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(https://www.psypost.org/scientists-reveal-a-weird-effect-of-psychedelics-on-memory/) Scientists reveal a weird effect of psychedelics on memory
Aug 9th 2024, 10:00

Psychedelic substances such as psilocybin and 2C-B can significantly distort our sense of familiarity with past events, according to a new study published in (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.06.008) Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. The study found that these substances impair episodic memory, particularly by causing false familiarity, especially with emotionally charged stimuli.
Episodic memory is a type of long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations, and experiences from one’s past. This form of memory allows individuals to mentally travel back in time to remember personal experiences, such as a birthday party, a vacation, or even a conversation from yesterday.
Episodic memory is supported by two key processes: recollection and familiarity. Recollection refers to the ability to recall detailed information about an event, such as where and when it occurred. Familiarity, on the other hand, is the sense of knowing that something has been experienced before without recalling specific details, like recognizing a face without remembering where you met the person.
The motivation for the study stems from the growing interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, such as psilocybin and 2C-B, in treating various psychiatric disorders. Psychedelics have been shown to produce rapid and significant improvements in conditions like depression and anxiety, making them a promising avenue for mental health treatment.
However, these substances are also known to acutely impair cognitive functions, including memory. Previous research suggested that psychedelics impact episodic memory differently from other psychoactive substances, sparing or even enhancing familiarity while impairing recollection. This unique effect on memory processes raises questions about the underlying mechanisms and whether these effects are consistent across different types of psychedelics.
By investigating how psilocybin and 2C-B affect episodic memory, the researchers aimed to uncover whether the observed enhancements in familiarity and impairments in recollection are common across various psychedelics. This knowledge could provide deeper insights into the cognitive effects of these substances.
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms, known for its powerful effects on perception and consciousness by activating serotonin receptors in the brain. 2C-B is a synthetic psychedelic of the phenethylamine class that also affects serotonin receptors, known for its visual and entactogenic (emotional openness and empathy) effects, but with a distinct pharmacological profile compared to psilocybin.
“In (https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000455) a previous project, we found that psychedelics impaired the formation (i.e., encoding) of hippocampal-dependent recollection (i.e., detailed remembering like where/when something happened) but spared or even enhanced the formation of cortical-dependent familiarity (i.e., knowing that a stimulus was recently processed without necessarily remembering specific details like recognizing a face but not knowing how you know this individual),” said study author (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KFo44R0AAAAJ) Manoj K. Doss, a research fellow at The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School.
“All other drugs that impaired recollection (e.g., GABA-A sedatives like alcohol and benzodiazepines, NMDA dissociatives like ketamine and dextromethorphan, THC) impaired the encoding of recollection, as well as familiarity (at least at higher doses), so we wanted to see if the sparing/enhancement of familiarity was a drug effect unique to psychedelics. Furthermore, psychedelics typically impair most measures of cognition, but there’s a reluctance for researchers to admit this (including researchers saying that psychedelics don’t impair memory), so we wanted to see if a cognitive process could truly be enhanced.”
The study involved 22 neurotypical young adults recruited from Maastricht University and the surrounding area. After excluding two participants who did not complete all conditions, the final sample consisted of 20 participants, evenly split between males and females, with an average age of 25 years.
All participants were experienced with psychedelics but had not used them in the past three months. The study followed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeated measures design with three experimental conditions: placebo, 15 mg of psilocybin, and 20 mg of 2C-B. Each participant experienced all three conditions in random order, with at least 14 days between sessions to prevent carryover effects.
Participants first attended a preparatory session to practice the memory task. On each experimental day, they consumed a capsule containing either the placebo or one of the psychedelics. Approximately three hours after administration, participants performed the encoding phase of the memory task. This involved viewing a series of images paired with descriptive labels and rating their emotional arousal. The images were drawn from standardized databases and included negative, neutral, and positive stimuli, balanced for content and emotional valence.
Memory was tested 24 hours later through a cued recollection test and a picture recognition test. In the cued recollection test, participants were shown the labels from the previous day and asked if they had seen the corresponding image. In the picture recognition test, they were shown images and asked if they had seen them before, distinguishing between “remember” (recollecting specific details) and “know” (feeling familiar without details) responses.
The study found that both psilocybin and 2C-B impaired recollection, particularly for neutral and positive images. Participants under the influence of these psychedelics were less accurate in recalling specific details of the images they had seen. More notably, the study revealed an increase in familiarity-based false alarms. Participants often reported a false sense of familiarity with images they had not seen, especially for emotionally charged images. This suggests that psychedelics may heighten the feeling of familiarity, leading to memory distortions.
“We found evidence that psychedelics enhanced familiarity, though the effects led to increased false recognition (i.e., claiming to have seen a stimulus that you did not actually see). In (https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000590) non-drug research, heightened familiarity (e.g., by presenting related words such as lime, orange, and grapefruit) can also lead to such false recognition (e.g., for a word like lemon),” Doss told PsyPost.
Additionally, the study found that memory performance was generally better for negative images across all conditions, which aligns with previous research indicating that emotionally negative stimuli are more memorable. However, the increase in false familiarity responses with psychedelics was more pronounced for negative and positive images compared to neutral ones. This highlights the role of emotional content in how psychedelics affect memory processes.
“Another surprising effect was that the recollection impairments we observed were most selective for neutral and positive stimuli, whereas (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105188) other drugs preferentially impair the encoding of negative and positive memories,” Doss said.
While this study provides valuable insights into how psychedelics affect memory, it has some limitations. For instance, the sample size was relatively small, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. However, Doss noted that “this is the third time we’re finding idiosyncratic psychedelic effects on familiarity that are distinct from how other drugs impact familiarity. Even if this modulation of familiarity is an impairment, it was more prominent than the recollection impairments, whereas other drugs preferentially impair recollection. The impairments in recollection/hippocampal-dependent memory were also relatively small, though it’s worth noting that human and animal work reliably find such impairments.”
“Feelings of familiarity are thought to involve the fluency (i.e., the ease of information processing) with which information is processed through the cortex, resulting in less neural resources to process repeated or related information,” Doss said. “In addition to fluency producing false memories, fluency (by presenting a stimulus several times) can also result in other illusory phenomena such as liking a stimulus more (i.e., the mere exposure effect) or increasing the plausibility of a statement (i.e., the illusory truth effect). One idea might be that psychedelics enhance fluency, which could explain why people taking psychedelics together may like each other more (despite having little conversation) or think (https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00120-6) the ideas they conjure up during a psychedelic experience are true.”
“We are about to start testing this hypothesis that I’ve been calling FLUX (FLUency eXaggeration) that psychedelics enhance fluency with the help of (https://centerforminds.org/) MINDS [the Center for Multidisciplinary Investigation Into Novel Discoveries & Solutions],” he added.
The study, “(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2451902224001666) Psilocybin and 4-Bromo-2,5-Dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B) at Encoding Distort Episodic Familiarity,” Manoj K. Doss, Pablo Mallaroni, Natasha L. Mason, and Johannes G. Ramaekers.

