Written By: Juliana Morsello Edited By: Noor Amina Designed by https://www.freepik.com/   Introduction Imagine sustaining a physical wound and feeling the ache of pain without knowing how deep the cut truly runs. You sense the hurt, yet have no clarity about the damage beneath the surface. This is the nature of trauma in the brain. Traumatic experiences leave their mark like tattoos, etched into neural tissue. As we endure a tattoo session, we cannot fathom how far our new ink spreads or how deeply it seeps into us. For some, the endurance of trauma steps loudly into life, announcing itself unwelcomingly as disconnection from others or as a struggle to regulate emotions. For others, it arrives as memory difficulties, where small lapses grow more frequent with age, until one day the pattern is written into a diagnosis such as dementia. Often, that diagnosis is attributed to genetics or other influences. In reality, trauma, or its interplay with those factors, may shape the mind in ways we are only beginning to understand. In this article, I will discuss trauma and its influence on cognition, along with its relationship to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. I will also discuss the brain mechanisms potentially underlying these associations and the critical gaps that future research should address. Trauma and Cognition What do we currently know about psychological trauma and its relationship to cognitive processes such as memory? There is substantial evidence suggesting that trauma is related to poor cognition. Exposure to a greater number of traumatic events generally corresponds to more severe cognitive deficits, and specific types of trauma may have both distinct and similar effects on cognition. For example, in a study published by Cambridge University, researchers found that complex trauma, defined as exposure to multiple traumatic events during childhood, was associated with poorer cognitive functioning (e.g., processing speed, spatial working memory) in early adulthood compared to no trauma or non-complex trauma exposure (Lewis et al., 2021). Additionally, while childhood trauma in general has been linked to worse cognitive performance (Petkus et al., 2018), with abuse potentially leading to slower responses, it is childhood neglect that shows an association with long-term deficits in executive functioning and memory (Wang et al., 2024). Trauma and Risk for Dementia With diagnoses of several types of dementia on the rise, it is important to better understand the factors that may increase the likelihood of experiencing dementia symptoms. In a meta-analysis of seven studies, Severs et al. (2023) found that traumatic life events (TLE), such as experiencing or witnessing “ actual or threatened death, significant injury, or sexual violence,” were linked to an increased risk of dementia in war/Holocaust survivors and victims of childhood abuse.  In light of these findings, we may ask ourselves what trauma disorders are implicated in dementia risk. In another meta-analysis, Bougea et al. (2020) reported that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is a severe, trauma-related condition that may develop after witnessing a TLE, appears to increase one’s odds of developing dementia. However, this article does not provide insight into which specific types of dementia (e.g., vascular, Alzheimer’s) are most strongly related to PTSD. Trauma and Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, yet this neurodegenerative disease remains incurable and shrouded in complexity. Despite decades of research, many factors that have been indicated as underlying AD, including those that are psychosocial in nature, are still not fully understood. However, it has been proposed is that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as sexual abuse and parental abuse, may contribute to the onsent of AD or even amplify the risk of other known factors in its development (like depression and neuroinflammation) (Corney et al., 2022).  Though this extends beyond the focus of this article, it is worth noting that trauma experienced while living with AD may also influence the course of the condition. This idea is reflected in Tom Kitwood’s dialectical theory of dementia, which challenged the premise that neurological impairment is the sole determinant and instead proposed that psychosocial factors mix with neurology to create distinct clinical trajectories (Kitwood, 1990). Accordingly, since trauma is a psychosocial stressor, it is important to consider not only how early-life trauma increases the risk of developing AD later in life, but also how trauma experienced during AD may influence disease progression. The Neuroscience Behind PTSD and Dementia Several brain regions and molecular mechanisms, whose impairment is implicated in the development of PTSD, are also known contributors to Alzheimer's disease. Although there is a dearth of literature on the neurobiological mechanisms linking PTSD and dementia, research reveals a parallel between the brain changes seen in these conditions. For example, neuroimaging research shows that temporal lobe areas such as the hippocampus and amygdala, which are essential for forming memories, regulating emotions, and processing stress, show reduced volume in those with PTSD (Araújo et al., 2023). In Alzheimer’s disease, early atrophy, or deterioration, is also seen in these regions and spreads to other areas, such as the prefrontal cortex, contributing to the progression of moderate cognitive decline, or what is referred to as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), to full-blown Alzheimer’s disease. Essentially, what this overlap suggests is that PTSD may set neurobiological changes in motion that create a vulnerable foundation on which Alzheimer’s processes can more readily progress.  Earlier in the article, I discussed trauma research largely related to children. However, other work that can additionally inform us about PTSD and the brain is veteran research.  It was previously found that U.S. veterans with PTSD were twice as likely to be diagnosed with dementia (Yaffe et al., 2010), and a potential explanation of this finding relates to dysfunction of the HPA axis. To clarify, the HPA axis is our stress response system. When we’re stressed, this axis releases what we commonly refer to as the stress hormone, or cortisol. In individuals with PTSD, cortisol levels can be chronically elevated, which can slowly break down connections in the brain that are essential for cognitive functions (Prieto et al., 2023), including memory, and accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s disease (Justice, 2018). Current Gaps in the Literature Although the literature has provided evidence for the correlation between trauma and dementia, as well as suggested the ways in which biology may influence this relationship, there is still more work to be done. Notably, there appears to be a significant lack of research on the various types of dementia and their potentially unique or similar associations with trauma. In the same vein, future work should prioritize better understanding of how several groups of people, who have experienced distinct subtypes of trauma, for varying durations, show specific markers or signs related to dementia. This could be pursued through biomarker research that examines how the signs that predict dementia differ across demographic groups or through longitudinal studies tracking and comparing their cognitive performance over time. In doing so, medical and clinical teams can better understand what specific risk factors should be on their radar depending on the individual patient. Additionally, it should be further researched how different consequences of trauma, such as sleep disturbances or even depressive symptomatology, are particularly related to dementia. Perhaps this can be done in a study where these participants are compared to those who do not have trauma but experience similar issues. By being able to better distinguish these patterns, we can gain a clearer grasp of how specifically trauma impacts dementia risk. Conclusion When thinking about why this all matters, it is difficult and sad to realize how many of us already understand it firsthand. Unfortunately, children and adults in the U.S. are undoubtedly facing numerous opportunities for trauma, whether through the rise of technology and cyberbullying or the increasing number of school shootings. Because of this, we know exactly why this research matters: to protect the children of today and tomorrow, whose childhood trauma can have immediate and long-term consequences, impacting the very minds they should be able to use for learning but instead may struggle with complications. It also matters for protecting our loved ones who may be at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, whether due to genetics or other influences. The point is, everyone knows someone, close or distant, who has or will experience trauma, and by better understanding its consequences, even beyond dementia, we can learn how to support them more effectively. References Araújo, D., Sair, H. I., Peters, M. E., Carvalho, A. F., Vivek Yedavalli, Solnes, L. B., & Luna, L. P. (2023). The association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cognitive impairment: A systematic review of neuroimaging findings. Journal of Psychiatric Research , 164 , 259–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.06.016 Bougea, A., Anagnostouli, M., Angelopoulou, E., Spanou, I., & Chrousos, G. (2020). Psychosocial and Trauma-Related Stress and Risk of Dementia: A Meta-Analytic Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology , 35 (1), 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891988720973759 Corney, K. B., West, E. C., Quirk, S. E., Pasco, J. A., Stuart, A. L., Manavi, B. A., Kavanagh, B. E., & Williams, L. J. (2022). The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience , 14 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.831378 Justice, N. J. (2018). The relationship between stress and Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiology of Stress , 8 (1), 127–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.04.002 Kitwood, T. (1990). The Dialectics of Dementia: With Particular Reference to Alzheimer’s Disease. Ageing and Society , 10 (02), 177–196. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x00008060 Lewis, S. J., Koenen, K. C., Ambler, A., Arseneault, L., Caspi, A., Fisher, H. L., Moffitt, T. E., & Danese, A. (2021). Unravelling the contribution of complex trauma to psychopathology and cognitive deficits: a cohort study. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 219 (2), 448–455. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2021.57 Petkus, A. J., Lenze, E. J., Butters, M. A., Twamley, E. W., & Wetherell, J. L. (2018). Childhood Trauma Is Associated With Poorer Cognitive Performance in Older Adults. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry , 79 (1). https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.16m11021 Prieto, S., Nolan, K. E., Moody, J. N., Hayes, S. M., & Hayes, J. P. (2023). Posttraumatic stress symptom severity predicts cognitive decline beyond the effect of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in Veterans. Translational Psychiatry , 13 (1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02354-0 Severs, E., James, T., Letrondo, P., Lovland, L. R., Marchant, N. L., & Naaheed Mukadam. (2023). Traumatic life events and risk for dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Geriatrics , 23 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04287-1 Wang, M., Wei, J., Dou, Y., Wang, Y., Fan, H., Yan, Y., Du, Y., Zhao, L., Wang, Q., Yang, X., & Ma, X. (2024). Differential association between childhood trauma subtypes and neurocognitive performance in adults with major depression. BMC Psychiatry , 24 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-06226-9 Yaffe, K., Vittinghoff, E., Lindquist, K., Barnes, D., Covinsky, K. E., Neylan, T., Kluse, M., & Marmar, C. (2010). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Risk of Dementia Among US Veterans. Archives of General Psychiatry , 67 (6), 608. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.61

Author: Evelyn Fistler Editor: Anita Enoma Introduction Air pollution has increased drastically over time, with annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in urban areas showing an increase from the years 2000-2019, specifically in regions like Southeast Asia, the Middle East, parts of South America, East Africa, and Eastern China. Regions such as North America and Europe have fortunately shown a reduction in air pollution (Pierre et al., 2023), however, this does not mean that all areas are guaranteed safe. Contributing factors like burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and waste disposal greatly contribute to air pollution (Air Pollution and Your Health, n.d.). How Air Pollution Affects the Brain PM2.5 is known to enter the lungs and circulate through the bloodstream, eventually ending up in the brain. Since these particles are so small and are emitted through power plants, vehicles, industrial facilities, and smoke from fires, research for this issue and its correlation to dementia is ongoing (Grande et al., 2021). Induced by PM2.5 exposure, oxidative stress is a factor that contributes to inflammation within the brain (Li et al., 2022), though research has shown that carriers of the APOE e4 allele tend to have a much higher risk for dementia incidents, even within a lower exposure setting to PM2.5 than those without the gene. Furthermore, declining olfactory functions are early markers for dementia, and air pollution is associated with  Alzheimer’s disease-related pathology in the olfactory bulb long before dementia onset. The allele APOE e4 had been previously shown to be associated with poor odor identification (Andersson et al., 2023). Given this information, the association of air pollution and its impact on the olfactory system is important to research. Currently, this topic is an ongoing investigation, where vulnerability to poor odor identification due to air pollution in females and physically active individuals was studied. Biological aspects such as blood-brain barrier permeability, females being more vulnerable to olfactory damage due to their number of neurons and glial cells compared to males, and increased respiratory rates in active individuals could have an impact on the olfactory system as well (Nikolaou et al., 2025). What Next? Globally, this issue will require adaptation and preventive measures to ensure the health of civilians within busy areas. The use of clean energy is highly recommended to be strengthened in China by reducing fossil fuel consumption and instead utilizing advanced technologies that rely on solar, nuclear, and hydropower, while also limiting high energy consumption and emission enterprises through industrial upgrading. Air pollution control and revision of quality air standards are of high importance, as recognition of air pollution-causing health risks can help citizens. This will also help educate the public on the risks from unhealthy air quality and what steps need to be taken for health protection (Shi & Duan, 2022). Within the United States, measures are being taken to ensure the public is informed while state-specific strategies occur in order to prevent health risks. Limiting the co-benefits of CO 2 emission is shown to be effective, and while cost is a concern, fuel switching and efficiency improvements are beneficial (Ou et al., 2020). Conclusion Further epidemiological investigations on PM2.5 throughout different regions of the world may help narrow down specific areas of higher risk for neurological disease development, however, change is required in order to help citizens globally. Promotion of fossil fuel reduction, implementation of stricter emissions standards, and energy conservation are some of the factors that may reduce health risks due to air pollution, but adopting cleaner technology and enforcing standards are crucial steps to help citizens also invest in cleaner energy use. Scenarios such as the Clean Air scenario help to promote strategies targeting advocacy for global emission reduction through lifestyle choices and industrial factories, while still including climate changes such as emissions through vegetation that are prevalent today (Amann et al., 2020). Since the exact cause of neurological conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's is unknown, researchers can instead study how society and environments affect the brain, providing information that shows the highest risks for disease development. While pollution is a difficult issue to tackle, spreading awareness of the dangers of pollution and how it affects societies globally will help researchers understand and implement ideas that can reduce health risks and instead create a better world for everyone. References Air pollution and your health. (n.d.). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/air-pollution#:~:text=Vehicle%20emissions%2C%20fuel%20oils%20and,of%20human%2Dmade%20air%20pollution . Amann, M., Kiesewetter, G., Schöpp, W., Klimont, Z., Winiwarter, W., Cofala, J., Rafaj, P., Höglund-Isaksson, L., Gomez-Sabriana, A., Heyes, C., Purohit, P., Borken-Kleefeld, J., Wagner, F., Sander, R., Fagerli, H., Nyiri, A., Cozzi, L., & Pavarini, C. (2020). Reducing global air pollution: the scope for further policy interventions. Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences, 378(2183), 20190331. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0331 Andersson, J., Sundström, A., Nordin, M., Segersson, D., Forsberg, B., Adolfsson, R., & Oudin, A. (2023). PM2.5 and Dementia in a Low Exposure Setting: The Influence of Odor Identification Ability and APOE. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 92(2), 679–689. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-220469 Expert Consensus Task Force, Shi, X., & Duan, G. (2022). Recommendations of Controlling and Preventing Acute Health Risks of Fine Particulate Matter Pollution - China, 2021. China CDC weekly, 4(16), 329–341. https://doi.org/10.46234/ccdcw2022.078 Grande, G., Wu, J., Ljungman, P. L., Stafoggia, M., Bellander, T., & Rizzuto, D. (2021). Long-Term exposure to PM2.5 and Cognitive Decline: a Longitudinal Population-Based study. Journal of Alzheimer S Disease, 80(2), 591–599. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-200852 Li, W., Lin, G., Xiao, Z., Zhang, Y., Li, B., Zhou, Y., Ma, Y., & Chai, E. (2022). A review of respirable fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 )-induced brain damage. Frontiers in molecular neuroscience, 15, 967174. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2022.967174 Nikolaos Nikolaou, Kathrin Wolf, Susanne Breitner, Regina Pickford, Tamara Schikowski, Annette Peters, Alexandra Schneider, Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution is associated with impaired odor identification: Results from the population-based KORA FIT study in Augsburg, Germany, Environment International, Volume 200, 2025, 109528, ISSN 0160-4120, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109528 . Ou, Y., West, J. J., Smith, S. J., Nolte, C. G., & Loughlin, D. H. (2020). Air pollution control strategies directly limiting national health damages in the US. Nature communications, 11(1), 957. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14783-2 Pierre Sicard, Evgenios Agathokleous, Susan C. Anenberg, Alessandra De Marco, Elena Paoletti, Vicent Calatayud, Trends in urban air pollution over the last two decades: A global perspective, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 858, Part 2, 2023, 160064, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160064 .

