̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Psychology

Time alone heightens ‘threat alert’ in teenagers – even when connecting online

fpjl2 — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:03:21 +0000

People in their late teens experience an increased sensitivity to threats after just a few hours left in a room on their own – an effect that endures even if they are interacting online with friends and family.

This is according to latest findings from a cognitive neuroscience experiment conducted at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, which saw 40 young people aged 16-19 undergo testing before and after several hours alone – both with and without their smartphones.

Many countries have declared an epidemic of loneliness*. ̽��ֱ��researchers set out to “induce” loneliness in teenagers and study the effects through a series of tests, from a Pavlovian task to electrodes that measure sweat.

Scientists found that periods of isolation, including those in which participants could use their phones, led to an increased threat response – the sensing of and reacting to potential dangers. This alertness can cause people to feel anxious and uneasy.

̽��ֱ��authors of the study say that isolation and loneliness might lead to excessive “threat vigilance”, even when plugged in online, which could negatively impact adolescent mental health over time.

They say it could contribute to the persistent and exaggerated fear responses typical of anxiety disorders on the rise among young people around the world.

While previous studies show isolation leads to anxious behaviour and threat responses in rodents, this is believed to be the first study to demonstrate these effects through experiments involving humans.

̽��ֱ��findings are published today in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

“We detected signs of heightened threat vigilance after a few hours of isolation, even when the adolescents had been connected through smartphones and social media,” said Emily Towner, study lead author from Cambridge’s Department of Psychology.

“This alertness to perceived threats might be the same mechanism that leads to the excessive worry and inability to feel safe which characterises anxiety,” said Towner, a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

“It makes evolutionary sense that being alone increases our vigilance to potential threats. These threat response mechanisms undergo a lot of changes in adolescence, a stage of life marked by increasing independence and social sensitivity.”

"Our experiment suggests that periods of isolation in adolescents might increase their vulnerability to the development of anxiety, even when they are connected virtually.”

Researchers recruited young people from the local area in Cambridge, UK, conducting extensive screening to create a pool of 18 boys and 22 girls who had good social connections and no history of mental health issues.

Participants were given initial tests and questionnaires to establish a “baseline”. These included the Pavlovian threat test, in which they were shown a series of shapes on a screen, one of which was paired with a harsh noise played through headphones, so the shape became associated with a feeling of apprehension.

Electrodes attached to fingers monitored “electrodermal activity” – a physiological marker of stress – throughout this test.**

Each participant returned for two separate stints of around four hours isolated in a room in Cambridge ̽��ֱ��’s Psychology Department, after which the tests were completed again. There was around a month, on average, between sessions.

All participants underwent two isolation sessions. One was spent with a few puzzles to pass the time, but no connection to the outside world. For the other, participants were allowed smartphones and given wi-fi codes, as well as music and novels. ̽��ֱ��only major rule in both sessions was they had to stay awake.***

“We set out to replicate behaviour in humans that previous animal studies had found after isolation,” said Towner. “We wanted to know about the experience of loneliness, and you can’t ask animals how lonely they feel.”

Self-reported loneliness increased from baseline after both sessions. It was lower on average after isolation with social media, compared to full isolation.****

However, participants found the threat cue – the shape paired with a jarring sound – more anxiety-inducing and unpleasant after both isolation sessions, with electrodes also measuring elevated stress activity.

On average across the study, threat responses were 70% higher after the isolation sessions compared to the baseline, regardless of whether participants had been interacting digitally.

“Although virtual social interactions helped our participants feel less lonely compared to total isolation, their heightened threat response remained,” said Towner.

Previous studies have found a link between chronic loneliness and alertness to threats. ̽��ֱ��latest findings support the idea that social isolation may directly contribute to heightened fear responses, say researchers.

Dr Livia Tomova, co-senior author and lecturer in Psychology at Cardiff ̽��ֱ��, who conducted the work while at Cambridge, added: “Loneliness among adolescents around the world has nearly doubled in recent years. ̽��ֱ��need for social interaction is especially intense during adolescence, but it is not clear whether online socialising can fulfil this need.

“This study has shown that digital interactions might not mitigate some of the deep-rooted effects that isolation appears to have on teenagers.”

Scientists say the findings might shed light on the link between loneliness and mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders, which are on the rise in young people.

Notes

*For example, in 2023 the U.S. Surgeon General declared an epidemic of loneliness and isolation.

**Electrodes placed on the fingers record small deflections in sweat and subsequent changes in electrical conductivity of the skin (electrodermal activity). Electrodermal activity is used to detect stress levels and increases with emotional or physical arousal.