(https://www.psypost.org/covid-19-fears-drove-perception-of-republicans-as-disease-carriers-even-among-other-republicans/) COVID-19 fears drove perception of Republicans as disease carriers, even among other Republicans
Aug 9th 2024, 08:00

Americans who felt most vulnerable during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic perceived Republicans as infection risks, leading to greater disgust and avoidance of them – regardless of their own political party. Even Republicans who felt vulnerable became more wary of other Republicans. That’s one (https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001318) finding from research we recently published in the journal American Psychologist, and it has important implications for understanding a fundamental feature of human disease psychology.
Many Republican politicians and supporters, as compared to their Democratic counterparts, (https://theconversation.com/how-americas-partisan-divide-over-pandemic-responses-played-out-in-the-states-157565) downplayed the threat of COVID-19 to public and personal health and resisted masking and social distancing. (https://theconversation.com/the-role-party-affiliation-played-in-getting-us-to-grim-new-milestone-of-1-million-covid-deaths-183196) These attitudes and actions appear to have turned political affiliation into a new cue of possible infection risk.
This is an example of what scientists call the (https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411402596) behavioral immune system at work.
Why it matters
Most people are familiar with the physiological immune system your body uses to fight disease by activating defenses, like fever and coughs, after you get infected.
In contrast, your behavioral immune system tries to help you avoid getting infected in the first place. It scans for observable cues correlated with infectious disease – such as other people’s coughs and open sores. Then it marshals feelings, such as disgust, and behaviors, such as distancing, that help you avoid people who might be contagious. These reactions likely occur without conscious awareness or deliberate intention.
Scientists have learned a great deal about this process, but some important questions remain. (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=P9UfPOIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) As psychology (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=98Zaz2MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) researchers, we were interested in how the behavioral immune system could adjust quickly to new cues about infectiousness and changing risks.
How we do our work
Starting in April 2020, shortly after the initial COVID-19 lockdowns started, our team tracked a nationally representative sample of over 1,100 Americans for around eight months. This was a time of great unpredictability, with no vaccine available.
Every eight weeks, we asked participants through an online survey about their motivation to avoid disease and their attitudes toward various groups, including Republicans and Democrats. As COVID-19 infection rates fluctuated over the eight months of our study, we could watch changes in the same person’s motivation over time and their evolving views of political partisans.
We found that Americans who were highly motivated to avoid disease and whose motivation increased as infection rates rose perceived Republicans as posing greater infection risks than Democrats. They also reported more feelings of disgust toward and avoidance of Republicans. These patterns were consistent across respondents’ political affiliations, even after controlling for people’s strong tendency to favor their own party and (https://theconversation.com/republicans-and-democrats-consider-each-other-immoral-even-when-treated-fairly-and-kindly-by-the-opposition-220002) dislike the opposing one.
What other research is being done
An unexpected twist lends even more weight to these findings.
Previous research shows that (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.10.003) political conservatives tend to be more vigilant about disease than political liberals. This vigilance is a way to protect themselves and their communities from external threats. Moreover, Americans have tended to (https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616628861) favor conservatives in elections during disease outbreaks. So the partisan reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in a way contrary to what we expected.
The fact that our respondents used Republican affiliation as a sign of potential infection risk, despite the typical conservative tendencies, reveals how flexible the behavioral immune system can be. It was able to learn and use a new cue of perceived infection risk – in this case, political affiliation – in response to a quickly changing environment. We also saw that the behavioral immune system can adapt to real-world changes in infection risk over time.
 
This article is republished from (https://theconversation.com) The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the (https://theconversation.com/republicans-wary-of-republicans-how-politics-became-a-clue-about-infection-risk-during-the-pandemic-231441) original article.

