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The Little Known Brain Cells that Help You Stay Awake and Keep Your Brain Active

The Little Known Brain Cells that Help You Stay Awake and Keep Your Brain Active

by | 2023 Aug 25 | Healthy Brains, Public, Quick Hits

Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

 


Now that sounds good – stay awake and keep my brain active

Yes, indeed that does sound good. We all know, and obviously the scientific research also says, that fatigue impairs brain function – quite seriously at times.

Tell me about it! And what brain cells are we talking about?

First off, we know that staying a wake for longer causes mental fatigue and subsequently disrupts following sleep patterns. And we also know that there are different parts of the brain that control this daily cycle of sleep and alertness.

These researchers from Washington State University in the USA looked at part of the brain in mice called the basal forebrain which is associated with sleep regulation.

Specifically they look at a class of brains cells called astrocytes.

Astrocytes? Sounds cool but what are they?

Astrocytes are what are known as glial cells or helping cells – normally only ascribed a helping function in the brain to the brain’s neurons which are our key functional brain cells. But because astrocytes have a key regulatory function shuttling nutrients and transmitters into neurons, they can have important impacts on brain functioning.

And it is these cells that contribute to staying awake with good cognitive function?

Precisely the researchers zoomed in on these astrocytes in the basal forebrain. When they activated these the mice stayed awake much longer without any impairment in function and without disrupting following sleep patterns.

So staying awake for longer with higher cognitive functions – sounds good to me!

Sounds appealing for sure, and that this seems to be controlled by these unsuspecting astrocytes is very a useful, if not a surprising, insight.

But there are other factors at play and over time – such as hormonal balances not to mention genetic damage from staying awake and subsequent repair during sleep. I’ve written about sleep multiple times (one review here) and it’s impact on brain function.

Hmmm, so more research needed?

Of course but still a very useful avenue for research!

And will there be drugs for staying awake for shift workers then?

Who knows – maybe in the future. But for now the best advice is still to regularly get a good night’s sleep!

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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Reference

Ashley M. Ingiosi, Christopher R. Hayworth, Marcos G. Frank.
Activation of Basal Forebrain Astrocytes Induces Wakefulness without Compensatory Changes in Sleep Drive.
The Journal of Neuroscience, 2023; 43 (32): 5792
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0163-23.2023

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New Drivers of Selfishness and Collaboration Discovered

New Drivers of Selfishness and Collaboration Discovered

by | 2023 Aug 19 | Business Brains, Healthy Brains, Organisational Leadership, Senior Leadership, Team Leadership

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Brain Cells of Males and Females Respond Differently to Stress

Brain Cells of Males and Females Respond Differently to Stress

by | 2023 Aug 18 | Healthy Brains, Public, Quick Hits, Society Brains

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Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

 

brain learning neuroscience

There I knew it – men and women are different!

Well, yes, and no! I wrote in more detail on the similarities and differences between men and women’s brains here – it’s more complicated than you might think. And this research was in male and female mice – not human beings.

Oh, but there’s a difference then?

Well first off – and this is important in general. There is a male and female research problem: namely that animal models and research are normally only conducted on male mice. Which means if there is a difference we could be missing something important. The same also goes for clinical trials in human beings – these are also more often than not conducted in men (and white men at that).

Ok, that sounds wrong, so there should be more diversity in research but back to the stress response: don’t we already know that men and women respond differently to stress?

Yes, there are well documented differences – for example women more often than men exhibit a tend and befriend strategy in stressful times – they look after and seek out friends.

But this research investigated direct responses in the brain – the hypothalamus, a region that is a hub for the stress response and triggering hormone release.

And what did they find?

Well, first off, let me explain what they did because this is pretty impressive. The study was conducted by a group of researchers at the Max-Planck Institute in Germany. They managed to sequence RNA for 35’000 cells in a region of the Hypothalamus and then compare response to initial stress and repeated stress events.

This is unprecedented to be able to track the genetic response of 35’000 cells in a given region including neurons but also what are called glial cells. Glial cells are helping cells in the brain. Very impressive (and they made the dataset public so other researchers can use this).

Oh wow that does sound impressive! And this data showed different responses?

Indeed they found that one class of glial cells responds differently in males and females. For males these cells responded directly to stress events but especially to chronic stress also leading to structural change. In females these cells did not respond at all.

And what does that mean?

