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<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News</span></td>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/young-adults-who-drink-heavily-report-more-romantic-highs-and-lows/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Young adults who drink heavily report more romantic highs and lows</a>
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<p><p>A study of heavy-drinking young adults found that consuming a greater number of alcoholic drinks on a given day was associated with both a higher likelihood of regretted and positive romantic or sexual experiences on that same day. Among women, the simultaneous use of alcohol and cannabis was linked to a lower likelihood of regretted romantic or sexual experiences. The study was published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460324002818"><em>Addictive Behaviors</em></a>.</p>
<p>One standard drink in the United States is typically defined as containing 14 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol. This is equivalent to approximately 12 ounces of beer (5% alcohol), 5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol), or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (40% alcohol). Heavy drinking is commonly defined as consuming more than four drinks per day or more than 14 drinks per week for men, and more than three drinks per day or more than seven drinks per week for women. This level of alcohol consumption is associated with serious health risks, including liver disease, cardiovascular problems, and increased risk of alcohol use disorder.</p>
<p>Heavy drinking can also impair cognitive function and decision-making, increasing the risk of accidents, injuries, and engagement in risky behaviors. Over time, chronic heavy drinking can lead to permanent organ damage, mental health disorders, and social or occupational dysfunction.</p>
<p>Despite these risks, estimates suggest that about one in four young adults in the United States engaged in heavy drinking in the past month. Among this group, approximately one in four women reported consuming eight or more alcoholic drinks on a single occasion, while one in four men reported drinking ten or more drinks on a single occasion. Many young adults who engage in high-intensity drinking also report using cannabis simultaneously.</p>
<p>Lead author Gabriela López and her colleagues aimed to explore how alcohol use—and the simultaneous use of alcohol and cannabis—relates to the romantic and sexual experiences of heavy-drinking young adults. Specifically, the researchers examined whether the number of drinks consumed or co-use of alcohol and cannabis predicted the likelihood of experiencing either a regretted or positive romantic or sexual event on a given day. They also examined whether gender or a history of sexual assault moderated these associations.</p>
<p>The researchers analyzed data from a longitudinal study on high-intensity drinking and blackouts. The sample consisted of 201 individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 (average age 22), all of whom reported at least two high-intensity drinking days in the past 30 days. High-intensity drinking was defined as consuming eight or more drinks for women or ten or more drinks for men in a single day. About 57% of the participants identified as women.</p>
<p>For 28 consecutive days, participants completed brief daily assessments. In the morning, they reported how much they drank the previous day and whether they had used alcohol and cannabis at the same time. In the evening, they indicated whether they had experienced a “romantic/sexual experience you now regret” or “a positive romantic/sexual experience” during or after drinking the previous day. Participants also completed a baseline measure of sexual assault history using the Sexual Experiences Survey.</p>
<p>The results showed that on days when participants consumed more drinks than usual, they were more likely to report both a regretted and a positive romantic or sexual experience. This association held for both men and women, and regardless of sexual assault history.</p>
<p>In men, simultaneous use of alcohol and cannabis was not significantly associated with the likelihood of experiencing a regretted romantic or sexual encounter. In contrast, for women, simultaneous use was associated with a decreased likelihood of reporting a regretted experience, even when controlling for the number of drinks consumed. However, simultaneous use was not linked to a higher likelihood of positive experiences in either gender.</p>
<p>“The current study findings suggest that heavier drinking was associated with both regretted and positive romantic/sexual experiences, regardless of sexual assault history or gender. Simultaneous use was not associated with positive romantic/sexual experiences when controlling for number of drinks. However, given that women were less likely to report a regretted romantic/sexual experience in the context of simultaneous use, even controlling for how much alcohol they had consumed, continued research examining gender differences in day-level associations between substance use and romantic/sexual experiences is needed to inform prevention efforts and reduce the likelihood of substance-related harm,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study sheds light on the links between alcohol use and romantic experiences. However, it should be noted that all data came from self-reports leaving room for reporting bias to have affected the results.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108232">Day-level associations among alcohol use, simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use, and both regretted and positive romantic/sexual experiences,</a>” was authored by Gabriela Lopez, Holly K. Boyle, Michelle Haikalis, Mary Beth Miller, Kristina M. Jackson, Kate B. Carey, and Jennifer E. Merrill.