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(https://www.psypost.org/preterm-birth-before-29-weeks-linked-to-heightened-risk-of-panic-disorder/) Preterm birth before 29 weeks linked to heightened risk of panic disorder
Sep 29th 2024, 10:00

A study of German adults born between 1969 and 2002 revealed that those born before the 29th week of pregnancy (extremely premature) have a significantly increased risk of developing panic disorder later in life. Panic disorder was present in 2% to 4% of individuals born after the 29th week of pregnancy but in 14% of those born before. The research was published in the (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.11.017) Journal of Psychiatric Research.
A typical human pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks, measured from the first day of the last menstrual period. However, some babies are born early. If a baby is born before the 37th week of pregnancy, this is referred to as prematurity. Premature births can occur for various reasons, such as infections, issues with the placenta, or carrying multiples (twins, triplets). Maternal health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, or a history of preterm birth also increase the risk of prematurity.
Babies born prematurely may face immediate health challenges, such as difficulty breathing and feeding, due to underdeveloped organs. Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn deaths. It is estimated that 15 million babies are born prematurely each year worldwide, accounting for about 11% of all births. Although most premature babies survive due to modern medical technology, premature birth carries long-term health risks, including developmental delays, learning difficulties, and vision or hearing problems, among others.
Study author Jonas Tesarz and his colleagues sought to determine whether individuals born prematurely are more likely to develop anxiety and panic disorders later in life compared to those carried to term. Previous studies have linked childhood stress and parental deprivation to anxiety disorders later in life, but questions remained as to whether prematurity also increases an individual’s risk of developing such disorders. The researchers hypothesized that individuals born prematurely would have higher rates of panic disorder later in life, driven by the stress experienced at birth and the prolonged intensive medical care required.
The researchers analyzed data from the Gutenberg Prematurity Study, conducted by the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz in Germany. This study included 40,189 newborns born between 1969 and 2002, all of whom were adults at the time of analysis (aged 18-52). From this group, the researchers selected 427 participants, prioritizing as many prematurely born individuals as possible.
For each participant, the researchers collected medical history data from the university’s medical records. The presence of panic disorder was assessed using the panic module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Participants were categorized by gestational age at birth: full-term (born after at least 37 weeks of pregnancy), moderately preterm (born between 33 and 36 weeks), very preterm (born between 29 and 32 weeks), and extremely preterm (born before the 29th week of pregnancy). Women made up 57% of the participants.
The results showed that 18 participants (4.2%) met the criteria for panic disorder. The prevalence of panic disorder was similar across all categories of individuals born after the 29th week of pregnancy, ranging from 2% to 4%. However, among those born before the 29th week, 14% had panic disorder.
Additionally, compared to participants without panic disorder, those with the disorder were more likely to be female, unemployed, and have lower levels of education. They also spent longer in intensive care, more time in an incubator, and had higher levels of carbon dioxide in their blood after birth, indicating breathing difficulties or inadequate lung function. When the researchers accounted for the length of time spent in intensive care, the link between being born before the 29th week and panic disorder disappeared.
“This study provides first evidence that prematurity is associated with increased risk of panic disorder later in life. Individuals born at a GA below 29 weeks [before the 29th gestational week] showed an over 4-fold higher prevalence than individuals born full-term,” the study authors concluded. “Adjusting for the length of postnatal ICU [intensive care unit] stay eliminated the association between preterm birth and later onset of panic disorder. This finding suggests that the postnatal intensive care stay of preterm infants might be of critical importance for mental health later in life, indicating a specific risk factor for psychological morbidity.”
The study makes an important contribution to understanding how experiences soon after birth might affect mental health later in life. However, it should be noted that the number of participants with panic disorder was low, as was the number of individuals born before the 29th week of pregnancy.
