The Reasons for Hemispheric Dominance in the Brain

The left and the right hemispheres specialise in different tasks. However, it has not yet been fully understood how one hemisphere assumes dominance over the other when it comes to controlling specific functions. Biopsychologists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum describe their latest findings in the journal Cell Reports, published online on 30 October 2018. Dr. Qian Xiao and Professor Onur Güntürkün have demonstrated in pigeons that the dominance is caused by slight differences in temporal activity patterns in both hemispheres. Novel research approach The two hemispheres are connected via thick nerve fibre bundles, so-called commissures. “In the past, it had been assumed that the dominant hemisphere transmits inhibitory signals to the other hemisphere via the commissures, thus suppressing specific functions in that region,” explains Onur Güntürkün. However, the interactions that take place between the two hemispheres are excitatory, as well as inhibitory. “This is why it has remained a mystery where, exactly, functional brain asymmetries stem from,” says Güntürkün. The result is: if both brain hemispheres compete for control, the left hemisphere is able to delay the activity of neurons in the right hemisphere. “The right hemisphere simply acts too late to control the response,” describes Onur Güntürkün. The researchers demonstrated that the neurons in the left and the right hemispheres are also capable of synchronising their activity in principle. A question of timing “These results show that hemispheric dominance is based on a sophisticated mechanism,” concludes Onur Güntürkün. “It does not hinge on one general inhibitory or excitatory influence; rather it is caused by minute temporal delays in the activity of nerve cells in the other hemisphere.” https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/the-reasons-for-hemispheric-dominance-in-the-brain-311426?utm_campaign=Newsletter_TN_BreakingScienceNews&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=67264197&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Sih3gqTpwedSkWt2Zn6IcMG2c63OpUXBj1-k7HrCVCFEq5ybwZPb0-Lnl7DYiMfGjnzFc9_uDf35auRphsZsYppaarg&_hsmi=67264197

Screen-Time Does not Disrupt Children's Sleep, New Study Finds

Screens are now a fixture of modern childhood. As young people spend an increasing amount of time on electronic devices, the effects of these digital activities has become a prevalent concern among parents, caregivers, and policy-makers. Research indicating that between 50% to 90% of school-age children might not be getting enough sleep has prompted calls that technology use may be to blame. However, the new research findings from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, has shown that screen time has very little practical effect on children’s sleep. The study was conducted using data from the United States’ 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health. Parents from across the country completed self-report surveys on themselves, their children and household. 'The findings suggest that the relationship between sleep and screen use in children is extremely modest,' says Professor Andrew Przybylski, author of the study published in the Journal of Pediatrics. 'Every hour of screen time was related to 3 to 8 fewer minutes of sleep a night.' In practical terms, while the correlation between screen time and sleep in children exists, it might be too small to make a significant difference to a child’s sleep. For example, when you compare the average nightly sleep of a tech-abstaining teenager (at 8 hours, 51 minutes) with a teenager who devotes 8 hours a day to screens (at 8 hours, 21 minutes), the difference is overall inconsequential. Other known factors, such as early starts to the school day, have a larger effect on childhood sleep. 'This suggests we need to look at other variables when it comes to children and their sleep,' says Przybylski. Analysis in the study indicated that variables within the family and household were significantly associated with both screen use and sleep outcomes. 'Focusing on bedtime routines and regular patterns of sleep, such as consistent wake-up times, are much more effective strategies for helping young people sleep than thinking screens themselves play a significant role.' https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/screen-time-does-not-disrupt-childrens-sleep-new-study-finds-311421?utm_campaign=Newsletter_TN_BreakingScienceNews&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=67264197&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Sih3gqTpwedSkWt2Zn6IcMG2c63OpUXBj1-k7HrCVCFEq5ybwZPb0-Lnl7DYiMfGjnzFc9_uDf35auRphsZsYppaarg&_hsmi=67264197

People With Type 1 Diabetes May Have Higher Risk Of Complications When Using Cannabis,

reports a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reveals that people with type 1 diabetes “may be more likely to develop potentially fatal complications when they use cannabis.” Researchers found that “cannabis users had about twice the risk of experiencing a serious complication known as diabetic ketoacidosis, which develops when blood sugar is elevated for too long and the body produces high levels of acids known as ketones.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diabetes-cannabis/cannabis-tied-to-serious-type-1-diabetes-complications-idUSKCN1NA26X

Parents Report 'Sharing' Leftover Antibiotics Nearly half of those surveyed diverted, rather than disposed of, unused prescription meds

Parents said they often saved leftover antibiotics and gave them to other people, both within and outside the family, according to researchers here. In an anonymous online questionnaire distributed to a national sample of 496 parents through Amazon Mechanical Turk, nearly half (48.2%) of the parents reported that they'd kept leftover antibiotics rather than properly disposing of them, reported Ruth Milanaik, DO, of Cohen Children's Medical Center, Northwell Health in Lake Success, New York, and colleagues. Of those, 73% said they subsequently diverted the medications to siblings, unrelated children, and unrelated adults, all without physician consultation. Parents also said they used the leftover antibiotics themselves, the authors stated in a presentation at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) annual meeting. "This is a dangerous practice," Milanaik said at an AAP press conference. "As we have gotten smarter about development of antibiotics, our microbes have gotten smarter as well. They have learned from every mistake we have ever made, and from every shortened course of antibiotics." "We, as clinicians, need to do a better job of telling our patients that proper disposal of antibiotics is a really important practice," she added. https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/aap/76116?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2018-11-05&eun=g721819d0r&pos=1111&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%202018-11-05&utm_term=Daily%20Headlines%20-%20Active%20User%20-%20180%20days

Injury to a parent may result in sleep issues for children and teens

Following a parental injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI), children (ages ≤17) had a 17% increased rate of outpatient care for sleep disorders for issues such as circadian rhythm disorder, insomnia, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome and unspecified sleep disorders, reported Capt. Saira Ahmed, MD, of the Walter Reed National Military Hospital in Washington, and colleagues. Also, teenagers had a 37% (incidence rate ratio 1.37, 95% CI 1.25-1.50) increase in sleep visits, they said in a presentation at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) annual meeting. Ahmed reported at an AAP press conference that her group accessed records from the Military Health System, and determined there was an overall 48% increase (IRR 1.48, 95% CI 1.33-1.63) in sleep visits among the children of parents who experienced PTSD and TBI. She told MedPage Today that only a small percentage of the parental injuries were related to combat. "These were common injuries...such as vehicular accidents or falls around the home, and therefore it is likely that the findings are applicable to the general population," Ahmed stated. https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/aap/76119?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2018-11-05&eun=g721819d0r&pos=11&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%202018-11-05&utm_term=Daily%20Headlines%20-%20Active%20User%20-%20180%20days

Children with Asthma Benefit from Fish-Rich Diet

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Working Group Convened To Explore Growing Diabetes Crisis.

reported that it recently “convened a working group of policymakers, researchers, clinicians and experts to explore the growing diabetes crisis, and identify challenges, gaps and solutions.” Taking part in the working group were “researchers from the National Institutes of Health, PCORI, congressional staff and academic experts, as well as health care providers ranging from endocrinologists to pharmacists and community health workers.” The group’s “conversation mostly focused on Type 2 diabetes, particularly regarding prevention, although some aspects of the discussion particularly surrounding disease management and care coordination apply as well to Type 1.” Currently, “one in three” US adults “are living with diabetes or prediabetes, according to the CDC.” https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/02/us-diabetes-epidemic-959043