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/amphetamine-scrambles-the-brains-sense-of-time-by-degrading-prefrontal-neuron-coordination/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Amphetamine scrambles the brain’s sense of time by degrading prefrontal neuron coordination</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">May 18th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0028390825001923" target="_blank">Neuropharmacology</a></em> sheds light on how amphetamine, a stimulant often misused and prescribed to treat attention-related conditions, affects brain activity linked to executive control. Researchers found that a single dose of amphetamine disrupted mice’s ability to judge time accurately by altering how neurons in the prefrontal cortex represent time. The findings suggest that amphetamine impairs cognitive functions by increasing the variability of neural signals that encode time, a core component of decision-making and attention.</p>
<p>Amphetamine is a powerful stimulant that increases levels of chemicals like dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. While it can temporarily enhance focus or alertness, it also has well-documented side effects, especially when taken in high doses or without medical supervision. One area of concern is its effect on executive functions—higher-order processes that include planning, attention, and self-control. The prefrontal cortex, a brain region involved in these functions, has been shown to be especially sensitive to changes in dopamine levels, which are significantly affected by amphetamine use.</p>
<p>The new study, led by Matthew Weber and <a href="https://narayanan.lab.uiowa.edu/" target="_blank">Nandakumar Narayanan</a> at the University of Iowa, sought to better understand how amphetamine affects brain activity during tasks requiring executive control.</p>
<p>“Amphetamine is a commonly abused drug that causes dopamine to be released from neurons and prevents reuptake of dopamine. We know that amphetamine can have a huge impact on cognitive function, but it is unknown why or how. We conducted this study to investigate basic mechanisms of how amphetamine affects cognitive function,” said Narayanan, Juanita J. Bartlett Professor and director of the Center for Neurodegeneration at the University of Iowa.</p>
<p>To investigate this, the researchers turned to interval timing—a behavioral task in which animals must estimate time intervals of several seconds to earn a reward. Interval timing is widely used in both animal and human research because it depends on the prefrontal cortex and requires attention and working memory. Importantly, this task provides a way to measure not only how accurate a subject is in judging time but also how consistent their judgments are from trial to trial.</p>
<p>The research team approached this question in two parts. First, they conducted a meta-analysis of 15 previously published rodent studies on amphetamine and interval timing. They found that amphetamine had a significant effect on timing precision, making animals’ estimates of time more variable. While it also had an effect on timing accuracy—whether the timing was generally early or late—the impact on variability was stronger. These findings established a reliable link between amphetamine use and disrupted temporal judgment.</p>
<p>Next, the team conducted their own experiment using mice trained on a well-established version of the interval timing task. The mice were taught to switch between two response ports based on how much time had passed, with rewards given for correct timing. After several weeks of training, the researchers implanted electrodes in the mice’s prefrontal cortex to monitor the activity of individual neurons during the task. On the first day, the mice received a saline injection before the task, serving as a baseline. On the second day, they were given an injection of amphetamine before performing the same task again.</p>
<p>Behaviorally, the mice showed increased variability in their timing after receiving amphetamine. Although their average timing shifted slightly earlier, the more noticeable effect was the inconsistency in when they made their decisions. This change echoed the results of the earlier meta-analysis and suggested that amphetamine made it harder for the mice to maintain steady estimates of time across trials.</p>
<p>At the neural level, the researchers focused on patterns of activity known as “ramping”—gradual changes in firing rates of neurons that occur during the timed interval. This kind of activity is thought to reflect how the brain keeps track of time. Under normal conditions, many prefrontal neurons show a steady increase or decrease in activity during the interval. However, after amphetamine was administered, this ramping activity became significantly more variable. The average rate of firing didn’t change, but the consistency of the ramping pattern from trial to trial did. This suggests that the brain’s internal clock was no longer functioning reliably.</p>
<p>“We guessed that amphetamine would impair brain function, but we were surprised that amphetamine disrupted how these neurons work together,” Narayanan told PsyPost. “We can measure how neurons work together and found that amphetamine weakened these interactions. This provides fresh insight into how neurons in the prefrontal cortex cooperate and how amphetamine degrades this cooperation.”</p>