The study, “(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.11.017) Impact of preterm birth on the onset of panic disorder in later life – Results from the Gutenberg Prematurity Study (GPS),” was authored by Jonas Tesarz, Alexander K. Schuster, Eva Mildenberger, Michael S. Urschitz, Mareike Ernst, Manfred Beutel, Michelle Hermes, Bernhard Stoffelns, Fred Zepp, Norbert Pfeiffer, and Achim Fieß.

(https://www.psypost.org/how-the-brain-processes-zero-neurons-treat-nothing-as-a-number-study-shows/) How the brain processes zero: Neurons treat ‘nothing’ as a number, study shows
Sep 29th 2024, 08:00

In a recent study published in (https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)01156-4) Current Biology, researchers uncovered how the human brain processes the concept of zero, revealing that specific neurons in the medial temporal lobe treat zero as a number rather than a symbol of nothingness. These nerve cells responded to zero in a way that integrates it with other small numbers, like one and two. This discovery sheds new light on how the brain encodes one of the most abstract and important concepts in mathematics.
“We are generally interested in understanding how the brain represents numbers, but zero is a truly unique case. Zero is considered one of the greatest cultural achievements of humankind, integral to numerous breakthroughs in science and mathematics. However, zero is an especially abstract and difficult concept,” explained study authors (https://www.ukbonn.de/en/epileptology/workgroups/mormann-workgroup-cognitive-und-clinical-neurophysiology/) Florian Mormann and (https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/12245) Andreas Nieder, the Lichtenberg Professor of Cognitive and Clinical Neurophysiology at University Hospital Bonn and a professor of animal physiology at the University of Tübingen, respectively.
“It took a long stretch of human history for zero to be recognized and appreciated. Children show a delayed understanding of the concept of zero numerosity, long after they comprehend positive integers. Nonhuman animals, with whom we share a nonverbal quantification system, exhibit rudimentary grasp of zero numerosity.”
“For a brain that has evolved to process sensory stimuli (‘something’), conceiving of empty sets (‘nothing’) as a meaningful category demands high-level abstraction. It requires the ability to represent a concept independently of experience and beyond what is perceived. The brain needs to interpret ‘nothing’ as ‘something,’ as a mathematical object.”
The study involved seventeen participants who were undergoing neurosurgical treatment for epilepsy. These patients had thin electrodes implanted in their medial temporal lobes as part of their pre-surgical preparations. These electrodes allowed the researchers to measure the activity of individual neurons in real-time while the participants performed numerical tasks.
The tasks involved showing the participants numbers between zero and nine, presented in two formats: symbolic (Arabic numerals) and nonsymbolic (sets of dots). In the nonsymbolic format, an empty set of dots represented zero. The participants had to decide whether the numbers presented were even or odd. During this process, the researchers monitored the activity of individual neurons, aiming to find specific neurons that responded to the concept of zero. In a control experiment, nineteen healthy volunteers completed a simplified version of the task to compare behavioral responses between individuals with and without epilepsy.
The researchers found that certain neurons in the medial temporal lobe specifically responded to the concept of zero, either in symbolic or nonsymbolic forms. These neurons showed what is known as a “numerical distance effect,” where they not only responded to zero but also to its neighboring number, one, though more weakly. This demonstrated that the brain does not treat zero as a unique or separate category of “nothingness.” Instead, it integrates zero as part of the broader numerical continuum.
“The key takeaway is that we have neurons in our brain that signal the number zero, even though zero is characterized by a void value and the absence of items to be counted,” Mormann and Nieder told PsyPost. “At the same time, these neurons represent zero like any other countable number by exhibiting their strongest firing for zero and gradually decreasing firing for adjacent numbers. In other words, neurons are tuned to zero, they have zero as their beloved number.”
However, there was a key difference in how neurons processed zero depending on its format. When zero was presented symbolically as a numeral, neurons processed it similarly to other numbers. But when zero was represented nonsymbolically, as an empty set of dots, the neurons took longer to respond. This slower response indicated that the brain requires more time to process nonsymbolic representations of zero, likely because it is a more abstract and less familiar format compared to numerals.