By Abbie Affum.  Editor: Elena Bobric When we think about cleft lip treatment, surgery often comes to mind first. Surgical repair is essential, but it is not the end of the recovery process. For many children, additional support is required to develop clear speech. This is where speech therapy becomes vital, as it transforms surgical outcomes into long-term communication skills (Kummer, 2020). A cleft lip is a congenital condition where the tissue forming the upper lip fails to fully join during fetal development, resulting in a visible gap or opening (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). This separation can range from a small notch to a deep split that extends into the nose and gums, often affecting feeding, speech, and emotional well-being. Figure 1. Medical illustration of cleft lip anatomy. Source: Nhan Tam Dental Clinic (n.d.). A cleft lip affects more than appearance and also disrupts the development of the oral and facial muscles. These disruptions can interfere with articulation and airflow, making it difficult for children to produce certain sounds even after surgical repair. Studies indicate that a significant percentage of children with cleft lip and palate continue to experience speech problems postoperatively, including articulation errors, hypernasality, and reduced intelligibility (Persson et al., 2021; Sell et al., 2015). Without intervention, such difficulties may persist into school years, impacting both academic and social development. Speech therapy bridges the gap between surgical repair and functional recovery. Therapists work with children to re-establish correct articulatory placement, strengthen oral motor control, and improve resonance to reduce nasal speech. Interventions also address maladaptive compensatory speech behaviors, such as glottal stops, that may develop before or after surgery (Peterson-Falzone et al., 2017). Importantly, therapy often extends beyond clinical sessions, as parents and caregivers are taught techniques to reinforce progress at home, creating consistent opportunities for practice (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], n.d.). The long-term benefits of consistent speech therapy extend well beyond pronunciation. Clear communication supports literacy skills, classroom participation, and academic success (Hardin-Jones & Chapman, 2014). Children who receive therapy are also more likely to experience positive peer interactions and reduced stigma associated with cleft conditions, fostering stronger social and emotional well-being (Stock & Rumsey, 2015). In some cases, early and intensive therapy has been shown to reduce the need for secondary surgical interventions, further emphasizing its importance in comprehensive care (Campbell et al., 2021). Despite its proven benefits, access to speech therapy remains deeply uneven worldwide. In many low-resource regions, families In many regions, families must travel long distances to find trained specialists, while others may not have access at all (Callahan et al., 2019).. Additionally, they may also not only lack trained specialists but also have limited awareness of speech therapy as a necessary part of cleft care. These disparities are shaped by workforce shortages, geographic isolation, and systemic inequities in healthcare infrastructure (EquityHealthJ, 2022). In many low-resource countries, access to speech therapy is not only limited but also virtually nonexistent. For example, Ethiopia has an estimated one speech-language pathologist (SLP) per 800,000 people, far below the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of 1 per 100,000 ( SpeechTherapy.org , 2022). In such regions, families may not even be aware that speech therapy exists, let alone have access to trained professionals. Global health initiatives now emphasize the need to integrate speech therapy into cleft care programs, expand training opportunities for local providers, and adopt telehealth models to reach underserved populations (Bruneel et al., 2020). Addressing these disparities is critical to ensuring that all children can achieve functional recovery, not just structural repair. In conclusion, while surgery repairs the lip, speech therapy restores the voice. Together, they complete the recovery journey by giving children both the appearance of a new smile and the ability to share it confidently with the world. Recognizing and expanding access to speech therapy ensures that cleft lip care empowers children not only to heal, but also to communicate, connect, and thrive. References American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Cleft lip and palate. ASHA Practice Portal. https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/cleft-lip-and-palate/ Alighieri, C., Bettens, K., Bruneel, L., D'haeseleer, E., Van Gaever, E., & Van Lierde, K. (2020). Effectiveness of Speech Intervention in Patients With a Cleft Palate: Comparison of Motor-Phonetic Versus Linguistic-Phonological Speech Approaches. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 63(12), 3909–3933. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00129 Campbell, A., Restrepo, C., Rogers, M., Farkas, L., & Marcus, J. (2021). Secondary speech surgery rates after cleft palate repair: A systematic review. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 9(2), e3402. https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000003402 Cleveland Clinic. (2023, October 1). Cleft lip & cleft palate: Causes & treatment. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10947-cleft-lip-cleft-palate EquityHealthJ. (2022). Emerging professional practices focusing on reducing inequity in speech-language therapy. International Journal for Equity in Health. https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-022-01815-0 Hillary L. Broder, Maureen Wilson-Genderson, and Lacey Sischo: Health Disparities Among Children With Cleft American Journal of Public Health 102, 828_830 https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300654 Hardin-Jones, M., & Chapman, K. L. (2014). The impact of cleft lip and palate on speech and language development. Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America, 22(4), 493–500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsc.2014.08.004 Kummer, Ann W. Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Conditions : A Comprehensive Guide to Clinical Management. Fourth edition. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2020. Print. Nhan Tam Dental Clinic. (n.d.). Cleft lip and cleft palate – Things you need to know. https://nhantamdental.com/cleft-lip-and-cleft-palate-things-you-need-to-know-205.html Persson, C., Elander, A., Lohmander-Agerskov, A., & Söderpalm, E. (2002). Speech outcomes in isolated cleft palate: impact of cleft extent and additional malformations. The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, 39(4), 397–408. https://doi.org/10.1597/1545-1569_2002_039_0397_soiicp_2.0.co_2 Peterson-Falzone, S. J., Trost-Cardamone, J. E., Karnell, M. P., & Hardin-Jones, M. (2017). The clinician’s guide to treating cleft palate speech. Mosby Elsevier. Sell, D., Mildinhall, S., Albery, L., Wills, A. K., Sandy, J. R., & Ness, A. R. (2015). The speech outcomes of cleft palate repair in the United Kingdom: Results from the Cleft Care UK study. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 52(6), 597–608. https://doi.org/10.1597/14-178 Stock, N. M., & Feragen, K. B. (2016). Psychological adjustment to cleft lip and/or palate: A narrative review of the literature. Psychology & health, 31(7), 777–813. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2016.1143944

Written by: Jacinda Taggett Edited by: Danica J. Note: this article has now been cross-posted to UCLA's Psychology in Action blog ! Imagine you are walking from a coffee shop to your college classroom when you experience a shocking event: witnessing an individual fall off their bike and onto the sidewalk. When you remember how much time had passed between the coffee shop and the college campus, would you think that these events occurred closer  in time? Or farther?  Would the shock from the bike crash scare you into remembering that the coffee shop study session occurred before  or after  the college class? Research from various pioneers in the cognitive neuroscience field has tried to study how our temporal memory   (the memory for time-related components of an event) is influenced by these salient or emotional events (Aston-Jones & Cohen, 2005; Clewett et al., 2020, 2025; DuBrow et al., 2017; DuBrow & Davachi, 2013, 2014; Ezzyat & Davachi, 2011, 2014; Faber & Gennari, 2015, 2017; Rouhani et al., 2024). While including previous works in my research, I hypothesize that we can actually impair our memory of events through altering our perception of time between them. Memory research often uses the same terminology to refer to the “clips” or “episodes” that make up our memories, events . In the prior example of walking from the coffee shop to the college campus, we have three  events: the coffee shop study session, the walk between the two locations, and the college class. Each event has its own context, which comprises the place, sights, sounds, and mental state that you are in. Studies have shown that subjective   time duration ( “how much time do I think this event took?” ) increases as there are differences perceptually within the same context  (Faber & Gennari, 2015, 2017). The experience of walking on campus between the coffee shop and the classroom will be remembered as having occurred longer  than what objectively took place because of the different sights you saw. On the other hand, sitting in the classroom for hours at a time will feel subjectively shorter  afterwards because you are not experiencing as many perceptual differences. Given this early finding, it is intuitive that memory for events are often remembered better temporally when items are within the same context,  or having little perceptual changes within-context. These aspects of temporal memory have been seen to be associated with the hippocampus and, in a broader sense, the medial temporal lobe  (Dubrow & Davachi, 2013, 2014; Ezzyat & Davachi, 2011, 2014), which are locations of the brain best understood to contribute to embedding our experiences into cohesive and understandable memories. But how does this change in perception affect our temporal memory? This finding of subjective time being altered has also been seen with pupillometry  measures (pupil dilation; Clewett et al., 2020, 2025), showcasing that locus coeruleus activity and norepinephrine release modulate this experience (for more information, refer to my other article here ). However, the findings are counterintuitive: more norepinephrine release  (“fight or flight” chemical of the brain)  leads to longer perceptions of time as well as reversed order of events occurring . But I thought from prior research that having rewarding or salient events also creates more variable contexts, such as diversifying one’s mental or emotional state, therefore thought to maximize memory for events (DuBrow et al., 2017; Rouhani et al., 2024)? A common misconception about neuroscience and psychology research is that we need to look at nonlinear relationships between our measures. A common framework in the field of research studying norepinephrine is one by Aston-Jones & Cohen (2005), which claims that norepinephrine release and cognitive performance is actually an “inverted-U” shape . In other words, we need to find the sweet spot where we do not have too little norepinephrine ( inattentive ) and not too much ( distractible ) to be task-engaged and perfectly attentive to our experiences. The overall arching question is: how is our perception of time influencing our memory of events? Depending on how exciting or surprising your daily life is, you might feel as though more time has occurred and therefore have trouble remembering the order or accuracy of events. However, you do not want to stay stuck in the same location for too long, as you become inattentive to what is going on around you and this leads to confusion. Future research needs to be conducted on how we get to this optimal stimulating experience in our daily lives without overwhelming our brains with too much information. Through my future research and onward, I aim to answer this gap in the literature. References. Aston-Jones, G., & Cohen, J. D. (2005). AN INTEGRATIVE THEORY OF LOCUS COERULEUS-NOREPINEPHRINE FUNCTION: Adaptive Gain and Optimal Performance. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 28(1), 403–450. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.28.061604.135709 Clewett, D., Gasser, C., & Davachi, L. (2020). Pupil-linked arousal signals track the temporal organization of events in memory. Nature Communications, 11(1), 4007. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17851-9 Clewett, D., Huang, R., & Davachi, L. (2025). Locus coeruleus activation “resets” hippocampal event representations and separates adjacent memories. Neuron, 113(15), 2521-2535.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2025.05.013 DuBrow, S., & Davachi, L. (2013). The influence of context boundaries on memory for the sequential order of events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(4), 1277–1286. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034024 DuBrow, S., & Davachi, L. (2014). Temporal memory is shaped by encoding stability and intervening item reactivation. The Journal of Neuroscience: The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 34(42), 13998–14005. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2535-14.2014 DuBrow, S., Rouhani, N., Niv, Y., & Norman, K. A. (2017). Does mental context drift or shift? Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 17, 141–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.08.003 Ezzyat, Y., & Davachi, L. (2011). What constitutes an episode in episodic memory? Psychological Science, 22(2), 243–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610393742 Ezzyat, Y., & Davachi, L. (2014). Similarity breeds proximity: Pattern similarity within and across contexts is related to later mnemonic judgments of temporal proximity. Neuron, 81(5), 1179–1189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.01.042 Faber, M., & Gennari, S. P. (2015). In search of lost time: Reconstructing the unfolding of events from memory. Cognition, 143, 193–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2015.06.014 Faber, M., & Gennari, S. P. (2017). Effects of learned episodic event structure on prospective duration judgments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 43(8), 1203–1214. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000378 Rouhani, N., Clewett, D., & Antony, J. W. (2024). Building and Breaking the Chain: A Model of Reward Prediction Error Integration and Segmentation of Memory. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 36(11), 2401–2414. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_02215