<p>The researchers also found that the coordination between neurons was weakened after amphetamine exposure. Neurons that normally showed synchronized activity during the task became less functionally connected. Using joint activity measurements between pairs of neurons, the researchers showed that the cooperative firing patterns seen under normal conditions were diminished when the drug was introduced. These weakened interactions may reflect a breakdown in the neural networks that support complex timing and decision-making processes.</p>
<p>Another key finding involved low-frequency brain rhythms in the 2–5 Hz range, often linked to cognitive control and attention. These oscillations were noticeably reduced in the prefrontal cortex after amphetamine administration. Prior research has suggested that such brain rhythms play an important role in organizing neural activity during tasks that require sustained focus or timing. Their disruption may further explain the loss of precision observed in the behavioral data.</p>
<p>Taken together, the results provide strong evidence that amphetamine affects how the brain processes time by disrupting the consistency and coordination of neural activity in the prefrontal cortex. The effects were observed after a single dose of the drug, indicating that even acute exposure can interfere with core aspects of executive function.</p>
<p>“We focused on a simple cognitive behavior—timing intervals of a few seconds, which helps guide our everyday interactions with the world,” Narayanan explained. “Our study, which was in rodents and focused on the prefrontal cortex, offers a unique glimpse into how amphetamine affects this cognitive behavior. We believe that this is relevant for understanding drugs of abuse, treatments, and also diseases like Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia that involve dopamine.”</p>
<p>As with any study, there are limitations to consider. First, while the dose used was consistent with previous studies, it reflects the higher end of the range used in rodent research and may not correspond precisely to typical human use. Second, the drug was administered systemically, affecting the entire brain. Although the researchers focused on the prefrontal cortex, amphetamine also impacts other regions such as the striatum, which is involved in timing accuracy. Future research will be needed to isolate the specific contributions of different brain areas and neurotransmitter systems to the observed behavioral changes.</p>
<p>Another limitation is that the study only examined the effects of a single dose. It is still unclear how repeated or chronic use of amphetamine might influence temporal processing and neural coordination over time. The researchers suggest that future studies could combine this type of neural recording with techniques that allow more precise manipulation of brain circuits, such as optogenetics, to better understand the causal relationship between neuronal variability and timing behavior.</p>
<p>“Our study was in rodents, so we have to be careful when translating our results to humans,” Narayanan noted. “However, the reason that we study timing behavior is that all mammals, from rodents to humans, have similar brain processes that help guide our actions in time.”</p>
<p>“Amphetamine is a complex drug that affects many different regions of the brain. We are studying how other brain areas are involved and developing much more specific methods to investigate how amphetamine affects cognitive function.”</p>
<p>“Our goal is to learn how dopamine affects the neural circuitry of cognition,” Narayanan added. “Through hard work and rigorous science, this knowledge will lead to new biomarkers, and maybe even new treatments for diseases that impair cognition.”</p>
<p>“The only way we develop new knowledge like this is through careful and rigorous science—we’d like to thank the American public and the National Institutes of Health for funding this work. We hope to keep working on this problem to come up with a better understanding of, and better treatments for, amphetamine addiction, ADHD, Parkinson’s disease, and schizophrenia.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2025.110486" target="_blank">Amphetamine increases timing variability by degrading prefrontal temporal encoding</a>,” was authored by Matthew A. Weber, Kartik Sivakumar, Braedon Q. Kirkpatrick, Hannah R. Stutt, Ervina E. Tabakovic, Alexandra S. Bova, Young-cho Kim, and Nandakumar S. Narayanan.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-eye-test-may-detect-alzheimers-disease-years-before-symptoms-emerge-study-suggests/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">New eye test may detect Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms emerge, study suggests</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">May 18th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13872877241301802" target="_blank">Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease</a></em> presents an innovative method that may detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms appear—using a simple, noninvasive eye test. The technique, called dynamic light scattering spectroscopy, measures microscopic protein movement in the retina and could offer a faster, cheaper, and more accessible way to screen for the disease in its earliest stages.</p>
<p>Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a progressive neurological condition that gradually impairs memory, reasoning, and other cognitive abilities. It typically develops over many years, and by the time symptoms are obvious enough for a diagnosis, irreversible damage has often already occurred in the brain. That delay has made early detection a top priority in Alzheimer’s research, with hopes that identifying the disease sooner could allow for earlier interventions and better outcomes.</p>
