scholarly journals Shared and unique brain network features predict cognition, personality and mental health in childhood

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianzhong Chen ◽  
Angela Tam ◽  
Valeria Kebets ◽  
Csaba Orban ◽  
Leon Qi Rong Ooi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Behavioral Variability ◽  
Network Organization ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
And Task ◽  
Behavioral Domains

AbstractThe manner through which individual differences in brain network organization track population-level behavioral variability is a fundamental question in systems neuroscience. Recent work suggests that resting-state and task-state functional connectivity can predict specific traits at the individual level. However, the focus of most studies on single behavioral traits has come at the expense of capturing broader relationships across behaviors. Here, we utilized a large-scale dataset of 1858 typically developing children to estimate whole-brain functional network organization that is predictive of individual differences in cognition, impulsivity-related personality, and mental health during rest and task states. Predictive network features were distinct across the broad behavioral domains: cognition, personality and mental health. On the other hand, traits within each behavioral domain were predicted by highly similar network features. This is surprising given decades of research emphasizing that distinct brain networks support different mental processes. Although tasks are known to modulate the functional connectome, we found that predictive network features were similar between resting and task states. Overall, our findings reveal shared brain network features that account for individual variation within broad domains of behavior in childhood, yet are unique to different behavioral domains.

scholarly journals Direct evidence of poison-driven widespread population decline in a wild vertebrate

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (28) ◽  
pp. 16418-16423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Mateo-Tomás ◽  
Pedro P. Olea ◽  
Eva Mínguez ◽  
Rafael Mateo ◽  
Javier Viñuela
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Regulatory Control ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Lead Ammunition ◽  
Organochlorine Insecticides ◽  
Local Extinctions

Toxicants such as organochlorine insecticides, lead ammunition, and veterinary drugs have caused severe wildlife poisoning, pushing the populations of several apex species to the edge of extinction. These prime cases epitomize the serious threat that wildlife poisoning poses to biodiversity. Much of the evidence on population effects of wildlife poisoning rests on assessments conducted at an individual level, from which population-level effects are inferred. Contrastingly, we demonstrate a straightforward relationship between poison-induced individual mortality and population changes in the threatened red kite (Milvus milvus). By linking field data of 1,075 poisoned red kites to changes in occupancy and abundance across 274 sites (10 × 10-km squares) over a 20-y time frame, we show a clear relationship between red kite poisoning and the decline of its breeding population in Spain, including local extinctions. Our results further support the species listing as endangered, after a breeding population decline of 31% to 43% in two decades of this once-abundant raptor. Given that poisoning threatens the global populations of more than 2,600 animal species worldwide, a greater understanding of its population-level effects may aid biodiversity conservation through increased regulatory control of chemical substances. Our results illustrate the great potential of long-term and large-scale on-ground monitoring to assist in this task.

scholarly journals Population- and Individual-Level Dynamics of the Intestinal Microbiota of a Small Primate

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (12) ◽  
pp. 3537-3545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Aivelo ◽  
Juha Laakkonen ◽  
Jukka Jernvall
Keyword(s):  
Intestinal Microbiota ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Bacterial Community Composition ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Microbiota Composition ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Mouse Lemurs ◽  
Free Ranging

ABSTRACTLongitudinal sampling for intestinal microbiota in wild animals is difficult, leading to a lack of information on bacterial dynamics occurring in nature. We studied how the composition of microbiota communities changed temporally in free-ranging small primates, rufous mouse lemurs (Microcebus rufus). We marked and recaptured mouse lemurs during their mating season in Ranomafana National Park in southeastern mountainous rainforests of Madagascar for 2 years and determined the fecal microbiota compositions of these mouse lemurs with MiSeq sequencing. We collected 160 fecal samples from 71 animals and had two or more samples from 39 individuals. We found small, but statistically significant, effects of site and age on microbiota richness and diversity and effects of sex, year, and site on microbiota composition, while the within-year temporal trends were less clear. Within-host microbiota showed pervasive variation in intestinal bacterial community composition, especially during the second study year. We hypothesize that the biological properties of mouse lemurs, including their small body size and fast metabolism, may contribute to the temporal intraindividual-level variation, something that should be testable with more-extensive sampling regimes.IMPORTANCEWhile microbiome research has blossomed in recent years, there is a lack of longitudinal studies on microbiome dynamics on free-ranging hosts. To fill this gap, we followed mouse lemurs, which are small heterothermic primates, for 2 years. Most studied animals have shown microbiota to be stable over the life span of host individuals, but some previous research also found ample within-host variation in microbiota composition. Our study used a larger sample size than previous studies and a study setting well suited to track within-host variation in free-ranging mammals. Despite the overall microbiota stability at the population level, the microbiota of individual mouse lemurs can show large-scale changes in composition in time periods as short as 2 days, suggesting caution in inferring individual-level patterns from population-level data.

