CHALLACON

Over the past few months, we have seen an increase in people who believe in conspiracy theories. These individuals, like followers of QAnon to COVID-deniers, have always fascinated researchers. Now, we may have a greater understanding of these individuals.

Bowes, Costello, Ma, and Lilienfeld (2020) used community (Amazon’s Mechanical Turk) and student participants to examine conspiratorial ideation. Through the course of four studies, the researchers found the explanation was complex, multifaceted.

They found some correlates — both positive and negative. In their own words: “A mixture of narcissism and undue intellectual certainty, on the one hand, conjoined with poor impulse control, angst, interpersonal alienation, and reduced inquisitiveness, on the other hand, may provide a personological recipe for a tendency to impetuously latch on to spurious but confidently held causal narratives that account for one’s distress and resentment. To the persons fitting this portrait, positing a world populated by malevolent actors hatching secret plots may be comforting, as it may afford at least a partial explanation for their otherwise inexplicable negative emotions” (pg. 12).

This was an interesting study.

Alzheimer’s

Two different studies have correlated individuals having trouble smelling peanut butter with potential Alzheimer’s disorder. As reported on alzheimers.net, a test for this disease may be to cover your right nostril, open a jar of peanut butter a few inches away, and try to smell it. Trouble smelling it? It could be an indication of the disease.

Autism

A multinational research team, which published their results in eLife here, found individuals with varying Autism-Spectrum Quotient (QD) did not focus on the same aspects of this image (credit to the publishers and Discover Magazine):

For me, it looks like a spinning cylinder. High AQ individuals focused on front part of this, instead of seeing the “global, holistic” image.

Any others?

For the last half a decade, politics in the United States have been extremely polarizing. Numerous events have occurred during this time that further illustrate the divide in the country. Last Wednesday, we saw the changing of the guards and a potential shift in the future of the USA. As we start to focus on the future, I wanted to reflect back on a little-known study with an interesting finding.

Four years ago, the election of President Trump caused significant distress to many individuals across the country. Some individuals disturbed by the 2016 election results experienced a loss of appetite, trouble sleeping and concentrating, and have become easily annoyed; whereas, other individuals equally disturbed by the election did not experience similar symptoms of depression. Tashjian and Galvan (2018) examined the stress from a neuroscience perspective, finding that both an individual’s brain and their social support structure impacted their stress levels.

I am not a neurologist or a neuro-psychologist. From what I recall from previous study, the mesolimbic pathway transmits dopamine to the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and amygdala. The NAcc is believed to be involved or associated with pleasure seeking and addictive behavior. The NAcc and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which is involved or associated with the production of sounds, have a connection. Tashjian and Galvan (2018) found “greater activation in the NAcc and stronger connectivity between the NAcc and mPFC were associated with less depression for affected individuals even under conditions of high election-related distress” (pg. 2895). Previous studies have also seen a connection between NAcc and mPFC in relation to motivational state and reinforcer magnitude.

We already know that brain design/chemistry/genetics/neurological structure can make individuals more susceptible to depression. However, a strong social support structure may help to mitigate this genetic predisposition. Not knowing if I have a neurological structure more susceptible to depression or depressive behavior, I should focus on fostering a strong support structure so I can reduce distress for future trauma. And, who doesn’t like having more friends.