by Kimberly Hall (image credit: " 20151104-OSEC-LSC-0828 " by   USDAgov  is marked with   Public Domain Mark 1.0 ) In 2021, the American Psychological Association (APA) released a formal apology to people of color for its role in both shaping and maintaining race-based social hierarchy in the United States. In this statement, the APA acknowledges that psychological assessment in research and diagnostic practice–and notably intelligence testing, with early attempts to both define and discretely measure an individual’s capacity for ‘correct’ learning and advanced thought–has long been used to amplify White supremacy and justify inequitable treatment of non-White communities by means of active exclusion from research and discourse, and by the promotion of eugenics and biological essentialism regarding societal structure, segregation, interracial relationships, and forced sterilization. Their detailed acknowledgment serves as an important step towards creating a more inclusive and firmly anti-racist psychology. As researchers like Holden and Tanenbaum (2023) point out, the US population is becoming increasingly diverse on multiple fronts, with a minority-majority population estimated by the year 2050. This ongoing demographic shift makes the need for equity and cross-cultural sensitivity in psychological assessment more relevant than ever. However, many traditional psychological models, diagnostic standards, and testing methods were not designed to take social and cultural background into account. In this article, I will give a brief overview of some of the general problems produced by a lack of sociocultural sensitivity in such tests, and discuss some potential avenues used by researchers for correcting those problems. Common Problems with Psychological Tests Lack of Diversity and Sociocultural (Mis)Matching A significant and multifaceted challenge in many areas of psychological testing is removing as much bias from a testing situation as possible, so as to not skew the data and present results which do not reflect reality. This challenge ventures into the realms of method bias–inequality resulting from the way a test is developed or administered–and construct validity–how well a particular test or measurement reflects the intended construct, which itself may not be directly measurable (concepts like intelligence or self-esteem). As many researchers have pointed out, culture provides people with a variety of models for ways of thinking, feeling, acting, interacting, and communicating (Ardila, 2005; Fernández & Abe, 2018; Ng et al., 2018; Skeggs et al., 2023), and all of these factors will differ based on sociocultural background. Historically, though, psychological theories, models of intelligence, and constructs of cognition have been developed by particular people for particular people–typically White, frequently male, and often upper- or upper-middle class (Holden & Tanenbaum, 2023)–and a number of popular tests which are still used today, such as the Stanford-Binet test or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, have been based on these models and theories. The conventions of psychometric testing itself, even, have their roots in specific cultural contexts (Ardila, 2005). Psychometric testing tends to utilize individual-oriented procedures, taken under time constraints and in isolated environments, and often rely on assumptions of ‘best-performance’ necessity, all of which favor participants or examinees from more individualistic or highly competitive cultures; even the social appropriateness of questions about one’s emotional landscape or mental status–the idea that such questions are not disrespectful, or too intimate for strangers to ask about generally favors White Westerners (Ardila, 2005). Lack of diversity creates problems from the very beginning. Any amount of sociocultural mismatch between test developers, test administrators, and test participants–be it race/ethnicity, gender, dis/ability, education level, language, or any number of interrelated factors–inevitably results in tests which favor particular groups of people, either because of the particular method used or the construct it is meant to be measuring (Ardila, 2005; Holden & Tanenbaum, 2023). On the flip side, greater sociocultural overlap between test participants or examinees and a given test’s developer tends to result in higher test scores (Ardila, 2005; Skeggs et al., 2023). This occurs for multiple reasons–a significant one being, that communication is generally easier with people who are more similar to oneself. A test developer may rely on the assumption that the administrator and participant/examinee will approach the test, interpret the instructions, relay information, and understand the results the same way (Ardila, 2005; Ng et al., 2018). Problems of method and item bias occur when specific aspects of a test favor those with similar backgrounds, producing inequitable results within diverse sample populations. Access and construct validity also come into play–the way a construct is measured in a given test may only adequately represent its meaning within specific subcultures, or items on the test might relate to irrelevant or distracting variables (Fernández & Abe, 2018; Holden & Tanenbaum, 2023). These issues create unfair disadvantages for anyone whose background attaches differing characteristics or significance to a given construct from that which is operationally defined by the researchers. The impact of culture also applies to physiological brain activity–differing social and cultural backgrounds have been shown to correlate with different levels of brain activation in response to visual stimuli, simple attention tasks, facial recognition, and fear expressions (Fernández & Abe, 2018). Even brain atrophy in dementia patients can differ based on cultural cognitive reserve and multilingualism (Skeggs et al., 2023).         Simple cultural mismatch between test-developers and test-takers is one challenge to take into consideration–accounting for marginalization outside of the testing situation is another. Different circumstances of marginalization are known to impact cognitive and emotional development (Holden & Tanenbaum, 2023), which adds another layer of complexity to the development of appropriate psychological tests, the parameters of their administration, and the interpretation of their results. And even if a test is well-designed to account for compounding stresses, social isolation, the lack of resources to promote healthy growth, the slippery slope of learned helplessness–all of which can negatively impact test-related cognitive functions, like working memory, attention control, inhibition, planning, and problem-solving–researchers still need to find ways to effectively reach out to marginalized communities, who may simply lack the time or ability to access study participation opportunities, or who may historically have been ostracized by the scientific community and have become understandably distrustful of researchers’ intentions. Potential Harm of Insensitive Psychological Testing Another challenge posed by a lack of sociocultural sensitivity in cognitive and neuropsychological testing is not simply lack of accuracy, or differential construct validity–but the ethics of practicing science without that sensitivity, and the potential to actually harm patients, research participants, and examinees. For example, the Boston Naming Test–a tool used to measure word retrieval in individuals with some form of language disturbance, in which a patient is shown a number of items and asked to name them–infamously used to contain a noose as a possible test item (Salo, et al., 2021; Wong et al., 2024). For African American communities, who have long-encountered nooses as symbols of danger and hatred, being confronted with a noose on a psychological test could have a triggering psychological impact. From a clinical perspective, a patient might experience harm when an insensitive assessment does not accurately capture the extent of their illness. As another example, Skeggs et al. (2023) found that dementia patients whose first language was not English present with a different early disease profile than those whose was, in regards to both verbal and nonverbal cognitive tasks, and to behavioral symptomology. Patterns of eventual brain atrophy also differ between those populations (Skeggs et al., 2023). However, patients whose first language is English and who primarily speak English align best with the current diagnostic criteria on cognitive, behavioral, and neurological fronts. In cases of such neuropsychological ailments, patients with linguistically-diverse backgrounds may have their symptoms overlooked or misinterpreted, resulting in inappropriate or even absent treatment.         Another avenue for potential harm lies in what happens outside of psychological assessment. Take intelligence testing–society places a definite weight on standardized intelligence and IQ-test results, which benefits those who meet a certain benchmark and places limitations on those who do not. However, two of the most common intelligence tests used in American schools–the Binet and Wechsler scales–disproportionately identify low-income and non-White students as low-performance or in need of special education (Holden & Tanenbaum, 2023; Wong et al, 2024). Such programs may not actually suit their needs, and such labels can have long-reaching impacts on things like access to higher education, fairness in job-seeking, workplace support and compensation, or even bodily autonomy. Potential Solutions Greater Diversity in Test Development Part of the problem in psychological testing is that many commonly-used theories and models were developed in a very White/Western-male-centric context (Fernández & Abe, 2018; Holden & Tanenbaum, 2023). This problem presents a natural path for improvement–starting with more culturally-sensitive/relevant models and constructs, working with more diverse development teams, and making an effort towards greater diversity in sample populations. Sampling from a wider variety of populations and subpopulations tends to increase generalizability of results (Malik & Norman, 2023); even if generalizability is not necessarily a study’s aim, greater representation in normalizing samples during a test’s development also allows for more nuanced interpretations of its results (Holden & Tanenbaum, 2023). From a scientific standpoint, this improves the depth of our body of knowledge. From an ethical standpoint, this facilitates greater equity in research and psychological assessment, and in clinical treatment standards. Another ethical point: greater diversity in the development process of psychological tests also allows more people to have a say in how they and people like them will be treated by the scientific community. Historically, there has been a great deal of mistrust between minority populations and scientists, and not for unfounded reasons (APA, 2021; Malik & Norman, 2023). When we allow a wider variety of people into the development process, it helps build back that trust and enables a more conscious approach to the research process as a whole. New and Adapted Measures On occasion, the solution to an insensitive test is simply to adapt the test. This process is sometimes known as cultural decentering–that is, adjusting a test for different cultural contexts, while making sure that it reaches similar results (Fernández & Abe, 2018). As an example–in their study on the Boston Naming Test, Salo et al. (2021) find that, between rounds of tests either including or not including (but giving credit for) the noose item, performance classification among patients does not significantly change. These results support the validity and accuracy of a non-noose Boston Naming Test. Meanwhile, removing the noose from the test reduces its insensitivity towards vulnerable populations and cultivates more thoughtful, culturally-competent mental healthcare. This process may help to build trust between those vulnerable populations and healthcare practitioners. Instead of adapting preexisting tests, another option is to develop new tools fit for cross-cultural purpose. Language diversity has recently become a focus of test development–lack of nuance in translation or cross-cultural administration can introduce method bias, even in an otherwise sensitive test, so some researchers have been developing visual tests for cognitive impairment (Ng et al., 2018). Tools like the Visual Cognitive Assessment Test do not require translation or interpretation on part of either the test administrator or the patient, which can help improve accuracy in impairment detection by reducing the risk of method bias (Ng et al., 2018), and may be particularly useful in serving large multilingual communities. Drawbacks in this context tend to revolve around the time and resources required to develop and validate new tools intended for multicultural, international application. Adjusted Norms Another commonly-cited method for mitigating unfair disparities in psychological testing is adjusting test norms based on demographic profiles. At face value, this makes sense–if standard assessments differentially capture aspects of cognition and psychology across demographic groups, then adjusting norms for those groups would logically improve accuracy in the interpretation of those assessments. And use of adjusted norms has, in some cases, been shown to do just that (Byrd & Rivera-Mindt, 2022; Manly & Echemendia, 2007; Malik & Norman, 2023).          