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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/people-interpret-long-eyelashes-as-a-signal-of-openness-to-casual-relationships/" 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;">People interpret long eyelashes as a signal of openness to casual relationships</a>
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<p><p>A study conducted in the United Kingdom found that people perceive eyelashes that are about one-third the width of the eye as the most attractive and healthiest. Both shorter and longer eyelashes were rated less favorably. However, participants also interpreted longer-than-optimal eyelashes as a signal of sexual receptivity—that is, individuals with longer eyelashes were perceived as more open to casual relationships. The findings were published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03131-4"><em>Archives of Sexual Behavior</em></a>.</p>
<p>Eyelashes play an important role in shaping how people perceive attractiveness and health. As a subtle facial feature that frames the eyes—an important focal point in social interaction—eyelash length can influence impressions in unconscious ways. Previous research shows that moderately long eyelashes are viewed as the most attractive, likely because they enhance the eye’s appearance without appearing artificial or exaggerated.</p>
<p>Very short eyelashes may be associated with poor health or aging, while extremely long or obviously artificial lashes can appear unnatural or even unhealthy. From an evolutionary standpoint, eyelashes help protect the eyes from dust, light, and airflow, so their appearance may serve as an indirect cue of good ocular health. Symmetrical lashes that frame the eyes tend to be linked with facial harmony and beauty. In women, longer lashes are often associated with femininity, youthfulness, and reproductive fitness, while in men, shorter but still noticeable eyelashes contribute to a balanced and healthy appearance.</p>
<p>Study author Farid Pazhoohi aimed to investigate whether perceptions of health and attractiveness based on eyelash length align—and whether long eyelashes could also serve as a signal of sexual receptivity. He noted that while people tend to prefer a moderate eyelash length for attractiveness, cosmetic trends such as eyelash extensions remain popular, potentially reflecting other social signaling motives. Based on this, he hypothesized that although very long lashes might be seen as less attractive, they could be perceived as signaling sexual openness or availability.</p>
<p>The study involved 120 participants residing in the U.K., recruited via Prolific. Seventy-seven were men, and the average age of participants was 32 years.</p>
<p>To test his hypotheses, Pazhoohi used Daz3D software to create computer-generated images of female faces representing four ethnic groups: Asian, Black, Indian, and White. For each ethnic group, he produced 11 variations of each face that differed only in eyelash length, ranging from none to half the width of the eye. Participants were shown these faces and asked to rate how healthy, attractive, and sexually receptive they perceived each woman to be.</p>
<p>The results confirmed that perceptions of both health and attractiveness followed an inverted-U pattern, peaking when the eyelash-to-eye-width ratio was around 0.33—approximately one-third. Both shorter and longer eyelashes were associated with lower ratings of health and attractiveness. This pattern was consistent across all ethnicities and regardless of the participant’s sex.</p>
<p>However, perceptions of sexual receptivity followed a different trend. Faces with longer eyelashes were rated as more sexually receptive, even when those same eyelashes were rated as less attractive or healthy. In other words, very long eyelashes were interpreted as a possible signal of openness to short-term or casual relationships.</p>
<p>“Results showed that eyelash length is positively associated with perceived sexual receptivity, suggesting that longer eyelashes might signal openness to casual relationships, despite lower attractiveness and health ratings at lengths beyond the optimal one-third ratio. This indicates a potential reproductive strategy linked to wearing long eyelashes and reveals that perceptions of attractiveness and sexual receptivity can diverge,” Pazhoohi concluded.</p>
<p>The study sheds light on the way people interpret eyelash length. However, it should be noted that the study focused exclusively on the perception of female faces. Perceptions of eyelashes in male faces might be different. Also, the faces participants evaluated were static illustrations primarily differing in skin color and eyelash length. This differs from how people evaluate psychological characteristics of others in real-world situations.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03131-4">Long Lashes, Mixed Signals: Investigating the Effect of Eyelash Length on Perceived Health, Attractiveness, and Sexual Receptivity</a>,” was authored by Farid Pazhoohi.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/deep-brain-stimulation-reshapes-emotional-networks-in-treatment-resistant-depression/" 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;">Deep brain stimulation reshapes emotional networks in treatment-resistant depression</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Sep 7th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new brain imaging study provides evidence that deep brain stimulation of a specific brain region called the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule (vALIC) may change how key emotional and cognitive areas in the brain interact in people with severe, treatment-resistant depression. Published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725100767" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Psychological Medicine</a></em>, the findings suggest that the treatment induces long-term changes centered around the amygdala, a brain structure linked to emotional processing, and shorter-term effects focused on the insula, a region involved in internal bodily awareness and emotional states.</p>
