In brief: How infants play with objects could predict autism spectrum disorder, and more research

Unusual visual inspection

Research in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology (now the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science) indicates that diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be predicted in infants 9 months of age and older by the way they visually inspect objects. Researchers evaluated 147 infants in the United States, including a high-risk group of 89 infants whose older siblings have ASD and a low-risk group of 58 infants with siblings with typical development. The researchers observed how each infant played with objects at 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, and 36 months of age and rated their overall social engagement behavior. As part of their assessment, the researchers tallied the number of times the infant engaged in unusual visual inspection of an object, such as repeatedly spinning it or rotating it. The researchers found that incidents of unusual visual inspection were prominent, consistent, and present as early as 9 months of age in infants who went on to develop ASD. DOI: 10.1037/abn0000692opens in new window

Severe infection and autism risk

Research in Science Advances indicates that severe infection is a significant risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Researchers used an immunostimulant to challenge the immune systems of newborn mice that carried a mutated copy of the tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (Tsc2+/−) gene—a mutation associated with high prevalence of ASD. They found that male mice (but not females) developed deficits in social behavior—including social memory—linked to changes in interferon signaling and activation of microglia, the immune cells of the brain. The drug rapamycin, meant to deplete microglia, reversed the mice’s social behavior deficits, even after microglia reappeared months later. The researchers also analyzed a data set of more than 3.5 million health insurance claims in the United States and found that, regardless of genetic status, boys hospitalized with severe infections between the ages of 18 months and 4 years were 40% more likely to be diagnosed with ASD than those who were not hospitalized for severe infections. For girls, hospitalization for infection at this age was associated with a 30% greater chance of ASD diagnosis, though the correlation was not statistically significant. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf2073opens in new window

Vaping and eating disorders

Among young adults, vaping (e-cigarette use) is associated with an increased risk of developing an eating disorder, according to a study in Eating Behaviors. Researchers surveyed 51,231 U.S. students age 18 and older across 78 universities. Questions were aimed at assessing eating behavior risk and vaping behavior. The researchers found 19% of participants reported vaping in the previous 30 days. Among those who vaped, the prevalence of an eating disorder diagnosis was 5.8% and the elevated eating disorder risk was 29.6%. These numbers were higher compared with those who did not vape (3.2% and 23.9%, respectively), even when the researchers factored in other eating disorder risk factors. DOI: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2021.101566opens in new window

Beyond small talk

When conversing with a stranger, people often want to engage in deep conversation but don’t because they incorrectly assume that deeper conversations will be more awkward and less enjoyable than they actually are, according to research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition. Across 12 studies with more than 1,800 total online participants, researchers asked pairs of people, mainly strangers, to discuss either relatively deep or shallow topics. Prior to the conversations, participants estimated how awkward they thought the conversations would be, how connected they thought they would feel to their conversation partner, and how much they would enjoy the conversation. Afterward, they rated the conversation on each of these dimensions. Participants who had initially anticipated awkward deep conversations actually experienced relatively less awkwardness compared with those who discussed shallow topics. Deep conversations were also rated as more enjoyable and led to a stronger sense of connection than shallow conversations. DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000281opens in new window

Obsessively thinking about OCD

For those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), ruminating on symptoms and mood can prolong the experience of depression, suggests research in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology (now the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science). Researchers asked 145 individuals in Switzerland and Germany diagnosed with OCD to read aloud their most distressing obsessive thought. Participants were randomized to one of three conditions: rumination about OCD symptoms, rumination about mood, or distraction. Compared with distraction, both types of rumination resulted in smaller decreases in distress, urge to neutralize, depressed mood, and frequency of obsessive thoughts. Rumination about OCD symptoms did not have a stronger immediate effect than rumination about mood, but it was associated with increased OCD symptom severity and reduced positive affect 24 hours later. DOI: 10.1037/abn000067opens in new window7

Parental estrangement

Parental estrangement causes significant distress for those affected. Mothers estranged from their adult children often cite an ex-husband or a son- or daughter-in-law for turning their children against them, suggests research in Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice. Researchers surveyed 1,035 mothers in the United States who were part of an email discussion group for those experiencing or researching parental estrangement. They found that more than half of the mothers (56.8%) had gone more than a year without contact with their children. Most of these mothers (79.1%) said that family members had turned their children against them. Nearly two thirds of estranged mothers (62.4%) also believed their child’s mental health or addiction issues played a role in their fractured relationship, just over a third (35.7%) pointed to disagreements over values such as parenting and politics, and about a fifth blamed themselves for the rift. DOI: 10.1037/cfp0000198opens in new window

