help build eachother up. . . having the connection and support system that social interaction provides decreases stress,” she added.

Switzer explained how getting out your stressful feelings can alleviate some of the intensity that comes with chronic stress. She also recommended CAPS, your RAs, and Campus Ministries as resources for students who need to talk about their stress.

“I think it’s important to know about your brain,” she concluded. “Learn how to take care of it because it’s part of what keeps you going, it’s what keeps you alive; it’s going to serve you through all of your life.” March 10-16 is Brain Awareness Week. The Neuroscience department is celebrating in advance by visiting local K-12 schools from Feb. 17-22 to lead some fun, brainy activities to spread brain education and awareness. To volunteer, you can contact Aaron Welsch or Alexandria Switzer via email.

To find out more about stress and how to manage it, go to stress.org

Written by Sadie Quackenbush

Photo By: Kaboompics.com

OP-The Anchor

Teen stress drags down U.S. economy, study concludes

William Heckman — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 16:22:54 +0000

Teenagers suffering from anxiety or depression are less likely to enter the workforce as young adults, and more likely to earn lower pay when they do, researchers reported in a study published Thursday in the journal, PLOS Medicine. Adobe stock/HealthDay

Stressed-out teenagers appear to be dragging down the U.S. economy, a new study says.Teenagers suffering from anxiety or depression are less likely to enter the workforce as young adults, and more likely to earn lower pay when they do, researchers reported in a study published Thursday in the journal, PLOS Medicine.

The economic impact is so great that $52 billion in U.S. budget savings could occur over 10 years if efforts are made to help even 10% of teens at risk for stress, researchers estimate.

“Our new research finds that, at the scale of the United States economy, improvements in adolescent mental health may bring many billions of dollars of federal budget benefits over ten years, potentially offsetting the costs of policy change that could cover critical services for young people,” lead researcher Nathaniel Counts, chief policy officer for The Kennedy Forum in Brigantine, N.J., said in a news release.

For the new study, researchers analyzed data on more than 3,300 participants in an ongoing Bureau of Labor Statistics study that is following children as they progress into adulthood.

The research team analyzed data gathered in 2000, when participants were 15 to 17, to check their mental health as teenagers. They looked specifically at questions that assessed anxiety and depression among the teens.

Researchers then looked at data gathered a decade later, in 2010, to see how the teens’ earlier mental health affected their job prospects as young adults.

Results show that 6% fewer people were holding down a job as a young adult if they suffered from clinically significant anxiety or depression as a teenager.

Young adults who were stressed as teens also earned nearly $5,700 less in annual wages, researchers found.

The researchers then estimated the potential impact on the U.S. budget if a hypothetical policy extended mental health preventive care to 10% of teens at risk of stress.

The added productivity from those teens who avoided stress amounted to $52 billion in additional federal revenue over 10 years.

The results support efforts like a 2023 law passed by Congress investing $60 million annually in U.S. mental health care, researchers said. That policy aims to expand access to mental health care at a rate of about 500 people for every $1 million spent.

“To reach 5 million people (roughly 25% of the adolescent population), the legislature would need to expand this program and invest at least $10 billion,” the research team wrote.

“Given the estimated savings of $52 billion over 10 years if the interventions can reach 10% of adolescents who would otherwise go on to develop depression, investments in adolescent mental health at scale will plausibly provide significant offsetting returns,” they concluded.

To learn more about stress go to stress.org.

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By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay News Original Post-

Biomedical sciences professor receives $2.4 million NIH grant award to study treatments for stress-related neuropsychiatric conditions

William Heckman — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 16:07:28 +0000

Neuropsychiatric conditions such as major depressive disorder feature inability to adapt behavior for a changing environment.

Dr. Matthew Hearing, associate professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Health Sciences, has been awarded an R01 grant worth $2.42 million from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health to develop more effective approaches for treating a range of debilitating stress-related neuropsychiatric illnesses.

Deficits in cognitive flexibility are evident in many stress-associated neuropsychiatric conditions, including major depressive disorder. Such deficits are often debilitating and may manifest as ineffective problem-solving abilities, as well as negative thought patterns that come at the expense of healthy coping responses.