<p>The results help explain how deep brain stimulation could help people with depression who have not responded to standard interventions such as medication, psychotherapy, or even electroconvulsive therapy. They also provide new insights into how the brain’s emotional networks adapt to stimulation over time.</p>
<p>Deep brain stimulation is a neurosurgical procedure in which electrodes are implanted deep into specific brain areas. These electrodes deliver controlled electrical pulses to modulate abnormal brain activity. The treatment is most commonly used to manage symptoms in conditions like Parkinson’s disease and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Over the past two decades, researchers have also explored its use in severe depression, particularly for patients who have not responded to any conventional treatments.</p>
<p>In depression, brain imaging studies have consistently shown altered activity in areas involved in mood regulation, including the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and striatum. Some areas, such as the amygdala and insula, tend to show heightened activity, while others, like parts of the prefrontal cortex, appear underactive. Deep brain stimulation aims to restore balance in these networks, though the exact mechanisms remain unclear.</p>
<p>“Deep brain stimulation is under investigation as new treatment for patients with major depressive disorder, or depression for short. We have performed one of the only positive controlled clinical trials which suggests that it is effective compared to sham (fake) stimulation,” said study author <a href="https://psychiatryamsterdam.nl/personen/guido-van-wingen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guido van Wingen</a>, a professor of neuroimaging in psychiatry at Amsterdam UMC.</p>
<p>“The question for the current study was to investigate how it actually works. Depression is thought to be caused by altered interactions between distant brain regions. We therefore investigated how DBS alters the interactions of brain regions that are key for particular depression symptoms: the nucleus accumbens for reduced pleasure (anhedonia) and the amygdala for negative mood.”</p>
<p>The researchers recruited individuals with long-standing depression who had not improved after trying multiple classes of antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and electroconvulsive therapy. Participants received deep brain stimulation targeting the vALIC, which is located near another brain region often implicated in mood disorders—the nucleus accumbens.</p>
<p>The study included both patients and a control group of healthy participants. Patients were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after the stimulation settings were optimized for each individual. This optimization process could take up to a year and involved biweekly clinical evaluations and adjustments to the stimulation parameters. After this period, patients entered a randomized, double-blind phase during which the stimulator was turned on and off in alternating blocks, allowing researchers to assess the immediate effects of stimulation.</p>
<p>The imaging data were analyzed in two ways. One method looked at overall functional connectivity—how strongly different brain regions are linked during rest. The second method, known as effective connectivity analysis, used a mathematical model to estimate the direction and strength of influence that one region exerts on another, helping to clarify whether certain brain areas were exciting or inhibiting each other.</p>
<p>One major finding was that connectivity between the amygdala and the left insula increased in patients who received deep brain stimulation, whereas it decreased over time in healthy controls. This connection is thought to be important for linking emotional experiences with awareness of internal bodily states. Previous studies have reported that this pathway is often weaker in people with depression, so an increase in connectivity might suggest a return toward more typical emotional processing.</p>
<p>In contrast, connectivity between the nucleus accumbens and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex decreased in patients following stimulation. This was true for both the left and right nucleus accumbens. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is often linked to self-referential thinking and rumination, a pattern of repetitive negative thoughts common in depression. While previous studies have shown mixed results regarding the direction of this connectivity in depression, the decrease observed here suggests a shift in how reward and decision-making circuits interact during rest.</p>
