Physical activity as a tool for preventing and treating depression: Lessons learned from the COVID‐19 pandemic

Physical activity (PA) is understood to be important for the prevention and treatment of depression, however, less is known about the effects of withdrawal from PA on mood. Here we consider evidence published since the outbreak of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus to assess the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on PA patterns and to evaluate whether engagement in PA in the context of the pandemic had an impact on depression vulnerability. During the initial stages of the pandemic and consequent lockdowns, there were global decreases in PA, with women, ethnic minorities, lower‐education, lower‐income, younger, and elderly people displaying more marked reductions in PA. Less PA was associated with a higher risk of experiencing moderate‐to‐severe depression symptoms, particularly for those who decreased their PA levels compared to pre‐pandemic. Both PA and sedentary behavior were independently associated with depression, such that low activity and high amounts of sitting both increased the likelihood of clinically significant symptoms. We also consider the role social connection during movement; while both in‐person and online PA can foster a sense of belonging, there is some evidence that socially distant, pandemic‐safe movement might disincentivise certain groups such as older adults and experienced exercisers from participating in PA. We conclude with several implications for prospective public health communications regarding PA, especially in the event of another global pandemic

Multimodal analysis of cell-free DNA whole-genome sequencing for pediatric cancers with low mutational burden

Sequencing of cell-free DNA in the blood of cancer patients (liquid biopsy) provides attractive opportunities for early diagnosis, assessment of treatment response, and minimally invasive disease monitoring. To unlock liquid biopsy analysis for pediatric tumors with few genetic aberrations, we introduce an integrated genetic/epigenetic analysis method and demonstrate its utility on 241 deep whole-genome sequencing profiles of 95 patients with Ewing sarcoma and 31 patients with other pediatric sarcomas. Our method achieves sensitive detection and classification of circulating tumor DNA in peripheral blood independent of any genetic alterations. Moreover, we benchmark different metrics for cell-free DNA fragmentation analysis, and we introduce the LIQUORICE algorithm for detecting circulating tumor DNA based on cancer-specific chromatin signatures. Finally, we combine several fragmentation-based metrics into an integrated machine learning classifier for liquid biopsy analysis that exploits widespread epigenetic deregulation and is tailored to cancers with low mutation rates. Clinical associations highlight the potential value of cfDNA fragmentation patterns as prognostic biomarkers in Ewing sarcoma. In summary, our study provides a comprehensive analysis of circulating tumor DNA beyond recurrent genetic aberrations, and it renders the benefits of liquid biopsy more readily accessible for childhood cancers

Unfolding Into Each Other: Examining the Effects of Capoeira with Specifically Anti-Racist, Social Justice-Oriented Instruction on Students’ Empathy

Arts-based approaches within research and therapeutic settings are increasingly being investigated for their benefits to individual and societal mental health. Specifically, activities that rely on creativity and synchronized movement could positively interact with individuals’ ability and motivation to empathize with others, which could translate to mental health benefits downstream. In this study, 205 university students in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil participated in a semester of capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian cooperative movement art, with either capoeira instruction as usual, capoeira instruction with a specifically anti-racist, social justice-oriented enhanced curriculum, or half a term of the standard instruction followed by enhanced instruction. Participants completed the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), which includes cognitive and affective empathy subscales, and other psychological questionnaires prior to and following the semester. Although there was no evidence of a significant interaction of timepoint (pre-post) and curriculum condition in overall empathy, F(2,186)= 1.850, p = .160, nor for affective empathy, F(2,186)= 1.949, p = .145, there was a significant interaction of timepoint and condition for cognitive empathy, F(2,186)= 3.075, p = .049. Specifically, enhanced curriculum participants scored significantly higher than did standard curriculum participants post-semester (p = .037). In a particularly divisive year on both social and political fronts, this interesting preliminary result suggests that including antiracist, culturally sensitive, and social justice-oriented education in creative arts-based social movement activities could potentially interact preservatively with cognitive empathy

(Post-print) Não é Não: Movements Against Sexual Assault During Brazilian Carnaval

Both across Brazil and in Rio de Janeiro specifically, reports of sexual assault are on the rise. Rates of sexual crimes against women, children, and adolescents are higher during the era of Carnaval than during any other time of year (Karen 2019). At the end of 2018, new legislature was passed, which makes sexual assault a crime. Organizers of movements across Brazil, such as “Não é Não” and “#AconteceuNoCarnaval,” work to spread awareness to the population of what constitutes a sexual crime, and combat sexual assault, during Carnaval. In recent years, these movements have gained nationwide momentum, and more and more people are educating and fighting to make Carnaval a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone

(Post-print) Capoeira: The Relationship of An Afro-Brazilian Cooperative Movement Art to State Anxiety, State Self-Efficacy, And Prosocial Behavior Tendencies