“Flexible behavior — the ability to adapt behavior in response to changing environmental contingencies — is a critical component of everyday life,” Hearing said. “Our preliminary findings indicate that prolonged exposure to unpredictable psychosocial stress produces deficits in strategy shifting, or ‘cognitive flexibility in mice,’ akin to those observed in people with major depressive disorder. Interestingly, similar to human populations, not all mice exhibit deficits in flexibility, which may help to identify risk factors related to individual susceptibility versus resilience to stress.”

Hearing and his team will test the hypothesis that chronic unpredictable stress produces sex-dependent neurological changes that result in deficits in behavioral/cognitive flexibility, and that this reflects impaired function of areas of the brain such as the prefrontal cortex. Researchers have observed an upregulation of the stress-responsive protein, REDD1, in this region of the brain following unpredictable stress — a phenomenon also observed postmortem in individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder — and that its overexpression produces multiple deficits, including in the ability to be adaptive in processing information.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Dr. Hearing and his team to expand on their groundbreaking neuroscientific research on mechanisms underlying mental disorders,” said Dr. William E. Cullinan, dean of the College of Health Sciences. “This particular approach has strong implications for understanding and treating a range of debilitating stress-related neuropsychiatric conditions.”

Hearing is a principal investigator on this award along with Dr. John Mantsch, Florence J. Williams Professor and Chair of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Medical College of Wisconsin. The researchers previously received an R01 award or their neuroscientific study on substance use disorder in women when they were colleagues at Marquette.

The NIH’s Research Project Grant (R01) is the original and historically oldest grant mechanism used by the agency. The R01 provides support for health-related research and development based on the mission.

The National Institute of Mental Health is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorder. Its mission is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery and cure.

To learn more about stress-related issues go to stress.org

OP-Marquette Today

Photo by Tara Winstead

Newly Discovered Brain Circuit Predicts Response to Stress

William Heckman — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 15:31:34 +0000

Summary: Researchers identified a brain circuit involving the amygdala and hippocampus that predicts resilience to stress in mice. Mice with disrupted neural communication in this circuit struggled to seek rewards, but activating the neurons restored resilience and improved decision-making.

Using chemogenetics, the team stimulated brain activity in less resilient mice, which then displayed normal behavior and sought sweetened water. This breakthrough suggests potential new, non-invasive treatments for chronic stress and depression in humans, with researchers now exploring similar patterns in human brains.

Key Facts:

A disrupted amygdala-hippocampus circuit impairs resilience to stress.
Stimulating this circuit in mice restored normal behavior and reward-seeking.
The findings could lead to novel treatments for depression and stress disorders.

Source: UCSF

Some people bounce back from trauma, but others get caught in depressive loops that sap the joy from their lives.

Now, scientists at UC San Francisco are learning how the brain creates these divergent experiences. They hope it will help them find a way to treat those who struggle with long-lasting symptoms of stress.

The researchers found that stress changes activity in a brain circuit in mice, and these changes distinguish the mice that will recover from the ones that won’t.

The scientists stimulated some of the neurons in the less resilient mice to make the neurons fire more often. The mice stopped ruminating and sought out pleasure in the form of sugar-sweetened water.

“Seeing that we can set these brain signals back on course in mice suggests that doing the same in humans could act as an antidepressant,” said Mazen Kheirbek, PhD, an associate professor of psychiatry and senior author of the study, which appears Dec. 4 in Nature.

The stress of indecision

Kheirbek, a member of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, set out to find the neural signature with a team that included Frances Xia, PhD, an associate specialist in psychiatry at UCSF, and two scientists from Columbia University, Valeria Fascianelli, PhD, and Stefano Fusi, PhD.

The researchers looked at a brain region called the amygdala, which helps evaluate how risky it may be to seek a reward.

First, they observed brain activity while the mice were resting. Stress had changed the activity in the amygdala of the less resilient mice much more than it had in the resilient ones.

When the researchers gave the mice a choice between plain and sugar-sweetened water, the resilient mice easily chose the sugar water.

But the less resilient mice became obsessed and often opted for the plain water.

Xia looked at brain recordings of the mice who chose the sweet water. Their amygdala was communicating with a nearby brain region called the hippocampus that remembers and predicts.