<p>Additional changes were observed in the connection between the amygdala and the precentral gyrus, a brain region typically associated with motor planning but also implicated in emotional responding. Patients showed an increase in connectivity between these regions after treatment, while healthy controls showed a decrease over time.</p>
<p>In the short-term crossover phase, when stimulation was switched on and off, the researchers found different patterns of change. The amygdala showed stronger self-inhibition when the device was turned on, making it less responsive to signals from other brain areas. At the same time, communication between the insula and the prefrontal cortex weakened, suggesting a dampening of circuits involved in emotional and internal monitoring.</p>
<p>The study also found that the balance of influence between the insula and the nucleus accumbens shifted during stimulation. When the stimulator was active, the nucleus accumbens exerted more inhibition over the insula, and the insula had less influence over the nucleus accumbens. These effects appeared only during the short-term crossover phase and were not observed after the longer optimization period.</p>
<p>“We found that long-term deep brain stimulation indeed changes functional connectivity of the nucleus accumbens and amygdala with brain regions involved in the regulation (prefrontal cortex) and experience (insula) of emotions and feelings,” van Wingen told PsyPost. “Short-term cessation of deep brain stimulation resulted in more subtle rebalancing of how these brain regions influenced each other.”</p>
<p>The study sheds light on how deep brain stimulation reshapes emotional brain networks. But there are some limitations. The sample size was small, as is often the case in studies involving neurosurgical interventions. Only nine patients had usable imaging data from both the preoperative and post-optimization phases. This limited the researchers’ ability to examine individual differences or explore how factors like medication use or stimulation settings might influence outcomes.</p>
<p>The study was also limited to a predefined set of brain regions, chosen based on earlier work in obsessive-compulsive disorder. While this allowed for targeted analysis, it means that other relevant brain areas might have been overlooked.</p>
<p>The researchers plan to replicate their findings in future studies with larger samples. A better understanding of how deep brain stimulation influences emotional and cognitive networks could help refine the procedure and tailor it more effectively for individuals with depression.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725100767" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deep brain stimulation modulates directional limbic connectivity in major depressive disorder</a>,” was authored by Egill A. Fridgeirsson, Isidoor Bergfeld, Bart P. de Kwaasteniet, Judy Luigjes, Jan van Laarhoven, Peter Notten, Guus Beute, Pepijn van den Munckhof, Rick Schuurman, Damiaan Denys, and Guido van Wingen.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/aging-disrupts-the-brains-protein-production-machinery-study-in-killifish-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;">Aging disrupts the brain’s protein production machinery, study in killifish suggests</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Sep 7th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A recent study published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk3079" target="_blank">Aging</a></em> sheds light on how aging interferes with the brain’s ability to produce key proteins, potentially triggering a cascade of dysfunctions that contribute to age-related decline and neurodegenerative diseases. The researchers found that in aging killifish (a short-lived vertebrate used as a model for studying aging) the brain becomes less efficient at translating specific types of proteins. These disruptions appear to be driven by ribosomal stalling during protein synthesis, rather than changes in gene expression.</p>
<p>Aging affects nearly every aspect of brain function, but the molecular underpinnings of this decline remain complex and difficult to disentangle. One common feature of aging is the breakdown of proteostasis, the cellular process that manages the production, folding, and clearance of proteins. When proteostasis fails, damaged or misfolded proteins can accumulate and interfere with normal cellular function, a phenomenon that has been repeatedly linked to disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.</p>
<p>Despite the centrality of proteostasis to aging, scientists still debate whether its decline is a cause or consequence of other age-related changes, such as DNA damage or mitochondrial dysfunction. Part of the challenge has been the lack of integrative studies that simultaneously examine multiple layers of gene expression—from transcription to translation to protein regulation—within the same tissue over time.</p>
