To Each Stress Its Own Screen: A Cross-Sectional Survey of the Patterns of Stress and Various Screen Uses in Relation to Self-Admitted Screen Addiction

Background: The relationship between stress and screen addiction is often studied by exploring a single aspect of screen-related behavior in terms of maladaptive dependency or the risks associated with the content. Generally, little attention is given to the pattern of using different screens for different types of stressors, and variations arising from the subjective perception of stress and screen addiction are often neglected. Given that both addiction and stress are complex and multidimensional factors, we performed a multivariate analysis of the link between individual’s subjective perceptions of screen addiction, various types of stress, and the pattern of screen usage. Objective: Using the media-repertoires framework to study usage patterns, we explored (1) the relation between subjective and quantitative assessments of stress and screen addiction; and (2) differences in stress types in relation to subjective screen addiction and different types of needs for screens. We hypothesized that interindividual heterogeneity in screen-related behavior would reflect coping differences in dealing with different stressors. Methods: A multifactorial Web-based survey was conducted to gather data about screen-related behaviors (such as screen time, internet addiction, and salience of different types of screens and related activities), and different sources of stress (emotional states, perceptual risks, health problems, and general life domain satisfaction). We performed group comparisons based on whether participants reported themselves as addicted to internet and games (A1) or not (A0), and whether they had experienced a major life stress (S1) or not (S0). Results: Complete responses were obtained in 459 out of 654 survey responders, with the majority in the S1A0 (44.6%, 205/459) group, followed by S0A0 (25.9%, 119/459), S1A1 (19.8%, 91/459), and S0A1 (9.5%, 44/459). The S1A1 group was significantly different from S0A0 in all types of stress, internet overuse, and screen time (P<.001). Groups did not differ in rating screens important for short message service (SMS) or mail, searching information, shopping, and following the news, but a greater majority of A1 depended on screens for entertainment (χ23=20.5; P<.001), gaming (χ23=35.6; P<.001), and social networking (χ23=26.5; P<.001). Those who depended on screens for entertainment and social networking had up to 19% more emotional stress and up to 14% more perceptual stress. In contrast, those who relied on screens for work and professional networking had up to 10% higher levels of life satisfaction. Regression models including age, gender, and 4 stress types explained less than 30% of variation in internet use and less than 24% of the likelihood of being screen addicted. Conclusions: We showed a robust but heterogeneous link between screen dependency and emotional and perceptual stressors that shift the pattern of screen usage toward entertainment and social networking. Our findings underline the potential of using ludic and interactive apps for intervention against stress

Pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling reveals dissociable effects of morphine and alcohol on regional cerebral blood flow

We have examined sensitivity and specificity of pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (PCASL) to detect global and regional changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) in response to two different psychoactive drugs. We tested alcohol and morphine in a placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized study in 12 healthy young men. Drugs were administered intravenously. Validated pharmacokinetic protocols achieved minimal intersubject and intrasubject variance in plasma drug concentration. Permutation-based statistical testing of a mixed effect repeated measures model revealed a widespread increase in absolute CBF because of both morphine and alcohol. Conjunction analysis revealed overlapping effects of morphine and alcohol on absolute CBF in the left anterior cingulate, right hippocampus, right insula, and left primary sensorimotor areas. Effects of morphine and alcohol on relative CBF (obtained from z-normalization of absolute CBF maps) were significantly different in the left putamen, left frontoparietal network, cerebellum, and the brainstem. Corroborating previous PET results, our findings suggest that PCASL is a promising tool for central nervous system drug research

The MNI data-sharing and processing ecosystem

AbstractNeuroimaging has been facing a data deluge characterized by the exponential growth of both raw and processed data. As a result, mining the massive quantities of digital data collected in these studies offers unprecedented opportunities and has become paramount for today's research. As the neuroimaging community enters the world of “Big Data”, there has been a concerted push for enhanced sharing initiatives, whether within a multisite study, across studies, or federated and shared publicly. This article will focus on the database and processing ecosystem developed at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) to support multicenter data acquisition both nationally and internationally, create database repositories, facilitate data-sharing initiatives, and leverage existing software toolkits for large-scale data processing

