Does Stress Make Us "Dumber"? New Scientific Research Reveals How Stress Impacts Brain Decision-Making and More Breakthroughs

Does Stress Make Us "Dumber"? New Scientific Research Reveals How Stress Impacts Brain Decision-Making and More BreakthroughsMonday, February 24th - Several prominent science websites recently reported on a remarkable array of scientific findings spanning diverse fields, including the impact of stress on the brain, the effects of solar storms on Earth's space environment, the influence of breathing on vision, the application of artificial intelligence in animal emotion recognition, and quantum mechanical research into the nature of time. These studies not only expand our understanding of nature and the universe but also offer new directions for future advancements in medicine, aerospace technology, and artificial intelligence

Does Stress Make Us "Dumber"? New Scientific Research Reveals How Stress Impacts Brain Decision-Making and More Breakthroughs

Monday, February 24th - Several prominent science websites recently reported on a remarkable array of scientific findings spanning diverse fields, including the impact of stress on the brain, the effects of solar storms on Earth's space environment, the influence of breathing on vision, the application of artificial intelligence in animal emotion recognition, and quantum mechanical research into the nature of time. These studies not only expand our understanding of nature and the universe but also offer new directions for future advancements in medicine, aerospace technology, and artificial intelligence.

I. How Stress Hijacks Brain Decision-Making?

Nature.com reported on research from Temple University in the US, revealing how chronic stress impacts brain decision-making mechanisms. Researchers, using mice, found that prolonged stress weakens the brain's capacity for deliberate decision-making while enhancing "autopilot" mode, leading to rigid, habitual behaviors.

Mice were exposed to mild stressors like damp bedding and white noise. Comparing stressed mice with hungry but unstressed control mice, researchers observed that stressed mice frequently pressed a lever for food rewards even after satiation, exhibiting a more automated behavioral pattern. Control mice demonstrated more goal-directed decision-making, rarely touching the lever after eating.

Researchers traced this to two neural pathways originating in the amygdala and terminating in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS), a brain region crucial for balancing habitual and goal-directed decisions. One pathway was active in unstressed mice but quiet in stressed mice. Activating this pathway in stressed mice using optogenetics restored their behavior to resemble that of unstressed mice; they stopped excessively pressing the lever. The other pathway showed the opposite pattern, active in stressed mice and quiet in controls, suggesting its role in promoting habit-driven behavior under stress.

The study indicates that chronic stress alters the activity of these two neural pathways, influencing the decision-making process. Researchers believe humans likely possess similar pathways, and this discovery could aid in developing treatments for disorders linked to habitual thinking, such as certain mental illnesses. Understanding these pathways' roles in disease could enable the design of targeted therapies for more effective treatment.

II. Solar Storms Create Temporary Radiation Belts Around Earth

ScienceDaily reported that researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder discovered that a powerful solar storm on May 10th, 2023 the strongest in 20 years created two new temporary radiation belts around Earth, in addition to causing auroras visible as far south as Florida.

Earth is normally surrounded by two permanent radiation belts known as the Van Allen belts, located approximately 6,000-12,000 km (inner belt) and 25,000-45,000 km (outer belt) above the surface. The "slot region" between these belts is usually empty. However, this solar storm, similar to one in 2012, formed two new radiation belts in this slot region. Surprisingly, their duration far exceeded expectations.

Researchers stated that one belt, primarily composed of electrons, persisted for about three months, while another, mainly protons, may have lasted nearly a year. The formation and persistence of these belts likely relate to the storm's intensity and its impact on Earth's magnetic field.

These long-lasting radiation belts could pose threats to satellites and astronauts, particularly those in geostationary orbits traversing the slot region. Engineers will need to design satellite systems capable of withstanding these additional radiation belts to ensure their safe operation. This research highlights the profound impact of solar activity on Earth's space environment and provides crucial scientific data for future space missions.

III. How Breathing Affects Our Vision?

• MedicalXpress reported on a study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, which found that breathing affects pupil size, potentially influencing vision. Published in the Journal of Physiology, the research shows that pupils are smallest during inhalation and largest during exhalation.

Pupils, like a camera's aperture, control the amount of light entering the eye, playing a vital role in vision and environmental perception. While light, focusing distance, and cognitive factors like emotions were already known to influence pupil size, this research identified a fourth mechanism: breathing.