Free time sweet spot

Having too much free time chips away at people’s sense of well-being nearly as much as having too little, suggests research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Researchers’ analysis of two surveys involving 35,375 participants in the United States revealed that as free time increased, so did well-being, but well-being leveled off at about 2 hours and began to decline after 5 hours. The researchers also conducted two online studies involving 6,611 participants. In the first study, participants were randomly assigned to imagine having a low (15 minutes per day), moderate (3.5 hours per day), or high (7 hours per day) amount of discretionary time every day for 6 months. Participants who imagined both short and long periods of discretionary time reported lower well-being than those in the moderate group. In the second study, the researchers found the nature of the free-time activity mattered: High amounts of free time spent on unproductive activities resulted in lower levels of well-being, while lots of free time spent on productive activities led to higher levels of well-being. DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000391opens in new window

How do hot streaks evolve?

According to research in Nature Communications, artistic and scientific hot streaks—bursts of highly acclaimed work produced in close succession—appear to result from a particular cycle of creative experimentation immediately followed by implementation. Researchers used artificial intelligence tools to analyze career outputs of 2,128 visual artists, 4,337 film directors, and 20,040 scientists to find patterns in the timing and success of these creatives’ hot streaks. Across each domain, creative individuals tended to explore diverse styles or topics prior to their hot streak but became more focused after the hot streak began. Crucially, hot streaks arose when this exploration was quickly followed by a more focused period when promising discoveries were implemented in a string of projects. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25477-8opens in new window

Hatred of movements

According to research in Scientific Reports, 1 in 3 people experience negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, and frustration in response to watching others fidget, a phenomenon referred to as misokinesia, or "hatred of movements." In one study, researchers found that among 2,751 undergraduate students in Canada, 38% were bothered by seeing others’ repetitive fidgeting behaviors, such as foot shaking, finger tapping, or gum chewing. A second study with 765 online participants ages 18 to 93 revealed 36% had misokinesia and that older adults reported a broader range of negative experiences. In a third study with 650 participants in Canada ages 18 to 44, the researchers found no firm evidence that reflexive visual attentional mechanisms substantively contributed to misokinesia. Across all studies, the researchers found that at least 25% of those with misokinesia also experienced misophonia, a related (and more widely reported) phenomenon in which people recoil at others’ repetitive sounds, such as chewing and lip smacking. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96430-4opens in new window

Hyperbaric therapy bolsters cognition

Research in Aging indicates that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can increase blood flow in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), leading to improvements in cognition. Researchers exposed a ­well-studied AD mouse model to hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in which atmospheric pressure is significantly elevated and breathable air is composed of 100% oxygen. Postmortem exams of the mice’s brain tissue indicated an improvement in vascular function and the creation of new blood vessels, as well as a reduction in volume of preexisting amyloid plaque deposits (and the prevention of new plaques) that are a hallmark of AD. The researchers then provided 60 sessions of hyperbaric treatment over 3 months to six human participants ages 65 and above who were experiencing cognitive decline. Compared with baseline levels, cerebral blood flow, as measured by MRI, increased by 16%–23%. Additionally, cognitive tests indicated that the treatment significantly boosted memory, attention, and information processing speed compared with baseline measurements. DOI: 10.18632/aging.203485opens in new window

Retiring later may slow cognitive decline

Retiring at a later age may protect against cognitive decline, according to a study in SSM - Population Health. Researchers examined data from a representative sample of 20,469 people in the United States ages 55 to 75, all of whom had been employed at some point between 1996 and 2014. They found that those who stayed in the labor market until at least age 67 had a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline compared with those who retired between the ages of 55 and 66, regardless of gender and educational or occupational levels. The protective effects were most notable among those with the highest educational levels. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100855opens in new window

Amyloid tipping point

A person’s age coupled with a single amyloid PET scan can predict age of symptom onset in sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, suggests research in Neurology. Researchers analyzed amyloid PET scans from 236 participants ages 45 and older in the United States. The researchers computed the "standardized uptake value ratio" (SUVR)—in this case a measure of amyloid density compared with baseline for two or more scans taken an average of 4.5 years apart—to estimate the amount of amyloid in each participant’s brain at each time point. They also accessed more than 1,300 clinical assessments on 180 of the participants to pinpoint when cognitive skills began to slip. They found that amyloid accumulation has a tipping point (1.2 SUVR) and each individual hits that point at a different age, after which amyloid accumulation follows a reliable trajectory until the brain’s amyloid levels reach a high level (3.0 SUVR). The timeline for symptom appearance, though, was not linear. For example, a 50-year-old reaching the tipping point would become symptomatic about 20 years later, while an 80-year-old reaching the tipping point would develop symptoms just 10 years later. Participants with the APOE4 gene variant reached the tipping point about 9 years earlier than those without the variant, but afterward followed the same trajectory as those without it. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012775opens in new window