(https://www.psypost.org/an-intriguing-form-of-memory-training-reduces-depression-symptoms-in-youth/) An intriguing form of memory training reduces depression symptoms in youth
Aug 9th 2024, 06:00

Depression in young people is a growing concern. A new study published in the (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.04.078) Journal of Affective Disorders explores an innovative approach to enhance current treatments: computerized memory specificity training. The findings suggest that this type of cognitive training could help young people with depression recall specific memories better and reduce depressive symptoms over time.
Major depressive disorder is a prevalent and impactful mental illness, with youth experiencing higher rates of recurrence and poorer outcomes compared to other age groups. Current treatments, including psychological therapies and antidepressant medications, often yield only modest effects. Thus, there is a pressing need to enhance the effectiveness of these treatments to improve long-term outcomes for young individuals with depression.
One key cognitive feature of depression is overgeneral memory, where individuals struggle to recall specific personal experiences and instead remember events in vague, generalized terms. This overgeneral memory can maintain and exacerbate depressive symptoms by impairing problem-solving abilities, reducing social support, and hindering future planning. By targeting this cognitive process, the researchers aimed to explore whether improving memory specificity could lead to better mental health outcomes.
The study specifically focused on computerized memory specificity training (c-MeST) because it offers a novel, low-burden intervention that can be easily integrated into existing treatment plans. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0005796720302370) Previous research has shown that memory specificity training can improve memory recall and reduce depressive symptoms in adults. However, there was limited evidence on its efficacy in younger populations.
“I have had a long-standing interest in how we use memory for therapeutic purposes in the context of mental illness,” said study author David John Hallford, a clinical psychologist and senior lecturer at Deakin University.
“How we recall memories, how we represent them mentally and the different ways in which we do this (e.g. specificity, detail, imagery, their emotional resonance), as well as how we can reflect on how memories and interpret or reinterpret them as ways of understanding ourselves and world. Earlier in my career, I did some research and clinical work in palliative care/end of life, and in that context the use of memory in therapy is a core focus, in reviewing one’s life and drawing meaning and self-esteem from it.”
The study involved a randomized controlled trial with 359 young participants aged 15 to 25, all diagnosed with major depressive disorder and receiving some form of mental health treatment. Participants were divided into two groups: one received c-MeST in addition to their usual care, and the other continued with their usual care alone.
c-MeST is a digital program designed to help people with depression recall detailed, specific personal memories. The idea is that by practicing this skill, individuals can improve their mental health. Participants use the program on their mobile devices, where they are prompted to remember and describe specific events from their lives in response to positive words and images. The program gives feedback on how detailed their memories are and encourages them to provide more specifics if needed. This practice aims to make it easier for them to remember specific experiences.
The researchers found that c-MeST significantly improved the ability of participants to recall specific memories. This improvement was evident at the one-month follow-up, indicating that the training successfully enhanced memory specificity in the short term. Participants who used c-MeST could more readily provide detailed, specific personal memories compared to those who only received usual care.
However, the study also found that the improvements in memory specificity were not maintained over the longer term. By the three-month and six-month follow-ups, the initial gains in memory specificity had diminished, indicating that without ongoing practice, the effects on memory might be short-lived. This decline suggests that while c-MeST can provide immediate benefits, its long-term effectiveness may require continuous engagement or periodic booster sessions to maintain the improvements in memory specificity.
Importantly, the researchers found evidence that c-MeST had a positive impact on depressive symptoms. At both the one-month and six-month follow-ups, participants who engaged with c-MeST reported significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms compared to those in the control group.
This reduction in depressive symptoms was of a moderate to large magnitude, suggesting that c-MeST can be an effective adjunctive treatment for depression. These findings are particularly noteworthy because they demonstrate that the benefits of c-MeST on depressive symptoms can be sustained over a longer period.
The findings indicate “that the way in which we use our memories is often quite automatic, and in the context of major depression and some other disorders, sometimes quite overgeneral in nature (e.g., remembering broad periods of life or categories of memories rather than individual instances),” Hallford told PsyPost. “But, if we can focus on increasing the specificity and detail with which we remember things, then we open up a lot of resources from our experience with which to understand ourselves and our lives, and that can help us potentially overcome issues that we face.”
“This study, and previous studies, show that this can be helpful in reducing depressive symptoms in youth, and may provide an extra effect when provided alongside other therapies (e.g. psychological therapies or antidepressant therapy).”
But the study — like all research — includes some caveats. Many participants did not complete the follow-up assessments, and those who did often completed only about 25% of the c-MeST modules. This low completion rate highlights a significant challenge in digital mental health interventions: ensuring sustained engagement. Future research could focus on increasing participant engagement and adherence to the program. This might involve making the program more interactive or gamified to maintain interest.
“Not all people experiencing major depression will have difficulty with memory specificity, nor memory in general, so this type of intervention may not suit everyone,” Hallford noted. “Also, while there is merit in remembering both good and bad memories, some, particularly traumatic memories can be more difficult to process and might require more specialised approaches.”
“We are working to integrate the training with ChatGPT AI, so people can have a more personalised experienced in remembering and training memory for personal experiences,” he added. “This would be closer to what we experience when we share memories socially, that is, we are prompted by someone else (a computer in this case), to really expand on and re-experience our past. As research indicates that memory specificity is an issue across a wide number of disorders/mental health problems, we may also expand the intervention further to test it among a wider variety of those.”
The study, “(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032724006888) Improving usual care outcomes in major depression in youth by targeting memory specificity: A randomized controlled trial of adjunct computerized memory specificity training (c-MeST),” was authored by David John Hallford, David W. Austin, Keisuke Takano, Joesph J. Yeow, Danielle Rusanov, Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, and Filip Raes.