“Neurons encoding empty sets or the Arabic numeral 0 represent empty sets as the smallest quantity on the ‘mental number line’ because they respond most strongly to zero and systematically less to increasingly higher numerosities,” the researchers explained. “This demonstrates the so-called numerical distance effect. Without this neuronal distance effect, neurons would simply represent a ‘nothing’ category, devoid of numerical meaning. However, these zero neurons represent a numerical value smaller than one.”
As with any study, there were limitations. One major limitation was the use of epilepsy patients for the brain recordings. These patients had electrodes implanted in their brains as part of their medical treatment, meaning the researchers couldn’t choose the exact location of the electrodes freely. The placement was determined by clinical needs, not by the requirements of the study.
“The neuron recordings were conducted in patients with pharmacologically intractable epilepsy who had chronic depth electrodes implanted,” Mormann and Nieder noted. “As a result, the electrical activity captured may originate from regions of the brain containing pathological tissue. Furthermore, the placement of recording electrodes in brain regions cannot be chosen freely; it must adhere to clinical requirements and considerations.”
One area for future exploration is exploring whether the concept of zero is processed differently depending on the context or cultural background of the individual. Since zero is a relatively recent development in human history and one of the more challenging concepts for children to grasp, investigating how different educational or cultural experiences influence its neural representation could provide further insights into how the brain adapts to new abstract concepts.
“All our behaviors and mental capabilities arise from the workings of neurons in the brain,” the researchers said. “Our goal is to mechanistically understand how the activity of individual neurons and ensembles of neurons gives rise to counting, arithmetic, and mathematics. This understanding will also be crucial for assisting individuals with specific deficits related to numbers, such as developmental dyscalculia—learning difficulties with numbers—and acalculia, which refers to acquired deficits in calculation following brain injuries.”
The study, “(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.08.041) Single-neuron representation of nonsymbolic and symbolic number zero in the human medial temporal lobe,” was authored by Esther F. Kutter, Gert Dehnen, Valeri Borger, Rainer Surges, Andreas Nieder, and Florian Mormann.

(https://www.psypost.org/man-amputates-penis-with-an-axe-after-consuming-psilocybin-mushrooms/) Man amputates penis with an axe after consuming psilocybin mushrooms
Sep 29th 2024, 06:00

In an unprecedented case report, doctors in Austria have documented the first known instance of psilocybin-induced penile amputation. After consuming a large quantity of magic mushrooms, a 37-year-old man suffering from depression and alcohol abuse severed his penis with an axe. Fortunately, doctors were able to reattach part of the amputated organ. The unique case is detailed in the (https://megajournalofsurgery.com/) Mega Journal of Surgery.
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain species of mushrooms, often referred to as “magic mushrooms.” When ingested, the compound is broken down in the body to produce psilocin, a substance that affects serotonin receptors in the brain. This can lead to a variety of mind-altering experiences, including hallucinations, changes in perception of time, and intense emotional shifts. The use of psilocybin has a long history, dating back to ancient cultures that used it for religious or spiritual purposes.
Today, psilocybin is gaining attention in medical research due to its potential therapeutic benefits. Scientists are investigating its use in treating conditions like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In particular, studies have shown promising results for psilocybin’s ability to alleviate symptoms in people with major depressive disorder, even when other treatments have failed.
In addition to its therapeutic potential, psilocybin is of interest to neuroscientists for what it reveals about the brain’s inner workings. By studying how psilocybin disrupts and alters normal brain function, researchers can gain insights into how the brain produces consciousness, processes emotions, and constructs a sense of self. These findings have the potential to improve our understanding of various mental health conditions and open new pathways for treatment.
However, while psilocybin has shown promise in clinical settings, its use outside of these controlled environments can lead to dangerous outcomes. The case described in Austria is a stark reminder that, in certain circumstances, psilocybin can provoke extreme psychological responses, particularly when taken in high doses or by individuals with a history of mental health issues.