<p>“The current ‘gold standard’ diagnostic method for Alzheimer’s disease is a PET scan. These are expensive, invasive, and uncomfortable for the patient, only to produce a qualitative reading that is accurate around 70% of the time in identifying the disease at a stage well beyond the point of any remedial action,” explained study author Jeffrey N. Weiss, the founder of <a href="https://www.micronophthalmic.com/" target="_blank">Micron Ophthalmic</a>.</p>
<p>“It was clear to me that something had to change. In my work as a physician and electrical engineer, I had employed dynamic light scattering spectroscopy and knew that it could be useful in providing a rapid, cost-effective, noninvasive, and quantitative measurement. Most impressively, we’ve seen that the technology is capable of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease at least two years earlier than any current method, opening the window for preventative care.”</p>
<p>Dynamic light scattering measures how proteins naturally move in the body—a type of motion known as Brownian movement. Since molecular changes often occur before physical damage or visible symptoms appear, Weiss believed dynamic light scattering spectroscopy could detect the earliest signals of Alzheimer’s disease. Because the retina develops from the same tissue as the brain during fetal development, it offers a unique and accessible window into neurological health.</p>
<p>To test this theory, Weiss developed a dynamic light scattering spectroscopy device that works in tandem with a standard ophthalmic fundus camera. During the procedure, a patient’s pupil is dilated using common eye drops. The patient then stares at a dim red light while the system collects data for just five seconds. Embedded software captures and analyzes the patterns of protein motion in the retina, producing an autocorrelation curve—a mathematical representation of molecular activity.</p>
<p>The study involved several groups of participants. First, Weiss tested the reproducibility of the dynamic light scattering measurements by examining 17 healthy individuals with no history of neurological or eye disorders. The results were consistent across multiple variables, including sex, time of day, and whether the left or right eye was used. Importantly, the measurements were not affected by the participants’ age, suggesting that the test can reliably be used in older populations who are most at risk for Alzheimer’s.</p>
<p>Next, Weiss tested 15 individuals with mild cognitive impairment but no diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Of these, four participants showed a distinctive pattern in their results indicating slower protein motion. These individuals went on to receive a formal Alzheimer’s diagnosis six to twelve months later, supporting the idea that dynamic light scattering spectroscopy might detect the disease well before clinical symptoms develop.</p>
<p>The study also included 17 individuals who had already been diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease. Eleven of these participants had previously tested positive for amyloid buildup using PET scans. In all 11 cases, dynamic light scattering spectroscopy testing correctly identified the Alzheimer’s pattern. Of the remaining six, five were correctly classified as negative based on both PET and DLS results. One participant, who had a negative PET scan, showed a borderline DLS reading that may suggest very early changes missed by current imaging techniques.</p>
<p>The key feature observed in the dynamic light scattering measurements was a flattening of the initial portion of the autocorrelation curve in patients with Alzheimer’s. This flattening reflects a slowing in the movement of retinal proteins, a signal that likely corresponds to early dysfunction in the retinal nerve fiber layer—an area known to be affected in Alzheimer’s.</p>
<p>Traditional eye imaging techniques, such as optical coherence tomography, can also detect changes in this layer, but typically only after significant damage has occurred. In contrast, dynamic light scattering spectroscopy captures molecular-level changes that precede visible structural damage.</p>
<p>A major advantage of dynamic light scattering spectroscopy over other diagnostic tools is its accessibility. The test is quick, noninvasive, and inexpensive—costing only a few cents to perform and requiring no disposable components. It could be used in community clinics, nursing homes, and low-resource settings where PET scans or spinal taps are impractical. Additionally, the technology avoids common confounding variables that affect optical coherence tomography, such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, or diabetic retinopathy.</p>
<p>“The retina is an outgrowth of the brain—it is important to acknowledge its growing relevance as an active observation site for biomarkers related to Alzheimer’s disease,” Weiss told PsyPost. “The test itself addresses many of the major issues in Alzheimer’s diagnostics: the complexity of testing in vulnerable populations, the cost-effectiveness of those tests, the elimination of ambiguity or subjectivity in the results, and most importantly, the stage at which we are able to identify the disease. In this regard, I hope that these findings suggest that there is hope in tackling what has previously felt impossible—treating the disease before there are symptoms.”</p>
<p>Despite these promising results, the study has limitations. The sample sizes were small, and the research was conducted in a single setting. Although the test demonstrated strong predictive potential, larger studies across more diverse populations are needed to confirm its accuracy and reliability. Further work is also needed to determine whether eye diseases that affect the retina could interfere with dynamic light scattering measurements, even if the eye appears healthy during routine examination.</p>