However, standardizing adjusted norms based on particular demographic categories poses its own problems. As Byrd and Rivera-Mindt (2022) highlight, demographic constructs such as race are just that–constructs: imperfect and malleable, descriptive rather than prescriptive. By highlighting a single factor as the basis for a test’s interpretation, researchers may obscure compounding or interrelated factors (Byrd & Rivera-Mindt, 2022; Malik & Norman, 2023; Manly & Echemendia, 2007), thus weakening the science. Some researchers also believe that defaulting to the use of such adjustments may, however inadvertently, serve to further entrench societal prejudices. In an ironic replication of the insensitivity they attempt to avoid, adjusted norms may be used to justify unequal performance standards both within and between populations (Fernandes et al., 2022; Malik & Norman, 2023), giving subsequent inequitable treatment of particular groups the veneer of scientific legitimacy. Widespread use of race-norming, for example–that is, specifically adjusting scores based on the race of the test-taker or examinee–can reinforce the pseudoscientific idea that there are inherent biological differences between races, which has historically been used to disadvantage non-White communities. In the case of diagnostic testing, such adjustments may additionally cut off a greater percentage of people in minority populations from needed mental healthcare or social services (Manly & Echemendia, 2007). As a real-world example, the National Football League (NFL) famously used adjusted norms in cognitive function testing for Black players, lower than those for White players, in the courtroom. These adjusted standards made it more difficult for Black players to prove significant damage from sport-related brain injuries; less provable damage also resulted in smaller payouts than those given to White players with similar claims. In fact, the NFL only agreed to stop utilizing race-norming in injury settlement programs in 2021. Conclusion Historical lack of diversity and cultural sensitivity in psychological research has led to a scientific environment which can and has done calculable harm to many communities. Nowadays, with both growing diversity in the US population and the ongoing backlash against diversity in science, it is important that psychologists and researchers follow through with the APA’s call to action, and continue to improve the social and cultural sensitivity of our own work. Otherwise, we may end up with a brand of psychology that is, at best, woefully homogenous, representative of only the few, and at worst, toxic and actively dangerous to the many. References American Psychological Association. (2021, October 29). Apology to people of color for APA’s role in promoting, perpetuating, and failing to challenge racism, racial discrimination, and human hierarchy in U.S.   https://www.apa.org/about/policy/racism-apology   Ardila, A. (2005). Cultural values underlying psychometric cognitive testing. Neuropsychology Review, 15 (1), 185-195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-005-9180-y   Byrd, D.A., & Rivera-Mindt, M.G. (2022). Neuropsychology’s race problem does not begin or end with demographically adjusted norms. Nature Reviews Neurology, 18 (3), 125-126.   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-021-00607-4 Fernandes, M., Ayede, A.I., & Blackmon, K. (2022). Addressing racial inequities in neuropsychological assessment requires international prescriptive standards, not demographically adjusted norms. Nature Reviews Neurology, 18 (6), 377. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-022-00652-7     Fernández, A.L., & Abe, J. (2018). Bias in cross-cultural neuropsychological testing: Problems and possible solutions. Culture and Brain, 6 (1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40167-017-0050-2   Holden, L.R., & Tanenbaum, G.J. (2023). Modern assessments of intelligence must be fair and equitable. Journal of Intelligence, 11 (6), 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11060126   Malik, H. B., & Norman, J. B. (2023). Best practices and methodological strategies for addressing generalizability in neuropsychological assessment. Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology , 9 (2), 47–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40817-023-00145-5   Manly, J.J., & Echemendia, R.J. (2007). Race-specific norms: Using the model of hypertension to understand issues of race, culture, and education in neuropsychology. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 22 (3), 319-325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acn.2007.01.006   Ng, K.P., Chiew, H.J., Lim, L., Rosa-Neto, P., Kandiah, N., & Gauthier, S. (2018). The influence of language and culture on cognitive assessment tools in the diagnosis of early cognitive impairment and dementia. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics , 18 (11), 859–869. https://doi.org/10.1080/14737175.2018.1532792   Salo, S.K., Marceaux, J.C., McCoy, K.J.M., & Hilsabeck, R.C. (2021). Removing the noose item from the Boston naming test: A step toward antiracist neuropsychological assessment. The Clinical Neuropsychologist , 36 (2), 311–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2021.1933187   Skeggs, A., Wei, G., Landin-Romero, R., Hodges, J.R., Piguet, O., & Kumfor, F. (2023). The influence of culture and cognitive reserve on the clinical presentation of behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia. Journal of Neurology, 270 , 3192–3203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-023-11638-w   Wong, C.G., Arastu, S.F., & Ng, R. (2024). Identifying culturally insensitive tests, stimuli, and assessment practices in neuropsychology: A survey of professionals and trainees. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 39 (6), 1430-1449. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2024.2405064

Olivia Mickles We cannot always control how our bodies function, but we can learn to control how we mentally deal with the ailments we may face. Some studies suggest that our mentality alone is enough to drastically alter our physical state, worsening existing conditions such as panic attacks, hair loss, and autoimmune diseases. This article will focus on how anxiety can exacerbate chronic asthma, and vice versa, and how affected individuals can learn to manage their anxiety to improve long-term well-being. How does anxiety affect our brain and body? Stress and anxiety do far more to the brain and body than simply making us feel worried, overstimulated, or worn out. Prolonged exposure to stress can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, weakened immunity, sleep disturbances and many other ailments that diminish quality of life. High anxiety amplifies activity in the anterior insula, mid-insula, and perigenual anterior cingulate regions of the brain, which are involved in the processing of emotions, sensory information, and regulating autonomic nervous system responses. Disruption in these areas can reactivate microglia and astrocytes, glial cells that support neurons and maintain brain function in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala. The amygdala is a primary center for emotion processing, particularly fear, in the brain. Research has shown a negative correlation between anxiety and amygdala volume, meaning as anxiety increases the volume of the amygdala decreases. Anxiety is also linked to chronic inflammation that alters the structure of white and gray matter of the brain, leading to further volume changes (Dehdar & Raofy, 2023). These structural deformities can lead to overactivation of the amygdala, heightening fear, fueling chronic anxiety, and disrupting both mental processes and physical functioning. What is asthma? Asthma is a chronic lung disease that, according to the World Health Organization (2019), affects around 262 million people worldwide and caused about 455,000 deaths in that year alone. It can develop at any age, sometimes present at birth and in other cases triggered later by smoking, pollution, obesity, or other medical conditions. Asthma occurs when the airways become hyperresponsive, inflamed, and tighten the muscle around the airways, making it harder to breathe. Symptoms range from mild to severe, including coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Unsurprisingly, such symptoms often heighten stress and anxiety about health (World Health Organization, 2024). No matter if you have milder allergic asthma or severe chronic asthma, treatment usually involves inhaled corticosteroids to manage symptoms, helping patients maintain a normal life. Beyond staying on top of taking medication, managing asthma requires knowing and avoiding personal triggers as much as possible. Anxiety-related neurobiological modifications in those with allergic asthma  Allergic asthma, though less life-threatening than severe asthma, is still a risk to an individual's well being, health, and mental state. Allergic asthma activates IgE, a type of protein that plays a key role in allergic reactions, that causes inflammation in brain areas linked to anxiety, similar to the inflammation anxiety itself can trigger in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Together, allergic asthma and anxiety may intensify anxious feelings and alter brain volume. It suggests a possible immune-brain communication mechanism being the reason for the inflammatory responses in specific brain areas for asthma patients with psychiatric disorders (Dehdar & Raofy, 2023). Animal studies support these findings. A rodent study showed that rats exposed to allergens had more intense anxiety-like behaviors. The allergens increased TH2 cytokines and corticotropin-releasing factor, which play a crucial role in immune response, in the prefrontal cortex, triggering the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone and glucocorticoids, key regulators of stress and emotions. (Tonelli et al., 2009) These findings suggest allergens can worsen anxiety by disrupting natural stress regulation, explaining why breathing issues often accompany anxiety and allergies. Neuroimaging research also reinforces this link. An MRI study of allergic asthma patients  revealed smaller hippocampal volumes than healthy control subjects, most likely due to structural alterations caused by inflammation and high stress from a young age (Carlson et al., 2017). Since the hippocampus is our center for memory and learning, structural alterations can lead to functional problems such as memory loss, difficulty making decisions, and the inability to regulate the HPA axis. If the HPA axis is unregulated, hormones responsible for responding to stress can become hyperactive and increase our feelings of anxiety. This is yet another piece of evidence that supports the theory that brain inflammation can cause cognitive decline in asthmatics and anxiety patients, as well as the existence of a possible immune-brain communication mechanism being responsible for it all. How anxiety affects health related quality of life within the context of asthma Many people strive to maximize their quality of life, yet mental or medical conditions, or even both, can make this far more challenging to accomplish. A recent study showed that individuals with severe asthma had worse mental and physical health related quality of life (HRQoL) with corresponding higher anxiety and depression scores than individuals without asthma. Severe asthma patients also expressed stronger beliefs about the essential nature of their medication than those without the condition. They also reported having high anxiety over accessibility to medication as well as its side effects. As corticosteroids are required by all chronic asthmatics to be able to breathe daily, it is something they could literally not go a day without; yet taking corticosteroids daily, especially from young, can have mild to moderate side effects. It would therefore be beneficial to integrate psychological techniques to reduce anxiety and lower concerns in regards to managing the disease and treatment. This addition could also avoid the problem of poor adherence to treatment, caused by high anxiety and subsequent suspicion, which could in turn further damage an individual's quality of life. (Rönnebjerg et al., 2023) Why is taking mental HRQoL seriously in individuals with chronic diseases like asthma so important? High mental HRQoL is positively correlated with high self-efficacy, or the belief in one’s own ability to thrive in accomplishing goals and navigating difficult situations. Common symptoms in anxiety and depressive disorders include feeling hopeless, worthless, scared, alone, and experiencing anhedonia, the general reduction of feelings of enjoyment or pleasure from activities that promoted those feelings in the past. Symptoms like these can cause individuals to become isolated, take part in substance abuse or self harm, medical neglect, and a wide range of other destructive behaviors. By addressing this “dark side” of the disease, doctors can not only treat patients with corticosteroids, but also with anxiety reducing and calm inducing methods. Research has shown that high mental HRQoL was also negatively correlated with anxiety, meaning that those with more positive mentalities had a decreased likelihood of experiencing anxiety, depression, or other related disorders. (Rönnebjerg et al., 2023) Why does this matter? Studying the correlation between asthma and anxiety can lead to new discoveries focused on improving the lives of millions of people worldwide. This potential new information could also shed light on the interaction of mental disorders with other chronic diseases as well. By becoming more educated on this topic, doctors and researchers may be able to find new ways to care for patients that improve their mental quality of life alongside caring for their physical health.  Could we create a new medication that controls airway inflammation and lowers anxiety? Is there a way to help reduce brain inflammation caused by asthma, anxiety, and allergies to reduce the risk of volume changes and negative cognitive impacts? Maybe we could, but we have to keep researching in order to find it.  