<p>“Brain aging is characterized by a plethora of canonical molecular and cellular phenotypes (also known as aging hallmarks), such as DNA damage, splicing defects and proteostasis collapse, and by a generalized impairment of the entire RNA- and protein-biosynthetic chain on one hand and protein misfolding and inflammation on the other hand. It is widely recognized that these hallmark are interconnected, develop gradually and none can be singularly indicated as the initial driver,” said study author <a href="https://www.leibniz-fli.de/research/associated-research-groups/cellerino/current-projects-and-team" target="_blank">Alessandro Cellerino</a>, an associate professor at Scuola Normale Superiore and Leibniz Chair at the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute.</p>
<p>To address this gap, the researchers used the African turquoise killifish (<em>Nothobranchius furzeri</em>), which has a naturally short lifespan and develops many of the same brain aging features seen in mammals, including inflammation, gliosis, and spontaneous neurodegeneration. This allowed the researchers to capture a wide molecular snapshot of aging across multiple stages of life.</p>
<p>The researchers used a combination of RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry to track mRNA and protein levels across the lifespan of the killifish. In theory, if a gene’s mRNA level remains stable, its protein product should also stay consistent. </p>
<p>But the study revealed a disconnect: while mRNA levels for many genes remained steady, the actual protein levels declined with age. This discrepancy, which the researchers refer to as “decoupling,” was especially pronounced in proteins enriched with basic amino acids like lysine and arginine—components commonly found in DNA- and RNA-binding proteins.</p>
<p>These proteins play essential roles in gene expression, DNA repair, and mitochondrial function. Their reduced presence in aging brains suggests that the protein synthesis machinery becomes less efficient at producing certain protein types. The authors linked this decline to a phenomenon called “ribosome pausing”—a disruption in the translation process where the ribosome stalls when decoding specific sequences, particularly those rich in basic amino acids.</p>
<p>To test the role of protein degradation, the team partially inhibited the proteasome—the cell’s protein recycling system—in adult fish. This manipulation mimicked some but not all of the protein changes seen in aging brains. It did not replicate the loss of basic amino acid-rich proteins, indicating that translation, rather than degradation, was the key bottleneck in older brains.</p>
<p>The study also employed ribosome profiling, a method that reveals which mRNA sequences are being actively translated. This analysis showed that ribosome stalling became more frequent with age, especially at sequences coding for basic amino acids. Notably, this stalling correlated with increased protein aggregation, providing a mechanistic link between impaired translation and the buildup of harmful protein clumps.</p>
<p>“Our recent multi-omics study in the aging killifish brain revealed increased translation pausing at transcripts encoding ribosomal proteins and proteins enriched in basic (positively charged) amino acids,” Cellerino told PsyPost. “Increased pausing at specific mRNAs correlates with reduced synthesis of their protein products, independently of changes in mRNA levels. The affected proteins include DNA repair enzymes, RNA polymerases, splicing factors, RNA transport proteins, ribosomal subunits, and the broader translational machinery. This pausing is also associated with misfolding of nascent proteins and the activation of an inflammatory stress response.”</p>
<p>“Our results naturally lead to the hypothesis that increased ribosome pausing plays a causal role in the impaired biogenesis of DNA- and RNA-binding proteins enriched in basic amino acids. This may represent a unifying upstream mechanism in brain aging, linking genome instability and reduced biosynthesis of RNA and protein to protein misfolding and inflammation.”</p>
<p>Additionally, the researchers observed that aging brains showed a marked reduction in the number of fully assembled ribosomes, which may limit the brain’s ability to meet its protein production needs. This unexpected shift in protein production could represent a compensatory adaptation, though the long-term effects remain unclear.</p>
<p>“The most surprising finding is that a reduction in the number of ribosomes paradoxically increased the translation of mRNAs with the highest affinity for ribosomes, such as those coding for mitochondrial respiration complexes,” Cellerino explained. “This is likely because an excessively high ribosome concentration on these transcripts normally impairs translational elongation.”</p>
<p>While the study presents compelling evidence that aging disrupts protein synthesis through ribosome pausing and selective translation failure, it stops short of establishing direct causation. The authors note that more work is needed to determine whether relieving ribosome pausing can delay or reverse signs of brain aging. Another open question is whether these mechanisms are conserved in mammals, including humans.</p>
<p>The findings suggest that targeted interventions—such as drugs that modulate translational efficiency or ribosome function—could eventually play a role in delaying age-associated brain disorders. However, the transferability of these results from killifish to humans remains to be demonstrated.</p>