The case report published by doctors at Hospital Feldkirch in Austria outlines the shocking details of a 37-year-old man who consumed a large dose of psilocybin and, during a severe psychotic episode, amputated his penis using an axe. The man, who had a history of depression and alcohol abuse, ingested four or five dried psilocybin mushrooms while staying alone in a secluded vacation home.
Not long after consuming the mushrooms, the man began to experience a terrifying hallucination or delusion, which led him to take an axe and sever his penis into multiple pieces. The details of the event are unclear to the patient, as he did not fully remember what had occurred.
The man reportedly tied a piece of cloth around his genital area to control the bleeding and placed the severed parts of his penis in a jar filled with snow. He then left the house, bleeding profusely, in search of help. A passerby found him in a confused state and called for emergency services. The man was transported to a nearby village and later to a hospital, arriving approximately five hours after the amputation.
Upon arrival, the patient was in a critical condition, having lost a significant amount of blood. He was immediately taken into surgery, where doctors worked to stabilize him and control the bleeding. His penis was contaminated with soil and snow, and parts of the organ were severely damaged. Surgeons were able to save the glans (the tip of the penis) and about two centimeters of the penile shaft, but the other sections were too damaged to be repaired.
Remarkably, the replantation was successful, despite the significant challenges posed by the extent of the injury and contamination. Despite initial difficulties, the patient’s condition improved after the surgery, although he continued to suffer from severe psychotic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations and religious delusions. He was placed under psychiatric care, and his treatment included antipsychotic medications to help control the hallucinations. His mental state gradually stabilized, and after a week, he was moved back to the urology department to continue his recovery.
In the weeks following the surgery, the patient experienced some complications. Superficial necrosis (death of skin tissue) developed on the glans of his penis, likely due to the loss of blood flow during the period of ischemia, but this healed over time. Remarkably, the patient was able to regain some erectile function within three months of the surgery, though the overall length of his penis was significantly reduced due to the damage. At his last follow-up visit, he was able to urinate normally while seated, though a minor complication called hypospadias developed, where the urethral opening is located further down the shaft than normal.
While this case is the first documented instance of psilocybin-induced self-amputation, it brings attention to a broader phenomenon of self-mutilation during psychotic episodes, particularly among individuals with underlying mental health conditions. Known as Klingsor syndrome, these rare but extreme events often involve self-inflicted injury to the genitals and can be associated with a range of psychiatric conditions, from schizophrenia to substance-induced psychosis.
Case reports are typically used by doctors and researchers to document unusual or rare medical events. They offer valuable real-world examples of how certain drugs, treatments, or conditions can manifest in unique circumstances. However, because case reports usually focus on a single patient, they do not provide the kind of broad, statistically significant data that is needed to establish definitive conclusions about a drug or condition.
In other words, while this case demonstrates that psilocybin can, in rare instances, lead to severe psychotic episodes and self-harm, it does not mean that this outcome is common or likely to happen in most people who use psilocybin. In fact, the majority of research on psilocybin has shown that the drug is relatively safe when used in controlled environments with professional supervision.
Despite their limitations, case reports play a critical role in advancing medical knowledge. They help doctors identify rare side effects, potential risks, and best practices for managing complex cases. In the case of psilocybin, reports like this one could influence future guidelines for its therapeutic use and highlight the need for careful screening of patients before administering psychedelic treatments.
The case report, “(https://megajournalofsurgery.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/MJS-79-2016.pdf) Penile Replantation after Self-Amputation Following Psilocybin-Induced Drug Psychosis,” was authored by Andreas P. Berger and and Alfred Hobisch.

(https://www.psypost.org/repetition-boosts-belief-in-false-climate-claims-even-for-climate-science-advocates/) Repetition boosts belief in false climate claims, even for climate science advocates
Sep 28th 2024, 16:00

A new study, published in (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307294) PLOS One, highlights a disturbing phenomenon: when people are repeatedly exposed to claims, they tend to believe them more, even if the claims are false or counter to their beliefs. This research focused specifically on climate change, examining whether repetition could make even climate-skeptical claims seem more truthful to those who support climate science. The results show that repetition increases the perception of truth not only for claims aligned with climate science but also for those that contradict it.