3D orbital navigators for measurement of head motion in echo planar magnetic resonance imaging

This thesis presents a motion compensation method based on orbital navigator echoes that measure the movement of a subject between subsequent acquisitions of a magnetic resonance image (MRI). The 3D orbital navigator method proposed addresses the speed requirements of a fast acquisition technique, namely echo planar imaging (EPI), used in functional MRI. Three orthogonal magnetic field gradient pulses were designed and implemented to produce circular sampling trajectories in the volume of the resonating spins of the subject under study. The variations in phase and magnitude of the subsequent navigator data samples serve as markers for motion occurring between repeated acquisitions. Algorithms to estimate the parameters of motion from the navigator signals were developed and their correctness and stability in the presence of noise were tested by means of numerical simulation. The phantom studies involving controlled rotation and displacement of an inhomogeneous test object during an MRI acquisition established the technique's accuracy. In-vivo experiments showed that the navigator echoes can be used in measuring the gross patient movement, as well as in monitoring the small displacements that may correlate with the respiratory cycle

Observing the stressed brain : magnetic resonance imaging of the neural correlates of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis function

The Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis is the coordinator of adaptive responses to physical and psychological stress. The central nervous system plays a key role in modulation of both basal and adaptive HPA axis functions. In fact, since long ago, animal studies have shown that acute and chronic exposure to glucocorticoids (a stress hormone released due to HPA axis activation, cortisol in humans) affects the function and the morphology of brain areas such as the hippocampus and the cingulate cortex. This thesis is based on novel neuroimaging methodologies used to investigate the interactions of psychological stress, cortisol and the brain. It consists of three functional studies and a morphometric one. In the first functional study we show that the hippocampus (where glucocorticoid receptors are most abundant) plays a role in initiation of an HPA axis stress response. In the second study, we provide evidence that besides hippocampus, the neural activity in the so-called "default mode network" (DMN), especially the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), relates to interindividual variations in HPA axis response to psychological stress. In the third study we have investigated the cortisol-modulation of the DMN. Again, we provide evidence for a role of the ACC and the orbitofrontal cortex in negative feedback inhibition of the HPA axis activity. Finally, we show a morphological link between the ACC and the cortisol response to awakening which is an index of basal HPA axis activity. Overall, our findings confirm the critical role of the ACC and mesolimbic system in HPA axis regulation. These findings also draw attention to the interactions between functional subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex and states of HPA axis function prior to stress onset---suggesting an interplay of the monitoring and the executive planning roles of the medial prefrontal cortex in behavioral adaptation to stress. Beyond stress research, our findings offer a framework for combining neuroimaging and neuroendocrinology to better understand the interindividual variances in behavior, and perhaps to better identify subgroups at risk of psychological disorders

Double-Bind of Recruitment of Older Adults Into Studies of Successful Aging via Assistive Information and Communication Technologies: Mapping Review

