Progress in brain research最新文献

This chapter explores the complex relationship between coffee drinking and stress management, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of this widely consumed beverage. The chapter explores the physiological, psychological, and social effects of coffee on stress response and resilience through a thorough analysis of recent studies. It highlights the negative consequences of excessive intake on cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and mental health while also discussing how moderate coffee consumption may lower stress levels, improve coping skills, and promote relaxation. Considerations for vulnerable populations, interactions with medications and supplements, and sustainability concerns in coffee production and consumption are also addressed. By identifying missing gaps in our understanding of coffee and stress management, the chapter underscores the need for future research to elucidate underlying mechanisms and promote mindful consumption practices. Ultimately, by embracing a holistic approach that considers individual health, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility, we can harness the potential of coffee to support resilience, well-being, and sustainability for individuals and communities worldwide.

Caffeine is an alkaloid obtained from plants and is one of the most consumptive drug in the form of chocolate, coffee and beverages. The potential impact of caffeine within CNS can be easily understood by mechanism of action-antagonism of adenosine receptor, calcium influx, inhibits phosphodiesterases. Adenosine a neuromodulator for adenosine receptors, which are abundantly expressed within the central nervous system. Caffeine antagonized the adenosine receptor, hence stimulate expression of dopamine. It plays pivotal role in many metabolic pathways within the brain and nervous system, it reduced the amyloid-β-peptide (Aβ) accumulation, downregulation of tau protein phosphorylation, stimulate cholinergic neurons and inhibits the acetylcholinestrase (AChE). It also possess antioxidant and antiapoptotic activity. Caffeine act as nutraceutical product, improves mental health. It contains antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements, by reducing the risk factor of several neurodegenerations including Alzheimer's disease, migraine, gallstone, cancer, Huntington's disease and sclerosis. This act as a stimulant and have capability to increase the effectiveness of certain pain killer. Beside positive affects, over-consumption of caffeine leads to negative impact: change in sleep pattern, hallucinations, high blood pressure, mineral loss and even heartburn. This chapter highlights pros and cons of caffeine consumption.

Recent development of information technology and wearable devices has led to the analysis of multidimensional sports information and the enhancement of athletes' sports performance convenient and potentially more efficient. In this study, we present a novel data platform tailored for capturing athletes' cognitive, physiological, and body composition data. This platform incorporates diverse visualization modes, enabling athletes and coaches to access data seamlessly. Fourteen elite female football players (average age=20.6±1.3years; 3 forwards, 5 midfielders, 4 defenders, and 2 goalkeepers) were recruited from National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan, as the primary observational group, and 12 female university students without regular sport/exercise habits (average age=21.6±1.3years) were recruited as control group. Through multidimensional data analysis, we identified significant differences in limb muscle mass and several cognitive function scores (e.g., reaction times of attention and working memory) between elite female football varsity team and general female university students. Furthermore, 1-month heart rate data obtained from wearable devices revealed a significant negative correlation between average heart rate median and cognitive function scores. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of this platform as an efficient multidimensional data collection and analysis platform. Therefore, valuable insights between cognitive functions, physiological signals and body composition can be obtained via this multidimensional platform for facilitating sports performance.

In a recent study employing time production, a number of participants presented aberrant data, which normally would have marked them as being outliers. Given the ongoing discussion in the literature regarding the illusory nature of the flow of time, in this paper we consider whether their data may indicate discontinuity in time perception. We analyze the log-log plots for these outliers, investigating to what degree linearity is preserved for all the data points, as opposed to achieving a better fit using bisegmental regression. The current results, though preliminary, can contribute to the debate regarding the non-linearity of subjective time. It would seem that with longer target durations, the ongoing experience of time can be either one of a subjective slowing down of time (longer time units, increase in slope), or of a subjective speeding up of time (shorter time units, decrease in slope).

For decades, coffee has held the distinction of being the most commercially prominent food product and the most universally consumed beverage worldwide. Since the inauguration of the inaugural coffee house in Mecca toward the conclusion of the 15th century, coffee consumption has experienced exponential growth across the globe. Coffee, renowned globally as a beloved beverage, contains a diverse array of compounds known to benefit health. Its prominent phytochemistry contributes to its favorable reputation. Caffeine, a primary constituent, leads this intricate blend of bioactive substances, each exerting various physiological effects. Coffee is rich in potassium, magnesium, and vitamin B3. It encompasses lactones, diterpenes (such as cafestol and kahweol), niacin, and trigonellin, serving as a precursor to vitamin B3. This chapter aims to review and investigate the bioactive potential and chemical compounds of coffee. In the current study, different compounds are discussed. In conclusion, coffee is containing different compounds that can be impacted by different factors such as geographical condition, processing condition, etc.

Background: Distinguishing between type 2 bipolar disorder (BD II) and major depressive disorder (MDD) poses a significant clinical challenge due to their overlapping symptomatology. This study aimed to investigate neurobiological markers that differentiate BD II from MDD using multimodal neuroimaging techniques.

Methods: Fifty-nine individuals with BD II, 114 with MDD, and 117 healthy controls participated in the study, undergoing structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Functional connectivity (FC) analysis used regions from Shen's whole-brain FC-based atlas. Feature selection was carried out using independent t-tests and ReliefF algorithms, followed by classification using Support Vector Machine and wide neural network.

Results: Significant differences in brain structure and function were observed among patients with BD II, MDD, and healthy controls. Both structural and functional alterations were more pronounced in BD II compared to MDD, particularly in regions associated with sensory processing, motor function, and the cerebellum. Classification based on neurobiological markers achieved a mean testing accuracy of 88.24%, with the t-test selected features outperforming those selected by ReliefF. Dysconnectivity patterns correlated with symptom severity and functioning in BD II but not MDD.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that neurobiological markers derived from multimodal imaging techniques can effectively differentiate patients with BD II from those with MDD. The identified alterations in brain structure and function, particularly in sensory-motor processing networks, may serve as potential biomarkers for distinguishing between these mood disorders. However, the influence of psychotropic medications and daily functioning severity on these neurobiological markers warrants further investigation.

The authors of the texts described in this chapter will have had access to the anatomy of Vesalius; a marked step forward. However, there was no equivalent advance in physiology. Harvey's book on the circulation of the blood was published in 1628 but it took many years for its contents to be accepted as standard teaching. The century saw the development of instruments some of which look more like instruments a modern surgeon would recognize. The two major technical advances were the acceptance of a single-handed trephine and the design of crown trepans with a conical shape and blades extending up the sides. Moreover, the crown trepan had once again become the favored instrument for gaining access to the interior of the cranium. In terms of technique there was a worrying trend that surgeons could feel when they had penetrated the inner table of the skull without the need to probe. All the way back to Hippocrates, it had been customary to use probes to assess depth while trepanning. Thus, the abandonment of this safety measure if it was real, is cause for concern. However, it is not impossible that probing was continued and simply not mentioned as it was so obviously necessary as not to require comment. The lenticular illustrated remains of the triangular shape first illustrated by Vidius. It is important to note that it was not used to incise the skull but to smooth of rough edges and spicules.