<p>“The next milestone for this device is to build a sufficient body of evidence that our findings become irrefutable,” Weiss said. “For this, we need to place the machines in a variety of Alzheimer’s sites and assess the results that are generated. After this, the obvious next step is to engage with the FDA process, with the objective being to approve the device for wider use.</p>
<p>“We have a host of options from there, but one that looks particularly enticing in terms of creating a generational impact through this invention is to use it as an accompaniment for Alzheimer’s drug trials. It can collect far more data, at far shorter intervals, for a far lower cost than any other technology currently employed for this purpose.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877241301802" target="_blank">Dynamic light scattering of the eye in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease</a>,” was published on November 25, 2024.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/glymphatic-dysfunction-linked-to-cognitive-performance-deficits-in-adults-with-adhd-study-finds/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Glymphatic dysfunction linked to cognitive performance deficits in adults with ADHD, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">May 17th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032725003970" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Affective Disorders</a></em> has found that adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show signs of glymphatic system dysfunction, which may be related to their cognitive difficulties. The findings suggest that disruptions in the brain’s waste clearance system could help explain some of the persistent memory and attention problems seen in adults with the condition.</p>
<p>ADHD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder marked by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. While it is often diagnosed in childhood, many people continue to experience symptoms well into adulthood. In adults, ADHD can interfere with work, relationships, and daily functioning, and is often accompanied by cognitive issues such as forgetfulness and difficulty sustaining focus. Although behavioral symptoms are widely studied, the biological mechanisms that underlie adult ADHD are less understood.</p>
<p>One area of growing interest among scientists is the glymphatic system—a network that helps clear waste products from the brain. This system operates mainly during deep sleep and uses cerebrospinal fluid to flush out harmful substances. Problems with glymphatic function have been linked to other brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, little is known about its role in ADHD, especially in adults. The researchers behind this study wanted to explore whether changes in glymphatic function could help explain the cognitive impairments associated with the condition.</p>
<p>To do this, the team analyzed brain imaging and cognitive data from 41 adults diagnosed with ADHD and compared them to 108 healthy adults. The data came from the University of California, Los Angeles Consortium for Neuropsychiatric Phenomic LA5c Study and included both structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, along with results from several cognitive tests. The researchers used advanced neuroimaging techniques to assess three indicators of glymphatic function: the volume of the choroid plexus (a part of the brain that produces cerebrospinal fluid), a measure known as the ALPS index (which reflects how well fluid moves along blood vessels in the brain), and the strength of the connection between brain activity and cerebrospinal fluid flow (called gBOLD-CSF coupling).</p>
<p>The participants also completed a range of assessments, including the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale to measure ADHD symptoms, and standardized tests to evaluate memory, attention, and verbal learning. These included the California Verbal Learning Test and the Wechsler Memory Scale.</p>
<p>The results showed that adults with ADHD had lower ALPS index scores than healthy individuals, suggesting reduced glymphatic activity. This difference was observed across both hemispheres of the brain. The decrease in ALPS scores was linked to reduced fluid movement along specific fiber pathways in the brain, particularly those involved in communication between regions. These findings point to a possible impairment in how effectively the brain is able to clear waste.</p>
<p>Although the volume of the choroid plexus tended to be higher in the ADHD group, this difference did not reach statistical significance. This may suggest a potential compensatory response or a marker of altered cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, but more research is needed to draw firm conclusions. Likewise, there were no significant differences between the ADHD and control groups in terms of gBOLD-CSF coupling, which reflects functional synchronization between brain activity and fluid flow. This suggests that while structural glymphatic changes may be present, the overall coordination between brain and fluid activity remains intact in adults with ADHD.</p>
<p>Importantly, the researchers found that lower ALPS index scores were associated with poorer performance on memory tasks, including visual reproduction and delayed recognition. These correlations were stronger in the right hemisphere. The ALPS index also showed links with higher scores on obsessive-compulsive symptoms in participants with ADHD, suggesting a broader relationship between glymphatic function and psychiatric features.</p>
<p>In healthy participants, higher ALPS scores were also associated with better memory performance, suggesting that glymphatic activity may play a broader role in supporting cognitive health across individuals, not just those with ADHD.</p>