Future research should aim to seek understanding in the gray areas of the research on this topic. A gap in the literature can be seen in certain inconsistent findings such as how women show significantly more symptoms of anxiety than men and generally have a worse mental health quality of life; yet, there are no significant differences in mental HRQoL between the sexes. Why is this? Moreover, there was no significant physical health quality of life difference between the genders and it is currently unknown why women may have a greater mental struggle in general. Another interesting question for future research could focus on the difference between individuals who have had “a life before asthma” versus those who “never knew a life without asthma” (Rönnebjerg et al., 2023). Would the ratings of quality of life be higher for those who developed the disease early in life because they do not know the difference of being non-asthmatic, or would HRQoL be lower because they have never known a life without the struggles of the disease? A child would react to a diagnosis as severe as asthma much differently than an adult who may already have some knowledge about it, so it is important to modify how different patients are treated by the professionals taking care of them. Exposure based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety has been hypothesized to be a good starting direction for those experiencing anxiety. In an individual with chronic asthma, the risk of developing an anxiety disorder is doubled than for non-asthmatics. So, why not make CBT part of the treatment regimen? One can start by acknowledging their negative thoughts and reframing them to be less intimidating, facing fears, and finding new ways to work on problems to make them feel more manageable. Anxiety can lead to hypervigilance over a disease such as asthma, which is helpful in moderation but can easily turn into excessive fear and avoidance. Recognizing this issue is key for future treatment. A study of the effectiveness of this kind of treatment resulted in all participants, by the end, at least somewhat improving (to different extents) their control over their asthma and anxiety symptoms (Bonnert et al., 2020). By fine tuning symptom management strategies for both conditions, asthmatics can learn through therapy how to handle generalized stress and how to stop catastrophizing about their symptoms. References Bonnert, M., Andersson, E., Serlachius, E., Manninen, I., Bergström, S., & Almqvist, C. (2020). Exposure‐based cognitive behavior therapy for anxiety related to asthma: A feasibility study with multivariate baseline design. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology , 61 (6), 827–834. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12674 Carlson, S. M., Kim, J., Khan, D. A., King, K. S., Lucarelli, R. T., McColl, R. W., Peshock, R. M., & E. Sherwood Brown. (2016b). Hippocampal volume in patients with asthma: Results from the Dallas Heart Study. Journal of Asthma , 54 (1), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2016.1186174 EZProxy AFX Authentication Page . (2025). Lehigh.edu . https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.lib.lehigh.edu/science/article/pii/S0361923023001521?via%3Dihub   Rönnebjerg, L., Axelsson, M., Hannu Kankaanranta, & Ekerljung, L. (2023b). Health-related quality of life, anxiety, depression, beliefs of medication and self-efficacy in individuals with severe asthma – a population-based study. Journal of Asthma , 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2023.2248512 Tonelli, L. H., Katz, M., Kovacsics, C. E., Gould, T. D., Joppy, B., Hoshino, A., Hoffman, G., Komarow, H., & Postolache, T. T. (2009). Allergic rhinitis induces anxiety-like behavior and altered social interaction in rodents. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity , 23 (6), 784–793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2009.02.017 World Health Organization. (2024). Asthma . World Health Organization; World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/asthma

Written by: Alondra Alamillo Jen was released on probation and placed under community supervision instead of serving her full sentence term. In the days following her intake, her probation officer will begin by assessing her level of risk. This is done to determine how much, what type, and the duration of the intervention needed through a risk-assessment tool. During this initial interview, Jen was asked questions about her peers, family, and romantic partners that ultimately helped predict if these associations would help or hinder Jen during her supervision. Social relationships are just one of the many important factors considered that impact societal reintegration after incarceration. Though it seems simple, Jen’s success lies in how strong her social network is. A Successful Reintegration  When examining the barriers people face as they return to their community after incarceration, researchers will often look at variables that directly impact their ability to sustain themselves and prevent future reincarceration. In such cases, people will often look to their social network for support (Berg & Huebner, 2010), as their probation requires many terms to be met to avoid having it revoked, including: acquiring and maintaining employment, community service, staying sober, paying court fees on time, attending treatment classes if needed, and any other additional special conditions aimed toward addressing criminal thinking and behavior. During this stressful time, people rely heavily on their personal network to comply with all new expectations, especially if the community resources set to help with reintegration are limited.  The role social dynamics play in reintegration during community supervision is a topic of interest for researchers seeking to inform the public and prison systems about what types of relationships can facilitate that. In Goodson (2025), an egocentric social network analysis (ESN) method was employed to map out participants’ relationships and analyze the composition of the relationships, causal effects of having that person in the network, and the function of the social dynamics for women. Particularly, this study sought to analyze the mobilization of support for women on community supervision or the lack thereof throughout their relationship network. Social ties that did not equate in mobilization of support could be considered examples of relationships that do not benefit women who are trying to stay compliant in their probation.  Given Goodson's focus on establishing the importance of “social capital" in relationships for justice-involved women, more specifically women with past felony convictions, the study primarily draws attention to resources embedded in certain social dynamics, proving more valuable than others when looking for a successful probation (Goodson, 2025). For instance, as women were interviewed about the social ties in their network, their network’s social capital was assessed by their occupation, prestige and additional resources they would have access to. This process provided solid groundwork to eventually break down the proximity of these relationships and what they mean for probationers’ success.  The Social Network The effects of social capital vary depending on how close people are to the participant; however, not all names collected during the interview process belong in their “core” social group. According to Goodson (2025), these ranges could be divided into different layers. The outer layer of a participant’s social network is made up of groups that the participant generally belongs to, such as organizations. The intermediate layer consists of any relationship where the participant has bonds, including friends and coworkers. Finally, the innermost layer includes people who are bound to the participant, like romantic partners and immediate family. The frequency of interaction, how information from these social actors flows, and weaker social ties were also collected in order to see how the mobilization of support was working and in what specific areas of the participants’ groups it was happening.  Participants who were found to have a really close community imply two important things. First, if many members in different domains and proximities in her life (family, coworkers, neighbors) all know each other, this decreases the amount of resources and diverse information that can flow in her direction. Job postings shared with the participant while she is looking for employment in order to meet that requirement of probation, could be very limited if everyone in her network knows about the same jobs. On the other hand, participants who have more diversified networks have access to more information (Goodson, 2025). In fact, Foster and Maas’ (2014) study recommends the addition of this tool in the initial interview with the probationer to assess what type of network the probationer has in order to support them as needed.  A person on probation must also comply with staying away from peers who are predicted to increase their criminal thinking and behavior. In the initial risk assessment, these can be concluded through criminal records. As meetings with their probation officer progress, antisocial peers are also noted if they interfere with the probationers progress or if they are believed to be a hindering influence. Goodson also touches on the idea of “estranged ties” as part of a participant's network that do not necessarily have to be criminal peers but are definitely people probationers need to distance themselves from. Conclusion Since community resources are often limited for probationers to help guide them through this process, they tend to rely on their probation officer for information about how to find employment, education opportunities, or help meeting their basic needs such as transportation, housing, public assistance, and more. People who are not able to diversify and expand their network are doing a great disservice to themselves as a result. Programs that aim at connecting the community with different professionals, people in their area, and mobilizing support could mean the difference between a person completing their probation or failing it. References  Berg, M. T., & Huebner, B. M. (2010). Reentry and the Ties that Bind: An Examination of Social Ties, Employment, and Recidivism. Justice Quarterly , 28 (2), 382–410. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2010.498383 Foster, K. A., & Maas, C. D. (2014). An Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Resource Generator-United States: a social capital measure. The British Journal of Social Work , 46 (1), 8–26. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcu111 Goodson, M. V. (2025). Refining the Measurement of Social Dynamics and Centering Social Capital Research in Corrections. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 52 (3), 487-498.   https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548241310851  (Original work published 2025) Search by word women community - Clip Art Library 1 . (n.d.). https://clipart-library.com/search1/?q=women+community#gsc.tab=1&gsc.q=women%20community&gsc.page=6

Author: Evelyn Fistler Editor: Elena Bobric Introduction Many people consider sleep to be a way to rest the body, where some aim for a good 7-8 hours every night. However, there are often times where some find themselves sleeping less than that, or even barely sleeping at all. Few may suffer from insomnia or are susceptible to disruptions during sleep which many think may cause a bad mood or exhaustion throughout the day, whether one has a project to finish or is working late. Physical symptoms are often presentable when someone does not get enough sleep, but people may not consider the biological factors of sleep and how impactful it is on brain health and overall cognition function. Sleep is important, and without it, the brain and nervous system could be negatively affected, where complications such as neurodegeneration and even development of disease may occur. Neuroinflammation—What is it? Neuroinflammation causes both protective and detrimental effects in the brain, where even though it acts as a defense against infections, injuries and trauma, degeneration and neurological damage may occur. Activation of glial cells, which are cells that transport cerebrospinal fluid, causes the flow of ions and glucose, and the release of inflammatory molecules due to their response to beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques. These play a role in neuroinflammation and are often associated with the progression of neurodegenerative diseases (Adamu, et al, 2024). How does it happen? Obesity, unhealthy eating habits, stress, and loss of sleep are often associated with neuroinflammation and development of neurodegenerative diseases. More specifically, increased levels of cytokines due to oxidative stress, and change in blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability are consistent factors. Through various areas, activation of signaling pathways may include ones involved with inflammation, leading to the release of cytokines, which can in turn, stimulate further inflammation. Cytokines also help regulate sleep, but increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines may occur due to sleep deprivation, enabling neuroinflammation. They may also disrupt the BBB, cause increased permeability through disruption of tight junctions and allow unwanted cells in the brain. Furthermore, if changes in the BBB occur, barrier collapsation and neuroinflammation will ensue (Sun, et al, 2022). During sleep and while the body is resting, waste removal and fluid redistribution is increasingly active. The brain has the ability to remove unwanted proteins to prevent buildup, and it is called the Glymphatic System. Glymphatic System—What is it? The glymphatic system is active once people fall asleep and acts as a waste system that aids in elimination of soluble proteins and metabolites such as Beta-Amyloid that reside within the central nervous system (CNS) while also distributing glucose, lipids, and neurotransmitters (Jessen, et al, 2015). Through the subarachnoid space, an area located within the brain and spinal cord, bulk movement of cerebrospinal fluid mixes with interstitial fluid, moving through perivascular spaces and eventually draining through the peripheral lymphatic system, where proteins and excess fluid will then leak out of blood capillaries and into tissues while being filtered and then redistributed through the bloodstream (Hablitz, et al, 2021). Template Created in https://BioRender.com Template Created in https://BioRender.com   (Iliff, et al, 2012). How does this contribute to neurodegenerative diseases? Through a neuropathological perspective, Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is commonly associated with deposition of amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tau tangles that impact the brain, causing cognitive issues and deterioration over time. Seen through clinical manifestations, AD may include insomnia or sleep disruptions that are further associated with cognitive decline, which leaves researchers studying the glymphatic system, considering that it is a critical contribution to sleep. Because the glymphatic system helps regulate waste removal for plaque, disruption of its functions is suggested to contribute to buildup of plaque that attaches to neurons and causes cell death (Verghese, et al, 2022). Conclusion—Poor Sleep and How It Affects the Brain Studies suggest that poor sleep leaves the brain susceptible to impairment and dysfunction. Because the brain needs the glymphatic system to regulate toxins and prevent disease, sleep cycles allow for this to happen, while letting the body restore energy. The stages of sleep are important for the brain's health but can impact cognition if disrupted. Issues with memory recall are prevalent and elevated stress is a common factor of consistent sleep disruption and can even cause neuron malfunction and loss of connections. The brain can only do one major activity at a time, which is why the glymphatic system activates during sleep, when the body is unconscious and response to external stimuli is limited (Eugene & Masiak, 2015). What Next? Furthering studies on how people can optimize rest and sleep with minimal disruptions may help brain health and ensure functionality. Additionally, research on the Glymphatic system and waste removal suggests potentially therapeutic effects on individuals through lifestyle choices such as consistent physical exercise, sleeping on the right lateral position for efficient glymphatic transport, avoiding heavy alcohol consumption as it is associated with higher risk of developing AD through neuroinflammation, and minimizing stress as best as possible due to long-term stress being a major contribution to AD development (Reddy & Van Der Werf, 2020). Understanding all biological ranges of cerebrospinal fluid flow and how physiological mechanisms aid in redistribution of this fluid throughout the body will help researchers better understand how to prevent disease development (Hablitz, et al, 2021). References Adamu, A., Li, S., Gao, F., & Xue, G. (2024). The role of neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases: current understanding and future therapeutic targets. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 16, 1347987. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2024.1347987 Eugene, A. R., & Masiak, J. (2015). The Neuroprotective Aspects of Sleep. MEDtube science, 3(1), 35–40. Hablitz, L. M., & Nedergaard, M. (2021). The Glymphatic System: A Novel Component of Fundamental Neurobiology. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 41(37), 7698–7711. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0619-21.2021 Jessen, N. A., Munk, A. S., Lundgaard, I., & Nedergaard, M. (2015). The Glymphatic System: A Beginner's Guide. Neurochemical research, 40(12), 2583–2599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-015-1581-6 Iliff JJ, Wang M, Liao Y, Plogg BA, Peng W, Gundersen GA, Benveniste H, Vates GE, Deane R, Goldman SA, Nagelhus EA, Nedergaard M. A paravascular pathway facilitates CSF flow through the brain parenchyma and the clearance of interstitial solutes, including amyloid β. Sci Transl Med. 2012 Aug 15;4(147):147ra111. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003748. PMID: 22896675; PMCID: PMC3551275. Reddy, O. C., & van der Werf, Y. D. (2020). The Sleeping Brain: Harnessing the Power of the Glymphatic System through Lifestyle Choices. Brain sciences, 10(11), 868. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10110868 Sun, Y., Koyama, Y., & Shimada, S. (2022). Inflammation From Peripheral Organs to the Brain: How Does Systemic Inflammation Cause Neuroinflammation?. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 14, 903455. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.903455 Verghese, J. P., Terry, A., de Natale, E. R., & Politis, M. (2022). Research Evidence of the Role of the Glymphatic System and Its Potential Pharmacological Modulation in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Journal of clinical medicine, 11(23), 6964. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11236964

Magdalene Dochnal Over the course of 26.2 miles, a marathon runner’s whole body is pushed to its limits. While much attention is given to the physical strain imposed on an athlete during the event, marathon runners also undergo a mental ordeal. Their brains are tasked with coordinating their movements to maintain healthy form that can sustain 26.2 miles of running, many runners are often trying to be conscientious of particular pacing and fueling strategies for optimal performance, and every athlete is having to keep their focus away from health and performance anxiety and direct it toward achieving their goals on race day.  Just as a marathon runner’s legs require a great deal of energy, so too does their brain. However, exercise science research has long held a gap between insights on neuromuscular physiology and brain physiology as they each relate to endurance sport performance. That is until Ramos-Cabrer and colleagues (2025) introduced the concept of metabolic myelin plasticity and opened the door for fellow researchers to explore how running 26.2 miles changes the brain. Their work not only provides a lesson on how glial cells contribute to brain function, but also on how the brain adapts to the demands of physical exercise. Introduction to myelin Myelin is a substance made of fatty acids that encases the axons of many neurons throughout the central and peripheral nervous system. Its main functions are to insulate axons to prevent the leaking of energy from an action potential and to increase the speed at which an electrical signal travels down the axon (Augustine et al., 2024). Myelin is synthesized by different kinds of glial cells, nervous system support cells, based on location with oligodendrocytes myelinating central nervous system (CNS) neurons and and Schwann cells being responsible for myelinating peripheral nervous system neurons (Augustine et al., 2024). Myelin’s function as an insulator is of particular importance in the brain’s control of motor movements as the spinal cord axons that send nerve impulses to the muscles are relatively longer than those which do not leave the brain, meaning there is greater potential for energy to leak from the action potential and a greater impetus for speed to execute movements quickly (Augustine et al., 2024). Energy use in a marathon: Myelin as energy stores? An endurance athlete’s primary source of fuel is glycogen, which is broken down for the creation of adenosine triphosphate (Burke & Hawley, 2018). In the brain, that glycogen is stored in astrocytes, another kind of glial cell (Matsui et al., 2017). However, the glycogen stores in these astrocytes are not nearly at the same scale as stores throughout the rest of the body, making them potentially unreliable for endurance sport performance at the level of a marathon (Asadollahi et al., 2024). This presents a problem as the prolonged motor coordination necessary for running a marathon can be significantly taxing on the brain as evidenced by the phenomenon of central fatigue where the CNS struggles to initiate muscle movement (McKenna & Hargreaves, 2008; Tornero-Aguilera et al., 2022).  From this developed the theory that another source of energy may play a more significant role in the brain during endurance sport than it does elsewhere in the body: lipids. While lipid metabolism is often regarded as not being as advantageous a source of energy as carbohydrate metabolism, lipids are still a quality energy source (Burke & Hawley, 2018). Thankfully, the brain happens to be full of lipids via the presence of myelin.  Initial research in animal models had shown that oligodendrocytes are more resilient in low energy availability, glucose-deprived states relative to glycogen-storing astrocytes, suggesting their lipids may be an advantageous fuel source in an endurance setting (Asadollahi et al., 2024). The big breakthrough came when Ramos-Cabrer and colleagues (2025) transitioned this research to human subjects, examining myelin content in brain areas associated with motor control and coordination in marathon runners in the weeks and months after a race. They found demyelination in brain areas with significant connections to the basal ganglia, thalamus, and spinal cord, implicating not only motor control functions but also sensory-emotional integration (Ramos-Cabrer et al., 2025). Perhaps most interestingly, they also found that runners tested 2 months post-race showed myelin content in these areas within normal ranges, suggesting that the brain recovers much like the rest of the body after racing a marathon (Ramos-Cabrer et al., 2025). Significance for cognitive function While the novelty of Ramos-Cabrer and colleagues’ findings means that little to no research has been done on how metabolic myelin plasticity on the scale experienced by marathon runners affects cognition, some speculation and inferences can be made from past exercise science and neuroplasticity research. Firstly, marathon runners should be emphasizing nervous system recovery alongside musculoskeletal recovery following a race. The need for nervous system recovery has been common knowledge among top marathon coaches and runners, but more casual runners may overlook this aspect of recovery in favor of their sore calves, quads, and glutes. While more research is needed to more accurately describe the timeline of myelin recovery post-race and design more effective recovery plans, initial findings suggest the remyelination process may take as long as 2 months (Ramos-Cabrer et al., 2025), a period of time longer than typical coach-recommended recovery timelines (Paul, 2024).  Secondly, the myelin plasticity observed in Ramos-Cabrer and colleagues’ marathon runners may be part of a broader system by which aerobic fitness buffers against aging in the brain. Marathon runners, like other endurance athletes, have rather high aerobic fitness, and this correlates with less age-related brain cell death in older adults (Gomez-Pinilla & Hillman, 2013). This relationship is likely the result of effects on the age-related loss of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a molecule that is broadly important in the maintenance of healthy brain cells and a necessity for neural and glial plasticity (Fletcher et al., 2018). The concentration of BDNF in the brain typically declines as people enter late adulthood, but older adults who engage in aerobic exercise often see increases in BDNF levels (Erickson et al., 2010; Gholami et al., 2025). One explanation for this may be that myelin plasticity as observed in marathon runners requires BDNF to occur, and thus in a “use it or lose it” sense, staves off some age-related BDNF loss.   Lastly, what about those who go beyond  26.2 miles; what about the ultra -marathon runners? Running an ultra-marathon can be uniquely taxing on the brain compared to the 26.2 mile distance. In events like the Hardrock 100 Mile Endurance Race in Silverton, Colorado, runners routinely have to compete for more than 24 hours at altitude above 10,000 feet, barely sleeping along the way (Berger et al., 2024; Bianchi et al., 2022; Knechtle & Nikolaidis, 2018). As such, it is not uncommon for ultra-marathon runners to experience visual hallucinations and reductions in brain volume while competing (Freund et al., 2012; Huang et al., 2021). It is possible that the metabolic myelin plasticity observed in marathon runners may be involved in these phenomena as some of the more affected brain areas are the cerebellar peduncles, nerve fibers which when disrupted may contribute to visual hallucinations (Manford, 1998; Ramos-Cabrer et al., 2025; Winton-Brown et al., 2016). However, this appears unlikely as visual hallucinations originating from the cerebellum are typically associated with disruptions related to cerebellar tumor development (Manford, 1998). Instead, the visual hallucinations of ultra-marathon runners are likely more the fault of inadequate sleeping, fueling, and hydration. Conclusion In the hours and days following a marathon, you would be hard pressed to find a runner complaining of soreness in their brain, but the event is as much an ordeal for the CNS as it is for the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. The work of Ramos-Cabrer and colleagues provides an exciting opportunity to combine the fields of exercise physiology and cognitive neuroscience to come to a more complete understanding of how the brain copes with endurance sport. Future research is likely to pair myelin content testing with cognitive and neurological assessments post-race to develop a clearer picture of how metabolic myelin plasticity affects athlete cognition. Suggested listening Roche, D., & Roche, M. (Hosts). (2025, April 1). How running may impact the brain, plus Q+A  on body image, heat suits, sweat testing, and nose breathing! (No. 252) [Audio podcast  episode]. In Some Work, All Play .  https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DtWwTsDuGESaDtsg8y0TE?si=7425029d594e461f References Asadollahi, E., Trevisiol, A., Saab, A. S., Looser, Z. J., Dibaj, P., Ebrahimi, R., Kusch, K.,  Ruhwedel, T., Möbius, W., Jahn, O., Lee, J. Y., Don, A. S., Khalil, M.-A., Hiller, K.,  Baes, M., Weber, B., Abel, E. D., Ballabio, A., Popko, B., … Nave, K.-A. (2024).  Oligodendroglial fatty acid metabolism as a central nervous system energy reserve.  Nature Neuroscience , 27 (10), 1934–1944. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01749-6 Augustine, G. J., Groh, J. M., Huettel, S. A., LaMantia, A.-S., & White, L. E. (Eds.). (2024).  Neuroscience  (Seventh edition). Oxford University Press. Berger, N. J. A., Best, R., Best, A. W., Lane, A. M., Millet, G. Y., Barwood, M., Marcora, S.,  Wilson, P., & Bearden, S. (2024). Limits of ultra: Towards an interdisciplinary  understanding of ultra-endurance running performance. Sports Medicine , 54 (1), 73–93.