BackgroundTwo fields of research and development targeting the needs of the aging population of the world are flourishing, successful aging and assistive information and communication technologies (A-ICTs). The risks of ageist stereotypes emerging from how we communicate in both discourses are long known. This raises questions about whether using specific age criteria in the context of “aging deficits” can bias participation in, or compliance with, the research process by older adults who try to avoid age-related stigma. ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine subject recruitment, study designs (based on age >65 years criteria), as well as discourses in research objectives and conclusions in health research on affordances of A-ICTs for older adults. MethodsA systematic mapping approach was used to characterize rationales, methods, stated objectives, and expected outcomes of studies indexed in PubMed and retrieved through the search logic ([“Older Adults” OR Seniors OR Elderly] AND [ICT OR gerontechnology OR “Assistive Technology”)] AND (“Healthy Aging” OR “Successful Aging” OR “healthy ageing” OR “successful ageing”). Inclusion criteria were as follows: the study should have recruited older participants (aged >65 years), been qualitative or quantitative research, and involved the introduction of at least one A-ICT for health-related improvements. Exclusion criteria were as follows: reviews, viewpoints, surveys, or studies that used information and communication technology for data collection instead of lifestyle interventions. Content, thematic, and discourse analyses were used to map the study characteristics and synthesize results with respect to the research question. ResultsOf 180 studies that passed the search logic, 31 (17.2%) satisfied the inclusion criteria (6 randomized controlled trials, 4 purely quantitative studies, 9 focus groups, 2 observational studies, and 10 mixed methods studies). In all but one case, recruitment was pragmatic and nonrandom. Thematic analysis of rationales revealed a high likelihood of emphasis on the burdens of aging, such as rising costs of care (12/31, 39%) and age-related deficits (14/31, 45%). The objectives of the research fell under 4 categories: promotion of physical activity, acceptance and feasibility of robots and remote health monitoring systems, risk detection, and the future of A-ICTs in health care for older adults. Qualitative studies were more attentive to the nonageist research guidelines. Heterogeneity in the study results (both qualitative and quantitative) was not related to age but to individual agency, acceptance, and adherence. A combination of research strategies (participatory, longitudinal, playful, flexible, and need-based designs) proved successful in characterizing variations in study outcomes. Studies that documented recruitment dynamics revealed that fear of stigma was a factor that biased participants’ engagement. ConclusionsThis review indicates that age is not an informative criterion for recruitment and retention of participants. Charting the dynamics of adoption of, and interaction with, A-ICTs is critical for advancing research and technology development

Datasheet1_Effect of spinal anesthesia-induced deafferentation on pain processing in healthy male volunteers: A task-related fMRI study.pdf

BackgroundSpinal anesthesia causes short-term deafferentation and alters the crosstalk among brain regions involved in pain perception and pain modulation. In the current study, we examined the effect of spinal anesthesia on pain response to noxious thermal stimuli in non-deafferented skin areas using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm.MethodsTwenty-two healthy subjects participated in the study. We performed a task-based fMRI study using a randomized crossover design. Subjects were scanned under two conditions (spinal anesthesia or control) at two-time points: before and after spinal anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia resulted in sensory loss up to dermatome Th6. Calibrated heat-pain stimuli were administered to the right forearm (C8-Th1) using a box-car design (blocks of 10s on/25s off) during MRI scanning. Pain perception was measured using a visual analogue scale (1–100) at the beginning and the end of each session. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the effect of intervention by time by order on pain scores. Similarly, higher-level effects were tested with appropriate general linear models (accounting for within-subject variations in session and time) to examine: (1) Differences in BOLD response to pain stimulus under spinal anesthesia versus control; and (2) Effects of spinal anesthesia on pain-related modulation of the cerebral activation.ResultsComplete fMRI data was available for eighteen participants. Spinal anesthesia was associated with moderate pain score increase. Significant differences in brain response to noxious thermal stimuli were present in comparison of spinal versus control condition (post—pre). Spinal condition was associated with higher BOLD signal in the bilateral inferior parietal lobule and lower BOLD signal in bilateral postcentral and precentral gyrus. Within the angular regions, we observed a positive correlation between pain scores and BOLD signal. These observations were independent from order effect (whether the spinal anesthesia was administered in the first or the second visit). However, we did observe order effect on brain regions including medial prefrontal regions, possibly related to anticipation of the experience of spinal anesthesia.ConclusionsThe loss of sensory and motor activity caused by spinal anesthesia has a significant impact on brain regions involved in the sensorimotor and cognitive processing of noxious heat pain stimuli. Our results indicate that the anticipation or experience of a strong somatosensory response to the spinal intervention might confound and contribute to increased sensitivity to cognitive pain processing. Future studies must account for individual differences in subjective experience of pain sensation within the experimental context.</p