*** ̽��ֱ��baseline tests were always taken first. ̽��ֱ��order of the two isolation sessions was randomly allocated. For sessions with digital interactions allowed, most participants used social media (35 out of 40), with texting being the most common form of interaction (37 out of 40). Other popular platforms included Snapchat, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Participants mainly connected virtually with friends (38), followed by family (19), romantic partners (13), and acquaintances (4).

**** Average self-reported loneliness more than doubled after the isolation session with social media compared to baseline and nearly tripled after the complete isolation session compared to baseline.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Simple blood test can help diagnose bipolar disorder

sc604 — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��researchers, from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, used a combination of an online psychiatric assessment and a blood test to diagnose patients with bipolar disorder, many of whom had been misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder.

̽��ֱ��researchers say the blood test on its own could diagnose up to 30% of patients with bipolar disorder, but that it is even more effective when combined with a digital mental health assessment.

Incorporating biomarker testing could help physicians differentiate between major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, which have overlapping symptoms but require different pharmacological treatments.

Although the blood test is still a proof of concept, the researchers say it could be an effective complement to existing psychiatric diagnosis and could help researchers understand the biological origins of mental health conditions. ̽��ֱ��results are reported in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Bipolar disorder affects approximately one percent of the population – as many as 80 million people worldwide – but for nearly 40% of patients, it is misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder.

“People with bipolar disorder will experience periods of low mood and periods of very high mood or mania,” said first author Dr Jakub Tomasik, from Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. “But patients will often only see a doctor when they’re experiencing low mood, which is why bipolar disorder frequently gets misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder.”

“When someone with bipolar disorder is experiencing a period of low mood, to a physician, it can look very similar to someone with major depressive disorder,” said Professor Sabine Bahn, who led the research. “However, the two conditions need to be treated differently: if someone with bipolar disorder is prescribed antidepressants without the addition of a mood stabiliser, it can trigger a manic episode.”

̽��ֱ��most effective way to get an accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder is a full psychiatric assessment. However, patients often face long waits to get these assessments, and they take time to carry out.

“Psychiatric assessments are highly effective, but the ability to diagnose bipolar disorder with a simple blood test could ensure that patients get the right treatment the first time and alleviate some of the pressures on medical professionals,” said Tomasik.

̽��ֱ��researchers used samples and data from the Delta study, conducted in the UK between 2018 and 2020, to identify bipolar disorder in patients who had received a diagnosis of major depressive disorder within the previous five years and had current depressive symptoms. Participants were recruited online through voluntary response sampling.

More than 3000 participants were recruited, and they each completed an online mental health assessment of more than 600 questions. ̽��ֱ��assessment covered a range of topics that may be relevant to mental health disorders, including past or current depressive episodes, generalised anxiety, symptoms of mania, family history or substance abuse.

Of the participants who completed the online assessment, around 1000 were selected to send in a dried blood sample from a simple finger prick, which the researchers analysed for more than 600 different metabolites using mass spectrometry. After completing the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, a fully structured and validated diagnostic tool to establish mood disorder diagnoses, 241 participants were included in the study.

Analysis of the data showed a significant biomarker signal for bipolar disorder, even after accounting for confounding factors such as medication. ̽��ֱ��identified biomarkers were correlated primarily with lifetime manic symptoms and were validated in a separate group of patients who received a new clinical diagnosis of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder during the study’s one-year follow-up period.

̽��ֱ��researchers found that the combination of patient-reported information and the biomarker test significantly improved diagnostic outcomes for people with bipolar disorder, especially in those where the diagnosis was not obvious.

“ ̽��ֱ��online assessment was more effective overall, but the biomarker test performs well and is much faster,” said Bahn. “A combination of both approaches would be ideal, as they’re complementary.”

“We found that some patients preferred the biomarker test, because it was an objective result that they could see,” said Tomasik. “Mental illness has a biological basis, and it’s important for patients to know it’s not in their mind. It’s an illness that affects the body like any other.”

“In addition to the diagnostic capabilities of biomarkers, they could also be used to identify potential drug targets for mood disorders, which could lead to better treatments,” said Bahn. “It’s an exciting time to be in this area of research.”

A patent has been filed on the research by Cambridge Enterprise, the ̽��ֱ��’s commercialisation arm. ̽��ֱ��research was supported by the Stanley Medical Research Institute and Psyomics, a ̽��ֱ�� spin-out company co-founded by Sabine Bahn.

Sabine Bahn is Professor of Neurotechnology at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and is a Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge.