The study, led by Yangxueqing (Mary) Jiang, a PhD student in psychology at the Australian National University, aimed to explore a pressing issue in today’s information landscape: the spread of misinformation, particularly around climate change. While it is well-established that repeating a claim can make it seem more believable—an effect known as the “illusory truth effect”—most previous research has focused on general knowledge or trivia. Jiang and her team wanted to push this understanding further by examining whether the same effect would hold when it comes to strongly held beliefs, such as attitudes about climate change.
“Even though some 97+ percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is to a large extent human-made, media reports have long pursued ‘balance’ by allowing climate skeptics to add a (scientifically questionable) comment,” said study author (https://dornsife.usc.edu/norbert-schwarz/) Norbert Schwarz, a provost professor at the University of Southern California and co-director of the USC Dornsife Mind & Society Center.
“This increases the public’s exposure to climate-skeptical claims. Psychological research has long shown that repeated exposure to a claim increases its acceptance as true. What was less clear is whether a repetition would even do so for people who hold opposing beliefs, that is, people who are well informed about climate science and convinced that it is caused by human activity.”
To investigate whether repetition influences the perceived truth of climate-related claims, the researchers conducted two experiments involving participants who generally supported climate science. These participants were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform. In both experiments, the researchers exposed participants to a mix of climate-related claims—some aligned with climate science, and others consistent with climate skepticism.
The experiments followed a similar design, utilizing a well-established method to measure the “illusory truth effect.” Participants were first shown a series of climate-related statements, half of which supported climate science and half of which aligned with climate skepticism. After a brief delay, participants were shown another set of statements, which included both previously seen (repeated) and new claims. They were then asked to rate how true they believed each statement to be on a scale.
The first experiment involved 52 participants, and the second expanded the sample size to 120 participants. Both experiments followed a similar structure: participants were presented with claims, completed a delay task, and then rated the truth of both repeated and non-repeated claims. In the second experiment, the researchers added an additional measure to gauge participants’ attitudes toward climate change in more detail, using a well-validated survey to categorize their beliefs and concern about climate change.
Climate science endorsers consistently rated climate-science-aligned claims as more truthful than climate-skeptic claims. However, when claims were repeated, participants rated them as more believable, even when the claims contradicted their prior beliefs about climate change. This “illusory truth effect” was evident for both pro-attitudinal claims (those that aligned with participants’ support for climate science) and counter-attitudinal claims (those that aligned with climate skepticism).
In both experiments, participants showed an increased belief in repeated claims compared to non-repeated ones. Importantly, this effect was observed even for the strongest supporters of climate science. Those who were most alarmed by climate change, as categorized in the second experiment, were still more likely to believe repeated climate-skeptical claims than non-repeated ones, though they remained more inclined to support climate science overall. The findings suggest that repetition has a powerful influence on perceived truth, even in the face of strong, pre-existing beliefs.
“We expected that repetition increases perceived truth, as has been found many times,” Schwarz told PsyPost. “But we were surprised that people’s prior beliefs did not attenuate this effect. Our participants’ prior attitudes made no difference — repetition had the same influence on those who endorsed climate science only weakly and those who endorsed it most strongly.”
The study also revealed that the illusory truth effect applied to all types of claims, not just climate-related ones. Participants were also exposed to neutral weather-related claims, and the repetition of these claims led to an increased perception of truth, just as with the climate claims. This pattern underscores the idea that repetition impacts belief across a wide range of topics, regardless of whether the claims are aligned with existing beliefs or not.
“Do not repeat false information! And do not provide a platform to those who want to spread it,” Schwarz said. “Repetition increases the perceived credibility of information — even when we recognize it as problematic. Only repeat what’s true.”