Objective: Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian movement art, incorporates elements of dance, martial arts, music, and physical improvisation between partners, comprising a social “game.” The sport has expanded globally from Brazil over the last several decades. However, the potential psychological benefits of capoeira have not previously been scientifically investigated. Inspired by research suggesting the benefits of exercise, meditation, yoga, and mindfulness practices, this pilot study investigated whether engagement in one session of capoeira was associated with altered state anxiety (SA), state self-efficacy (SSE), and prosocial behavior tendencies (PBT) compared to control activities of cooperative or combative movement or a non-movement control (acro-yoga, savate, and a graduate-level mathematics class). Methods: Capoeiristas (n = 117) and controls (n = 15) in the area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil completed self-report questionnaires measuring SA, SSE, and PBT before and after a session of capoeira or control activities. PBT was subdivided into pain-specific (helping a person in physical need) and money-lending-specific (loaning funds to someone in need) behavioral tendencies. The various control groups were combined due to their small samples. Pre-post changes were analyzed and compared for capoeiristas vs. controls using mixed design ANOVAs. Results: One session of capoeira corresponded to a significant decrease in SA and an increase in state self- efficacy (pre- to post- session); however, this change did not differ significantly from similar pre- to post- session changes observed for the control activities. In contrast, there was a significant interaction of time (pre-post) and activity (capoeira vs. controls) for both overall PBT, F(1,120) = 11.32, P = .001, and pain-specific PBT, F(1,120) = 11.315, P = .0001. Specifically, while control participants appeared less likely to exhibit PBT after (vs. before) their sessions, no decrease in this behavior was observed after a session of capoeira. Conclusion: While acknowledging limitations, such as the small samples and diverse nature of the control activities, this pilot study suggests the value of continued investigation into the potential effects of engaging in cooperative movement, such as capoeira, on certain psychological variables, particularly prosocial behavior tendencies. In addition to considering potential transient (state) effects, potential longitudinal effects of capoeira could also be of interest, as has been suggested for mindfulness and yoga practices

Sustainable Supporting: Investigating Effects of Support Strategy on Supporters’ Emotional Exhaustion

Within a societal landscape in which mental healthcare support providers are categorically overstretched, the present study compared the effects of providing different kinds of support as an initial step to developing strategies for decreasing the cumulative emotional burden of support provision for support providers. While socio-affective support strategies are concerned with making support-seekers feel better, cognitive strategies are focused on problem-solving and providing logistical support. In the present study, participants completed a single-session online study to examine whether support strategy (cognitive versus socio-affective support) influenced emotional exhaustion from before to after providing support to multiple individuals who discussed negative life experiences. Participants were assigned to either a cognitive support, socio-affective support, or no support control condition; watched five videos from the Stanford Emotional Narratives Database of pre-recorded individuals talking about negative experiences they had had; and wrote short statements of support (or control statements) between each video. Participants completed the Emotional Exhaustion Questionnaire (EEQ) prior to and following the support task, as well as measures of individual factors, such as baseline empathy, positive and negative affect, and ‘interpersonal’ task factors, such as the relatability and emotional intensity of the support- seekers’ videos. While data analysis yielded no main effect of support strategy on emotional exhaustion from pre- to post-support task, there were significant positive relationships between emotional fatigue change (EEC) and emotional intensity; EEC and relatability; and participants’ baseline empathy (cognitive, affective, and overall) and EEC. Emotional intensity and relatability moderated the effect of empathy on EEC, suggesting that how emotionally intense and relatable supporters found support provision to be may have been a more important contributor to emotional fatigue than support strategy. The present study represents a meaningful preliminary step in investigating mechanisms for decreasing the prevalence and intensity of burnout via support strategies. Future studies should examine the role of support strategies and other individual and interpersonal factors in making support more sustainable for support providers

Social Dance and Movement for Mental Health: A Scoping Review

The proposed review will focus on research that investigates the mental health and mood effects of social dance or social movement in healthy and clinical populations

Social dance and movement for mental health: A narrative review

Abstract Across the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry, dance—broadly and heterogeneously defined across cultures and movement styles—has been investigated for a range of potential benefits in healthy and clinical populations. There is a growing body of literature investigating the potential for dance, and in particular social forms of dance, to have a positive impact on mental health and well‐being. Given widespread availability through community providers, social dance and movement could be an accessible, non‐invasive, and affordable approach to the prevention and treatment of mood disorders, including depression. However, the existing literature is heterogenous, and there is a lack of methodological cohesiveness and systematization in the field of dance for mental health research. In this narrative review, we propose a novel classification system for social dance mental health research, which encompasses solo dance, partner dance, group dance, dance movement therapy, and cooperative movement. We review the existing literature examining the effects of social dance and movement in the context of low mood and depression and identify future research directions for building a solid evidence base for the application of social dance and movement in the prevention and treatment of mood disorders

Having agency in acquiring social information increases social influence

Social information can be acquired in two distinct ways???either by explicit request (i.e., under agency) or by passive observation. This study uses computational modeling of a social risky decision-making task to show that individuals value social information to a greater extent when it is acquired under agency