Reference:
Jakub Tomasik et al. ‘Metabolomic Biomarker Signatures for Bipolar and Unipolar Depression.’ JAMA Psychiatry (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.4096

Researchers have developed a new way of improving diagnosis of bipolar disorder that uses a simple blood test to identify biomarkers associated with the condition.

̽��ֱ��ability to diagnose bipolar disorder with a simple blood test could ensure that patients get the right treatment the first time

Jakub Tomasik

Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research

Providing a drop of blood for a test

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Reduced grey matter in frontal lobes linked to teenage smoking and nicotine addiction

fpjl2 — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 15:02:04 +0000

Levels of grey matter in two parts of the brain may be linked to a desire to start smoking during adolescence and the strengthening of nicotine addiction, a new study has shown.

A team of scientists, led by the universities of Cambridge and Warwick in the UK and Fudan ̽��ֱ�� in China, analysed brain imaging and behavioural data of over 800 young people at the ages of 14, 19 and 23.

They found that, on average, teenagers who started smoking by 14 years of age had markedly less grey matter in a section of the left frontal lobe linked to decision-making and rule-breaking.

Grey matter is the brain tissue that processes information, and contains all of the organ’s neurons. While brain development continues into adulthood, grey matter growth peaks before adolescence.

Low grey matter volume in the left side of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex may be an “inheritable biomarker” for nicotine addiction, say researchers – with implications for prevention and treatment.

In addition, the scientists found that the opposite, right part of the same brain region also had less grey matter in smokers.

Importantly, loss of grey matter in the right prefrontal cortex appears to speed up only after someone has started smoking. This region is linked to the seeking of sensations.

̽��ֱ��team argue that less grey matter in the left forebrain could lower cognitive function and lead to “disinhibition”: impulsive, rule-breaking behaviour arising from a limited ability to consider consequences. This may increase the chances of smoking at a young age.

Once a nicotine habit takes hold, grey matter in the right frontal lobe shrinks, which may weaken control over smoking by affecting 'hedonic motivation': the way pleasure is sought and managed. Excessive loss of grey matter in the right brain was also linked to binge drinking and marijuana use.

Taken together, the findings point to a damaged “neurobehavioural mechanism” that can lead to nicotine use starting early and becoming locked into long-term addiction, say researchers. ̽��ֱ��study used data from the IMAGEN project and is published in the journal Nature Communications.

“Smoking is perhaps the most common addictive behaviour in the world, and a leading cause of adult mortality,” said Prof Trevor Robbins, co-senior author from Cambridge’s Department of Psychology.

“ ̽��ֱ��initiation of a smoking habit is most likely to occur during adolescence. Any way of detecting an increased chance of this, so we can target interventions, could help save millions of lives.”

Annual deaths from cigarettes are expected to reach eight million worldwide by the end of the decade. Currently, one in five adult deaths each year are attributed to smoking in the US alone.

“In our study, reduced grey matter in the left prefrontal cortex is associated with increased rule-breaking behaviour as well as early smoking experiences. It could be that this rule-breaking leads to the violation of anti-smoking norms,” said Robbins.

Co-author Prof Barbara Sahakian from Cambridge’s Department of Psychiatry said: “ ̽��ֱ��ventromedial prefrontal cortex is a key region for dopamine, the brain’s pleasure chemical. As well as a role in rewarding experiences, dopamine has long been believed to affect self-control.

“Less grey matter across this brain region may limit cognitive function, leading to lower self-control and a propensity for risky behaviour, such as smoking.”

̽��ֱ��study used data gathered by the IMAGEN project from sites in four European countries: UK, Germany, France and Ireland. ̽��ֱ��researchers compared brain imaging data for those who had smoked by age 14 with those who had not, and repeated this for the same participants at ages 19 and 23.

Those with smoking experience by 14 years of age had significantly less grey matter in the left prefrontal cortex, on average. Additionally, those who started smoking by age 19 also had less grey matter in their left prefrontal cortex at 14, indicating a potential causal influence.

̽��ֱ��scientists also looked at the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Grey matter loss occurs in everyone as they age. However, those who smoked from age 14 as well as those smoking from age 19 both ended up with excessive grey matter loss in the right frontal lobe.

For the right prefrontal cortex, 19-year-old smokers who did not start during adolescence had similar grey matter levels at age 14 to those who never smoked at all. This suggests a rapid reduction in the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex only begins with the onset of smoking.

Data at age 23 showed that grey matter volume in the right prefrontal cortex shrank at a faster pace in those who continued to smoke, suggesting an influence of smoking itself on prefrontal function.