(https://www.psypost.org/mdma-therapy-side-effects-appear-mild-but-there-are-problems-with-the-evidence/) MDMA therapy: Side effects appear mild, but there are problems with the evidence
Aug 8th 2024, 20:00

In recent years, MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has garnered attention for its potential to treat psychiatric conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, understanding the safety profile of this treatment is important before it becomes widely implemented. A recent comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis published in (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-024-01865-8) Neuropsychopharmacology provides valuable insights into the side effects associated with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
The study found that while MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is associated with increased odds of side effects compared to a placebo, these side effects are generally mild to moderate and transient. However, significant gaps in the existing evidence highlight the need for further research to better understand the safety of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and guide its clinical use.
MDMA, short for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, is a synthetic drug that alters mood and perception. It is commonly known by street names such as ecstasy or molly. MDMA is known for producing feelings of euphoria, increased energy, emotional warmth, and distorted sensory and time perception.
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy combines the administration of MDMA with structured psychotherapy sessions. The premise of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is that MDMA can enhance the therapeutic process by reducing fear and anxiety associated with recalling traumatic memories, thus allowing patients to process these memories more effectively.
Typically, the treatment involves several preparatory psychotherapy sessions without MDMA, followed by a few full-day sessions where MDMA is administered under close supervision. These MDMA sessions are followed by integration sessions to help patients process their experiences and insights gained during the MDMA-assisted sessions.
While initial studies have shown promising results, concerns remain about the potential side effects and the adequacy of safety reporting in existing studies. The researchers aimed to address these concerns by conducting the first meta-analysis of the side effects of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy across various psychiatric conditions.
“I have been working on research related to MDMA for many years. We are currently starting an MDMA-assisted psychotherapy clinical trial and wanted to understand as best as we can what the likely side effects of this treatment could be. We conducted this study to get a comprehensive understanding of the safety of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy based on existing data,” said study author Gillinder Bedi, an associate professor Gill Bedi at the (https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/812188-gill-bedi) University of Melbourne and head of substance use research at (https://www.orygen.org.au/About/Our-Leaders/Researchers/Gillinder-Bedi) Orygen.
To provide a thorough assessment, they searched multiple databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, for studies involving MDMA combined with psychotherapy for psychiatric conditions. Only Phase 2 and 3 studies were included, as these provide more rigorous data compared to earlier phase trials.
The final analysis included 13 studies that met the inclusion criteria, totaling 333 participants. Eight of these studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 298 participants, which formed the primary basis for the meta-analysis.
The researchers extracted detailed data from these studies, including the study design, participant demographics, MDMA dosage, control conditions, side effects, and reasons for study withdrawal. They assessed the quality of side effect reporting using the CONSORT Harms 2022 guidelines, a 17-item checklist designed to ensure comprehensive reporting of adverse events in clinical trials.
Bedi and her colleagues found that participants undergoing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy had a higher likelihood of experiencing side effects compared to those receiving a placebo. In Phase 2 studies, 45% of participants in the MDMA-assisted psychotherapy group reported side effects during medication sessions, compared to 30% in the placebo group.
Similarly, 46% of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy participants reported side effects within seven days following the sessions, compared to 31% in the placebo group. Common side effects included anxiety, jaw clenching, muscle tightness, nausea, and decreased appetite. These side effects were generally mild to moderate in severity and transient.
In Phase 3 studies, the odds of experiencing any treatment emergent adverse event (TEAE) were higher for participants in the MDMA-assisted psychotherapy group compared to the placebo group, with 16% of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy participants reporting TEAEs compared to 5% of those in the placebo group.
Specific side effects that were more common in the MDMA-assisted psychotherapy group included muscle tightness, decreased appetite, nausea, excessive perspiration, feeling cold, restlessness, dilated pupils, jaw clenching, uncontrolled eye movements, feeling jittery, non-cardiac chest pain, blurred vision, and chills. Despite these increased odds, the side effects were again generally mild to moderate and resolved within a short period.
Importantly, the researchers did not find significant differences in the rates of serious adverse events or study withdrawal between the MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and placebo groups. This suggests that while MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing side effects, these effects are typically not severe enough to cause participants to withdraw from the study.
But the researchers highlighted several limitations in the existing evidence. The certainty of the evidence was rated as very low for most Phase 2 side effect outcomes and low to moderate for Phase 3 outcomes. This was primarily due to the small number of studies, the selective nature of the participant samples, and the heterogeneous methods used to assess and report side effects. Additionally, many studies relied on passive monitoring of side effects, which likely underestimates their prevalence.
“We found that, based on a comprehensive assessment of the existing data, the side effects of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy appear to be mild to moderate and relatively transient,” Bedi told Psypost. “While that is reassuring, we also found that there are methodological limitations that mean the certainty of existing evidence is not strong. This means that we don’t yet have a good sense of what the side effects are, particularly in relation to MDMA-assisted therapy used in ‘real world’ clinical settings rather than in tightly controlled trials.”
To address these limitations, the researchers recommend that future studies use systematic methods for assessing side effects, including structured checklists or scales, and ensure transparency in reporting all potential side effects. There is also a need for long-term follow-up studies to better understand the enduring effects of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
“There was some data which was not reported in the papers and which we were not able to access from the authors,” Bedi noted. “However, we do not think this would be likely to affect our findings substantially. The other thing to be aware of is that as part of a recent report by ICER on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, there have been allegations that some serious adverse events were not actually recorded or reported appropriately. Obviously, we were only able to base our review on the evidence that has been made available by the researchers and sponsors of this research.”
In addition, most of the existing studies were sponsored by a single advocacy group. Independent research is crucial to provide unbiased evidence on the safety and efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, particularly as it moves closer to potential approval for clinical use in treating PTSD and other psychiatric conditions.
“I am hopeful that with more independent research groups conducting high-quality research, we will get more robust evidence on both the benefits and potential harms of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the coming years,” Bedi said. “Our group is particularly focusing on doing our best to address the methodological issues that have been raised in relation to existing research, and on making sure the approach to psychotherapy we use is evidence-based and also informed by what is currently known or hypothesized about the likely mechanisms of action of this approach.”
The study, “(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-024-01865-8) Side-effects of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” was authored by Julia Colcott, Alexandre A. Guerin, Olivia Carter, Sally Meikle, and Gillinder Bedi.

