Swearing as a response to pain: A cross-cultural comparison of British and Japanese participants

Background and aims: Research suggests swearing can moderate pain perception. The present study assessed whether changes in pain perception due to swearing reflect a "scripting" effect by comparing swearing as a response to pain in native English and Japanese speakers. Cognitive psychology denotes a 'script' to be a sequence of learnt behaviours expected for given situations. Japanese participants were included as they rarely, if ever, swear as a response to pain and therefore do not possess an available script for swearing in the context of pain. It was hypothesised that Japanese participants would demonstrate less tolerance and more sensitivity to pain than English participants, and - due to a lack of an available script of swearing in response to pain - that Japanese participants would not experience swearword mediated hypoalgesia. Methods: Fifty-six native English (mean age = 23 years) and 39 Japanese (mean age = 21) speakers completed a cold-pressor task whilst repeating either a swear on control word. A 2 (culture; Japanese, British). ×. 2 (word; swear; non-swear) design explored whether Japanese participants showed the same increase in pain tolerance and experienced similar levels of perceived pain when a swearing intervention was used as British participants. Pain tolerance was assessed by the number of seconds participants could endure of cold-pressor exposure and self-report pain measurements. Levels of perceived pain were assessed using a 120-mm horizontal visual analogue scale anchored by descriptors in the participant's native language of "no pain" (left) and "terrible pain" (right). The participant was asked to mark a 10. mm vertical line to indicate overall pain intensity. The score was measured from the zero anchor to the participant's mark. Results: Japanese participants reported higher levels of pain (p <. 0.005) and displayed lower pain tolerance than British participants (p <. 0.05). Pain tolerance increased in swearers regardless of cultural background (p <. 0.001) and no interaction was found between word group and culture (p = 0.96), thereby suggesting that swearing had no differential effect related to the cultural group of the participant. Conclusions: The results replicate previous findings that swearing increases pain tolerance and that individuals from an Asian ethnic background experience greater levels of perceived pain than those from a Caucasian ethnic background. However, these results do not support the idea of pain perception modification due to a "scripting" effect. This is evidenced as swearword mediated hypoalgesia occurs irrespective of participant cultural background. Rather, it is suggested that modulation of pain perception may occur through activation of descending inhibitory neural pain mechanisms. Implications: As swearing can increase pain tolerance in both Japanese and British people, it may be suggested that swearword mediated hypoalgesia is a universal phenomenon that transcends socio-cultural learnt behaviours. Furthermore, swearing could be encouraged as an intervention to help people cope with acute painful stimuli

Oral Inflammation, Tooth Loss, Risk Factors, and Association with Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

Periodontitis is a polymicrobial chronic inflammatory disease of tooth-supporting tissues with bacterial etiology affecting all age groups, becoming chronic in a subgroup of older individuals. Periodontal pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola are implicated in the development of a number of inflammatory pathologies at remote organ sites, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The initial inflammatory hypothesis proposed that AD hallmark proteins were the main contributors of central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. This hypothesis is expanding to include the role of infections, lifestyle, and genetic and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of AD. Periodontal disease (PD) typifies a condition that encompasses all of the above factors including pathogenic bacteria. These bacteria not only are the source of low-grade, chronic infection and inflammation that follow daily episodes of bacteremia arising from everyday tasks such as brushing, flossing teeth, chewing food, and during dental procedures, but they also disseminate into the brain from closely related anatomical pathways. The long-term effect of inflammatory mediators, pathogens, and/or their virulence factors, reaching the brain systemically or otherwise would, over time, prime the brain’s own microglia in individuals who have inherent susceptibility traits. Such susceptibilities contribute to inadequate neutralization of invading agents, upon reaching the brain. This has the capacity to create a vicious cycle of sustained local inflammatory milieu resulting in the loss of cytoarchitectural integrity and vital neurons with subsequent loss of function (deterioration in memory). The possible pathways between PD and AD development are considered here, as well as environmental factors that may modulate/exacerbate AD symptoms

Can better management of periodontal disease delay the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease?

A risk factor relationship exists between periodontal disease and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) via tooth loss, and improved memory following dental intervention. This links the microbial contribution from indigenous oral periodontal pathogens to the manifestation of chronic conditions, such as AD. Here, we use Porphyromonas gingivalis infection to illustrate its effect on mental health. P. gingivalis infection, in its primary sub-gingival niche, can cause polymicrobial synergy and dysbiosis. Dysbiosis describes the residency of select commensals from the oral cavity following co-aggregation around the dominant keystone pathogen, such as P. gingivalis, to gain greater virulence. The initial process involves P. gingivalis disturbing neutrophil mediated innate immune responses in the healthy gingivae and then downregulating adaptive immune cell differentiation and development to invade, and subsequently, establish new dysbiotic bacterial communities. Immune responses affect the host in general and functionally via dietary adjustments caused by tooth loss. Studies from animals orally infected with P. gingivalis confirm this bacterium can transmigrate to distant organ sites (the brain) and contribute towards peripheral and intracerebral inflammation, and compromise vascular and microvascular integrity. In another study, P. gingivalis infection caused sleep pattern disturbances by altering glial cell light/dark molecular clock activity, and this, in turn, can affect the clearance of danger associated molecular patterns, such as amyloid-beta, via the glymphatic system. Since, P. gingivalis can transmigrate to the brain, and modulate organ-specific inflammatory innate and adaptive immune responses, this paper explores whether better management of indigenous periodontal bacteria could delay/prevent the onset and/or progression of dementia

Trauma characteristics and posttraumatic growth: The mediating role of avoidance coping, intrusive thoughts and social support

