Cobbers on the Brain – Page 120 – Student Commentary on the Neurological Sciences

The Science Behind Obesity

Posted on April 12, 2016 by / 0 Comment

Obesity is an epidemic. According to the CDC, 34.9% of American adults (that’s 78.6 million people) are obese. The complications of this condition include heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancers. Around 7% of all money spent on healthcare in 2008 was devoted only to obesity.

There is no doubt that this unprecedented rise in obesity rates is a product of the western diet, but a recent study has linked a high fat and calorie diet to chemical changes in the brain. According to the study by Shefer et al., excessive nutrition (a high calorie diet) is linked to reduced brain volume and objective diminished mental status. This occurs through a high calorie diet leading to a breakdown of proteins that construct the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain from pathogens and dangerous elements found commonly in the blood.
The resulting inflammation damages sensitive areas of the brain like the amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus which contain signalling pathways important for learning and emotional processing. Because of this, overeating can become a learned behavior that has many parallels to addiction. Obese individuals have been shown to demonstrate a stronger response to perceived food after fasting, suggesting that obesity warps brain chemistry to reward overeating.

A generalized pathway of overeating
The danger of overeating leading to obesity is that once your brain warps to accommodate the disease it becomes incredibly difficult to remove yourself from the cycle. However, the alternative is dangerous and quite possibly deadly. Obesity is the next leading health problem in the United States and without some drastic changes to the way we deal with food our country might not be able to stomach it.

Disease

Obesity: Could it be a brain disease?

Posted on April 12, 2016 by / 0 Comment

Overeating and obesity has been a problem throughout the world for quite some time. As food makers find ways to make their food more processed and cheap to produce, humans are continually eating more and more calorie rich foods.
The obesity rate around the world is skyrocketing and it is nothing short than an epidemic. Recent research has discovered a link between obesity and brain dysfunction that makes the condition seem like a disease.

Over-nutrition can cause catastrophic effects in the brain. Recent research has even shown that over-nutrition can breaking down the blood brain barrier which results in a whole new set of complications. Over nutrition also directly causes weight gain in individuals.
When someone gains a lot of weight it results in fat tissue expansion and inflammation, and amyloid-β precursor. This causes insulin resistance in the brain which has been directly tied to cognitive defects.
Obesity also leads to inflammation in the hippocampus which directly leads to a decrease in working memory. Obesity has also been tied to atrophy which results in the decrease in the persons ability to move properly.
Obesity also leads to hypothalamic inflammation which leads to an imbalance in chemicals in this region which inhibits a person’s ability to control energy and food intake which feeds back to over nutrition in a vicious cycle.
Another very interesting discovery was that not only did cognitive functioning and memory become impaired with increased weight gain, but cognitive functioning and memory actually become restored when something impedes and weight loss is a result.
A lot of conversations have been had about whether obese individuals were more at risk for developing this condition than healthy individuals and some of the information found was astounding.
For example, a person who grew up eating nutritious foods had an easier time controlling hunger and food intake later in life, while a person who grew up on an excessive amount of calorie-rich foods developed an imbalance in chemicals in the hypothalamus which resulted in a difficult time controlling cravings for calorie-rich foods. Also, when given a test for brain activity when shown a picture of a sought after food item, obese individuals brains lit up more than an average weight individual.
Obesity is a problem and needs to be dealt with properly. This new information about the neurological effects of obesity makes it that much more intimating of a disease. That being said, it also opens new doors for possible treatment options for obesity.
By figuring out the exact mechanisms, we may be able to treat obesity easier and more effectively than say a gastric bypass.
Artstract:

Image citations:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7151813.stm

Obesity in the US

Health

The Secret to Becoming the Biggest Loser

Posted on April 12, 2016 by / 0 Comment

Avoiding obesity is simple. You eat well, you work out. You don’t eat McDonald’s every night, and you don’t sit all day. Problem solved.
So why is it that so many people in the United States struggle with obesity? Why has it become an epidemic, when the solutions are so simple? Why does The Biggest Loser attract such a wide audience and never have trouble filling its roster?
It’s because obesity is more than life choices. Like all biological diseases there is more at play than two easily solved factors.
There is increasing research being conducted looking into the psyche of obese people. The question now becomes, is obesity a brain disease?
The Scandal of the Question
As a class we left the question unanswered—as the research does. What defines a brain disease? What implications does labeling obesity as a brain disease have? What kinds of consequences does this label produce?
There is a danger in the diagnosis of obesity being strictly a disease of the brain. It could be used as a cop-out to make excuses for the choices people make. It could excuse the importance of diet and exercise. It could place the ramifications solely on the brain, and belittle the major effects that are observed throughout the body.
But, the psyche should not be underrated. It could hold the key to becoming the biggest loser champion.
The Importance of the Brain
First we must explore the severe damage obesity wrecks on the brain. The assaults include: degradation of the blood brain barrier (which protects the brain form foreign invaders), impaired cognition (like having too much to drink, but all the time), decreased synaptic plasticity (the ability to grow/regrow neurons in the brain), and many more detrimental effects.

All of these devastations lead scientists to believe the obesity epidemic is linked more to the brain than previously thought.
Becoming the Biggest Loser
So how does this information play into becoming the biggest loser?
Understanding Obesity as a disease in the brain helps to understand the ways in which to treat it.
Tip One: Cut the High-fat Diet and Restore Homeostasis in the Hypothalamus
Even a few days of eating a high fat diet can lead to inflammation in the hypothalamus which will then lead to an upset in the homeostasis of eating/digesting cycles, resulting in a drive to overeat.

There is a potential to trigger a downward spiral, that can become irreversible when diagnosed with obesity. This homeostasis in the hypothalamus is a key piece of the obesity puzzle, and holds great potential for an area of treatment.
All in all, avoiding the high fat diet will prevent obesity and keep you from having to become the biggest loser. If seeking to become the biggest loser, one should avoid high fat diets and look into decreasing inflammation in the brain.
Tip Two: Get Good Sleep
Circadian Rhythm disruption is also a key piece to the downward spiral of obesity. When one’s circadian rhythm is interrupted, the body changes it’s eating habits and the way it stores, digests, and utilizes nutrients for energy.

If you happen to be competing for the biggest loser, or simply want to avoid having to seek this title, it is best to stay in a routine that involves a normal pattern of sleep.
Once the rhythm is disrupted, it can spiral out of control. Many reports show that those who suffer from obesity also suffer from sleep apnea—which perpetuates the problem.
Tip Three: Hope Your Mother Ate Healthy While In-utero
There is increasing links to maternal nutrition and weight and a person’s overall risk of obesity. Studies have been conducted that suggest maternal nutrition can impact development in the brain of a fetus—for the better or worse.

If a mother binges on junk food while pregnant, certain structures in the brain are impacted in negative ways. If you want to be the biggest loser, hope that your mother ate well and the wiring of your brain did not suffer from her choices.
At the end of the day, these tips will likely not win you the title. They may help to prevent you from getting into the competition, and there are promising areas of brain research into the chemistry of obesity.
Whether or not we classify obesity as a brain disease, the increasing amount of research done helps to understand the ways in which the disease works and how we can go about treating and preventing it. Who knows, maybe the biggest loser will be eradicated in our lifetime?

Community/Health/Hot topics

"Food for Thought" Takes on a Whole New Meaning

Posted on April 11, 2016 by / 0 Comment

As scientists continue to research obesity and its effects on the body, the phrase “Food for thought” takes a whole new meaning. Can too much food have negative effects on the brain and its function? Sadly for an America with a growing population of obese individuals, the answer is yes. It has been shown that overnutrition, or the chronic over consumption of food, can impact the brain by causing inflammation, causing structural changes, and elicit cognitive deficits as a result.

Inflammation

The hypothalamus is a common place in the brain that is found to be inflamed when it is exposed to overnutrition. Because of the role of the hypothalamus in the brain, cytokines that are released when the hypothalamus is inflamed can be related to obesity-induced hypertension and problems with insulin resistance. These inflammatory cytokines from the hypothalamus have recently been shown to reduce neuronal insulin secretion, increased systemic insulin resistance, and increase markers in the body for programmed cell death of pancreatic cells. In obesity research it is still unknown whether overnutrition stimulated hypothalamic inflammation or if hypothalamic inflammation contributes to an individual’s cause for obesity, but the hypothalamus is still a hot part of the brain because it is such an important regulatory region for the entire body.