Researchers also analysed data from two questionnaires completed by participants to investigate the personality traits of novelty seeking and sensation seeking.

“Both questionnaires examine the pursuit of thrilling experiences, but they measure distinct behaviours,” said Robbins. “ ̽��ֱ��sensation seeking scale focuses on pleasurable experiences, while the novelty seeking questionnaire includes items on impulsiveness and rule-breaking.”

Less grey matter in the left prefrontal cortex was associated with novelty seeking, particularly disorderly and rule-breaking behaviour, while reduced grey matter volume in the right prefrontal cortex was linked to sensation seeking only.

Lead author Prof Tianye Jia from Fudan ̽��ֱ�� added: “Less grey matter in the left frontal lobes is linked to behaviours that increase the likelihood of smoking in adolescence.

“Smokers then experience excessive loss of grey matter in the right frontal lobes, which is linked to behaviours that reinforce substance use. This may provide a causal account of how smoking is initiated in young people, and how it turns into dependence.”

Reference:
Jia, Tianye; Xiang, Shintong et al. Association between vmPFC gray matter volume and smoking initiation in adolescents. Nature Communications; 15 Aug 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40079-2

Findings may demonstrate a brain and behavioural basis for how nicotine addiction is initiated and then takes hold in early life, say scientists.

Smoking is perhaps the most common addictive behaviour in the world, and a leading cause of adult mortality

Trevor Robbins

Young people smoking

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Chemical imbalance in the forebrain underpins compulsive behaviour and OCD

fpjl2 — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 15:47:51 +0000

Scientists at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have used powerful new brain imaging techniques to reveal a neurochemical imbalance within regions of the frontal lobes in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

̽��ֱ��study shows that the balance between glutamate and GABA – two major neurotransmitter chemicals – is “disrupted” in OCD patients in two frontal regions of the brain.

Researchers also found that people who do not have OCD but are prone to habitual and compulsive behaviour have increased glutamate levels in one of these brain regions.

Neuroscientists behind the study say the findings will open up new avenues for treating OCD, a psychiatric disorder that affects up to 3% of Western populations and can be deeply disabling.

Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the researchers measured levels of glutamate and GABA in regions of the cerebral cortex, the outermost and most highly developed part of the human brain.

Glutamate is an 'excitatory' neurochemical: it facilitates electrical impulses that fire neurons to send information around brain networks. GABA is an 'inhibitory' neurotransmitter that works in opposition to glutamate by dampening neural excitability, creating a balance.

OCD sufferers had higher levels of glutamate and lower levels of GABA in the anterior cingulate cortex, compared to people without OCD.

Additionally, the severity of OCD symptoms, along with the inclination towards habitual and compulsive behaviour, was related to higher glutamate levels in the supplementary motor region. This was found to be the case in OCD patients as well as in healthy participants with milder compulsive tendencies.

̽��ֱ��anterior cingulate cortex and the supplementary motor area are both centrally involved in deciding the balance between our conscious goals and more automatic habits. ̽��ֱ��research suggests that “compulsions arise from a dysregulated brain system for controlling habits” say scientists.

̽��ֱ��research is funded by the Wellcome Trust, and the latest findings are published today in the journal Nature Communications.

“Understanding obsessive-compulsive disorder is a central question for psychiatry. We have now shown definitive changes in these key neurotransmitters in OCD sufferers,” said senior author Prof Trevor Robbins from Cambridge’s Department of Psychology. “Excess glutamate and reduced GABA is disrupting the neural circuitry in key regions of the OCD brain.”

“Our findings are a major piece of the puzzle for understanding the mechanisms behind OCD. ̽��ֱ��results suggest new strategies for medication in OCD based on available drugs that regulate glutamate. In particular, drugs that inhibit presynaptic glutamate receptors,” said Robbins. A presynaptic receptor is the part of a nerve cell that controls release of neurotransmitter chemicals.

Severe OCD is a mental health disorder that causes untold misery for some sufferers. It can lead to loss of work and relationships, and social isolation. “Symptoms of intrusive thoughts and repetitive rituals can confine patients to their homes for months on end,” said Robbins. In extreme cases, the lack of control and sense of hopelessness caused by OCD can result in thoughts of suicide .

Current treatments for OCD are limited. While people with milder symptoms can benefit from some anti-depressants, for those with severe symptoms there are few options – often extreme – such as deep-brain stimulation and even neurosurgery to remove the anterior cingulate cortex entirely.

“Some treatments already target glutamate imbalance in a roundabout way,” said Dr Marjan Biria, study lead author, who conducted the work in Robbins’ Cambridge lab. “Now we have the evidence for why certain approaches seem to have some beneficial effects.”