(https://www.psypost.org/lower-teenage-cognitive-ability-linked-to-increased-risk-of-early-onset-stroke/) Lower teenage cognitive ability linked to increased risk of early-onset stroke
Aug 8th 2024, 18:00

Lower cognitive function during teenage years may significantly increase the risk of having a stroke before the age of 50, according to a new study published in the (https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2024-222114) Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Researchers found that adolescents with medium and low cognitive function had a twofold and threefold increased risk, respectively, of early-onset stroke compared to their peers with higher cognitive function, even after accounting for various other risk factors.
The study was driven by a rising concern over the increasing incidence of stroke among adults under 50 years old. While stroke is generally associated with older adults, younger individuals are experiencing higher rates of this debilitating condition. This trend underscores the importance of identifying early-life risk factors that might contribute to stroke later in life.
Cognitive function during adolescence was of particular interest because lower cognitive function has been linked to other health issues like hypertension and obesity, which are known stroke risk factors. The researchers aimed to clarify whether cognitive function in adolescence could be a predictor of early-onset stroke.
This study involved a nationally representative cohort of 1.7 million Israeli adolescents who underwent extensive evaluations before mandatory military service between 1987 and 2012. These evaluations included a general intelligence test comprising four subtests: understanding and carrying out verbal instructions, verbal abstraction and categorization, mathematical abilities, and non-verbal abstract reasoning and visual-spatial problem-solving. The results of these subtests were combined to form a general cognitive function score on a nine-point scale, which was then categorized into three groups: low (scores 1-3), medium (scores 4-7), and high (scores 8-9).
The researchers linked this cognitive data with stroke incidence data from the Israeli National Stroke Registry, which has recorded all stroke cases in Israeli hospitals since 2014. They excluded individuals with missing cognitive performance data or those who died before 2014, resulting in an analytical sample of 1,741,345 individuals. They tracked the participants for stroke events from 2014 until 2018, controlling for various factors including body mass index (BMI), educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and diabetes status.
The researchers found that adolescents with medium cognitive function had a 1.78 times higher risk of experiencing any stroke before the age of 50, while those with low cognitive function had a 2.68 times higher risk, compared to their peers with high cognitive function.
When the analysis was narrowed to ischemic strokes specifically, the risk became even more pronounced. Adolescents with medium cognitive function faced a 1.92 times higher risk, and those with low cognitive function had a 2.97 times higher risk of experiencing an ischemic stroke.
Ischemic strokes occur when a blood clot blocks or narrows an artery leading to the brain, causing a reduction in blood flow and oxygen to brain tissue. Hemorrhagic strokes, on the other hand, happen when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures, leading to bleeding in or around the brain.
Another significant finding was that the risk of ischemic stroke was particularly high for individuals who experienced their first stroke before the age of 40. Among these individuals, those with medium cognitive function had nearly double the risk, and those with low cognitive function had over three times the risk, compared to their high-functioning peers. This early-onset risk highlights the importance of cognitive function as a predictor of stroke at a younger age, a critical period when preventive measures could have a substantial impact.
The study also found a notable difference in baseline characteristics among the cognitive function groups. Adolescents with low cognitive function were more likely to be overweight or obese, less likely to have completed high school, and more likely to live in neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status. These findings suggest that cognitive function in adolescence is intertwined with various social determinants of health, which could further influence stroke risk.
With this in mind, the researchers conducted sensitivity analyses to ensure the robustness of their findings. They found that the association between lower cognitive function and increased stroke risk remained consistent even when the sample was restricted to individuals with optimal health in adolescence or those with normal blood pressure.
Additionally, when the analysis was extended to stratify the data by BMI categories, the researchers observed that individuals with low cognitive function and high BMI had the highest risk of stroke. This subgroup exhibited a sixfold increase in stroke risk compared to those with high cognitive function and low-normal BMI.
Despite its comprehensive approach, the study had several limitations. First, it lacked data on stroke incidents that occurred before January 2014. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity, which could influence stroke risk, were not available. Additionally, while the study accounted for high school completion, it did not have detailed data on higher education levels or income. The study also did not account for other cardiometabolic conditions, such as hypertension, which could mediate the relationship between cognitive function and stroke.
Future research should explore the underlying mechanisms linking low cognitive function to increased stroke risk. Additionally, studies should investigate the potential role of lifestyle factors and other cardiometabolic conditions in this relationship. Understanding these connections could lead to more effective prevention strategies and healthcare interventions for at-risk populations.
The study, “(https://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2024/05/23/jech-2024-222114) Cognitive function in adolescence and the risk of early-onset stroke,” was authored by Aya Bardugo, Cole D Bendor, Carmit Libruder, Miri Lutski, Inbar Zucker, Avishai M. Tsur, Estela Derazne, Gal Yaniv, Raquel C Gardner, Hertzel C Gerstein, Tali Cukierman-Yaffe, Yael Lebenthal, David Batty, David Tanne, Ariel Furer, and Arnon Afek.
Gilad Twig