While this study sheds important light on the power of repetition, it has some limitations. For one, the participants were largely supporters of climate science, which means the findings may not fully apply to climate skeptics. Understanding how repeated climate-science claims affect skeptics would be a valuable area for future research. Similarly, the study only looked at the effects of a single repetition of a claim. It remains unclear how many repetitions are needed to produce more long-lasting changes in belief, or whether additional exposure to contradictory information could reverse the effect.
“This work is part of a research program into intuitions of truth: What makes an idea ‘feel right?’ And how can it feel ‘right’ even when we know better?” Schwarz noted.
The study, “(https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0307294) Repetition increases belief in climate-skeptical claims, even for climate science endorsers,” was authored by Yangxueqing Jiang, Norbert Schwarz, Katherine J. Reynolds, and Eryn J. Newman.

(https://www.psypost.org/researchers-uncover-fascinating-connection-between-colorblindness-and-food-preferences/) Researchers uncover fascinating connection between colorblindness and food preferences
Sep 28th 2024, 14:00

The seventh season of (https://www.pbs.org/show/french-chef-julia-child/) Julia Child’s “The French Chef,” the first of the television series to air in color, revealed how color can change the experience of food. While Child had charmed audiences in black and white, seeing “Bouillabaisse à la Marseillaise” in color helped elevate the experience from merely entertaining to mouthwatering.
(http://gauthier.psy.vanderbilt.edu/isabel-gauthier/) I am a psychologist who studies visual abilities. My work, through a serendipitous research journey into individual differences in food recognition, uncovered a unique role for color in emotional responses to food.
People vary in their ability to recognize food
This journey started when my students and I measured how people vary in their ability to recognize images of prepared food. Over the past 20 years, we and other researchers have learned that people vary more than originally suspected in (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2012.07.014) how well they discriminate and identify objects, like birds, cars or even faces.
It seems obvious that some people know more than others about birds or cars. Yet, interestingly, there is as much variation in face recognition ability, even though virtually every sighted person has experience seeing faces.
Experience with food is also universal. We were curious how much people would vary in their ability to recognize food items. Our tests simply ask people to (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2022.104702) match images of the same dish among similar ones, or to find the oddball dish among others. People vary a great deal on these tasks, and some of this variation is explained by (https://theconversation.com/people-vary-a-lot-in-how-well-they-recognize-match-or-categorize-the-things-they-see-researchers-attribute-this-skill-to-an-ability-they-call-o-182100) a general ability to recognize objects of any kind.
But a portion of the food recognition differences among people was not explained by this general ability. Instead, we speculated that this variability may be related to people’s attitude toward new foods. People who strongly endorse statements like “(https://doi.org/10.1016/0195-6663(92)90014-w) I don’t trust new foods” or “I am very particular about the foods I eat” have what’s called food neophobia. It can (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104241) lead to poor diet quality, resulting in nutritional deficiencies and higher risk of chronic disease.
As we predicted, we found that picky eaters scored worst on our tests of food recognition: (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2022.104702) Food neophobia is negatively correlated with food recognition ability.
Color connects food neophobia to recognition
While we were publishing our results, other scientists were debating new findings about how the brain reacts to food and color. Different research groups had identified brain areas in the visual system that responded preferentially to images of food. For instance, looking at a bowl of pasta would activate these brain areas, but not looking at a pile of string.
The scientific disagreement was about what it meant to identify a selectivity for food in areas of the brain already known for their responsiveness to color.
One group proposed that these parts of the brain responded to color (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.063) because they are specialized to recognize food. The other group argued that (https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04546-2) color was not critical to the brain’s response to food. They even showed they could get similar brain activation when people looked at gray-scale images of food.
Was it possible that color was not critical to food recognition, while still playing a special role? We decided to replicate our initial study, with images of food in gray scale.
The results could have been predicted by Child herself: Without color, people unsurprisingly made a few more errors and mistook different dishes as the same kind of food, but the (https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02298-y) pattern of variation across people was otherwise unchanged. Those with a higher general visual ability did better with food, and we again found a specific ability for food that goes beyond this general effect.