<p>Going forward, the researchers plan to explore whether similar protein synthesis issues emerge in human brain tissue and to test whether restoring translational control can alter the trajectory of brain aging. They also emphasize that their dataset represents one of the most comprehensive molecular maps of brain aging to date, covering transcriptomics, proteomics, amino acid levels, tRNA profiles, and post-translational modifications.</p>
<p>“This study represents the most extensive molecular resource on brain aging to date, including profiling of free amino acids, total tRNAs, charged tRNAs, the transcriptome, translatome, proteome, three types of post-translational modifications, protein solubility, and subcellular localization,” Cellerino said. “It also validates the killifish as an innovative model organism for studying brain aging.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk3079" target="_blank">Altered translation elongation contributes to key hallmarks of aging in the killifish brain</a>,” was authored by Domenico Di Fraia, Antonio Marino, Jae Ho Lee, Erika Kelmer Sacramento, Mario Baumgart, Sara Bagnoli, Till Balla, Felix Schalk, Stephan Kamrad, Rui Guan, Cinzia Caterino, Chiara Giannuzzi, Pedro Tomaz da Silva, Amit Kumar Sahu, Hanna Gut, Giacomo Siano, Max Tiessen, Eva Terzibasi-Tozzini, Eugenio F. Fornasiero, Julien Gagneur, Christoph Englert, Kiran R. Patil, Clara Correia-Melo, Danny D. Nedialkova, Judith Frydman, Alessandro Cellerino, and Alessandro Ori.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/heterosexual-men-rate-partners-less-favorably-after-pornography-exposure/" 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;">Heterosexual men rate partners less favorably after pornography exposure</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Sep 6th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-025-10407-3"><em>Sexuality & Culture</em></a> provides experimental evidence that exposure to pornography can influence how people think about their partners and relationships. Heterosexual men who watched a sexually explicit film rated their romantic partners less favorably than men who viewed non-sexual content. The results indicate that different types of media may have distinct effects on psychological and relational perceptions, with pornography potentially diminishing partner evaluations in some viewers.</p>
<p>Pornography is a widely consumed form of media. National estimates indicate that around 94 percent of men and 87 percent of women will view it at some point in their lives. Despite its prevalence, research on the psychological and relational effects of pornography has produced mixed and sometimes contradictory results. Some studies link it to outcomes like relationship dissatisfaction or permissive sexual attitudes, while others find no effect or even suggest potential benefits in certain contexts, such as enhanced communication in couples who watch together.</p>
<p>One reason for the inconsistency may lie in the design of prior studies. Most research on this topic has been correlational, meaning it tracks associations without manipulating variables. This approach makes it difficult to determine whether pornography <em>causes</em> changes in perception or whether people with certain relationship tendencies are more likely to consume pornography. Additionally, earlier studies have often overlooked the importance of content differences, arousal levels, or participants’ pre-existing beliefs and attitudes.</p>
<p>To address these concerns, psychologist Alicia McLean of the University of Central Oklahoma designed a controlled experiment to directly test whether different types of media—ranging from explicit to non-sexual—affect how people view their romantic partners, relationships, and sexual attitudes. McLean’s goal was to isolate the effects of pornography while including comparison conditions that matched for theme (pirates) and general arousal (action sequences) but lacked explicit sexual content.</p>
<p>The study recruited 144 adults who were currently in romantic relationships. Participants were between 18 and 57 years old, with a mean age of 29. About two-thirds identified as female, and over half identified as exclusively heterosexual. Participants were randomly assigned to watch one of three 30-minute film clips. The key variable was the type of content:</p>
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<li>One group watched a pornographic segment from <em>Pirates</em> (2005), an X-rated film featuring heterosexual and lesbian sex scenes, including traditional dominance and submissiveness themes.</li>
<li>A second group watched the final half hour of <em>Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl</em> (2003), a PG-13 action film.</li>
<li>A third group viewed the same-length clip from <em>The Pirates! Band of Misfits</em> (2012), a PG-rated animated film.</li>
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<p>All films had a pirate theme to ensure similar visual aesthetics and narrative framing across conditions. Participants needed to watch at least 20 minutes of the assigned film to be included in the final analysis.</p>
<p>After watching their assigned clip, participants completed a broad battery of questionnaires assessing how they viewed their partner (e.g., attractiveness and desirability), the quality and stability of their relationship (e.g., satisfaction, uncertainty, attachment styles), and their sexual beliefs and attitudes (e.g., fantasies, desires, sexual permissiveness, and views on relationship growth).</p>