<p>These findings open up the possibility that glymphatic dysfunction contributes to the cognitive symptoms experienced by adults with ADHD. The researchers propose that impaired waste clearance could lead to the buildup of metabolic byproducts that interfere with brain signaling, particularly in pathways involving dopamine and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters are already known to play a role in attention, motivation, and reward processing—all areas often affected in ADHD.</p>
<p>Another possible explanation is that impaired glymphatic function may contribute to low-grade inflammation in the brain, which has been increasingly recognized in ADHD research. Inflammation can disrupt brain development and affect how neurons communicate. The researchers also point out that sleep problems, which are common in ADHD, may worsen glymphatic dysfunction, since this system operates most effectively during deep sleep.</p>
<p>On a cellular level, the authors suggest that astrocytes—supportive brain cells that help regulate the glymphatic system—may play an important role. Astrocytes help manage fluid flow through channels called aquaporins and also influence how brain circuits develop. Dysfunction in these cells could create a cascade of problems affecting both waste clearance and neural communication.</p>
<p>While this study is one of the first to examine glymphatic function in adult ADHD, it has several limitations. Because the data are cross-sectional, the researchers cannot determine whether glymphatic dysfunction causes cognitive problems or results from them. Longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the direction of this relationship. The relatively small sample size also limits the generalizability of the findings, and future research should aim to replicate these results in larger and more diverse groups.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study adds an important piece to the puzzle of ADHD. It suggests that biological systems beyond neurotransmitter signaling—such as waste clearance—may play a meaningful role in the disorder’s development and persistence. These insights could eventually lead to new therapeutic strategies. For example, improving sleep quality, promoting regular physical activity, or reducing brain inflammation could support glymphatic function and potentially ease cognitive symptoms in adults with ADHD.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.03.059" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glymphatic system dysfunction in adult ADHD: Relationship to cognitive performance</a>,” was authored by Yan Fang, Juan Peng, Tiantian Chu, Feng Gao, Fei Xiong, and Ye Tu.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/feeling-proud-or-awestruck-by-your-child-may-boost-your-well-being-new-psychology-research-finds/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Feeling proud or awestruck by your child may boost your well-being, new psychology research finds</a>
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<p><p>New research published in <em><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19485506251332690" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social Psychological and Personality Science</a></em> reveals that moments of pride and awe experienced by parents are not only emotionally meaningful — they are also psychologically rewarding. The study found that parental pride is linked to increased life satisfaction and reduced negative emotions, while parental awe contributes to greater meaning, psychological richness, and satisfaction in life. These emotional highs may help make parenting feel more fulfilling, despite its many challenges.</p>
<p>The researchers were interested in understanding how positive emotions specific to parenting — particularly pride and awe — might contribute to parents’ psychological well-being. While previous research has explored the stress and demands of caregiving, relatively little attention has been paid to the emotional rewards of parenthood. Pride and awe were chosen because they often arise in parenting and reflect two different psychological orientations: pride is typically self-focused and linked to achievement, while awe tends to be other-focused and tied to wonder and connectedness.</p>
<p>“I’ve always been interested in the positive side of parenting. Although so much research is devoted to the costs of parenting, why then do so many people almost ubiquitously decide to become parents?” said study author Princeton Chee, a PhD candidate at the University of Rochester and member of <a href="https://labsites.rochester.edu/lelab/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Le Lab</a>.</p>
<p>“I’m not a parent myself, but I’m surrounded by a lot of parents that inspire how I think about my work and much of the time I get advice from parents themselves on if these are true emotions they feel and if not. A big part of this work was also inspired from my research advisor who had recently become a parent when I started this work which really paved the way for me to think about these ideas! Recently as well, the U.S. surgeon general released a public health advisory detailing the urgent need to better support parents mental health across the United States. I think this work stemmed partly from this, trying to see the good of parenting and how children can brighten people’s lives (rather than only make darker).”</p>
<p>To explore this, the research team conducted three studies using different methods: a cross-sectional survey, a longitudinal follow-up, and an experiment. They also performed an internal meta-analysis to summarize the findings across all three studies.</p>
