Circadian Timing of Food Intake Contributes to Weight Gain

Studies of body weight regulation have focused almost entirely on caloric intake and energy expenditure. However, a number of recent studies in animals linking energy regulation and the circadian clock at the molecular, physiological, and behavioral levels raise the possibility that the timing of food intake itself may play a significant role in weight gain. The present study focused on the role of the circadian phase of food consumption in weight gain. We provide evidence that nocturnal mice fed a high‐fat diet only during the 12‐h light phase gain significantly more weight than mice fed only during the 12‐h dark phase. A better understanding of the role of the circadian system for weight gain could have important implications for developing new therapeutic strategies for combating the obesity epidemic facing the human population today

The Contribution Of Safeguarding Adult Reviews To The Social Construction of Social Work With Adults In England

Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) are a form of inquiry conducted retrospectively when it is agreed that an individual was not adequately safeguarded from harm and neglect. SARs are inquiries into tragic events structured by considering how the infrastructure tasked with safeguarding adults including social work services could have worked differently to prevent this tragedy. This thesis explores the contribution of SARs to the socially constructed narratives concerning what social work practice with adults in England is, and what social workers should do. SARs as an evidence base are born from tragedy and therefore the services discussed within a SAR (including social work) will be appraised based on a negative outcome. I hypothesise that SARs contribute to a negative portrayal of social work and that they reinforce the narrative of failure. This research is a qualitative study grounded in the theoretical framework of Social Constructionism. Evidence of the contribution of SARs is sought by documentary analysis of a sample of SARs, and analysis of data from two focus groups and twenty-five interviews with social workers, senior adult safeguarding leads, and SAR authors. The thesis finds that several contexts and objectives are shaping the work of SARs and that these infuse into the story of social work that is presented within. This thesis concludes that SARs hold considerable power in their ability to present a narrative about contemporary social work in England. This research implies that SARs can have a negative effect on social workers’ professional confidence which in turn will most likely impact their ability to advocate on behalf of people who use their services. Consequently, it has been suggested that the SAR process should prioritize enhancing the confidence of social workers as a key objective. This study provides new insights into contemporary practices in the field of SARs, adult safeguarding, and social work more broadly.

Social work expertise, best interests and the court of protection

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to consider the role of social work professional evidence in mental capacity law, specifically Court of Protection proceedings. The authors analyse how social workers perform as evidence givers in this domain and how social work as a profession is perceived alongside other professions within the context of adult social care decision-making in mental capacity law.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on textual evidence from judgments and existing empirical data published elsewhere. The authors consider the contribution of social work professional expertise to best interests decision-making in formal legal proceedings which, in turn, reflects on how social work expertise is relevant in everyday practice.FindingsThe findings of this paper include that social workers are well placed to be experts on best interests decision-making in mental capacity law. However, the authors show that the Court of Protection has not always endorsed this form of social work expertise in its judgments, meaning that social workers can struggle to articulate an expert knowledge base.Originality/valueOverall, the authors conclude that social work evidence is incredibly valuable as expertise about the person’s best interests, particularly in the domain of welfare cases and care planning

Frontal EEG asymmetry moderates the effects of stressful life events on internalizing symptoms in children at familial risk for depression

This study examined whether frontal alpha electroencephalographic ( EEG ) asymmetry moderates the association between stressful life events and depressive symptoms in children at familial risk for depression. Participants included 135 children ages 6 to 13, whose mothers had either a history of depression or no history of major psychiatric conditions. Frontal EEG was recorded while participants watched emotion‐eliciting films. Symptoms and stressful life events were obtained via the C hild B ehavior C heck L ist and a clinical interview, respectively. High‐risk children displayed greater relative right lateral frontal activation ( F 7/ F 8) than their low‐risk peers during the films. For high‐risk children, greater relative left lateral frontal activation moderated the association between stressful life events and internalizing symptoms. Specifically, greater relative left lateral frontal activation mitigated the effects of stress in at‐risk children.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90560/1/psyp1332.pd

Neuromodulation and antenatal depression: a review

BACKGROUND: Depression during pregnancy affects 5%–8% of women. While the percentage of women in the US taking serotonin reuptake inhibitors during pregnancy has risen over the last decade, pregnant women continue to report that they prefer non-pharmacologic interventions. OBJECTIVE: We review the literature regarding neuromodulation techniques for major depressive disorder during pregnancy. The rationale for their use in this population, new developments, and future directions are discussed. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed Plus, Ovid Medline, and Embase to collect all articles on neuromodulation for the treatment of depression during pregnancy. Key search words included electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, neuromodulation, depression, and pregnancy. Given the sparse literature, all articles from 1960 to 2014 that addressed the use of neuromodulation in pregnancy were included. CONCLUSION: The data support the use of electroconvulsive therapy in all trimesters of pregnancy for major depressive disorder. New data are emerging for the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation in pregnancy, which is likely safe, but more data are needed before it can be recommended as a primary treatment modality during pregnancy. Other neuromodulation techniques have not been well studied in this population

Left to Their Own Devices: Breakdowns in United States Medical Device Premarket Review

Using examples from recent FDA regulatory proceedings, Jonas Hines and colleagues critique the medical device premarket review and identify eight weaknesses in the process that should be remedied

Modulating spontaneous brain activity using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

Abstract Background When no specific stimulus or task is presented, spontaneous fluctuations in brain activity occur. Brain regions showing such coherent fluctuations are thought to form organized networks known as 'resting-state' networks, a main representation of which is the default mode network. Spontaneous brain activity shows abnormalities in several neurological and psychiatric diseases that may reflect disturbances of ongoing thought processes. Information about the degree to which such spontaneous brain activity can be modulated may prove helpful in the development of treatment options. We investigated the effect of offline low-frequency rTMS on spontaneous neural activity, as measured with fMRI, using a sequential independent-component-analysis and regression approach to investigate local changes within the default mode network. Results We show that rTMS applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex results in distal changes of neural activity, relative to the site of stimulation, and that these changes depend on the patterns of brain network activity during 'resting-state'. Conclusions Whereas the proximal changes may reflect the off-line effect of direct stimulation of neural elements, the distal changes likely reflect modulation of functional connectivity.</p