̽��ֱ��Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre at Cambridge is home to one of only seven ultra-powerful 7-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) scanners in the UK. For the latest study, researchers scanned 31 clinically-diagnosed OCD sufferers, and 30 healthy volunteers as a control group.

“Standard MRS scanners can be quite crude, not picking up the glutamate signal very accurately. ̽��ֱ��7-Tesla machine allows us to separate the overlapping signals and measure glutamate and GABA more precisely,” said Biria.

In addition to scans, researchers conducted tests and questionnaires with all participants to gauge obsessive-compulsive and habitual tendencies. ̽��ֱ��test used a computer-based task to establish a link between an action and reward. ̽��ֱ��scientists then uncoupled this link and observed whether participants continued to respond as a measure of habit.

“We tested whether people were more prone to repeating the same responses, like a habit, or adapting their behaviour to better pursue goals,” said Robbins. “Compulsions and habits are not the same, but impaired regulation of habits can be the basis of compulsions and shift people away from their goal-directed behaviour."

“In the supplementary motor area, which is a likely controller of the habit system, even the more mildly repetitive behaviour of healthy volunteers was related to the glutamate-GABA ratio.”

However, only clinical OCD sufferers showed excess glutamate and reduced GABA in their anterior cingulate cortex.

̽��ֱ��researchers say that raised glutamate levels may prove to be a “biomarker” for OCD. This could guide new therapies, including medication but also non-invasive use of magnetic stimulation through the scalp, an approach which is showing some promise for treatment of OCD.

Reference: Biria, M et al. (2023) Cortical glutamate and GABA are related to compulsive behaviour in individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder and healthy controls. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38695-z.

Neuroscientists say that the findings are a “major piece of the puzzle” in understanding OCD, and could open up new lines of treatment.

̽��ֱ��results suggest new strategies for medication in OCD based on available drugs that regulate glutamate

Trevor Robbins

Marjan Biria

Imaging of the Supplementary Motor Area (left) and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (right) from the study

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Assisted reproduction kids grow up just fine – but it may be better to tell them early about biological origins

cg605 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 05:00:52 +0000

̽��ֱ��study, by ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge researchers, is the first to examine the long-term effects of different types of third-party assisted reproduction on parenting and child adjustment, as well as the first to investigate prospectively the effect of the age at which children were told that they were conceived by egg donation, sperm donation or surrogacy.

̽��ֱ��results, published today in Developmental Psychology, suggest that the absence of a biological connection between children and parents in assisted reproduction families does not interfere with the development of positive relationships between them or psychological adjustment in adulthood. These findings are consistent with previous assessments at age one, two, three, seven, ten and 14.

̽��ֱ��findings overturn previous widely held assumptions that children born by third-party assisted reproduction are at a disadvantage when it comes to wellbeing and family relationships because they lack a biological connection to their parents.

“Despite people's concerns, families with children born through third-party assisted reproduction – whether that be an egg donor, sperm donor or a surrogate – are doing well right up to adulthood,” said Susan Golombok, Professor Emerita of Family Research and former Director of the Centre for Family Research, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, who led the study.

However, they found that mothers who began to tell their children about their biological origins in their preschool years had more positive relationships with them as assessed by interview at age 20, and the mothers showed lower levels of anxiety and depression. Most of the parents who had disclosed did so by age four and found that the child took the news well. This suggests that being open with children about their origins when they are young is advantageous.

In addition, in the final stage of this 20-year study, mothers who had disclosed their child’s origins by seven years old obtained slightly more positive scores on questionnaire measures of quality of family relationships, parental acceptance (mother’s feelings towards young adult), and family communication. For example, only 7% of mothers who had disclosed by age 7 reported problems in family relationships, compared with 22% of those who disclosed after age 7.

̽��ֱ��young adults who had been told about their origins before seven obtained slightly more positive scores on questionnaire measures of parental acceptance (young adult’s perception of mother’s feelings towards them), communication (the extent to which they feel listened to, know what’s happening in their family and receive honest answers to questions), and psychological wellbeing. They were also less likely to report problems on the family relationships questionnaire; whereas 50% of young adults told after age 7 reported such problems, this was true of only 12.5% of those told before age 7.

“There does seem to be a positive effect of being open with children when they’re young – before they go to school – about their conception. It’s something that’s been shown by studies of adoptive families too,” said Golmobok.

Researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge followed 65 UK families with children born by assisted reproduction – 22 by surrogacy, 17 by egg donation and 26 by sperm donation – from infancy through to early adulthood (20 years old). They compared these families with 52 UK unassisted conception families over the same period.