Maternal diabetes drives risk

People born to mothers with Type 1, Type 2, or gestational diabetes are at an increased risk for developing a psychiatric disorder of any kind, according to research in JAMA Network Open. Researchers followed all 2,413,335 children born in Denmark between 1978 and 2016. Children born to mothers with a diabetes diagnosis during pregnancy (about 2% of all offspring) were 15% more likely to develop a psychiatric disorder—in particular, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, intellectual disabilities, developmental disorders, and behavioral disorders—than their unexposed peers during their first 4 decades of life. No association with maternal diabetes was observed for substance use disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, or personality disorders. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.28005opens in new window

Counselors fall prey to stigmatizing language

Counselors who are exposed to person-first language—describing a patient as a "person with schizophrenia" rather than "schizophrenic"—show greater tolerance toward people with the disorder, indicates a study in the Journal of Counseling & Development. Researchers recruited 251 U.S.-based practicing mental health counselors and counselors-in-training. Half of the participants received a survey about people with schizophrenia that used the term "schizophrenic" and half received a version of the survey that used "person with schizophrenia." Participants who received the version with the term "schizophrenic" had attitudes that were more authoritarian, more socially restrictive, and less benevolent. Both practicing counselors and counseling students were affected by the stigmatizing terminology, though practicing counselors were affected to a greater extent. DOI: 10.1002/jcad.12397opens in new window

Early intervention affects autism outcomes

According to research in JAMA Pediatrics, a preemptive social communication intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among children showing early signs of the disorder led to reduced symptom severity across early childhood and reduced the odds of an ASD diagnosis at age 3. Researchers recruited 103 families in Australia with children ages 9 to 14 months showing three of five ASD symptoms. About half of the children received 10 sessions of a video-based intervention focused on positive ­parental-child communication over 5 months plus usual care, while the other half received only usual care for 5 months. The researchers found that children receiving the social communication intervention exhibited significantly milder ASD symptoms 12 months later compared with those in the control group. They also had lower odds of being diagnosed with ASD by an independent clinician at age 3 (7% versus 21%). DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.3298opens in new window

Being listened to may preserve cognitive health

Having a supportive person who can listen to you in your later years may lessen the cognitive deficits that can come with brain aging or neuropathological changes accompanying Alzheimer’s disease, suggests research in JAMA Network Open. Researchers analyzed data from 2,171 participants in the United States ages 45 and older (with an average age of 63) taking part in the Framingham Heart Study. Participants reported the availability of supportive social outlets, including listening, good advice, love and affection, emotional support, and sufficient contact with close friends and family. Participants’ cognitive resilience—indicated by the impact of total cerebral brain volume on cognition—was assessed with MRI scans and neuropsychological measurements. The researchers found that for every unit of decline in brain volume, participants between the ages of 45 and 59 who had low listener availability had a cognitive age 4 years older than those with high listener availability. This association was absent for the other forms of social support. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.21122opens in new window

Early COVID marked by loneliness

According to a study in Nature, calls to helplines around the world jumped during the first wave of coronavirus infections. Researchers analyzed 8 million helpline calls in 14 European countries, the United States, China, Hong Kong, Israel, and Lebanon between 2019 and early 2021. They found that call volume peaked 6 weeks after each country’s initial coronavirus outbreak throughout February and March 2020, increasing 35% compared with pre-pandemic levels. Most of the callers were dealing with feelings of fear (including fear of infection), loneliness, and concerns regarding physical health. Calls regarding relationship issues, domestic violence, and suicidal ideation were less prevalent than before the pandemic, suggesting that COVID created new concerns rather than driving increases in existing mental health issues. In addition, suicide-related calls increased when lockdown policies became more stringent and decreased when income support was extended. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04099-6opens in new window

ADHD and substance use disorders

According to research in Alcohol and Alcoholism, half of adults with attention-deficit/hyper­activity disorder (ADHD) have had a substance use disorder in their lifetime. Researchers analyzed a nationally representative sample of 270 respondents in Canada ages 20 to 39 with ADHD and 6,602 matched age respondents without ADHD. After adjusting for all control variables, those with an ADHD diagnosis had higher odds than those without a diagnosis of developing alcohol use disorders (1.38 times higher), cannabis use disorders (1.46 times higher), other drug use disorders (2.07 times higher), or any substance use disorder (1.69 times higher). History of depression and anxiety led to the largest attenuation of the relationship between ADHD and substance use disorders, followed by childhood adversities and socioeconomic status. DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agab048opens in new window