Well, it’s far too early to give and clear implications and actions. But the key takeaways are this:

  • Genetic activation shows much more than basic observation

  • All cells need to be taken into account

  • And the importance of having more diversity in research groups – this applies at the level of the mice and the level of human beings.

If you don’t have the granularity that the above technique brought to the table it is easy to miss something. If you don’t have the diversity you also miss something or can come to the wrong general conclusions.

So more granularity and more diversity!

Yup – and less chronic stress for men!

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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Reference

Elena Brivio, Aron Kos, Alessandro Francesco Ulivi, Stoyo Karamihalev, Andrea Ressle, Rainer Stoffel, Dana Hirsch, Gil Stelzer, Mathias V. Schmidt, Juan Pablo Lopez, Alon Chen.
Sex shapes cell-type-specific transcriptional signatures of stress exposure in the mouse hypothalamus.
Cell Reports, 2023; 42 (8): 112874
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112874

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Work in the Presence of Others Lowers Stress

Work in the Presence of Others Lowers Stress

by | 2023 Aug 16 | Business Brains, Healthy Brains, Organisational Leadership, Personal Performance, Public, Quick Hits

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Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

 

workplace brain stress

I would have thought that working with others increases stress?!

We could assume that. In the world of working from home we would assume that working alone in your comfortable home environment would be much less stressful. That’s certainly how I have experienced it – but my partner is also often home working also so strictly I’m not always working alone.

So what was this study about?

Well, first off it wasn’t focused on workplace activities but would be interesting to see if this would transfer and there is no reason to think it wouldn’t.

They investigated three working conditions and measured brain wave activity and stress responses during these three conditions. The three conditions were:

Alone: an individual performed the activity alone
Parallel: two individuals performed an activity separately but in the same room
Non-Parallel: one individual performed an activity and the other observed

And what was the “work” – the activity?

In this case it was a craft activity – something called netcraft common in Japan where the study was performed which involves threading coloured yarn through holes to create pattens and objects.

So not work really?

Well, not unless you make things for a living – which many people do. In this case a previous study had looked at crafts as a form of occupational therapy so that was the focus. But it involves concentrating on an activity – and that is what we all do at work.

And I’m intrigued then, what was the result?

First off, it is important to understand that all participants rotated though the different conditions so it was not based on individual responses or preferences and all were healthy young adults.

What they found was that the parallel condition – working with others but individually focused on one’s own task – showed the lower stress in physiological and brain wave patterns.

So just the presence of others seems to lower stress!

This is what it suggests that collectively working in the same room, simply in the presence of others lowers stress.

Wow, that would have implications for work from home and office work!

Indeed, it could be an additional benefit that we haven’t thought of for office work. I have previously reported on other factors like the slow erosion of trust if you don’t regularly see people. This points to another benefit and that human beings seem to operate well in the presence of others when focused on their own tasks.

On the other hand there is the additional stress of getting to work in the first place – so it might be a balancing act.

I just also thought that this could be important for families as well?

Yes, I presume many of us have experienced that relaxing feeling when a family are all siting in a room and engaged in a task not media related such as reading, knitting, doing a a jigsaw puzzle, etc. So do things together even if they’re not together – if you know what I mean.

Right, so in summary: human beings just need the presence of other human beings

Yes, we are social creatures even when we’re not being social!

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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Reference

Junya Orui; Keigo Shiraiwa; Fumie Tazaki; Takao Inoue; Masaya Ueda; Keita Ueno; Yasuo Naito; Ryouhei Ishii.
Social Buffering Effects during Craft Activities in Parallel Group Session Revealed by EEG Analysis and Parasympathetic Activity.
Neuropsychobiology, 2023
DOI: 10.1159/000531005/854272

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Everyday Pleasures Improve Brain Performance

Everyday Pleasures Improve Brain Performance

by | 2023 Aug 9 | Business Brains, Healthy Brains, Personal Performance, Public, Quick Hits, Team Leadership

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Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

 

brain workplace cognitive performance

That sounds a good thing but what is an everyday pleasure?

In this study the researchers investigated the relationship between simple pleasures and brain activity. Specifically drinking coffee, listening to music, and smelling perfume.

Coffee and music for me – not so sure about the perfume though

Participants could choose what they wanted according to their preferences – that’s important – it needs to be a personalised pleasure…of course. I’m with you on coffee and music also – but then again remember my article on the positive impacts of aroma exposure during sleep a few days ago?