Objective: Previous research suggests trauma characteristics can impact on posttraumatic growth (PTG). The current study considers whether previously identified predictors of PTG may produce different outcomes dependent on the characteristics of the trauma experienced. Method: Active coping, avoidant coping, emotional coping, intrusive thoughts, social support and spirituality were examined as potential mediators of relationships between trauma characteristics (interpersonal trauma, number of trauma types and childhood trauma) and PTG. The responses of 268 adults exposed to multiple and wide-ranging stressors were used to generate three multiple mediation models. Results: Intrusive thoughts and social support exerted small but significant indirect effects in all three multiple mediation models. Avoidant coping mediated associations between the number of trauma types and PTG, and the relationship between childhood trauma to PTG. Conclusion: Relationships between trauma characteristics and PTG appear to be explained through the presence of avoidant coping strategies, intrusive thoughts and the individual’s social environment, which could be the focus of intervention efforts to promote positive change

Perceived Preparedness and Mental Health in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK Population

Objective: Preparedness levels have been shown to improve the outcomes for people who find themselves in an emergency. However, uptake of preparedness behaviors by the public prior to a major disaster is limited. This 2-part study examined perceived preparedness in the UK during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 1), and 2 years later (Study 2). Methods: Both studies investigated the effect of individual demographics (gender, age, perceived socioeconomic and health status) on perceived preparedness. Next, the studies examined the extent to which perceived preparedness was associated with mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms). Participants (Study 1, N = 409) completed an online survey in May to June 2020 during a national lockdown, with another sample (Study 2, N = 87) completing the same survey from March to July 2022. Results: Across both studies, participants completed 2 to 3 different preparedness activities. Greater subjective perceptions of socioeconomic status were associated with perceived preparedness. Preparedness levels were related with better mental health, and unrelated to age and gender. Conclusions: Encouraging the public to engage with preparedness behaviors may not only have practical benefits but also help to protect mental well-being during a disaster

Loneliness, HPA Stress Reactivity and Social Threat Sensitivity: Analyzing Naturalistic Social Challenges

Loneliness has been linked to poor health through an increased activation of threat surveillance mechanisms, such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). The socio-cognitive model (Cacioppo & Hawley, 2009) proposes that lonely people have an increased social threat sensitivity which activates the HPA axis. The current study examined the impact of loneliness on HPA stress reactivity and social threat sensitivity in response to naturally occurring social challenges. Participants (N = 45) were prospective undergraduates attending a 3-day university preparation programme over the summer, prior to commencing their university studies. Cortisol levels and perceived stress were measured before and after an ice breaker session on Day 1 and a lecture session on Day 3. Social threat sensitivity was also measured on the first and third day. When meeting unfamiliar peers in the ice breaker session, HPA stress reactivity was evident, but it was not markedly different in those who reported high levels of loneliness than those with low levels. The high loneliness group had higher levels of perceived stress and increased social threat sensitivity than the low loneliness group on both testing days. The findings show partial support for the socio-cognitive model of loneliness because increased threat sensitivity was demonstrated in the high loneliness group. The findings indicate that lonely people do not respond in a physiologically different way to specific social challenges, but they typically report higher social threat sensitivity and higher perceived stress than their non-lonely peers

Understanding University Enterprise Collaboration for Disaster Resilience in South-East Asia

Purpose: This paper is part of the ERASMUS+ funded Strengthening University Enterprise Collaboration for Resilient Communities in Asia (SECRA) project. SECRA aimed to map collaborative architecture between partner universities and the public/private sectors, to provide a contextualised collaboration framework for disaster resilience in South-East Asia. Methods: Documentary reviews were conducted in partner countries to establish the current context of disaster resilience university enterprise collaborations and identify good practices. A concept-centric approach permitted the synthesis of concepts from each country review, allowing for comparisons to be made between collaborative practices that impact the success of disaster resilience collaborations. Results: The review identified that funding, continuity, long-term strategic plans and practical implementation are lacking in disaster resilience university enterprise collaborations in the partner countries. However, each country demonstrated good practices and identified significant enablers and barriers that impact disaster resilience collaborations. Implications: This paper has the potential to inform policies and practices at an institutional and governmental level and promote the exchange of ideas between academics and policy makers in South-East Asia for developing disaster resilience. The results have substantial relevance within the Asian context, as governments have intensified the adoption of measures to encourage and improve university enterprise collaborations for disaster resilience. Further research is needed to understand real-word experiences in disaster resilience collaborations, to provide insights into barriers, enablers and good practices in disaster resilience collaborations from an 'on the ground perspective'

Bridging Academia and Enterprise: A Framework for Collaborative Success

University-enterprise collaboration (UEC) is an essential aspect of research and innovation involving cooperation between universities and industry or other organizations. UEC can lead to economic growth, job creation, and enhanced research outcomes. However, the complexity and diversity of UECs present challenges in developing a practical framework that can guide the development and implementation of such collaborations. The aim of this paper is to develop a UEC framework from the key concepts identified in the literature, which can be adapted to various disciplines/contexts. This research paper is part of an ERASMUS+ project, which aims to strengthen enterprise collaboration for resilient communities in Asia (SECRA). The current paper presents the findings of thematic analysis of existing UEC literature and the resultant conceptual framework. Thematic analysis of eligible literature (N = 84) unveiled four themes and thirty-two sub-themes important to UEC. The proposed UEC framework highlights the importance of several structural, cultural, relational, and material themes and their underpinning concepts for developing successful UECs. The findings can inform future research on UECs, guide UEC practice, and provide the foundations for developing successful UECs. However, further research is needed to test the feasibility and validity of the framework in real-world UEC collaborations and to explore the interactions between different themes, sub-themes, and underlying concepts