(https://www.psypost.org/surprising-connection-found-between-nostalgia-and-spatial-anxiety/) Surprising connection found between nostalgia and spatial anxiety
Aug 8th 2024, 16:00

Imagine feeling lost in a maze, a wave of anxiety washing over you as you struggle to find your way. Now picture that same maze with nostalgic images from your past lining the walls. Would these fond memories help you navigate more confidently? According to a recent study published in the (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104586) Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, they just might.
The research aimed to understand how nostalgia — a sentimental longing for the past — can influence spatial anxiety, the fear or discomfort associated with navigating unfamiliar environments. The researchers found that not only does spatial anxiety trigger nostalgia, but nostalgia also helps reduce this anxiety.
Nostalgia is a complex emotion, combining elements of happiness and sadness, but predominantly offering a sense of comfort and positivity. Prior research has demonstrated that nostalgia can mitigate various negative states, such as loneliness and existential threat, by enhancing feelings of social connectedness, self-esteem, and meaning in life. These regulatory effects of nostalgia have been extensively documented in contexts where individuals face emotional or psychological challenges.
The new research is rooted in the regulatory model of nostalgia, which posits that nostalgia functions as an emotional homeostasis mechanism. This model suggests that nostalgia, often characterized by a sentimental longing for the past, serves to counterbalance the effects of adverse psychological and environmental conditions. When individuals encounter stressors or negative emotional states, nostalgia can act as a buffer, providing emotional relief and restoring psychological equilibrium.
To investigate whether spatial anxiety would trigger nostalgic feelings as individuals seek comfort and familiarity in response to their disorientation, the researchers conducted a series of three experiments.
In Experiment 1, the researchers aimed to induce spatial anxiety and observe whether it would trigger nostalgia. The study involved 64 undergraduate students from the University of Southampton, who were randomly assigned to either a spatial-anxiety condition or a neutral condition. The participants were trained to navigate a virtual maze using a computer-based simulation.
The procedure involved two route-learning tasks. In the first task, participants learned a specific route through a virtual maze. They completed five training trials where directional arrows guided them. After reaching the destination in each trial, the arrows were removed in a test trial, and participants had to navigate the same route without guidance.
The second route-learning task introduced the experimental manipulation. Participants were again guided through a maze with arrows in three training trials. In the spatial-anxiety condition, part of the route was surreptitiously changed without informing the participants, leading to a more complex layout with additional paths and pictures. In the neutral condition, the route remained unchanged. The spatial-anxiety manipulation aimed to create a sense of disorientation and confusion in the participants. Immediately after completing the second route-learning task, the researchers assessed the participants’ spatial anxiety and nostalgia.
The results indicated that participants in the spatial-anxiety condition reported significantly higher levels of spatial anxiety compared to those in the neutral condition. This validated the effectiveness of the spatial-anxiety induction. Moreover, participants in the spatial-anxiety condition felt significantly more nostalgic compared to those in the neutral condition.
Experiment 2 focused on examining whether nostalgia could reduce spatial anxiety. This experiment involved 231 visitors attending open days at the University of Southampton. Participants were randomly assigned to either a nostalgia condition or a control condition. The methodology involved passive navigation through a virtual maze, viewed via a video clip.
Participants watched a first-person perspective video recording of navigating a virtual maze. The walls of the maze displayed either nostalgic or matched control pictures. In the nostalgia condition, the images included characters and scenes from popular media (e.g., Harry Potter characters) that dated back five years or more, evoking a sense of nostalgia. In the control condition, the images depicted present-day counterparts of those in the nostalgia condition. After watching the video, participants reported their levels of nostalgia and spatial anxiety.
The results showed that participants in the nostalgia condition reported feeling significantly more nostalgic than those in the control condition. Importantly, nostalgic participants experienced significantly lower levels of spatial anxiety compared to those in the control condition. This finding supported the hypothesis that nostalgia can assuage spatial anxiety, consistent with the regulatory model of nostalgia.
Experiment 3 aimed to replicate and extend the findings of Experiment 2 by examining the effects of nostalgia on spatial anxiety in an active navigation task. Additionally, the experiment explored whether reduced spatial anxiety due to nostalgia would influence goal setting. The study involved 120 undergraduate students from the University of Southampton, who were randomly assigned to either a nostalgia condition or a control condition, and to either an easy maze or a difficult maze.
The procedure included two route-learning tasks, similar to Experiment 1. In the first task, participants learned to navigate a virtual maze with directional arrows. The second task involved three training trials and one test trial without arrows. The virtual mazes were designed to vary in difficulty: the easy maze had three decision points, while the difficult maze had eleven decision points. Both mazes contained nostalgic or control images on the walls.
After completing the navigation tasks, participants reported their levels of nostalgia and spatial anxiety. Participants were also asked to choose between performing an easy or a hard future navigation task to assess their goal-setting behavior.
The findings revealed that participants in the nostalgia condition reported significantly higher levels of nostalgia than those in the control condition, confirming the effectiveness of the nostalgia induction. Nostalgic participants also reported lower levels of spatial anxiety on both the Disorientation Scale and the Spatial Anxiety Scale, compared to control participants. These results replicated the findings of Experiment 2, showing that nostalgia reduces spatial anxiety.
Additionally, participants in the nostalgia condition were more likely to choose the challenging future navigation task, indicating higher goal-setting behavior. Mediation analyses revealed that the beneficial effect of nostalgia on goal setting was mediated by reduced spatial anxiety. This suggests that nostalgia not only reduces spatial anxiety but also boosts confidence in goal-setting tasks related to navigation.
While the findings are intriguing, the study has limitations that warrant further investigation. For example, while virtual environments offer control and realism, future research should test these findings in real-world settings or more complex virtual environments that mimic real-life scenarios more closely.
The study, “(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103123001439) Nostalgia assuages spatial anxiety,” was authored by Alice Oliver, Tim Wildschut, Constantine Sedikides, Matthew O. Parker, Antony P. Wood, and Edward S. Redhead.