<p>Surprisingly, the pornographic film did not appear to affect sexuality-related outcomes like sexual desire, fantasy, or permissiveness. Participants across all three groups reported similar scores on these dimensions, suggesting that short-term exposure to sexually explicit material may not shift people’s broader sexual attitudes or behaviors—at least in a single session.</p>
<p>The most pronounced effects were observed among heterosexual men. In this subgroup, those who watched the pornographic clip rated their romantic partners as less attractive and desirable than those who watched the action or animated films. This finding provides support for what researchers call the “contrast hypothesis”—the idea that viewing idealized sexual content leads to unfavorable comparisons with real-life partners. Among heterosexual men, such comparisons may be especially impactful given cultural norms around sexual desirability and gender roles.</p>
<p>This specific effect was not found in women or in other sexual orientation groups, suggesting that heterosexual men may be particularly sensitive to this kind of downward comparison.</p>
<p>While the study offers experimental evidence linking pornography exposure to partner perceptions—especially among heterosexual men—it is not without limitations. The sample was recruited online and may not reflect the broader population. Participants may have been more open to viewing explicit content or more likely to engage with studies about sex and relationships, which could limit generalizability.</p>
<p>The study also relied exclusively on self-report measures, which may be affected by participants’ willingness to disclose sensitive information or by social desirability bias. While anonymity was preserved, the nature of the questions—many involving personal and sexual beliefs—could still lead some participants to respond in ways they believed were more acceptable.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-025-10407-3">Shiver Me Timbers! Effects of Pornography Viewing on Partner, Relationship, and Sexuality Outcomes</a>,” was published June 14, 2025.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/gut-microbe-imbalances-could-predict-a-childs-risk-for-autism-adhd-and-speech-disorders-years-before-symptoms-appear/" 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;">Gut microbe imbalances could predict a child’s risk for autism, ADHD and speech disorders years before symptoms appear</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Sep 6th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>Early screening for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism is important to ensure children <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/autism/conditioninfo/treatments/early-intervention">have the support</a> they need to gain the <a href="https://www.aaidd.org/intellectual-disability/definition/adaptive-behavior">essential skills</a> for daily life. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children be <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/autism/hcp/diagnosis/screening.html">screened for developmental delays</a>, with additional screening for those who are preterm or have a low birth weight.</p>
<p>However, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has <a href="https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/draft-update-summary/autism-spectrum-disorder-young-children-1">called for more research</a> into the effectiveness of current autism screening practices. Primarily based on milestone checklists and symptoms, autism diagnoses also currently rely on <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1085445">observations of behavior</a> that often manifests after crucial developmental stages have passed.</p>
<p>Researchers and clinicians are working to develop simple, reliable tools that could identify early signs or risk factors of a condition before symptoms are obvious. While early screening can lead to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-we-ready-for-a-test-that-could-pre-diagnose-autism-in-babies-44821">risk of overdiagnosis</a>, understanding a child’s developmental needs can help guide families toward resources that address those needs sooner.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4wApvjIAAAAJ&hl=en">We are</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0UTNJyYAAAAJ&hl=en">researchers who</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.se/citations?user=Mbe04QEAAAAJ&hl=sv">study the</a> role the microbiome plays in a variety of conditions, such as mental illness, autoimmunity, obesity, preterm birth and others. In our recently published research on Swedish children, we found that microbes and the metabolites they produce in the guts of infants – both found in poop and cord blood – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.035">could help screen for a child’s risk</a> of neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism. And these differences can be detected as early as birth or within the first year of life. These markers were evident, on average, over a decade before the children were diagnosed.</p>
<h2>Microbes as biomarkers</h2>