The study leader noted this mechanism is cyclical, persistent, and requires no external stimulus. Because breathing affects brain activity and cognitive functions, this finding helps understand the regulation of vision and attention. Five experiments on over 200 participants consistently showed the effect of breathing on pupil size regardless of breathing style, lighting conditions, or task type. The difference in pupil size between inhalation and exhalation is theoretically sufficient to affect vision.

The study also found that the mechanism persists even in individuals lacking an olfactory bulb (a brain structure related to nasal breathing), suggesting brainstem control. Researchers hypothesize that pupil changes during the respiratory cycle might optimize detail resolution during inhalation and enhance detection of faint objects during exhalation. This discovery could aid in developing diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for neurological diseases like Parkinson's, where pupil dysfunction is an early sign.

IV. Artificial Intelligence Decodes Animal Emotions

MedicalXpress also reported on research from the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, showing that artificial intelligence (AI) can decode animal emotions. Researchers trained a machine learning model to distinguish between positive and negative emotions in seven ungulate species (such as cows, pigs, and wild boars) by analyzing sound patterns, achieving an accuracy of 89.49%.

This is the first study to use AI to detect cross-species emotional valence. The study leader stated this breakthrough demonstrates that AI can decode animal emotions through sound patterns and could revolutionize animal welfare, livestock management, and conservation efforts by enabling real-time monitoring of animal emotions.

The team analyzed thousands of animal vocalizations under different emotional states, identifying key acoustic indicators of emotional valence, including sound duration, energy distribution, fundamental frequency, and changes in amplitude modulation. These patterns were consistent across species, suggesting evolutionarily conserved acoustic expressions of emotion.

Key scientific findings include: an overall accuracy of 89.49% in classifying emotional valence; consistent key predictive factors across species, indicating an evolutionarily conserved emotional expression system; and insights into the evolutionary origins of human language and a potential reshaping of our understanding of animal emotions.

V. Revolutionary Drug Mimics High-Altitude Low-Oxygen Effects, Reverses Brain Damage, and Significantly Extends Lifespan

ScienceDaily reported on researchers at the Gladstone Institutes who developed a new drug called HypoxyStat. This drug replicates the effects of low-oxygen exposure, demonstrating significant therapeutic effects in mice with mitochondrial diseases.

For most people, living at high altitudeswhere oxygen levels are lower than at sea levelcan bring health benefits. For individuals with inherited mitochondrial diseases, low-oxygen environments like high altitudes may be life-saving, potentially extending lifespan and alleviating symptoms.

HypoxyStat achieves a similar low-oxygen effect by causing hemoglobin to bind oxygen more tightly, reducing the amount of oxygen delivered to tissues. In mice with Leigh syndrome (the most common childhood mitochondrial disease), HypoxyStat extended lifespan by more than three times and reversed brain damage and muscle weakness, even when administered in late stages of the disease.

Daily HypoxyStat treatment in early stages of Leigh syndrome in mice prevented brain lesions, eliminated muscle weakness or loss of coordination, and extended lifespan more than threefold. Even when the drug was given to older mice exhibiting major symptoms, it still reversed brain, muscle, and behavioral symptoms. Researchers suggest HypoxyStat may ultimately prove useful for diseases beyond Leigh syndrome, including other mitochondrial diseases and common brain and cardiovascular diseases where low oxygen has shown benefits.

VI. Time Not One-Way? Quantum Research Reveals Two-Way Possibility

ScienceDaily also reported on quantum mechanics research from a team at the University of Surrey in the UK, revealing that at the quantum level, time may not flow strictly in one direction.

• While time seems irreversible in daily life, fundamental physics suggests time symmetry might still exist in the microscopic world. The team's research into open quantum systems revealed the startling possibility that the arrow of time might not be fixed. Published recently in Scientific Reports, this research could fundamentally alter our understanding of time, physics, and the universe.

The research indicates that even with energy dissipation into the universe, the time symmetry of quantum systems remains intact. The team found a key mathematical factorthe "memory kernel"demonstrating that time could theoretically flow in both directions. This finding challenges the traditional understanding of unidirectional time and provides mathematical support for time-reversal symmetry. The study further suggests that certain quantum processes can flow forward or backward in time.