(https://www.psypost.org/survivors-of-childhood-maltreatment-at-heightened-risk-of-dating-violence-as-teens/) Survivors of childhood maltreatment at heightened risk of dating violence as teens
Aug 8th 2024, 14:00

A study involving several thousand teens in Quebec, Canada, found that individuals who experienced maltreatment as children were at a heightened risk of experiencing dating violence as teens. The study authors propose that survivors of childhood maltreatment are less able to identify and express their emotional experiences (a condition known as alexithymia), putting them at increased risk of dating violence. The study was published in the (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.03.030) Journal of Psychiatric Research.
Childhood maltreatment refers to the abuse and neglect that children may experience at the hands of their caregivers or others. It can take the form of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, or neglect. Childhood maltreatment can lead to long-term psychological, emotional, and physical consequences, affecting a child’s development and well-being.
It is a significant public health issue. Estimates state that around 20% of women and 8% of men in North America have been victims of sexual abuse as children. Additionally, 24% are estimated to have experienced physical abuse, while 37% endured emotional abuse.
Study author Valérie Théorêt and her colleagues wanted to explore the emotional process that links maltreatment in childhood with experiencing dating violence as a teen. They note that developing the capacity to maintain a healthy romantic relationship is one of the key developmental tasks during adolescence. To be successful in this task, an individual must learn to navigate various challenges related to intimacy, sexuality, and conflict resolution.
Problems in navigating these challenges can lead to various adverse outcomes, including teen dating violence. Teen dating violence includes acts of psychological, physical, and sexual violence perpetrated by a current or former intimate partner. Previous studies indicated that survivors of childhood maltreatment had an increased risk of experiencing teen dating violence, and the authors of this study believed that alexithymia, the inability to identify and express one’s own emotions, might be the key to explaining this link.
Théorêt and her colleagues analyzed data from (https://martinehebert.uqam.ca/en/projets/yrr/) the Youths’ Romantic Relationships Survey, a study of adolescents in grades 9 to 11 from 34 high schools in Quebec, Canada. In this study, students completed a survey twice – in the fall of 2011 and in the spring of 2012. In total, 8,194 adolescents completed the first survey and 5,932 completed the second survey. Of those who completed both surveys, 2,780 reported being in a romantic relationship in the six months preceding the second survey, and their data was used in this analysis.
In the first survey, participating students completed assessments of childhood maltreatment, including sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, exposure to psychological and physical violence between parents or caregivers, and alexithymia (using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale). In the second survey, participants completed an assessment of teen dating violence (physical violence, psychological violence, and threatening behaviors were assessed using a shortened version of the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory) and an assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms related to teen dating violence (using the Children’s Impact of Traumatic Events Scale II).
Results indicated that survivors of childhood maltreatment tended to report higher levels of alexithymia and all forms of teen dating violence. They also tended to have higher levels of teen dating violence-related PTSD symptoms.
The study authors tested two statistical models proposing that childhood maltreatment leads to more pronounced alexithymia. Alexithymia, in turn, leads to an increased risk of teen dating violence and more severe symptoms of PTSD related to teen dating violence. Results showed that this relationship between factors is possible.
“Promoting emotional awareness and identification among youth victims of child maltreatment could reduce the risk TDV [teen dating violence] occurrence, TDV chronicity, and TDV-related PTSD [posttraumatic stress disorder) symptoms,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on a possible role of alexithymia in the link between childhood maltreatment and dating violence. However, childhood maltreatment data in the study was based on participants’ ability to recall and willingness to self-report these events, while all the other data was also based on self-reports. This leaves quite a bit of room for reporting bias to affect the results. Additionally, the design of the study does not allow any definitive cause-and-effect inferences to be made from the results.
The paper, “(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.03.030) Investigating the Role of Alexithymia in the Association between Cumulative Childhood Maltreatment and Teen Dating Violence Victimization,” was authored by Valérie Théorêt, Élizabeth Hébert, and Martine Hébert.