How did they measure this?

Well, this is actually very innovative but we also need to be careful of marketing hype here as this was sponsored by MINDWATCH. They have developed algorithms over the years that can measure brain states based on skin conductance. That is your skin responds very quickly to your current state and this can me measured using a sensor. This is much less invasive than measuring brain wave activity. In this experiment they used skin conductance bands and a device to measure some brain activity also.

And so what was the outcome?

Participants conducted memory tests shortly after being exposed to these stimulants and their performance increase and this could be measured in the brain – an increase in beta band brain waves (associated with concentration and cognitive performance) – and skin conductance results. Music seems to be the most potent followed by coffee and then the perfume.

Don’t we know this already?

Actually yes. We know music can positively stimulate brain activity and is also considered a performance enhancing tool by World Athletics (and as such is not allowed directly before competition!). Similarly, there is a lot of research on coffee and its positive benefits. But participants in this could choose their preferred option.

Also of interest is that there were three types of music to choose from and unsurprisingly the energetic was more effective than the relaxing one – but, and here is the surprise, they included an AI generated piece of music and this was the most effective!

And what now?

Well, this shows that those small pleasures can positively impact brain performance – this is why they are a small pleasure – a little bit of what you fancy does you good as they say – and this is not all in the mind. Your brain and cognitive performance will thank you.

And what about all three simultaneously?

That’s what I’m doing as I write this – feels good enough to me!

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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References

Hamid Fekri Azgomi, Luciano R. F. Branco, Md. Rafiul Amin, Saman Khazaei, Rose T. Faghih.
Regulation of brain cognitive states through auditory, gustatory, and olfactory stimulation with wearable monitoring.
Scientific Reports, 2023; 13 (1)
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37829-z

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Smells Shown to Dramatically Boost Brain Power

Smells Shown to Dramatically Boost Brain Power

by | 2023 Aug 2 | Healthy Brains, Public, Quick Hits

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Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

aroma smell brain cognitive performance aging

Who would have thought it – well, who apart from aromatherapists that is.

I have reported multiple times on the benefits of exercise on cognitive performance but also on diet, sleep, and cognitive activity. Many of these are well know and tie in to general health advice. However there is little research and thought given to smells, aromas.

Smell may also be an underrated sense – offices, for example, and homes, often give careful consideration to lighting but little thought to smell – though some smart marketeers and retail establishments have given some considerable thought to this e.g. the appealing smell of a new car, the smell of fresh bread in a supermarket all support the brand experience and encourage customers to buy more.

We could and would also assume that smell would have some, mostly emotional effect on us in certain circumstances – if a room is particularly bad smelling it would have a negative impact on work performance. However this piece of research showed that mere exposure, while asleep nonetheless, had dramatic impacts on cognitive performance (a 226% increase no less!) and also helping “grow” the brain in those with olfactory impairment.

These results are more than impressive – so impressive that I immediately became sceptical and read the academic paper to check on the validity – all above board I can report.

The study involved participants (this was partly disrupted by the pandemic) – 46 in total split into an intervention group and a control group. The active study group used an aroma diffuser over a six-month period and cycled through 7 different aromas. This diffuser was only active for two hours each night.

When the participants were re-measured on cognitive ability at the end of the study period there was a 226% increase in cognitive ability (the average of multiple assessments).

This is impressive. However, we do know we have a direct connection between our sense of smell and memory and we also know that there have been over 70 mental disorders that are related to loss of smell – not just COVID. We also know that aroma enhancement – consciously focusing on and being exposed to different aromas – improves well being.

Further research has also shown multiple benefits in the brain with aroma enhancement linked to growth in various areas of the brain including the hippocampus which is closely related to memory.

This all points to aroma and our sense of smell being an important and vastly underestimated sense but also an effective intervention strategy – and in this case one that is particularly easy to implement: aroma diffuser in the bedroom is as easy as it gets.

I have to say that this research opened my eyes, well my nostrils, and it’s high time to plug in the aroma diffuser sitting dustily in the corner of my living room.

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

twitter / LinkedIn

References

Cynthia C. Woo, Blake Miranda, Mithra Sathishkumar, Farideh Dehkordi-Vakil, Michael A. Yassa, Michael Leon.
Overnight olfactory enrichment using an odorant diffuser improves memory and modifies the uncinate fasciculus in older adults.
Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2023; 17
DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1200448

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