But we did find one effect of removing color: (https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02298-y) food neophobia was no longer correlated with food recognition ability. It was as if whatever advantage the adventurous eaters had gained over picky eaters was all dependent on color.
Based on these results, we proposed two separate components of food-specific recognition ability. One is independent of color and explains why the results are the same in the experiments with and without color. The other one, related to emotional responses, is based on color and evidenced by the finding that food neophobia is only related to food recognition when the food appears in color.
We then made an entirely new prediction: Would people with color blindness – men, really, because color blindness affects (https://www.colourblindawareness.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Colour-Blindness-and-Sport.pdf) 16 times more men than women – be less food neophobic than those with normal color perception? Because someone who is colorblind experiences food in a restricted range of color, (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2016.09.003) some of the signals that raise flags about freshness, safety or otherwise drive anxiety about novel food could be limited.
We recruited participants online, including men in our study based on how they answered one question about color blindness that was buried in a long screening questionnaire. Our participants had no idea that we were interested in color blindness when we asked them then to fill out the Food Neophobia Scale that measures how resistant people are to new foods.
We found that colorblind men were indeed less food neophobic than non-colorblind men. We replicated this finding in another study, with (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-023-10055-w) colorblind men also reporting lower levels of food disgust. Seeing the world with a restricted color palate seems to mitigate an emotion-based resistance to new foods.
Color and emotional responses to food
Our research is broadly consistent with other findings. Color can help you decide whether food is cooked or (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2024.100184) if produce is ripe or rotten, and people tend to (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.04.004) prefer meals with a range of colorful foods. Other research shows that (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-010-9067-z) color can influence what food tastes like. Some biologists have argued that the coloration of plants and the ability of animals to detect it (https://search.worldcat.org/title/14593950) have co-evolved.
The role of color in emotional responses to food opens up new avenues for addressing extreme cases of food neophobia. As researchers learn more about the intricate relationship between color perception and food, we might develop targeted interventions to improve dietary habits. Just like Julia Child’s colorful dishes, understanding and leveraging the power of color could enhance the appreciation and enjoyment of food.
 
This article is republished from (https://theconversation.com) The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the (https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-that-people-who-are-colorblind-are-less-likely-to-be-picky-eaters-232438) original article.

(https://www.psypost.org/childhood-inflammation-linked-to-higher-risk-of-mental-health-disorders-in-adulthood/) Childhood inflammation linked to higher risk of mental health disorders in adulthood
Sep 28th 2024, 12:00

A recent study published in (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2822343) JAMA Psychiatry has found that children who experience persistently high levels of inflammation are more likely to face serious mental health challenges, such as depression and psychosis, as they reach early adulthood. The research also indicates that these individuals are at an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic conditions, including insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. The study sheds new light on the long-term impact of chronic inflammation during childhood and adolescence and suggests that inflammation could be a key factor in both mental and physical health risks later in life.
Mental health and physical health conditions, particularly cardiometabolic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, are two of the biggest health concerns worldwide. Many studies have shown a connection between chronic inflammation and mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis. Inflammation is the body’s immune response to threats like infections or injuries, but when this response becomes prolonged, it can contribute to various health problems.
Previous research has mostly looked at inflammation at a single point in time, which doesn’t capture how inflammation levels might change over a person’s life. In addition, most studies have focused on either mental health or physical health outcomes, not both. This new study aimed to fill those gaps by tracking inflammation over multiple points during childhood and adolescence, then looking at its links to both mental and cardiometabolic health in early adulthood.
The researchers hypothesized that children with chronically elevated inflammation would have higher risks for developing both mental health issues and cardiometabolic disorders. Specifically, they expected to see stronger links between inflammation and conditions like psychosis, depression, and insulin resistance, which is often a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
“For some time, there has been an interest in whether inflammation could play a role in mental health disorders. To help understand this association, we wanted to conduct a study that could allow us to examine the degree and pattern of inflammation well before the onset of mental health disorder,” said study author (https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-palmer-528b9361/) Edward Palmer, an academic clinical fellow and PhD student at the University of Birmingham.