<p>In the first study, 505 parents completed an online survey about their emotional experiences related to parenting. They rated how frequently they felt pride or awe in response to their child, and completed a set of questionnaires measuring life satisfaction, meaning in life, negative emotions, and psychological richness — a concept that captures the diversity and novelty of life experiences.</p>
<p>The results showed that parents who reported more pride felt more satisfied with life and less negative emotion, but pride was not linked to a stronger sense of meaning or psychological richness. Awe, on the other hand, was associated with higher life satisfaction, greater meaning, and a richer psychological life. These associations held even after accounting for child temperament and the gender or age of the parent or child. Interestingly, parents of younger children reported more frequent experiences of awe, but the benefits of awe and pride were present regardless of child age.</p>
<p>In the second study, 130 parents participated in a longitudinal project that followed them over the course of three months. The researchers measured pride, awe, life satisfaction, and meaning in life at multiple points. The goal was to see whether earlier experiences of pride or awe would predict changes in well-being later on.</p>
<p>The results echoed those of the first study. Parents who reported more pride at earlier time points tended to show increases in life satisfaction over time. Those who reported more awe showed increases in their sense of meaning in life. These effects remained even after accounting for the child’s temperament, suggesting that the emotional benefits weren’t just because the child was easy to care for.</p>
<p>To test whether pride and awe could cause changes in well-being, the researchers conducted a third study using a within-person experimental design. A total of 261 parents were recruited online and asked to recall and describe three different kinds of experiences they had with their child in the past month: one ordinary experience (control), one pride-inducing experience, and one awe-inducing experience. After each reflection, participants rated how satisfied, meaningful, and psychologically rich the experience felt, as well as how much negative emotion they experienced.</p>
<p>The results showed that both pride and awe increased feelings of life satisfaction and reduced negative emotion compared to the control condition. Awe also increased feelings of meaning and psychological richness more than either pride or the control condition. When comparing awe directly to pride, awe had a stronger effect on psychological richness, but the two emotions produced similar levels of satisfaction and meaning.</p>
<p>To better understand why these emotions had such positive effects, the researchers explored three potential psychological mechanisms. They found that both pride and awe were linked to stronger feelings of love and connection with one’s child, as well as a sense of self-transcendence — a feeling of being part of something larger than oneself. These two mechanisms helped explain how the emotions led to greater well-being. In addition, awe — but not pride — was associated with a feeling that time was slowing down, which may help parents become more present and appreciative of their experience.</p>
<p>“An interesting finding was the idea of awe and time perception,” Chee told PsyPost. “We found that parents who felt awe with their child felt like time actually slowed down. For instance, feeling awe from seeing your child take their first steps may have shifted a parent’s sense of time and almost make the scene feel like it played in slow motion. In this way, awe events can be easily “savored” or experienced in full and are especially powerful in enhancing well-being.”</p>
<p>The research team also explored the kinds of situations that commonly elicited pride and awe. Thematic analyses revealed that pride was often triggered by a child’s talent, personal growth, or resilience, such as overcoming a challenge. Awe, by contrast, was more commonly elicited by shared moments between parent and child, or by witnessing acts of love and kindness. These differences help explain why awe had broader psychological benefits, especially in terms of fostering meaning and variety in life.</p>
<p>An internal meta-analysis of the three studies confirmed the main results. Across all data, pride was consistently associated with greater life satisfaction and lower negative affect, while awe predicted not only life satisfaction and lower negative emotion but also higher meaning and psychological richness.</p>
<p>“Children are key sources of awe (feeling wonder or amazement, akin to saying ‘wow’ or ‘woah’ from something your child may do) and pride (feeling achieved or accomplished),” Chee said. “Parents feel these emotions with their children in all kinds of parenting events. These kinds of emotions can make parents feel happier, more satisfied, and more meaningful in their lives as parents, and can make parenting feel a bit less like a burden. Parental awe and pride are some of the unique ‘joys’ of parenting that make it much more rewarding.”</p>
<p>Despite the strengths of the research — including its use of diverse methodologies and preregistered hypotheses — there are some limitations. For example, the researchers did not examine the long-term impact of awe on psychological richness, which could be an important avenue for future study. They also noted that while awe’s benefits were largely robust, some of pride’s benefits may overlap with other positive emotions like joy. Future research could investigate how the emotional experiences of parents might influence children as well, creating a ripple effect within families.</p>