scholarly journals Global connectivity of the frontoparietal cognitive control network is related to depression symptoms in the general population

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas H. Schultz ◽  
Takuya Ito ◽  
Levi I. Solomyak ◽  
Richard H. Chen ◽  
Ravi D. Mill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Control Network ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Control Network ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACTWe all vary in our mental health, even among people not meeting diagnostic criteria for mental illness. Understanding this individual variability may reveal factors driving the risk for mental illness, as well as factors driving sub-clinical problems that still adversely affect quality of life. To better understand the large-scale brain network mechanisms underlying this variability we examined the relationship between mental health symptoms and resting-state functional connectivity patterns in cognitive control systems. One such system is the frontoparietal cognitive control network (FPN). Changes in FPN connectivity may impact mental health by disrupting the ability to regulate symptoms in a goal-directed manner. Here we test the hypothesis that FPN dysconnectivity relates to mental health symptoms even among individuals who do not meet formal diagnostic criteria but may exhibit meaningful symptom variation. We found that depression symptoms severity negatively correlated with between-network global connectivity (BGC) of the FPN. This suggests that decreased connectivity between the FPN and the rest of the brain is related to increased depression symptoms in the general population. These findings complement previous clinical studies to support the hypothesis that global FPN connectivity contributes to the regulation of mental health symptoms across both health and disease.AUTHOR SUMMARYUnderstanding how large-scale network interactions in the brain contribute to (or serve a protective role against) mental health symptoms is an important step toward developing more effective mental health treatments. Here we test the hypothesis that cognitive control networks play an important role in mental health by being highly connected to other brain networks and able to serve as a feedback mechanism capable of regulating symptoms in a goal-directed manner. We found that the more well-connected the frontoparietal cognitive control network was to other networks in the brain the less depression symptoms were reported by participants. These results contribute to our understanding of how brain network interactions are related to mental health symptoms, even in individuals who have not been diagnosed with a disorder.

scholarly journals An open resource for transdiagnostic research in pediatric mental health and learning disorders

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay M. Alexander ◽  
Jasmine Escalera ◽  
Lei Ai ◽  
Charissa Andreotti ◽  
Karina Febre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
New York ◽  
Diffusion Mri ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Learning Disorders ◽  
Biophysical Modeling ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Pathologic Processes ◽  
Pediatric Mental Health

ABSTRACTTechnological and methodological innovations are equipping researchers with unprecedented capabilities for detecting and characterizing pathologic processes in the developing human brain. As a result, ambitions to achieve clinically useful tools to assist in the diagnosis and management of mental health and learning disorders are gaining momentum. To this end, it is critical to accrue large-scale multimodal datasets that capture a broad range of commonly encountered clinical psychopathology. The Child Mind Institute has launched the Healthy Brain Network (HBN), an ongoing initiative focused on creating and sharing a biobank of data from 10,000 New York area participants (ages 5-21). The HBN Biobank houses data about psychiatric, behavioral, cognitive, and lifestyle phenotypes, as well as multimodal brain imaging (resting and naturalistic viewing fMRI, diffusion MRI, morphometric MRI), electroencephalography, eye-tracking, voice and video recordings, genetics, and actigraphy. Here, we present the rationale, design and implementation of HBN protocols. We describe the first data release (n = 664) and the potential of the biobank to advance related areas (e.g., biophysical modeling, voice analysis).

scholarly journals Brain network topology and personality traits: a source level magnetoencephalographic study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emahnuel Troisi Lopez ◽  
Valentina Colonnello ◽  
Marianna Liparoti ◽  
Mauro Castaldi ◽  
Paolo Maria Russo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Neural Communication ◽  
Character Inventory ◽  
Left Caudate ◽  
Source Level ◽  
Large Scale Networks

Abstract Personality neuroscience is focusing on the correlation between individual differences and the efficiency of large-scale networks from the perspective of the brain as an interconnected network. A suitable technique to explore this relationship is the magnetoencephalography (MEG), but little are MEG studies aimed at investigating topological properties correlated to personality traits. By using MEG, the present study is aimed at evaluating how individual differences described in Cloninger’s psychobiological model are correlated with specific cerebral structures. Fifty healthy individuals (20 males, 30 females, mean age: 27.4 ± 4.8 years) underwent Temperament and Character Inventory examination and MEG recording during a resting state condition. High harm avoidance scores were associated with a reduced centrality of the left caudate nucleus and this negative correlation was maintained in females when we analyzed gender differences. Our data suggest that the caudate nucleus plays a key role in adaptive behavior and could be a critical node in insular salience network. The clear difference between males and females allows us to suggest that topological organization correlated to personality is highly dependent on gender. Our findings provide new insights to evaluate the mutual influences of topological and functional connectivity in neural communication efficiency and disruption as biomarkers of psychopathological traits.