(https://www.psypost.org/republican-voters-show-leniency-toward-moral-misconduct-by-party-members-study-finds/) Republican voters show leniency toward moral misconduct by party members, study finds
Aug 8th 2024, 12:00

When politicians commit moral transgressions, how do voters respond? A recent study published in (https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X241263086) American Politics Research sought to answer this question by examining whether partisan voters in the United States differ in their desire to punish politicians for moral violations. The findings reveal intriguing differences between Republican and Democratic voters.
“Annemarie Walter and I have been working for several years on the question of the degree to which voters own moral values anchor their responses to politicians who violate them. The rise of Donald Trump seems to have changed the landscape in the U.S., so that violations of moral precepts that would have sunk any candidate in the past seem to have no discernible effect on his support,” said study author (https://udel.edu/~redlawsk/) David P. Redlawsk, the James R. Soles Professor of Political Science at the University of Delaware and author of (https://amzn.to/3SHNOFf) A Citizen’s Guide to the Political Psychology of Voting.
“We began with studies in the U.S. that examined whether the moral foundations people hold influenced their emotional responses to transgressive politicians. We found that while deeply held moral values do anchor some level of emotional response, partisanship seems to play a stronger role. Moral foundations seem to be malleable, rather than foundational, when partisanship is involved.”
“This latest paper expands this work by looking at a different outcome – the desire to punish politicians for moral transgression. Where our focus on emotions is about how voters feel, this paper looks at what action (punishment) voters believe should be taken against such politicians. We measure desire to punish with a set of potential actions that might be taken, from requiring an apology, to restoring damage caused, getting a warning from a party leader, and being reported to authorities, to being removed from office.”
The study was carried out during the final month of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, leveraging the heightened political focus of voters during this period. The sample consisted of 2,997 U.S. respondents, recruited to represent the American adult population in terms of age, gender, race/ethnicity, income, and region.
Each participant was randomly assigned one of several short vignettes that described a fictional yet realistic scenario where a politician committed a moral transgression. The vignettes were designed based on Moral Foundations Theory, which outlines five moral principles: Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity. Additionally, a social norm violation was included to serve as a baseline for comparison. The vignettes also varied in terms of the politician’s partisan label, with some being identified as Democrats, Republicans, or having no partisan affiliation mentioned.
The transgressions included a politician mocking a constituent with mental health issues (Care violation), giving job preference to supporters (Fairness violation), praising a neighboring town over their own (Loyalty violation), disregarding safety regulations during a disaster (Authority violation), and engaging in a sexual relationship with a teenager (Sanctity violation). The social norm violation involved a politician carrying briefing papers in a plastic grocery bag.
After reading the vignette, respondents were asked to rate their agreement with statements related to both restorative and retributive justice on a 5-point scale. These statements were designed to measure the respondents’ desire for punishment (known as punitiveness).
The results showed that Republican and Democratic voters differ in their desire to punish politicians for moral transgressions. When the perceived severity of a moral violation was low, Republicans exhibited a stronger desire to punish than Democrats. However, this punitive desire was significantly reduced if the transgressor was a member of their own party.
In contrast, Democratic voters demonstrated a higher overall desire to punish politicians for moral violations, particularly when the perceived severity was moderate to high. Notably, Democrats did not show an in-party bias; their punitive responses were consistent regardless of the politician’s party affiliation.
“While we would like to think that our moral values ground us even in politics, this turns out to be highly conditional,” Redlawsk told PsyPost. “Whether we want to punish politicians we see violate moral values depends quite a bit on whether they are on ‘our team’ or the other side, as well as on the perceived severity of the moral violation. Low severity violations appear more important to Republicans than Democrats, with GOP voters showing a stronger desire to punish these kinds of violations, but only when the violator is a not a Republican politician.”
“But when voters perceive a moral violation be moderately or very severe, then Democrats show a stronger desire to punish the politician, and unlike Republicans, they show no bias toward their own party. Of particular interest is that we also find Republicans rate the set of moral violations as less severe overall than do Democrats. This could help explain why Republicans consistently show less desire for punishment of their own party violators than do Democrats.”
“Overall, we reinforce earlier findings that moral foundations are not a clear bedrock on which our beliefs about how to respond to transgressive politicians rest,” Redlawsk explained. “Instead, partisanship seems to be able to override moral foundations, especially among Republican voters in our studies and especially when the violation is perceived as less severe.”
“We’ve been consistently surprised about how readily supposedly core moral values are ‘pushed around’ by partisan preference. This study is the first to help us better understand it by looking at the perceived severity of a set of moral violations. We were somewhat surprised to see strong party differences in how severe the violations we used were perceived. The issue may be that rather than Republicans caring less about moral violations of their candidates, they simply don’t see the violations as being severe, compared to Democrats.”
But there are some caveats to consider. For instance, the study was conducted during the highly contested 2020 U.S. presidential election, a period marked by heightened political polarization and an incumbent known for frequent moral transgressions, which may have influenced respondents’ reactions. This timing raises questions about whether the findings would hold in a less charged political environment.
“We are working to expand the research beyond the U.S. (we have a sample of voters in England, for example) and to examine moral values as an identity,” Redlawsk said. “It is important that expand beyond the limited example of the United States, since moral values are thought to be more or less universal. In addition, so far we have been asking people about the degree to which they endorse particular moral foundations.”
“We plan to shift to looking at how people perceive of themselves as moral persons, and whether that increases the effects of moral principles on perceptions of politicians who violate them. We also hope to better understand the relative importance of partisan identity versus moral identity. Longer term, we want to examine how moral values and identity influence political decision making, especially by local elected officials. That’s the next major direction for this research.”
The study, “(https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1532673X241263086) Partisan Differences in Voters’ Desire for Punishment in Response to Politicians’ Moral Transgressions,” was authored by David P. Redlawsk and Annemarie S. Walter.

Forwarded by:
Michael Reeder LCPC
Baltimore, MD

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