“ ̽��ֱ��assisted reproduction families were functioning well, but where we did see differences, these were slightly more positive for families who had disclosed,” said Golombok.

Reflecting on their feelings about their biological origins, the young adults were generally unconcerned. As one young adult born through surrogacy put it, “It doesn’t faze me really, people are born in all different ways and if I was born a little bit differently - that’s OK, I understand.”

Another young adult born through sperm donation said, “My dad’s my dad, my mum’s my mum, I've never really thought about how anything’s different so, it's hard to put, I don’t really care.”

Some young adults actively embraced the method of their conception as it made them feel special, “I think it was amazing, I think the whole thing is absolutely incredible. Erm…I don’t have anything negative to say about it at all.”

Researchers found that egg donation mothers reported less positive family relationships than sperm donation mothers. They suggest that this could be due to some mothers’ insecurities about the absence of a genetic connection to their child. This was not reflected in the young adults’ perceptions of the quality of family relationships.

̽��ֱ��team also found that young adults conceived by sperm donation reported poorer family communication than those conceived by egg donation. This could be explained by the greater secrecy around sperm donation than egg donation, sometimes driven by greater reluctance of fathers than mothers to disclose to their child that they are not their genetic parent, and a greater reluctance to talk about it once they have disclosed.

In fact, researchers found that only 42% of sperm donor parents disclosed by age 20, compared to 88% of egg donation parents and 100% of surrogate parents.

“Today there are so many more families created by assisted reproduction that it just seems quite ordinary,” said Golombok. “But twenty years ago, when we started this study, attitudes were very different. It was thought that having a genetic link was very important and without one, relationships wouldn’t work well.

“What this research means is that having children in different or new ways doesn’t actually interfere with how families function. Really wanting children seems to trump everything – that’s what really matters.”

This research was funded by a Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award.

Golombok, S; Jones, C; Hall, P; Foley, S; Imrie, S and Jadva, V. A longitudinal study of families formed through third-party assisted reproduction: Mother-child relationships and child adjustment from infancy to adulthood. Developmental Psychology DOI: 10.1037/dev0001526

̽��ֱ��Centre for Family Research is collaborating with the Fitzwilliam Museum on a new exhibition, Real Families: Stories of Change (October – 7 January 2024), curated by Professor Golombok. ̽��ֱ��exhibition will explore the intricacies of families and family relationships through the eyes of artists including Paula Rego, Chantal Joffe, JJ Levine, Lucian Freud and Tracey Emin.

Professor Susan Golombok is author of We Are Family: What Really Matters for Parents and Children (Scribe) which describes researching new family forms from the 1970s to the present day.

Landmark study finds no difference in psychological wellbeing or quality of family relationships between children born by assisted reproduction (egg or sperm donation or surrogacy) and those born naturally at age 20. However, findings suggest that telling children about their biological origins early – before they start school – can be advantageous for family relationships and healthy adjustment.

Having children in different or new ways doesn’t actually interfere with how families function. Really wanting children seems to trump everything – that’s what really matters.

Professor Susan Golombok

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc / DigitalVision via Getty Images

Father and son talking

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Sleight-of-hand magic trick only fools monkeys with opposable thumbs

fpjl2 — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 14:27:26 +0000

By performing a famous magic trick for three species of monkey with differing hand structures, scientists have discovered that – in order to deceive – a conjuror needs the same anatomy as their audience.

Psychologists used a sleight-of-hand trick called the French drop, in which an object appears to vanish when a spectator assumes it is taken from one hand by the hidden thumb of the other hand.

̽��ֱ��study, carried out by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Comparative Cognition Lab, found that monkeys lacking opposable thumbs did not fall for the assumption – staying wise to the whereabouts of tasty treats a magician tried to make disappear.

̽��ֱ��research suggest that sharing a biomechanical ability may be necessary for accurately anticipating the movements of those same limbs in other individuals.

This is true even when those apparently accurate predictions end in befuddlement at the hands of an illusionist. ̽��ֱ��study is published today in the journal Current Biology.

“Magicians use intricate techniques to mislead the observer into experiencing the impossible. It is a great way to study blind spots in attention and perception,” said Dr Elias Garcia-Pelegrin, who has practiced magic for a decade, and conducted the experimental work during his PhD at Cambridge.

“By investigating how species of primates experience magic, we can understand more about the evolutionary roots of cognitive shortcomings that leave us exposed to the cunning of magicians.”

