Cobbers on the Brain

We know that autism is a developmental disorder that impacts communication and social interaction. However, what is the cause of this debilitating disorder that effects so many? We can say for sure that vaccines do not cause autism, but our genes play a significant role in the onset of the disease. Another very important factor is related to environmental factors. The environmental impacts can be boiled down to two problems in the body: zinc deficiency and immune system abnormalities. Either of these problems in the body can lead to an increased risk of autism and often begins when a child is in the womb.
Genetic Component:
Autism has been linked to a mutation in the Shank2 and Shank3 proteins in the body. These proteins can be found in the postsynaptic neuron in the postsynaptic density (PSD). This area is basically a grouping of proteins that is responsible for strengthening the synapse between the pre and postsynaptic neurons. This makes synapses stronger when a signal is passed across the synaptic cleft. Shank2 and Shank3 are scaffolding proteins that are responsible for holding proteins in place in the PSD so that when a signal is transmitted to the postsynaptic neuron, all the proteins are in place to cause a response in the body. These two proteins specifically are involved with the NDMA receptors and mGlu receptors. These pathways are implicated in cell growth by modification of transcription factors in the nucleus. Mutations in these proteins which impact their scaffolding ability have been discovered in those with autism. We are not necessarily sure why this is related to autism, but in mouse models those with mutated Shank2 and Shank3 proteins show phenotypes similar to those with autism. Along with this, they show an upregulation NDMA and mGlu receptors probably because they need more receptors to cause the same response in the body without a functioning shank protein.

In this image you can see the Shank protein and its association with the mGluR. This association leads to a stronger synapse that activates the ERK pathway and leads to a change in gene translation in the nucleus.
Zinc Deficiency:
I would like to focus on the environmental factor of zinc deficiency as it plays a vital role in the shank protein mechanism. Zinc is very important throughout the body and is required for many of the bodily processes. However, it is very necessary in the PSD as it activates Shank proteins and causes them to stick together forming a scaffold that proteins can stick to. With a lack of zinc, it can cause Shank proteins to be faulty which could contribute to autism related symptoms. Zinc deficiencies are related to melatonin imbalances which can lead to abnormal sleep schedule or inability to sleep well which is a symptom of those with autism. It is also related to malnutrition and copper overload in the body. If a person is not eating well, they will not have enough zinc in the body to support all of its functions. Also, copper and zinc are related in the body because as copper levels rise, zinc levels are low and vice versa. Overall, a zinc deficiency can have many negative impacts in the body and can begin affecting a child when it is in the womb if the mother has too low levels of zinc.
Autism:
Although we do not know the exact cause of autism or how to combat it, it is sure that genetic and environmental factors both play a vital role in the development of the disorder. At this point, it is unclear of what an effective treatment for these problems is, however, a healthy diet and avoiding infections and stress during pregnancy is a good start. Although, sometimes even doing everything right can still lead to autism as genetics play a very vital role. In the future, we can only hope that research leads us far enough so that we have the ability to treat and/or cure this disorder.
 
Please read if you would like to learn more about environmental factors and autism:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00118/full
Cover image found from:
http://readingroom.mindspec.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Picture1-300×221.png
In text image found from:
http://flipper.diff.org/apprulesitems/items/6885

Did you know that the US has the third highest rate of anxiety?
 
What is it?
Is it our lifestyle or is it our brains?
 
Lifestyle
Our community ideals promote a lifestyle that is so focused on reaching a goal, and with that goal comes a promise of happiness. What we don’t consider is the stress related to achieving our goals and how we put so much stress on evaluations by our superiors. The constant stress form jobs, classes, or family/friends will contribute to anxiety and keep any of us on the edge.
 
The problem is that with our age, research shows that our anxiety and stress levels go up because of what we get worried about! As we age our stress shifts from our future to if we have lived our lives correctly. The problem is also that little things in life can increase our stress and therefore increase the chance of anxiety.
Continue reading →

What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a general term for several disorders that cause nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worrying. Anxiety plays a profound role in the impact of psychologically stressful events on physiological, behavioral, and cognitive responses. Stressful events can be anything, such as tests, recitals, or interviews. They are several types of anxiety that we will discuss later.

 
In the brain.

• Stress evokes activation of GABA receptors
• GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) (learn more about Gaba here https://www.everydayhealth.com/gaba/guide/) decrease in the brain (hippocampus, dentate gyrus)
• Decreased GABA Leads to an increase in histone H3 which makes memories stronger.
• We don’t want to make stronger memories of stressful events. Which is what happens in people with anxiety.

What causes anxiety?
As we have seen above, abnormality in the brain can lead to anxiety. Other factors such as the environment, substance use and abuse and medical can also induce anxiety.