The research team used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a long-term study based in the United Kingdom that began in the early 1990s. This study tracks the health and development of children from birth into adulthood. For this particular research, the scientists analyzed data from over 6,500 participants.
The researchers measured levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, at three points in the children’s lives—ages 9, 15, and 17. CRP is often used in medical settings to assess inflammation, as higher levels usually indicate a heightened immune response. The researchers then classified the participants into different groups based on how their CRP levels changed over time.
Next, they examined whether these different inflammation patterns were linked to mental health outcomes at age 24, including psychotic experiences, clinical depression, and anxiety. They also looked at cardiometabolic health by measuring insulin resistance at age 24. To make sure their results were as accurate as possible, the researchers accounted for other factors that could influence health outcomes, such as body weight, birth complications, and early childhood health issues.
The researchers identified three distinct groups based on inflammation patterns. The largest group, making up about 93 percent of the participants, had consistently low levels of inflammation throughout childhood and adolescence. Two smaller groups had persistently elevated inflammation, but the timing of their inflammation spikes differed. One group, about 3 percent of the participants, had an early peak in inflammation at age 9, followed by a gradual decrease. The other group, around 4 percent, had a later peak in inflammation around age 17.
The early-peak group (those with higher inflammation levels at age 9) had a significantly higher risk of developing psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, by age 24. They were also more likely to experience severe depression. The late-peak group, on the other hand, did not show strong associations with mental health problems.
“The study demonstrates that low-grade information is associated with both mental health and cardiometabolic disorders,” Palmer told PsyPost.
Both groups with elevated inflammation had a higher likelihood of developing insulin resistance by age 24, suggesting that childhood inflammation might be linked not only to mental health disorders but also to physical health problems like diabetes.
The study provides important insights into the links between childhood inflammation and health outcomes in adulthood. But the study, like all research, has some limitations. For one, the researchers were not able to measure inflammation before age 9, meaning they may have missed earlier periods of high inflammation that could also be important.
There is still much to learn about the exact relationship between inflammation and mental and physical health. While this study suggests that inflammation could be a common factor in the development of both mental illness and cardiometabolic disorders, it doesn’t prove that inflammation causes these conditions.
“We have not proven a causal link between inflammation and these disorders, more work is needed to demonstrate causality, and further understand this association and the biological or other mechanism behind it,” Palmer said.
Future studies could explore why some children have persistently high inflammation while others do not. Factors such as genetics, early-life infections, or exposure to stress and adversity might all play a role, but the current study did not investigate these possibilities. Identifying these factors could be a key step toward preventing inflammation-related health problems later in life.
This study is part of a growing body of research that suggests inflammation could play a significant role in both mental and physical health. If future studies confirm that inflammation is a key contributor to conditions like depression, psychosis, and diabetes, it could open up new possibilities for prevention and treatment. For instance, doctors might one day be able to use inflammation markers like CRP to identify children at high risk of mental illness or cardiometabolic disease, allowing for earlier interventions.
“With more work understanding the risk factors that predispose people to mental illness, our hope is that one day we may be able to use inflammation as a way of risk profiling people for mental illness,” Palmer explained. “This would allow us to concentrate interventions on those at highest risk and attempt to prevent illness developing. If we can prove inflammation plays a causal role, and understand the mechanism behind this, we may be able to use inflammation as a new treatment target in either treatment or prevention. Our research group is already investigating the potential therapeutic role of anti-inflammatories.”
The study, “(http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.2193) Trajectories of Inflammation in Youth and Risk of Mental and Cardiometabolic Disorders in Adulthood,” was authored by Edward R. Palmer, Isabel Morales-Muñoz, Benjamin I. Perry, Steven Marwaha, Ella Warwick, Jack C. Rogers, and Rachel Upthegrove.

Forwarded by:
Michael Reeder LCPC
Baltimore, MD

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