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Category: neuroscience – Page 234

Researchers at The Park Center for Mental Health, Australia, have added to the growing body of evidence that cat ownership is a major risk factor for schizophrenia and quantified the risk at more than double. In a paper, “Cat Ownership and Schizophrenia-Related Disorders and Psychotic-Like Experiences: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, the team details the connections between youth cat ownership and later-in-life schizophrenia-related diagnosis.

The researchers conducted an extensive study search across various databases and gray literature from January 1, 1980, to May 30, 2023, without geographical or language limitations. They included studies reporting original data on cat ownership and schizophrenia-related outcomes. Out of 1,915 identified studies, 17 were used from 11 different countries.

Cat ownership was associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia-related disorders. The unadjusted pooled odds ratio (OR) was 2.35, and the adjusted estimate was 2.24, indicating an over twofold increase in the odds of developing schizophrenia-related disorders among all individuals exposed to cats.

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Why are we mentally sharper at certain times of day? A study led by Jonathan Lipton MD, Ph.D., at Boston Children’s Hospital spells out the relationship between circadian rhythms—the body’s natural day/night cycles—and the brain connections known as synapses.

The work is the first to provide a cellular and molecular explanation for natural fluctuations over the day in alertness, cognition, and the ability to learn and remember.

“We have known for more than a century that the time of day influences cognition and memory, but until now the mechanisms have been elusive,” says Lipton, a sleep physician in the Department of Neurology and researcher in the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center.

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In this episode of the Smarter Not Harder Podcast, our guest Alex Rosenberg joins our host Boomer Anderson to give one-cent solutions to life’s $64,000 questions that include:\
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What are the definitions of scientism and naturalism?\
Is there such a thing as free will, and if so, what implications does it have on the search for purpose in life?\
What is nice nihilism?\
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Alex Rosenberg is an American philosopher and novelist. He is the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy at Duke University, and is well known for contributions in the philosophy of biology, as well as the philosophy of economics. He has also written several books, including \.

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Analysis of human brain tissue reveals differences in how immune cells behave in brains with Alzheimer’s disease compared to healthy brains, indicating a potential new treatment target.

University of Washington-led research, published in August, discovered microglia in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease were in a pre-inflammatory state more frequently, making them less likely to be protective.

Microglia are immune cells that help keep our brains healthy by clearing waste and preserving normal brain function.

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The study found a direct correlation between specific brain rhythms during sleep and the process of memory consolidation.

Summary: Researchers unveiled a critical link between breathing and memory consolidation during sleep. In an extensive study involving EEG and breathing analysis, they discovered that specific sleep-related brain rhythms are directly influenced by our breathing patterns.

These findings highlight the importance of respiration in reinforcing learned information while we sleep. This work could have significant implications for addressing age-related memory issues and sleep disorders.

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