The 4 Turning Points In Your Brain’s Development Occur At These Ages (M)
Four key ages mark radical shifts in the brain’s structural architecture.
Category: Neuroscience
Too Much Of This Popular Drink Is Linked To Brain Shrinkage
High consumption of the drink is linked to a 53 percent increased risk of dementia.
High consumption of the drink is linked to a 53 percent increased risk of dementia.
High coffee consumption is linked to brain shrinkage.
Over six cups of coffee a day is linked to a 53 percent increased risk of dementia, the largest study of its kind reveals.
Similarly, high consumption of coffee also increases the risk of stroke by 17 percent.
The results come from an analysis including almost 18,000 people who were tracked as part of the UK Biobank study.
Ms Kitty Pham, the study’s first author, said:
“Coffee is among the most popular drinks in the world.
Yet with global consumption being more than nine billion kilograms a year, it’s critical that we understand any potential health implications.
This is the most extensive investigation into the connections between coffee, brain volume measurements, the risks of dementia, and the risks of stroke — it’s also the largest study to consider volumetric brain imaging data and a wide range of confounding factors.
Accounting for all possible permutations, we consistently found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with reduced brain volume — essentially, drinking more than six cups of coffee a day may be putting you at risk of brain diseases such as dementia and stroke.”
Dementia is a brain condition that affects memory, behaviour and thinking skills.
Six of the risk factors for dementia are:
- high blood pressure,
- heavy drinking,
- genetics,
- smoking,
- depression,
- and diabetes.
Stroke is when the blood supply to the brain is disrupted for a period.
Starving the brain of oxygen can cause brain damage and loss of function.
Balance is the key, said Professor Elina Hyppönen, study co-author:
“This research provides vital insights about heavy coffee consumption and brain health, but as with many things in life, moderation is the key.
Together with other genetic evidence and a randomized controlled trial, these data strongly suggest that high coffee consumption can adversely affect brain health.
While the exact mechanisms are not known, one simple thing we can do is to keep hydrated and remember to drink a bit of water alongside that cup of coffee.
Typical daily coffee consumption is somewhere between one and two standard cups of coffee.
Of course, while unit measures can vary, a couple of cups of coffee a day is generally fine.
However, if you’re finding that your coffee consumption is heading up toward more than six cups a day, it’s about time you rethink your next drink.”
Related
The study was published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience (Pham et al., 2021).
How Talk Therapy Changes And Heals The Depressed Brain (M)
Cognitive-behaviour therapy doesn’t just relieve depression, it changes the brain’s structure.
Your Brain Has An Automatic ‘Trust Detector’ That Evaluates Faces In Milliseconds (M)
The amygdala evaluates facial trustworthiness even when faces are shown too briefly to consciously perceive.
There Is A Neurological Reason It Is So Hard To Stay Active
What happens in the brain when you try to be active.
What happens in the brain when you try to be active.
The human brain is hardwired for laziness.
Given the choice, the brain automatically chooses the sofa over the gym, even at the neuronal level.
The findings help explain why around 30 percent of adults and 80 percent of teenagers do not meet minimum requirements for physical activity — and society is becoming less active.
Neurologically lazy
The research involved 29 people whose electrical brain activity was measured while they made choices about whether to be active or not.
The results showed that their brains had to make more effort to avoid being lazy, than to choose activity.
Dr Boris Cheval, the study’s first author, said:
“…we observed that the electrical activity associated with two brain zones in particular, the fronto-medial cortex and the fronto-central cortex, was much higher when the participant had to choose the sedentary option.
This means the brain has to use much more resources to move away from sedentary behaviour, rather than follow its natural penchant for minimising effort.”
In other words, in terms of electrical brain activity, it is easier to choose laziness than activity.
Dr Matthieu Boisgontier, study co-author, explained:
“We knew from previous studies that people are faster at avoiding sedentary behaviours and moving toward active behaviours.
The exciting novelty of our study is that it shows this faster avoidance of physical inactivity comes at a cost — and that is an increased involvement of brain resources.
These results suggest that our brain is innately attracted to sedentary behaviours.”
An evolutionary hangover
The researchers think we have our ancient ancestors to blame for this tendency towards the horizontal:
“Making as little effort as possible was crucial for the human species during evolution.
This orientation towards saving and conserving resources increased the chances of survival and reproduction.”
Of course, things have changed a little:
“…physical activity should be encouraged instead of putting temptations in the way to do less, such as escalators or elevators.
For instance, we could modify the way public spaces are designed to reduce the opportunities for individuals to engage spontaneously in behaviour associated with minimising effort.”
Related
The study was published in the journal Neuropsychologia (Cheval et al., 2018).
10 Neuroscience Studies That Will Change How You See Yourself (P)
Why we have hair, automatically divide the day into chapters, how we judge art, where our sense of self lives and more.
This Major Depression Treatment Works Where Other Therapies Fail (M)
The therapy reduces symptoms of depression in those that have not responded to antidepressants, talking therapies or other interventions.
Why Good People Do Terrible Things When Given Orders (M)
The neural mechanism behind some of history’s most disturbing acts of obedience.
What Overwork Does To The Structure Of The Brain (M)
Working long hours might be altering more than just mood.
Targeted Magnetic Pulses Reduce Key Autism Traits For 2 Months (M)
When the pulses are timed correctly, they work to ‘unstick’ the brains of autistic people.