“In this case, whether having the manual capability to produce an action, such as holding an item between finger and thumb, is necessary for predicting the effects of that action in others,” said Garcia-Pelegrin, recently appointed an assistant professor at the National ̽��ֱ�� of Singapore.

̽��ֱ��French drop is often the first trick any budding magician sets out to master.

A coin is displayed in one hand. ̽��ֱ��other hand reaches over and grabs it. ̽��ֱ��palm of the second hand faces inwards, with the magician’s thumb concealed behind fingers.

̽��ֱ��audience knows the thumb is lurking – ready to grip – so assumes the coin has been taken when it is no longer visible. Their attention follows the second hand, only to find it empty at 'the reveal'. ̽��ֱ��magician had secretly dropped the coin into the palm of the original hand.

Food morsels replaced coins for the monkeys, and were given as rewards – but only if the animals guessed the correct hand. Scientists predicted that monkeys with opposable thumbs would act like human audiences: assume the hidden thumb had grabbed the item, and choose the wrong hand.

They repeatedly performed the French drop on 24 monkeys. Eight capuchins were dazzled with peanuts, eight squirrel monkeys with dried mealworms, and eight marmosets with marshmallows.

Capuchins are famed for dexterity, and use stone tools to crack nuts in the wild. They can waggle each finger, and have opposable thumbs allowing 'precision grip' between thumb and forefingers.

̽��ֱ��capuchins were regularly fooled by the French drop (81% of the time). They mostly chose the empty second hand, and experienced a paucity of peanuts as a result.

Squirrel monkeys are much less dextrous than capuchins, with limited thumb rotation, but can oppose their thumbs. As such, they are still familiar with a hidden thumb interacting with fingers. However, they cannot perform a ‘precision grip’ in the same way as capuchins and humans.

Yet squirrel monkeys were routinely misled by vanishing mealworms (93% of the time). “Squirrel monkeys cannot do full precision grips, but they were still fooled. This suggests that a monkey doesn’t have to be expert in a movement in order to predict it, just roughly able to do it,” said Garcia-Pelegrin.

Marmosets do not have opposable thumbs. Their thumbs align with their fingers to make five equidistant digits, ideal for climbing thick tree trunks. Marmosets were rarely taken in by magic (just 6% of the time). They simply chose the hand in which the marshmallow was initially placed, and stuck with it.

Previous work from the Cambridge team shows that species without hands at all, in this case birds from the corvid family, namely Eurasian jays, make similar choices as marmosets when confronted with the French drop.

̽��ֱ��team also tried nullifying the tricks by actually completing the hand-to-hand transfers, instead of misdirecting with a French drop. This time, the capuchins and squirrel monkeys anticipated correctly and dined out, and the marmosets missed out.

Finally, the scientists devised their own version of the French drop, which they call the “Power drop”. It utilises a hand action that all the monkey species can perform – essentially a full fist grab. ̽��ֱ��power drop fooled all of the monkey species the vast majority of the time.

“There is increasing evidence that the same parts of the nervous system used when we perform an action are also activated when we watch that action performed by others,” said Prof Nicola Clayton FRS, senior author of the study from Cambridge’s Department of Psychology.

“This mirroring in our neural motor system might explain why the French drop worked for the capuchins and squirrel monkeys but not for marmosets.”

“It’s about the embodiment of knowledge,” added Clayton. “How one’s fingers and thumbs move helps to shape the way we think, and the assumptions we make about the world – as well as what others might see, remember and anticipate, based on their expectations.”

“Our work raises the intriguing possibility that an individual’s inherent physical capability heavily influences their perception, their memory of what they think they saw, and their ability to predict manual movements of those around them.”

Another co-author of the study, Clive Wilkins, Artist in Residence at Cambridge’s Department of Psychology, is a professional magician and Member of the Magic Circle.

Illusion involving a hidden thumb confounds capuchin and squirrel monkeys for the same reason as humans – it misdirects the expected outcomes of actions they can carry out.

This mirroring in our neural motor system might explain why the French drop worked for the capuchins and squirrel monkeys but not for marmosets

Nicola Clayton

Not all monkeys are fooled by magic.

Elias Garcia-Pelegrin

A Humboldt's squirrel monkey is fooled by a French drop as part of the experiment.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Robots can help improve mental wellbeing at work – as long as they look right

sc604 — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 00:50:57 +0000

Researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge conducted a study in a tech consultancy firm using two robot wellbeing coaches, where 26 employees participated in weekly robot-led wellbeing sessions for four weeks. Although the robots had identical voices, facial expressions, and scripts for the sessions, the physical appearance of the robot affected how participants interacted with it.