1. Environmental factors

• Stress from work, school, financial difficulties, natural disaster, etc
• Trauma from events such as abuse, victimization, or the death of a loved one

2. Medical factors

• Lack of oxygen from emphysema, or pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lung)
• Stress from a serious medical illness
• Side effects from medication

3. substance use and abuse

• certain studies have indicated that the increase use of alcohol and drugs play a role in influencing anxiety within users. https://search.proquest.com/openview/b61ecfe6889e591d0e957c25840480e5/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=40661

Types of anxiety

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• chronic disorder
• long-lasting anxiety
• Excessive worry about money, health, work, school.
• have trouble identifying specific fear
• Most common form of anxiety.

2. Panic Disorders

• Characterized by brief or sudden attacks intense terror
• Shortness in breath, dizziness, confusion and other attacks may occur
• Attacks can last for hours
• They can be spontaneous but usually occurs after scary and frightening experiences

3. Social Anxiety Disorder

• fear of being negatively judged by others or a fear of public embarrassment due to impulsive actions
• affects 5% of the general population
• failure to interact with the environment around which leads to avoidance of the environment

Other form of anxiety include, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Phobias, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Separation Anxiety Disorder.

Treatment for anxiety.
Anxiety can be treated by medication, counseling and self-treatment. Medication is preferred as the last resort for people with anxiety due to its ability to present side effect.

• Learning to reduce stress by being mindful of stressful environment and other self-awareness practices such as, deep breathing, self-talk and exercise have been shown to reduce levels of anxiety.
• Counseling methods like Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) which aims to recognize and change the patient’s thinking patterns that are associated with the anxiety and troublesome feelings, have also be productive in reducing anxiety
• Anxiety medication include Lorazepam (Ativan), Diazepam (Valium), Clonazepam (Klonopin) and Alprazolam (Xanax)

Note: Sometimes alcoholism, depression, or other coexisting conditions have such a strong effect on the individual that treating the anxiety disorder must wait until the coexisting conditions are brought under control.

             Individuals with anxiety already suffer from a debilitating disorder; those with both addiction and anxiety have it much worse.

 
Anxiety is typically caused by extremely stressful events in someone’s life, and while some people learn to cope with the stress, others are never able to fully recover, and suffer from constant stress after the event(s). Stressful situations result with an increase in the level of glucocorticoids, a class of neurotransmitters, in the brain (1). Glucocorticoid hormones can induce the expression of genes associated with memory formation, allowing the brain to form strong memories of the stressful event (1). The formation of these memories can disrupt the balance of activity between different brain regions, and lead to abnormal activity in some regions.
 
One region of the brain impacted by anxiety is the prefrontal cortex. For those of you unfamiliar with the anatomy of the brain, the prefrontal cortex is located towards the front of your head, right above your eye sockets. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for planning, decision-making, emotional regulation, and the development of personality (2).

 
The way the prefrontal cortex regulates emotional responses is by controlling the activity of the limbic system, especially the amygdala. The amygdala is the region of the brain responsible for processing fear and anger, and the fear response becomes activated in extremely stressful situations.
 
Abnormal levels of activity in the amygdala have been associated with anxiety, indicating that the amygdala is partially responsible for the fear and stress felt by those who suffer from anxiety (2). In healthy people, the prefrontal cortex can shut off the fear response in the amygdala when it becomes too activated, but in people with anxiety, the amygdala actually decreases the activity of the prefrontal cortex (2).

This is where anxiety ties into addiction. When the activity of a person’s prefrontal cortex is inhibited, that individual’s ability to process information and make good decisions is significantly reduced. This means people who suffer from both anxiety and drug addictions are not able to avoid behaviors detrimental to their health, such as relapsing on their drug of choice. In fact, drug addicts who suffer from high levels of anxiety were found to be much more likely to relapse (2).
 
The stress caused by anxiety can permanently rewire the brain on the molecular and synaptic levels, making the brain much more susceptible to addiction. For example, the increased levels of glucocorticoids in the brain in anxious individuals can lead to higher levels of dopamine in the limbic system, which in turn makes the reward processing system in the brain more susceptible to drugs (3).

Artstract #2
 
Anxiety and chronic stress are both risk factors for developing an addiction, and given that our culture has extremely high levels of anxiety, we need to be careful about how we learn to cope with the stress we face on a daily basis in order to avoid addiction. We also need to create more resources for those who do suffer from anxiety in our society; otherwise we will continue to see a surge in people addicted to various drugs and unhealthy behaviors.
 
 

Sources:

1.https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/625282/mod_
resource/content/0/anxiety%20making%20memories%20from%20stressful%20events.pdf
2. http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/19/6229
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2732004/
 

Image Credits:

1. https://d3atagt0rnqk7k.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/13130748/how-does-cbd-work-1024×641.jpg
2. https://insidethealcoholicbrain.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/fofbraindiag.jpg?w=567&h=465&crop=1
3. http://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/16/5/279/F3.large.jpg