Structural Changes

Medical imaging of obese people and their normal weight counterparts has also shown structural differences in the brains of people who are obese. People who were obese showed to have decreased brain volumes independent of age or brain disease. A recent report indicates that BMI is linked to a reduction of white matter in the brain as well. Research is also exploring the effects on the gray matter in the frontal lobe, and blood supply to the prefrontal cortex. Though the reason for these structural changes in the brain has not been totally pinpointed, it is hypothesized that inflammation, breakdown of the blood brain barrier, and insulin resistance associated with high-fat diets may be contributing factors.

Cognitive Defects

Related to inflammation of the brain and structural differences in brains of obese individuals, comes the question of any cognitive deficits that may be associated with the condition. Many studies are finding that obesity during midlife is a predictor for mild cognitive impairment during old age. Closely related to this is the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Currently, normal weight people have a relative risk of about 1.64 for developing dementia or Alzheimer’s while the relative risk for obese individuals is about 2.4. As for the entire age spectrum of the population, obese individuals statistically score lower on short-term memory and executive function tests than normal weight individuals.

When people think about the health risks associated with obesity, the brain is often the last organ that is worried about. Recent research is making people think otherwise. As more and more research is bashing overnutrition and obesity, the negative effects on the brain are coming to surface as well. Reducing the risk of brain-related illnesses later in life is just another reason overweight Americans should look at improving their health with a little exercise and a healthier diet.

Disease/Health

The Vicious Cycle of Obesity

Posted on April 11, 2016 by / 0 Comment

America has a problem
Obesity rates are on the rise in America. Obesity is currently the second leading cause of preventable death in the US behind tobacco use. Americans who have a lower education/income are more likely to become obese than those with higher education/income. A Southwest salad will leave you three dollars shorter than a Big Mac. There is a real concept in fast food called the “Bliss Point” with the perfect combination of sugar, salt and fat to make a “Sensory profile where you like food the most”.
The Vicious Cycle
Current research into the effects of eating lots of fat/carbs/calories (over nutrition) on the brain is shedding light on a scary truth. Whether a person is obese, overweight or very thin consuming high amount of carbs, fat or calories has been shown to very quickly cause brain inflammation. This is believed to be due to an excess of waste coming from the intestine during the digestion of excess food. This inflammation leads to a number of responses by the brain. For one the insulin signaling system in the brain can begin to breakdown and mitochondrial function can also be impaired. Unfortunately when the mitochondria do not work as well this makes the insulin signaling problem even worse. The insulin signaling system is actually a very important brain pathway and is shown to have an impact on a number of brain functions including memory formation, gene expression and metabolism. Another unfortunate truth is that when the insulin pathway is not working properly an increase in appetite and an increased palatability for high fat/calorie food has been shown to follow. This palatability towards high fat/calorie foods simply begins the cycle over again.

Health

Do Alcohol and Nicotine go Hand in Hand?

Posted on April 6, 2016 by / 0 Comment

While it is common knowledge that alcohol consumption impairs the ability for individuals to make wise and rational decisions, could it encourage people to feed their nicotine addictions? Or could the inhalation or absorption of nicotine products increase the levels of alcohol consumption on any given night? The answers to these questions remain uncertain, but modern research has led scientists and physicians to believe that these two commodities may be closely correlated.

In one such case, researchers discovered that the higher nicotine content in the blood was positively correlated with higher levels of alcoholic consumption. While this data may seem promising, there are many other factors that could have altered this study. In later trials, researchers were able to suppress alcohol consumption by using noncompetitive nicotinic receptor antagonists. Conversely, when competitive nicotinic receptor antagonists were used they did not illustrate the same scenario. Because of this discrepancy, the researchers that conducted this study postulated that there may be different types of nicotinic receptors found within the body and their activation or inhibition may be altered depending on the biochemical makeup of their activation sites.