<p>Biomarkers are biological indicators – such as genes, proteins or metabolites in blood, stool or other types of samples – that signal the presence of a condition at a certain point in time. There are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1085445">no known biomarkers for autism</a>. Efforts to find biomarkers have been largely hindered by the fact that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31981491/">autism has many potential pathways</a> that lead to it, and researchers tend to ignore how these causes may work <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36911126/">together as a whole</a>.</p>
<p>One potential biomarker for neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffcimb.2022.915701">gut microbes</a>. The connection between the gut and brain, or the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25830558">gut-brain axis</a>, is an area of considerable interest among scientists. Gut microbes play significant roles in health, including in immunity, neurotransmitter balance, digestive health and much more.</p>
<p>A lot of work has been done around mapping what a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1238-8">“typical” microbiome looks like</a> based on age and organ system. Researchers have shown that the microbiome is personalized enough that it can <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/rob_knight_how_our_microbes_make_us_who_we_are">distinguish two people or two households</a> even better than genetics, with differences in colonization starting very <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnm.4517">early in life</a>.</p>
<p>The microbiome undergoes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09252-4">immense changes</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffimmu.2021.708472">during childhood</a>. It shapes and is shaped by the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS2040174412000712">immune system</a> and influenced by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.1000081107">life changes and events</a>. It is also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1053%2Fj.gastro.2020.08.065">influenced by factors</a> like genetics, environment, lifestyle, infection and medications.</p>
<p>Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, pain and constipation are common in children with autism and ADHD, with as many as 30% to 70% of autism patients also diagnosed with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00179">functional gastrointestinal disorders</a>. Untreated GI issues can also lead to additional <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.chc.2020.02.005">sleep and behavioral disorders</a> among these children. A small pilot study found that children with autism showed improvements in gastrointestinal and autism-related symptoms after <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-016-0225-7">having healthy microbes transferred</a> into their guts, with some benefits lasting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42183-0">up to two years</a>.</p>
<p>Most studies on the microbiome and neurodevelopmental conditions, however, are restricted to people who are already diagnosed with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu13010249">ADHD</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00473">autism</a> or other conditions, and these studies often show mixed results. These limitations raise an important question: Does the microbiome play a direct role in the development of autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions, or are changes in microbiome composition a consequence of the conditions themselves?</p>
<p>Some investigations have proposed that the microbiome has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.10.015">little or no association with future autism</a>. However, these studies have a notable limitation: They don’t examine microbial imbalances prior to diagnosis or symptom onset. Instead, these studies focus on children already diagnosed with autism, comparing them to their siblings and unrelated neurotypical children. In most cases, dietary data and samples are collected several years after diagnosis, meaning the study cannot test for whether microbial imbalances cause autism.</p>
<h2>Microbes matter</h2>
<p>We wondered whether studying the bacteria residing in small children before they are diagnosed or show symptoms of autism or other conditions could give us a clue into their neurodevelopment. So, we examined the cord blood and stool collected at approximately 1 year of age from participants of an ongoing study called <a href="https://www.abis-studien.se/hem/english-11100423">All Babies in Southeast Sweden</a>, which follows the health of approximately 17,000 children born between 1997 and 1999 and their parents. We have followed these children since birth, nearly 1,200 of whom were later diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder by age 23.</p>
<p>We found <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.035">significant differences</a> in bacterial composition and metabolite levels that developed before symptoms of neurodevelopmental conditions – such as gastrointestinal upset, crankiness and sleep problems – as well as formal medical diagnoses. These differences spanned many conditions, including autism, ADHD and speech disorders.</p>