scholarly journals Impact of increasing vegetarian availability on meal selection and sales in cafeterias

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (42) ◽  
pp. 20923-20929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma E. Garnett ◽  
Andrew Balmford ◽  
Chris Sandbrook ◽  
Mark A. Pilling ◽  
Theresa M. Marteau
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Rebound Effects ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
Meat Meal ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Impact

Shifting people in higher income countries toward more plant-based diets would protect the natural environment and improve population health. Research in other domains suggests altering the physical environments in which people make decisions (“nudging”) holds promise for achieving socially desirable behavior change. Here, we examine the impact of attempting to nudge meal selection by increasing the proportion of vegetarian meals offered in a year-long large-scale series of observational and experimental field studies. Anonymized individual-level data from 94,644 meals purchased in 2017 were collected from 3 cafeterias at an English university. Doubling the proportion of vegetarian meals available from 25 to 50% (e.g., from 1 in 4 to 2 in 4 options) increased vegetarian meal sales (and decreased meat meal sales) by 14.9 and 14.5 percentage points in the observational study (2 cafeterias) and by 7.8 percentage points in the experimental study (1 cafeteria), equivalent to proportional increases in vegetarian meal sales of 61.8%, 78.8%, and 40.8%, respectively. Linking sales data to participants’ previous meal purchases revealed that the largest effects were found in the quartile of diners with the lowest prior levels of vegetarian meal selection. Moreover, serving more vegetarian options had little impact on overall sales and did not lead to detectable rebound effects: Vegetarian sales were not lower at other mealtimes. These results provide robust evidence to support the potential for simple changes to catering practices to make an important contribution to achieving more sustainable diets at the population level.

Psykologer i kommunen: En kartlegging av tjenester for barn og unge med psykiske vansker

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Clinical Psychologist ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Specialist Services ◽  
Common Problems

Background: Frontline mental health services for children and adolescents are receiving increased attention, and all Norwegian municipalities were required to hire a clinical psychologist by 2020. However, we know little about what role clinical psychologists have taken in frontline services in terms of the content of their service or how they differ from other frontline practitioners. Objective: The objective was to investigate what types of problems children and adolescents who receive help from frontline psychologists have, what type of help is being offered, what improvements are needed, and how the services provided by psychologists differ from those of other frontline service providers. Method: The current study is based on reports from 139 psychologists and 587 other professionals working with children and adolescents in frontline services. Results: The psychologists report emotional struggles and challenging life situations to be the most common problems among their service users. Most of the interventions delivered by psychologists are provided at individual level rather than at group or population level. Compared with other frontline practitioners, psychologists more often include parents in sessions with children and adolescents. Both psychologists and other professionals report a need for increased collaboration across services. Implications: The results suggest that improvements could involve strengthening collaboration between frontline and specialist services.

scholarly journals A difference that matters: comparisons of structured and semi-structured psychiatric diagnostic interviews in the general population

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1013-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. BRUGHA ◽  
P. E. BEBBINGTON ◽  
R. JENKINS
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Case Identification ◽  
Diagnostic Interviews ◽  
Health Project ◽  
The Individual ◽  
General Populations

Psychiatric case-identification in general populations allows us to study both individuals with functional psychiatric disorders and the populations from which they come. The individual level of analysis permits disorders to be related to factors of potential aetiological significance and the study of attributes of the disorders that need to be assessed in non-referred populations (an initially scientific endeavour). At the population level valid case identification can be used to evaluate needs for treatment and the utilization of service resources (a public health project). Thus, prevalence is of interest both to scientists and to those responsible for commissioning and planning services (Brugha et al. 1997; Regier et al. 1998). The quality of case identification techniques and of estimates of prevalence is thus of general concern (Bartlett & Coles, 1998).Structured diagnostic interviews were introduced into general population surveys in the 1970s as a method ‘to enable interviewers to obtain psychiatric diagnoses comparable to those a psychiatrist would obtain’ (Robins et al. 1981). The need to develop reliable standardized measures was partly driven by an earlier generation of prevalence surveys showing rates ranging widely from 10·9% (Pasamanick et al. 1956) to 55% (Leighton et al. 1963) in urban and rural North American communities respectively. If the success of large scale psychiatric epidemiological enquiries using structured diagnostic interviews and standardized classifications is measured in terms of citation rates it would seem difficult to question. But the development of standardized interviews of functional psychiatric disorders has not solved this problem of variability: the current generation of large scale surveys, using structured diagnostic interviews and serving strictly defined classification rules, have generated, for example, 12-month prevalence rates of major depression in the US of 4·2% (Robins & Regier, 1991) and 10·1% (Kessler et al. 1994). This calls into question the validity of the assessments, such that we must reopen the question of what they should be measuring and how they should do it.

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