So what does this actually mean for the general public? Regardless of the biochemical mechanisms of activation or inhibition, I think it is safe to say that, for the most part, both alcohol and nicotine seem to play a role in the increased consumption of the other. This does not mean that if you smoke cigarettes or chew tobacco that you innately drink more. Nor does it mean that if you drink excessively you are bound to smoke excessively. However, by engaging in either of these activities, you are increasing the activation and potential chance of using either of these two products.
With this knowledge, it should be easier for people to recognize these risks and take actions to prevent them from happening. This information can also be extremely useful for those that are trying to decrease their alcoholic intake as they may want to also stay away from any tobacco products. The same could also be said for people trying to stop smoking or chewing tobacco.
While going out on Friday nights may be a fun and entertaining time, I think that it is important to understand the potential risks and temptations that may arise. Based on both sociological and scientific studies, it has been strongly theorized that people tend to drink more when they have nicotine and people tend to smoke or chew more when they drink. Regardless of whether or not this is fully due to the biological affects of these drugs or the social aspect of downtown life, citizens should be aware of these factors so they can make more informed decisions for themselves.

Community/Health/Hot topics

Why do Alcohol and Tobacco usually go together?

Posted on April 5, 2016 by / 0 Comment

The danger of smoking and drinking is already spread to all the society. Advertising campaigns try to alert people of the evils involved in smoking and drinking, showing how this kind of behavior can affect not only your own healthy, but others around you.
The neural mechanisms involved in the onset and maintenance of addiction are subject of many scientific researches, that try to solve the puzzle of addiction, in order to help people who are in this condition.
Nicotine is a stimulant substance present in Tobacco and it can bind to a type of acetylcholine receptor, called nicotinic receptor. The nicotinic receptors are present within the brain and muscular junctions. When nicotine binds to the nicotinic receptors, the neurons end up releasing different kinds of neurotransmitters in the brain, such as norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, causing different feelings of adrenaline and a later relaxation.
Nicotinic receptors are present in different parts of the brain, including the reward pathway, which together with other parts responsible for memory and decision making, form the circuit of addiction. The use of drugs of abuse can alter this circuit, building up the physical and chemical dependence.
Nicotine can alter the availability of receptors in the brain, increasing the number of the receptors. With more receptors, the sensitivity to nicotine is higher, which is correlated with nicotine addiction. Thus, nicotine can alter not just the function, but also the structure of neurons, and that may explain why is so hard to smokers to quit this habit.
Recent studies that focused in nicotine and alcohol addiction revealed important connections between the brain receptors involved in the maintenance of smoking and alcoholism. Ethanol does not bind directly to nicotinic receptors, or any kind of acetylcholine receptors. However, alcohol can increase the response of acetylcholine receptors, including nicotine receptors. That is, alcohol can potentiate the response of nicotinic receptors to nicotine, what could explain the high number of alcoholics that are also heavy smokers.
It is important that scientists continue to investigate the neural circuits involved in addiction, and how different drugs of abuse can relate to each other, so it will be possible to help people and to regulate these kind of drugs.

Disease/Health/Hot topics

Quitting is Scientifically Hard

Posted on April 5, 2016 by / 0 Comment

As many people know, alcohol and nicotine are extremely addictive, but the reason why is unknown to most individuals. Through my research, I was interested in why quitting can be so difficult.
Throughout drug abuse, synaptic changes occur, affecting the way individuals normal synapses function. Long-term depression (LTD) and long-term potentiation (LTP) cause the synaptic changes in the amygdala and hippocampus.
When people think about addictiveness, it is not always understood that there are actual changes in the brain, but in the paper it discusses the causes of synaptic changes, as I mentioned above. As addiction continues, the amount of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors (nAChR) drastically increases in brains that have an addiction to nicotine and alcohol. The amount of receptors increases due to the drug supplying more neurotransmitters and needing places to enter the cell without flooding the synaptic cleft.
When someone quits, they have a massive amount of vacant nAChR that are hungry for neurotransmitters, and this is why it can be so difficult to quit. In a study I found, the researchers discovered that the amount of receptors does not begin to return to normal until around 6-12 weeks of abstinence. But for full return to normal with receptor content, it takes close to a year. This study did not include behavioral aspects that are difficult to stop, such as constantly having something in your mouth.
Through my research, it made me want to inform more individuals about how addictive and life changing these chemicals actually are. I feel as though many individuals who begin these drugs say its not a problem and they can stop whenever, but with the great effects they have on the brain it is not that easy.