She saw a different pattern in the mice that could not decide whether to drink the plain or sweetened water. In those mice, the conversation between the two brain areas sputtered.

Connecting the dots

Xia thought she could stop the mice from ruminating and improve their decision making if she could get the neurons that connect these two regions to fire more often.

She used a technique called chemogenetics, which employs artificial molecules that interact inside the body.

The team attached one of the molecules, a receptor, to the surface of neurons in the hippocampus to make them fire.

Then, Xia injected the less resilient mice with a second molecule that bound to the receptor and made the neurons fire.

When the team once again gave the rumination-prone mice a choice of water, they took the sweet treat. The mice’s brain activity also looked resilient.

“The whole thing seemed like such a wild idea that I almost couldn’t believe it worked,” Xia said. “The process actually wiped out the whole state of indecision and turned these guys into resilient mice.”

The team plans to look at human brain data to see if they can find similar signatures.

Kheirbek is working with researchers at the Dolby Family Center for Mood Disorders to explore different ways of changing these brain patterns.

“There’s considerable interest in finding out how we can we translate these discoveries to an approach that will work in people,” he said. “If we can do that, we’ll have a new, non-invasive way of treating depression.”

Authors: Other authors include: Nina Vishwakarma, Frances Grace Ghinger, Andrew Kwon, Mark M. Gergues and Lahin K. Lalani of UCSF.

Funding: The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (F31 MH130127, DSPAN F99/K00 NS130927, R01 MH108623, R01 MH111754, R01 MH117961, R01 MH125515 and R01 DC019813), Neuronex (NSF1707398), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Scholarship, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Award, the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund, the Simons Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation (GAT3708), the Kavli Foundation the Swartz Foundation, the One Mind Rising Star Award and the Human Frontier Science Program (RGY0072/2019), the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund, the Pew Charitable Trusts and the McKnight Memory and Cognitive Disorders Award.

Photo by meo

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Parental stress is an urgent public health issue, U.S. surgeon general says in new advisory

William Heckman — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 19:58:21 +0000

Parents are stressed out, which can deteriorate their mental health and well-being — which in turn can negatively affect children, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said in an advisory Wednesday.

Murthy — who in the past has issued advisories related to gun violence, social media use and a youth mental health crisis tied to an “epidemic of loneliness” across the country — called for changes to national attitudes toward parenting and caregiving in the advisory, titled “Parents Under Pressure.”

“The work of parenting is essential not only for the health of children but also for the health of society. Additionally, we know that the well-being of parents and caregivers is directly linked to the well-being of their children,” wrote Murthy in the advisory, highlighting his own experience raising children.

“The stresses parents and caregivers have today are being passed to children in direct and indirect ways, impacting families and communities across America,” he continued. “Yet in modern society, parenting is often portrayed as a less important, less valued pursuit. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Surgeon general advisories are public statements that draw attention to “an urgent public health issue” — in this case, “the importance of parental stress, mental health and well-being, stressors unique to parenting, and the bidirectional relationship between parental mental health and child outcomes.”

Murthy said a cultural shift is necessary to support 63 million parents with children younger than 18 who live in the U.S., as well as an estimated several million additional adults who serve as a child’s primary caregiver. He noted the importance of extending that support to diverse families, like LGBTQ+ parents, foster parents and parents who are single.

Wednesday’s advisory also outlined tangible policy shifts to reduce the burden on parents and caregivers — especially those dealing with financial instability, which is singled out as one of the most significant root causes of parental wellness on the decline.

In many ways building on programs proposed by President Biden and his administration to institute national paid family and medical leave, the surgeon general pointed to child care assistance, through tax credits and subsidies, paid family leave and paid sick time, and poverty reduction programs as the primary paths to take in efforts to improve the wellness of parents and their children.

“The Surgeon General’s Advisory calls for a shift in culture, policies, and programs to ensure all parents and caregivers can thrive,” said Murthy’s office in a news release. “The American public can do more to support parents and caregivers by shifting norms to foster a culture that values, supports, and empowers parents/caregivers and addresses stressors that can impact their mental health and well-being.”

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By Emily Mae Czachor for CBS News