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01936-8 Bianchi, D., Miller, D. J., & Lastella, M. (2022). Sleep–wake behaviour of 200-mile  ultra-marathon competitors: A case study. International Journal of Environmental  Research and Public Health , 19 (5), 3006. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19053006 Burke, L. M., & Hawley, J. A. (2018). Swifter, higher, stronger: What’s on the menu? Science ,  362 (6416), 781–787. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau2093 De La Rosa, A., Solana, E., Corpas, R., Bartrés-Faz, D., Pallàs, M., Vina, J., Sanfeliu, C., &  Gomez-Cabrera, M. C. (2019). Long-term exercise training improves memory in  middle-aged men and modulates peripheral levels of BDNF and Cathepsin B. Scientific  Reports , 9 (1), 3337.   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40040-8 Erickson, K. I., Prakash, R. S., Voss, M. W., Chaddock, L., Heo, S., McLaren, M., Pence, B. D.,  Martin, S. A., Vieira, V. J., Woods, J. A., McAuley, E., & Kramer, A. F. (2010).  Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is associated with age-related decline in hippocampal  volume. The Journal of Neuroscience , 30 (15), 5368–5375.  https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6251-09.2010 Fletcher, J. L., Murray, S. S., & Xiao, J. (2018). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in central  nervous system myelination: A new mechanism to promote myelin plasticity and repair.  International Journal of Molecular Sciences , 19 (12), 4131.  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19124131 Freund, W., Faust, S., Birklein, F., Gaser, C., Wunderlich, A. P., Müller, M., Billich, C., Juchems,  M. S., Schmitz, B. L., Grön, G., & Schütz, U. H. (2012). Substantial and reversible brain  gray matter reduction but no acute brain lesions in ultramarathon runners: Experience  from the TransEurope-FootRace Project. BMC Medicine , 10 (1), 170.  https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-10-170 Gholami, F., Mesrabadi, J., Iranpour, M., & Donyaei, A. (2025). Exercise training alters resting  brain-derived neurotrophic factor concentration in older adults: A systematic review with  meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials. Experimental Gerontology , 199, 112658.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2024.112658 Gomez‐Pinilla, F., & Hillman, C. (2013). The influence of exercise on cognitive abilities.  Comprehensive Physiology , 3 (1), 403–428.  https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2040-4603.2013.tb00485.x Knechtle, B., & Nikolaidis, P. T. (2018). Physiology and pathophysiology in ultra-marathon  running. Frontiers in Physiology , 9 , 634.   https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00634 Manford, M. (1998). Complex visual hallucinations. Clinical and neurobiological insights. Brain ,  121 (10), 1819–1840. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/121.10.1819 Matsui, T., Omuro, H., Liu, Y.-F., Soya, M., Shima, T., McEwen, B. S., & Soya, H. (2017).  Astrocytic glycogen-derived lactate fuels the brain during exhaustive exercise to maintain  endurance capacity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 114 (24),  6358–6363. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702739114 McKenna, M. J., & Hargreaves, M. (2008). Resolving fatigue mechanisms determining exercise  performance: Integrative physiology at its finest! Journal of Applied Physiology , 104 (1),  286–287. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01139.2007 Paul, S. (2024, November 1). How long to rest after a marathon and when to return to running:  Don’t lace up your shoes too soon! Runner’s World .  https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a62787655/how-long-to-rest-after-marathon/ Ramos-Cabrer, P., Cabrera-Zubizarreta, A., Padro, D., Matute-González, M.,  Rodríguez-Antigüedad, A., & Matute, C. (2025). Reversible reduction in brain myelin content upon marathon running. Nature Metabolism , 7 (4), 697–703. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-025-01244-7 Tornero-Aguilera, J. F., Jimenez-Morcillo, J., Rubio-Zarapuz, A., & Clemente-Suárez, V. J.  (2022). 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Tate Madison Abstract This research project aims to investigate the impact of teacher feedback on student motivation. In college, your success is entirely due to your motivation to do your coursework, study for exams, and even attend class. You can simply decide to try or not to try to succeed in higher education institutions. We often hear of athletes quitting their sports due to bad coaches, or at the very least, losing their love for their sport, and how this can all be reversed when the athlete transfers schools/teams and is now surrounded by new staff. This study will explore the same phenomenon in academic settings. Students put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed, often without considering the impact of their new educators and staff. This study looks at how the quantity and quality of teacher feedback impacts the students' motivation to succeed in the course and motivation to do well on assignments/exams. Introduction Coming to college, many students have never previously had the necessity to be self-motivating. Whether it’s a high school teacher reminding students to study for an upcoming exam and giving time during class to do so, or parents asking, “Did you do your homework?” at the dinner table, in high school, there are constant reminders and encouragement to complete assignments. High schools have a strict schedule and each day looks roughly the same with constant instruction, and it’s often more effort to skip class, and making the choice not to complete an assignment comes with pestering from faculty and parents. Having the motivation to go to class, complete coursework, and study for exams is a struggle for many students once they’ve arrived on campus and no longer have these constant external motivating factors. Many great students simply struggle with motivation, and there’s so much that universities and teachers can do to improve motivation. This study will investigate the impact of teacher feedback on student motivation to succeed in the course and motivation to do well on assignments/exams. I hypothesize that students who receive higher amounts and higher perceived quality of feedback from teachers  will report an increased motivation to succeed in the course overall and on assignments/exams. Methodology: I mpact  of Teacher Feedback on Student Motivation Participants: In this study, participants will be college students between the ages of 18 and 25 years old. Participants filled out a Google Forms survey on the impact of teacher feedback on assignments, projects, and exams, and their motivation to succeed overall in the course and do well on coursework. This survey will be completed anonymously, but it will collect some demographics such as age, race, gender identity, etc., which may show differences in the data. This study received survey responses from 16 participants. Materials:  This survey was created through Google Forms. This survey consists of two parts. Part 1 is Demographics , consisting of 7 demographic questions. Part 2 is Teacher Feedback & Student Motivation , containing Likert-scale questions on their given teacher feedback on assignments, projects, and exams, followed by their motivation to succeed overall in the course and do well on coursework. Part 2 contains 12 Likert-scale questions and 3 short-answer questions. Procedure:  The survey was provided to participants through various means, including an online discussion board and social media sites. The survey will inform participants that it is voluntary and tell them what the study is about. In the survey, participants will first be asked for their consent to participate. In the first section, participants will be asked various demographic questions. In the second section, participants will be asked questions related to the feedback they’ve been given on assignments, projects, and exams, followed by their motivation to succeed overall in the course and do well on coursework. Results This survey received 16 responses from undergraduate students. Their ages ranged from 19-22 and roughly a third were in their second, third, and fourth years each. The survey consisted of 12 questions regarding teacher feedback in a specific course and subsequently, their motivation in said course, followed by 3 general open-ended questions about feedback and motivation. Students reported receiving feedback on assignments and projects/exams with an average rating of 2.19 out of 4, indicating a moderate frequency. Students rated the quality of this feedback to be a 2.25 out of 4 and rated its helpfulness a bit higher at a 2.56 out of 4. When asked how much feedback impacts their motivation to succeed, students rated it an average of 2.5 out of 4. Students rated their motivation to complete assignments a 3.31 out of 4, while their motivation to study for exams was lower at 2.69 out of 4. Motivation to succeed in the course received an overall rating of 3.5 out of 4. When asked whether receiving feedback increases motivation to complete assignments and study, students provided an average rating of 2.5 out of 4. Responses were stronger when asked whether they feel more motivated receiving detailed feedback compared to brief or no feedback, with an average rating of 3.31 out of 4. The extent to which feedback caused students to change their approach to studying or assignments was rated 3 out of 4. Recurring themes in the open-ended questions showed a strong preference for clear, constructive, and detailed feedback, especially when specific notes for improvement were included. Several students mentioned that step-by-step explanations, actionable commentary, specific comments on assignments, and encouragement from teachers were motivating factors. Students emphasize that teachers could improve motivation by providing more interactive feedback, clear communication, positive affirmations, and maintaining engagement in the classroom. Discussion This study aimed to explore the impact of teacher feedback on student motivation. Students answered a variety of questions on their motivation to do well on assignments, study for exams, and succeed in the course overall. Students reported receiving feedback a moderate amount of 2.19 out of 4. They rated the quality of such at a 2.25 out of 4, and a slightly higher rating for its helpfulness at a 2.56 out of 4. Students said feedback impacts their motivation to succeed at a 2.5, with stronger responses to the comparison of detailed to brief feedback, at a 3.31. Recurring themes on the open-ended questions consist of a preference for constructive and detailed feedback, along with actionable and specific commentary. These results are in line with the literature review and previous studies done around this topic. These have also shown a preference for more detailed and constructive feedback, and studies have shown this to be an indicator and have an impact on learning and course success as well. Some limitations of this study are the sample size, with these results reflecting only 16 participants. This is due to the timing and reach of the study, with participants mainly being those in this course— Psychology 2311. Another limitation is the self-report nature of the data, with students deciding on which course they’d like to have in mind when responding. For future studies, it may prove useful to have fewer students complete feedback assessments on many of their courses to analyze the differences among the same students in different classes. This would rid the variability of students choosing what courses to reflect on and their motivation levels being a factor. This could be done by following a student throughout their university experience and in different courses. References Al-Said K. (2023). Influence of teacher on student motivation: Opportunities to increase motivational factors during mobile learning. Education and information technologies, 1–19. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11720-w Fine, P., Leung, A., Tonni, I., & Louca, C. (2023). Dental Teacher Feedback and Student Learning: A Qualitative Study. Dentistry journal, 11(7), 164. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/10.3390/dj11070164 Gan, Z., An, Z., & Liu, F. (2021). Teacher Feedback Practices, Student Feedback Motivation, and Feedback Behavior: How Are They Associated With Learning Outcomes?. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 697045. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.697045 Guo, W., & Zhou, W. (2021). Relationships Between Teacher Feedback and Student Motivation: A Comparison Between Male and Female Students. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 679575. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.679575 Leung, A., Fine, P. D., Blizard, R., Tonni, I., Ilhan, D., & Louca, C. (2022). Teacher feedback and student learning-The students' perspective. Journal of dentistry, 125, 104242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdent.2022.104242 Morgan, C. (2001). The effects of negative managerial feedback on student motivation: Implications for gender differences in teacher-student relations. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 44(9–10), 513–535. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/10.1023/A:1012286907894 Ryu, Min-Jeong. (2010). Differences between teacher feedback and intrinsic motivation perceived by students in physical education classes and verification of the relationship model. Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Education, 49(1), 147-156. Thompson, A. M., Wiedermann, W., Herman, K. C., & Reinke, W. M. (2021). Effect of Daily Teacher Feedback on Subsequent Motivation and Mental Health Outcomes in Fifth Grade Students: a Person-Centered Analysis. Prevention science: the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 22(6), 775–785. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/10.1007/s11121-020-01097-4 This independent research study was done under Dr Lisa Miller, The Ohio State University Department of Psychology, for the course Psychology 2311, Psychology of Motivation.