Community/Disease/Health/Hot topics/Uncategorized

Nicotine in the Brain: Will E-Cigs be able to Solve the Problem of Smoking?

Posted on April 5, 2016 by / 0 Comment

As we are all aware, smoking has some pretty severe possible side effects that result in physical changes inside and outside your body that could potentially cause death. Something that we don’t make as public is the effects that smoking has on the brain and what about nicotine a person gets addicted to.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are ligand-gated ion channels that mediate fast signal transmission at synapses. In the brain nAChRs are found between neurons at the synapses they are involved in cognitive function, learning and memory, arousal, reward, motor control and analgesia. Activating nAChRs causes and influx of calcium ions, which affects the release of neurotransmitters.

Nicotine gets into the blood stream and can easily cross the blood-brain barrier. Initially, nicotine activates nAChRs, opening their channels causing the high and the feeling that users will get. The excessive stimulation causes a decrease in receptor synthesis. Nicotine ends up desensitizing the receptors.

Once the receptors are dysfunctional there is an sudden increase in the amount of certain nACHRs. With more receptors to please there is more of need for nicotine which drives the addiction. The amount of receptors you have eventually can go back to normal, but it is tough. The withdrawal symptoms a smoker goes through often times lead to relapse.

Messing with nAChR amounts and functions disrupts normal brain function. nAChRs play a huge role in learning and memory. There are studies that show smokers to have a lower IQ than non-smokers.

After advertising how unhealthy smoking is there has been a huge decrease in the amount of people who smoke. Web M.D. says that the transition from cigarette smoking to e-cigarettes happened pretty quickly. Unfortunately the research didn’t quite move as fast and the potential long-term effects have not been discovered.

The idea behind e-cigs is that they take away one of the most dangerous effects of cigarettes: the smoke from tobacco. Another term for using an e-cig is “vaping”. E-cigs still contain nicotine, so they have the same effects on the brain as cigarettes. You can become addicted to them and could experience withdrawal symptoms. It seems to be that e-cigs might just be the lesser of two evils. It will need to be something that we keep on our radar. There could be decreased health benefits if a smoker can turn into a “vaper”.

Uncategorized

A Martini A Day Keeps the Doctor Away?

Posted on April 5, 2016 by / 0 Comment

This past week in Neurochemistry class focused on Alcohol and Nicotine. We learned about how the effects of both drugs are more related on a chemical level than I had previously known; however, the topic resonated with me the most was how different our society is compared to others regarding alcohol.
It goes without saying that alcohol plays a major role in most aspects of society. From religion to recreation, drinking has impacted the lives of many people in positive and negative ways. However, in the United States, most of what is portrayed is negative.
In American society, people often associate alcohol with inappropriate, dangerous behavior through binge drinking. This is because of the known physiological effects that alcohol has on the brain.

Alcohol has a direct impact on certain parts of the brain that involve movement, speech, judgement, and memory.
The impact causes impairment, which results in the typical “drunken” behavior such as slurred speech, difficulty walking, “blacking out,” and impulsive behavior.
The picture below shows the brain areas that are directly affected by binge-drinking.

Although the negative effects of binge drinking are very clear, it is very popular in the younger population. If you think of the college culture, you probably are also thinking of alcohol. This is just one factor that could be contributing to the increased binge drinking, and negative portrayal of alcohol, in American Society.
This negative view on binge drinking is justified because of the danger that some individuals who partake in such behavior exude onto society. However, smaller doses of alcohol per day have been associated with health benefits.
According to recent research, moderate alcohol consumption can reduce your risk of developing heart disease, possibly reduce your risk of ischemic stroke (when the arteries to your brain become narrowed or blocked, causing severely reduced blood flow), and reduce one’s risk of diabetes.
These facts, when represented in a visual graph, illustrate something known as the “J-Curve,” which is shown below.

Although binge drinking does have negative effects and can lead to further detrimental changes to the brain involving tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal, understanding that moderate consumption can result in health benefits may reshape the way that the United States views, and consumes, alcohol.