Participants who did their wellbeing exercises with a toy-like robot said that they felt more of a connection with their ‘coach’ than participants who worked with a humanoid-like robot. ̽��ֱ��researchers say that perception of robots is affected by popular culture, where the only limit on what robots can do is the imagination. When faced with a robot in the real world however, it often does not live up to expectations.

Since the toy-like robot looks simpler, participants may have had lower expectations and ended up finding the robot easier to talk and connect with. Participants who worked with the humanoid robot found that their expectations didn’t match reality, since the robot was not capable of having interactive conversations.

Despite the differences between expectations and reality, the researchers say that their study shows that robots can be a useful tool to promote mental wellbeing in the workplace. ̽��ֱ��results will be reported today (15 March) at the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction in Stockholm.

̽��ֱ��World Health Organization recommends that employers take action to promote and protect mental wellbeing at work, but the implementation of wellbeing practices is often limited by a lack of resources and personnel. Robots have shown some early promise for helping address this gap, but most studies on robots and wellbeing have been conducted in a laboratory setting.

“We wanted to take the robots out of the lab and study how they might be useful in the real world,” said first author Dr Micol Spitale, from Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology.

̽��ֱ��researchers collaborated with local technology company Cambridge Consultants to design and implement a workplace wellbeing programme using robots. Over the course of four weeks, employees were guided through four different wellbeing exercises by one of two robots: either the QTRobot (QT) or the Misty II robot (Misty).

̽��ֱ��QT is a childlike humanoid robot and roughly 90cm tall, while Misty is a 36cm tall toy-like robot. Both robots have screen faces that can be programmed with different facial expressions.

“We interviewed different wellbeing coaches and then we programmed our robots to have a coach-like personality, with high openness and conscientiousness,” said co-author Minja Axelsson. “ ̽��ֱ��robots were programmed to have the same personality, the same facial expressions and the same voice, so the only difference between them was the physical robot form.”

Participants in the experiment were guided through different positive psychology exercises by a robot in an office meeting room. Each session started with the robot asking participants to recall a positive experience or describe something in their lives they were grateful for, and the robot would ask follow-up questions. After the sessions, participants were asked to assess the robot with a questionnaire and an interview. Participants did one session per week for four weeks, and worked with the same robot for each session.

Participants who worked with the toy-like Misty robot reported that they had a better working connection with the robot than participants who worked with the child-like QT robot. Participants also had a more positive perception of Misty overall.

“It could be that since the Misty robot is more toy-like, it matched their expectations,” said Spitale. “But since QT is more humanoid, they expected it to behave like a human, which may be why participants who worked with QT were slightly underwhelmed.”

“ ̽��ֱ��most common response we had from participants was that their expectations of the robot didn’t match with reality,” said Professor Hatice Gunes, who led the research. “We programmed the robots with a script, but participants were hoping there would be more interactivity. It’s incredibly difficult to create a robot that’s capable of natural conversation. New developments in large language models could really be beneficial in this respect.”

“Our perceptions of how robots should look or behave might be holding back the uptake of robotics in areas where they can be useful,” said Axelsson.

Although the robots used in the experiment are not as advanced as C-3PO or other fictional robots, participants still said they found the wellbeing exercises helpful, and that they were open to the idea of talking to a robot in future.

“ ̽��ֱ��robot can serve as a physical reminder to commit to the practice of wellbeing exercises,” said Gunes. “And just saying things out loud, even to a robot, can be helpful when you’re trying to improve mental wellbeing.”

̽��ֱ��team is now working to enhance the robot coaches’ responsiveness during coaching practices and interactions.

̽��ֱ��research was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Hatice Gunes is a Staff Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

Reference:
Micol Spitale, Minja Axelsson, and Hatice Gunes. ‘Robotic Mental Well-being Coaches for the Workplace: An In-the-Wild Study on Form.’ Paper presented to the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Stockholm, Sweden, 13-16 March 2023.

Try a positive psychology session with the robots used in this research as part of the Cambridge Festival on Saturday, 18 March.

Robots can be useful as mental wellbeing coaches in the workplace – but perception of their effectiveness depends in large part on what the robot looks like.

Our perceptions of how robots should look or behave might be holding back the uptake of robotics in areas where they can be useful

Minja Axelsson

Hatice Gunes

QT robot (left) and Misty robot (right)

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Foolproof: A psychological vaccine against fake news

fpjl2 — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 10:17:34 +0000

In an edited extract from his new book ‘Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity’, Prof Sander van der Linden takes us through his work to “inoculate” people against falling for fake news.