<p>Next, we linked bacteria to neurotransmitters – chemical signals that help brain cells communicate – and vitamins such as riboflavin and vitamin B in the child’s stool. Given <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffcell.2022.880544">previous research</a> on children and adults already diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder, we expected to find differences in the microbiome composition and health between those with and without neurodevelopmental conditions.</p>
<p>But we were surprised to discover just <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.035">how early these differences emerge</a>. We saw variability in the microbes and metabolites that affect immune and brain health, among others, in the stool collected from the diapers of children around 1 year of age and in umbilical cord blood collected at birth.</p>
<p>The imbalance in microbial composition – what microbiologists call <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49452-y">dysbiosis</a> – we observed suggests that incomplete recovery from repeated antibiotic use may greatly affect children during this vulnerable period. Similarly, we saw that repeated ear infections were linked to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.035">twofold increased likelihood</a> of developing autism.</p>
<p>Children who both repeatedly used antibiotics and had microbial imbalances were significantly more likely to develop autism. More specifically, children with an absence of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-018-0337-x"><em>Coprococcus comes</em></a>, a bacterium linked to mental health and quality of life, and increased prevalence of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2021.737636"><em>Citrobacter</em></a>, a bacterium known for antimicrobial resistance, along with repeated antibiotic use were two to four times more likely to develop a neurodevelopmental disorder.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/about/index.html">Antibiotics are necessary</a> for treating certain bacterial infections in children, and we emphasize that our findings <a href="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2024/04/03/uf-and-swedish-researchers-connect-childhood-microbiome-with-development-of-autism-adhd/">do not suggest avoiding their use</a> altogether. Parents should use antibiotics if they are prescribed and deemed necessary by their pediatrician. Rather, our study suggests that repeated antibiotic use during early childhood may signal underlying immune dysfunction or disrupted brain development, which can be influenced by the gut microbiome. In any case, it is important to consider whether children could benefit from treatments to restore their gut microbes after taking antibiotics, an area we are actively studying.</p>
<p>Another microbial imbalance in children who later were diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders was a decrease in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01477-07"><em>Akkermansia muciniphila</em></a>, a bacterium that reinforces the lining of the gut and is linked to neurotransmitters important to neurological health.</p>
<p>Even after we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.035">accounted for factors</a> that could influence gut microbe composition, such as how the baby was delivered and breastfeeding, the relationship between imbalanced bacteria and future diagnosis persisted. And these imbalances preceded diagnosis of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability by 13 to 14 years on average, refuting the assumption that gut microbe imbalances arise from diet.</p>
<p>We found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.035">lipids and bile acids were depleted</a> in the cord blood of newborns with future autism. These compounds provide nutrients for beneficial bacteria, help maintain <a href="https://theconversation.com/immune-health-is-all-about-balance-an-immunologist-explains-why-both-too-strong-and-too-weak-an-immune-response-can-lead-to-illness-215217">immune balance</a> and influence neurotransmitter systems and signaling pathways in the brain.</p>
<h2>Microbiome screening at well-child visits</h2>
<p>Microbiome screening is not a common practice in well-child visits. But our findings suggest that detecting imbalances in beneficial and harmful bacteria, especially during critical periods of early childhood development, can provide essential insights for clinicians and families.</p>
<p>There is a long way to go before such screening becomes a standard part of pediatric care. Researchers still need validated methods to analyze and interpret microbiome data in the clinic. It’s also unclear how bacterial differences change across time in children around the world – not just which bacteria are present or absent, but also how they may be shaping immune responses and metabolism. But our findings reaffirm the growing body of evidence that the early gut microbiome plays a key role in shaping neurodevelopment.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/233962/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
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<p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/gut-microbe-imbalances-could-predict-a-childs-risk-for-autism-adhd-and-speech-disorders-years-before-symptoms-appear-233962">original article</a>.</em></p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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