<p>“One kind of caveat for this work is that we don’t look at how these emotional experiences actually affect the child,” Chee said. “Although it is extremely important to look at parents’ own mental health, of course the development and well-being of the child is important too. It would be really cool to test how awe and pride can affect one’s child. Can awe moments ‘spread’ or ‘spillover’ to the child and other family members? What about shared awe moments in which both the parent and the child are feeling in awe of something (e.g., going to a science museum together or watching a solar eclipse together)?”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506251332690" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Feeling Pride and Awe in Parenthood: The Unique Emotional Rewards of Parenting on Well-Being</a>,” was authored by Princeton X. Chee, Claire J. Shimshock, and Bonnie M. Le.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/study-finds-couples-who-cuddle-at-bedtime-feel-more-secure-and-less-stressed/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Study finds couples who cuddle at bedtime feel more secure and less stressed</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">May 17th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A recent study of heterosexual couples found that those who slept in physically closer positions at the onset of sleep reported lower stress and less insecure emotional attachment. However, the individual sleep positions people preferred—such as sleeping on their back, side, or stomach—were not associated with the positions they took when sleeping with their partner. The study was published in the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02654075251315478"><em>Journal of Social and Personal Relationships</em></a>.</p>
<p>Sleep is essential for physical and mental health. It supports cognitive functioning, mood regulation, immune system strength, and overall well-being. While sleep is often studied as an individual activity, most adults share their bed with a romantic partner.</p>
<p>Sleeping with a partner can promote feelings of safety and emotional connection, which may enhance sleep quality. Physical closeness during sleep—such as cuddling or spooning—can increase the release of oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding and relaxation. Research suggests that couples who synchronize their sleep patterns tend to report higher relationship satisfaction and better sleep quality.</p>
<p>Study authors Josh R. Novak and Kaleigh C. Miller noted that while couples often maintain their “own side” of the bed, they regularly cross this boundary for cuddling, affection, and sex. They also pointed out that people may adopt different sleep positions when sharing a bed compared to when sleeping alone.</p>
<p>The researchers conducted a study to examine whether individuals’ preferred sleep positions were related to the sleep positions they used with their partners at sleep onset (when they first go to sleep, before shifting during the night). They also explored whether physical closeness during sleep was related to sleep disorders, perceived stress, attachment styles, and other relationship characteristics.</p>
<p>The study surveyed 143 heterosexual couples, comprising 286 individuals. The average age was 43 for men and 40 for women, and couples had been together for an average of 13 years. Fifty-two couples reported having the same chronotype (morning or evening preference).</p>
<p>Participants reported the degree of physical closeness in their typical sleep position at sleep onset. They also completed assessments of perceived stress, attachment insecurity (using the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale–Short Form), sleep disturbance (via the PROMIS Sleep Disturbance scale), daytime sleepiness, and their preferred individual sleeping position. Additional demographic and contextual information was collected, including relationship length, income, and whether children or pets shared the bed.</p>
<p>The results showed no significant association between an individual’s preferred sleeping position and the couple’s sleep position at onset. However, couples who reported physically closer sleep positions—such as spooning, sleeping intertwined, or face-to-face—also reported lower levels of perceived stress and lower levels of anxious or avoidant attachment.</p>
<p>“We found that closer couple sleep positions (spooning, intertwined, or face-to-face) were linked with lower couple perceived stress and less insecure attachment, but were not linked with sleep disturbance either directly or indirectly. Thus, our study lends support to the idea that cuddling at sleep onset may be beneficial for physiological and relational functioning, but future research in this area is critically needed, and much remains to be explored and understood,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study sheds light on the links between couple sleep positions and the quality of their relationships. However, the cross-sectional nature of the study limits causal interpretation. It remains unclear whether physical closeness improves relationship quality or if more secure couples naturally sleep closer together. Additionally, the researchers note that sleep positions at onset may not reflect how couples sleep throughout the night.</p>
<p>The paper “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075251315478">‘Cuddle buddies’: Couples sleep position closeness at onset is indirectly related to lower insecure attachment through lower couple perceived stress</a>” was authored by Josh R. Novak and Kaleigh C. Miller.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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