Spectrum of KV2.1 Dysfunction in KCNB1‐Associated Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152486/1/ana25607.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152486/2/ana25607_am.pd

Mating Effort Predicts Human Menstrual Cycle Frequency

The human menstrual cycle is characterized by substantial variability both within and between women. Here, we sought to account for such variability by examining whether human menstrual cycle frequency varies as a function of the projected fitness payoffs associated with investment in mating effort. We used structural equation modeling to test the prediction that women whose environmental conditions or life histories favor heavier investment in mating effort would have shorter, more regular cycles. Results supported our hypothesis, revealing that women who project more mating success and have faster life history strategies exhibit greater mating effort and shorter, more regular menstrual cycles. An alternative model that specified cycle frequency as a predictor of mating effort was a poor fit for the data, lending support for the hypothesized directionality of the path between these variables. Together, these results provide some of the first empirical evidence that the length and regularity of the human menstrual cycle may be calibrated to investment in mating effort

More than just a pretty face? The relationship between immune function and perceived facial attractiveness

It has long been hypothesized that attractiveness provides a cue to a target's health and immunocompetence. However, much of the research testing this hypothesis has relied on a small number of indirect proxies of immune function and the results of this research have been mixed. Here, we build on this past research, examining the relationship between target attractiveness and: (a) self-reported health, (b) in vivo measures of inflammation and white blood cell count / composition, and (c) in vitro tests of targets' immune function, including (c1) leukocyte proliferation in response to immunological stimulants, (c2) phagocytosis of Escherichia coli bioparticles, (c3) NK cell-mediated lysis of target tumor cells, and (c4) Staphylococcus aureus growth in isolated plasma. Results revealed multiple, sometimes sex-differentiated, relationships between targets' immune function and others' perceptions of their attractiveness. Together, this work suggests complex, often sex-differentiated relationships between immune function, health, and attractiveness.Funding provided by: National Science FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001Award Number: BCS Grant No. 15512

Hierarchical Inflammatory Phenotypes of Depression Incorporating a Diverse Array of Immune Proteins: A Pre-Registered Report

Background: The foundation of precision psychiatry is to clearly link mechanisms to specific levels of psychopathology (e.g., syndromes vs. symptoms). A critical obstacle to this goal is that most biological psychiatry research has failed to consider that key mechanisms such as inflammation may be simultaneously and uniquely associated psychopathology at multiple levels of measurement (e.g., syndromes and symptoms) in a hierarchical phenotype. Method: We conducted a pre-registered study that replicates and extends prior work on the hierarchical inflammatory phenotyping of depression using more comprehensive assessments of inflammation and depression in 2,055 adults (54.6% female, Mage = 55.4 years, 10.4-17.4% clinically elevated depression symptoms). Results: Controlling for sex, age, and disease burden, and using FDR-corrected p-values, moderated nonlinear factor analysis models higher inflammation was associated with higher latent depression, poor appetite, inability to “shake the blues”, greater perceived effort, increased feelings of failure, and (surprisingly, in one model) decreased sadness. Results differed by inflammatory variable, underscoring the need for diverse immune assessment in immunopsychiatry. Conclusions: Clinically, these results underscore the need to use approaches that can identify which mechanisms are associated with psychopathology at different levels of a diagnostic hierarchy. Further, different inflammatory processes likely have different psychological outputs—highlighting the need for more diversified immune assessment. Combined, they characterize more specific inflammation—depression pathways, laying the groundwork for precision immunopsychiatry

A multi-site study of the relationship between photoperiod and ovulation rate using Natural Cycles data

Abstract Many species exhibit seasonal patterns of breeding. Although humans can shield themselves from many season-related stressors, they appear to exhibit seasonal patterns of investment in reproductive function nonetheless, with levels of sex steroid hormones being highest during the spring and summer months. The current research builds on this work, examining the relationship between day length and ovarian function in two large samples of women using data from the Natural Cycles birth control application in each Sweden and the United States. We hypothesized that longer days would predict higher ovulation rates and sexual motivation. Results revealed that increasing day length duration predicts increased ovulation rate and sexual behavior, even while controlling for other relevant factors. Results suggest that day length may contribute to observed variance in women’s ovarian function and sexual desire

Multi-omics in stress and health research: study designs that will drive the field forward

AbstractDespite decades of stress research, there still exist substantial gaps in our understanding of how social, environmental, and biological factors interact and combine with developmental stressor exposures, cognitive appraisals of stressors, and psychosocial coping processes to shape individuals’ stress reactivity, health, and disease risk. Relatively new biological profiling approaches, called multi-omics, are helping address these issues by enabling researchers to quantify thousands of molecules from a single blood or tissue sample, thus providing a panoramic snapshot of the molecular processes occurring in an organism from a systems perspective. In this review, we summarize two types of research designs for which multi-omics approaches are best suited, and describe how these approaches can help advance our understanding of stress processes and the development, prevention, and treatment of stress-related pathologies. We first discuss incorporating multi-omics approaches into theory-rich, intensive longitudinal study designs to characterize, in high-resolution, the transition to stress-related multisystem dysfunction and disease throughout development. Next, we discuss how multi-omics approaches should be incorporated into intervention research to better understand the transition from stress-related dysfunction back to health, which can help inform novel precision medicine approaches to managing stress and fostering biopsychosocial resilience. Throughout, we provide concrete recommendations for types of studies that will help advance stress research, and translate multi-omics data into better health and health care