Beyond the Melody: How Music Rewires the Brain for a Sharper Mind Imagine yourself in a bustling café, the clatter of cups and the murmur of conversations blending into a wall of sound. Yet, you can effortlessly tune into your friend's voice, catching every word. Or picture a moment of intense focus at work, where the right background track seems to lock your concentration into place. These everyday moments are windows into a profound relationship: the one between music and the intricate wiring of the human brain. Science now confirms that our engagement with music, whether as an active player or a passive listener, powerfully shapes our cognitive abilities across our entire lifespan.   The Brain's Symphony: Understanding Cognitive Reserve To understand how music affects us, we first need to explore two key concepts: neuroplasticity and cognitive reserve. Think of neuroplasticity as the brain's ability to be its own architect, constantly reorganizing and building new pathways in response to experience. Learning to play an instrument is a masterclass in driving this process. It demands the simultaneous use of multiple brain functions: listening to pitch, coordinating fine motor movements, reading notation, and feeling emotion. This complex, multisensory workout strengthens the connections between different brain regions, making them more robust and efficient. This leads us to cognitive reserve. Imagine it as a 'rainy day fund' for your brain. Throughout life, engaging in mentally stimulating activities, such as education, social interaction, and musical practice, builds up this reserve (Vetere et al ., 2024; Zhang et al ., 2025). A strong cognitive reserve doesn't prevent the physical changes of aging, but it provides your brain with the flexibility and extra resources to cope with them, allowing you to maintain better cognitive function for longer. Music is a particularly potent way to build this vital buffer.   The Proof in the Performance: What the Science Says Decades of anecdotal evidence suggested a link between musicality and a sharp mind. Now, rigorous scientific studies provide concrete proof, revealing how different musical experiences translate into specific cognitive advantages. The Player’s Edge: A Lifelong Investment The most significant brain benefits come from the active practice of playing a musical instrument. A large study of adults over 40 found a clear association between playing an instrument and superior cognitive performance. Specifically, musicians demonstrated enhanced working memory, the brain's active 'scratchpad' for holding and manipulating information, and better executive function, which is the brain's 'CEO' responsible for planning, problem-solving, and decision-making (Vetere et al ., 2024). The type of instrument even mattered: keyboard players showed a particular advantage in working memory, while woodwind players excelled in executive function (Vetere et al ., 2024). These benefits become even more pronounced in the long term. A fascinating study using fMRI brain scans looked at older adults who had been musicians for most of their lives. It found that these individuals had brains that functioned more like those of younger people, especially in the challenging task of understanding speech in a noisy environment (Zhang et al ., 2025). This discovery supports a concept called the "Hold-back upregulation" hypothesis (Zhang et al ., 2025). As non-musicians age, their brains often work harder, recruiting more neural resources to compensate for age-related declines, an effortful and sometimes inefficient process (Zhang et al ., 2025). The brains of long-term musicians, however, appear to be more efficient. Their cognitive reserve allows them to maintain a more youthful and precise pattern of neural activity, achieving better results with less effort (Zhang et al ., 2025). The Listener's Choice: Setting the Right Tone While playing an instrument offers the most powerful benefits, simply listening to music also has a measurable impact on cognitive function, though the effects are more nuanced. A study on older adults explored how background music affects performance on different tasks (Bottiroli et al ., 2014). The results showed that the "right" music depends on the task at hand. For processing speed: When tasks required quick thinking and mental agility, listening to upbeat, fast-tempo music, like Mozart, provided a significant performance boost. The energetic rhythm and positive mood likely create an optimal state of arousal that helps the brain work faster (Bottiroli et al ., 2014). For memory: When it came to memory tasks, the story was different. Both upbeat and  downbeat, emotionally evocative music (Mahler) helped older adults recall information better than silence or white noise (Bottiroli et al ., 2014). This suggests that it is the emotional intensity of the music, rather than its specific valence (happy or sad), that helps cement memories, likely by engaging the brain's limbic system, which is crucial for both emotion and memory (Bottiroli et al ., 2014).   Composing a Healthier Future This research collectively sends a clear message: music is a powerful and accessible tool for building and maintaining brain health. Actively engaging with music helps construct a robust cognitive reserve, equipping our brains to be more resilient against the effects of aging (Vetere et al ., 2024; Zhang et al ., 2025). Even passive listening can be strategically used to enhance focus and memory in our daily lives (Bottiroli et al ., 2014). By educating people on these benefits, we can reframe music from a simple leisure activity to a fundamental component of a brain-healthy lifestyle. The implications are significant, suggesting that music education and community music programs could play a vital role in public health initiatives aimed at promoting healthy aging and reducing the risk of cognitive decline. So, what can be done next? The call to action is both simple and deeply rewarding.. Join a local choir or singing group. Curate playlists for your work, study, or exercise routines. By intentionally weaving music into the fabric of your life, you are not just enjoying a melody; you are actively composing a stronger, more resilient mind for the years to come.   References Bottiroli, S., Rosi, A., Russo, R., Vecchi, T., & Cavallini, E. (2014). The cognitive effects of listening to background music on older adults: processing speed improves with upbeat music, while memory seems to benefit from both upbeat and downbeat music. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience , 6 , 284.   https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00284 Vetere, G., Williams, G., Ballard, C., Creese, B., Hampshire, A., Palmer, A., Pickering, E., Richards, M., Brooker, H., & Corbett, A. (2024). The relationship between playing musical instruments and cognitive trajectories: Analysis from a UK ageing cohort. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry , e6061.   https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.6061 Zhang, L., Ross, B., Du, Y., & Alain, C. (2025). Long-term musical training can protect against age-related upregulation of neural activity in speech-in-noise perception. PLoS Biology , 23 (7), e3003247.   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003247

Hannah Speechly In a classroom of two-year-olds, language is still “under construction”. Moments such as a child pointing towards the snack shelf looking expectedly at you, or another child tugging your sleeve and silently leading you to the block area, might seem cute (they are), but they’re also profoundly communicative. Even before children reliably speak in sentences, they’re clearly making themselves understood. And often, they’re doing so with surprising nuance. Working in early childhood education, I’ve come to see that the boundary between verbal and nonverbal communication is not as sharp as it seems. Particularly in classrooms like mine, which serve a diverse population of children, children rely on gestures, vocal tone, gaze, and action to express complex thoughts long before they have the words to match. While verbal language tends to take center stage in developmental research, these preverbal behaviors are more foundational than simply preliminary. If language is a cultural tool for making thought public, then preverbal communication reveals what that thought looks like before it becomes codified in grammar or vocabulary. Too often, developmental research treats nonverbal communication as a stepping stone to speech: foundational, sure, but it’s treated as ultimately subordinate. But what if that gets things backwards? These early embodied interactions raise deeper questions: What does it mean to know something if you cannot say it? How do children coordinate minds before they coordinate syntax? Observing two-year-olds communicate without (or beyond) words invites us to rethink what language is for, and what it grows out of. The 2-year-old communicator At age two, children live squarely at the threshold of language. They know words (sometimes dozens, occasionally hundreds) but they don’t yet speak fluently. In our classrooms, this in-between stage is strikingly apparent. Some children speak in short two- or three-word utterances; others communicate almost entirely through gestures, grunts, and/or memorized phrases. Yet even the “quietest” children are deeply expressive. They use every available tool to communicate: reaching, pointing, making eye contact, guiding an adult’s hand, or repeating a favorite sound with just the right intonation. Language isn’t absent at this stage, it’s just not (yet) fully verbal. This transitional space between preverbal and verbal communication is rich with developmental significance. Children are actively learning how language works in not only vocabulary and grammar, but also its pragmatics: how to use words (or actions) to meet goals, share experiences, and manage relationships. In this way, preverbal communication isn’t really something they “grow out of”. It’s a core part of how they learn to navigate the world. Critically, these behaviors often fill in for linguistic gaps while children are acquiring one language, and especially when they are acquiring two. For many of our students, English is a school language, while another language (Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, etc.) is spoken at home. At age two, they are often in the early stages of grasping both systems. They may understand a great deal in both languages, but hesitate to speak, especially in unfamiliar contexts. This doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking. Quite the opposite: we often see children use nonverbal strategies to compensate across linguistic environments. A child might say “agua” quietly to himself, then point at the water fountain and look up at the teacher, waiting for a response. Another might silently copy a peer’s play routine to absorb both action and language before attempting either for herself. In these moments, communication is happening across modes (gesture, gaze, prosody, touch, space) not just across languages. Dual language learners often excel at this kind of flexible, adaptive expression. Their “errors” or silences often mask sophisticated internal processing and strategic code-switching even before they’re conscious of doing so. And as educators, we see firsthand how much communicative intention exists beneath the surface of limited verbal output. This is why it’s misleading to think of two-year-olds as simply “not talking yet”. Many are communicating constantly and effectively, just not always in words. Recognizing this is not only developmentally appropriate, it’s also essential for honoring the full range of meaning-making strategies children bring to the classroom. In observing their behavior closely, we gain insight into how language emerges as a socially embedded practice that begins well before a child can name what they’re doing. The slow build to the “explosion” Between the ages of 30 and 36 months, many children experience what caregivers call a “language explosion”, or an apparent burst of fluency and expressive power that seems like it happened overnight. This phase often unfolds as if a dam has broken: toddlers who once relied on gestures and single words suddenly string together phrases, narrate their play, negotiate with peers, and ask vivid questions. This shift is hardly a miracle; it’s an emergent result of groundwork laid in the preverbal period. Research supports this trajectory. For instance, studies of joint attention (a behavior toddlers use extensively before they can talk) find that the frequency of gesture-plus-word combinations around age two strongly predicts multiword speech by 3.5 years (Alhama et al., 2024; Hadley et al., 2018; McEachern & Haynes, 2004), highlighting how nonverbal signaling (like pointing or gazing) scaffolds verbal development. Other research demonstrates a clear developmental slope before the "explosion". One study of sentence diversity in Spanish-English toddlers between 24 and 30 months reported that bilingual children begin producing flexible subject-verb utterances in both of their languages, showing distinct grammatical patterns by age 2.5 years (De Anda et al., 2023). As such, toddlers are assembling language systems even before long sentences emerge. Meanwhile, monolingual and bilingual children show similar trajectories in lexical-semantic organization at 18-24 months, suggesting that underlying cognitive structures (e.g. mapping words to concepts) are already taking shape before expressive grammar blooms (De Anda & Friend, 2020). For dual language learners, this lexical organization relies on a rich semantic network that spans both languages. This network then serves as a basis for the rapid verbal shift as their language fluency builds.  Importantly, the preschool environment also plays a crucial role. Dual language learners benefit significantly when their home language is supported in early childhood settings: teachers' use of the home language correlates with stronger vocabulary, comprehension, executive function, and social–emotional outcomes. Likewise, high-quality responsive interaction is linked to richer language and pragmatic skill development (De Anda & Friend, 2020; Gámez et al., 2023). When children experience consistent and nurturing multimodal input (hand gestures, voice prosody and intonation, eye gaze, etc.), they develop the scaffolding essential for that vocal burst. These findings, combined with my general observations over the last 6 months, suggest the following developmental model. During the pre-language foundation phase from 24 to 30 months, children rely heavily on gesture, joint attention, limited word usage, and single-word utterances to build shared meaning and develop conceptual networks with their caregivers. Around 30 months, we see “structural emergence”, where children begin combining words for the first time, demonstrating early syntactic abilities and referential flexibility that becomes particularly pronounced in dual-language contexts. This culminates in the language “explosion” that typically occurs between 30 and 36 months, when verbal communication accelerates dramatically. By the time a child suddenly begins speaking fluently, they’ve already been preparing for months (whether through gestures, vocal tones and “babbling”, or cognitively). What preverbal communication reveals about the nature of meaning Underlying toddler gesture and joint-attentional behavior is shared intentionality - a deeply human capacity. Michael Tomasello’s framework posits that infants begin coordinating attention and goals with others as early as 9-12 months (Tomasello, 2010; Tomasello, 2019; Wolf & Tomasello, 2023). Pointing and pantomiming are deliberate acts organized within cooperative settings; infants use these to request, inform, and emotionally share with an implicit understanding that their partner will share attention towards the referent (Forgács, 2024; Player & Hartmann, 2024; Terrace et al., 2022). By age one, children begin engaging in triadic joint attention to coordinate with caregivers around objects or events while acknowledging this shared awareness through gaze, gesture, and expression (Terrace et al., 2022). This triadic relation inaugurates the “meeting of minds” moment crucial to the emergence of meaning. Even before words appear, toddlers are learning how meaning is negotiated socially and dependent on a shared epistemic space. Tomasello’s evolution of communication theory also distinguishes between joint intentionality (early toddlerhood) and collective intentionality, which emerges around age three alongside understanding of norms and conventions (Tomasello, 2018). Once children grasp collective intentionality, they begin to collaborate on tasks with normative expectations; this “sets the stage” for syntactic language and conventional grammar. Gestural communication in the preverbal years reveals three fundamental insights. First, that meaning precedes grammar. Preverbal acts like pointing constitute communicative intentions that help establish common ground and shared reference, all of which are prerequisites for naming and describing. Second, that social cognition underpins meaning. Mind-reading, perspective-taking, and cooperative motivation are active from infancy, and these support shared meaning before verbalization. Finally, there is a cultural element emerging alongside language; over time, these embodied shared experiences become encoded into conventional language systems, such as words, grammar, and turn-taking norms. Furthermore, infant vocal play supports that human infants explore vocalization purposefully and flexibly, unlike nonhuman primates (Oller et al., 2013). This early vocal flexibility alongside gestural communication not only helps scaffold infants towards full linguistic competence, but also suggests that meaning is moreso tied to the infrastructure of shared experience rather than the words themselves. Toddlers are communicating meanings, intentions, desires, and referents long before they can map those onto verbal form. What the preschool teaches us about origins of meaning If you want to understand the origins of meaning, a preschool classroom is a better starting place than a dictionary. In the classrooms I’ve worked in, meaning is in constant motion. It’s passed in glances across the lunch tables, built with wooden blocks, negotiated with gestures and touch, and clarified through laughter. Children learn both language and the communicative scaffolding that language will eventually inhabit. And for many two-year-olds, especially dual-language learners, that scaffolding is preverbal. A lot of developmental research confirms what practitioners observe daily. Gesture and joint attention predict later language outcomes (Colonnesi et al., 2010), and rich multimodal caregiver input (e.g. touch, tone, gaze, etc.) supports semantic development before a child speaks their first full sentence (Rowe & Goldin-Meadow, 2009; Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2014). For children acquiring two languages, the relationship between gesture and context often bridges gaps in their vocabularies, and this allows for fluid and strategic communication across linguistic domains (De Anda & Friend, 2020). However, theory and research alone don't quite capture the quiet genius of a toddler who can only communicate without uttering a word. I’ve seen children with only a few spoken words (usually repeating what teachers say to them) coordinate elaborate games with their peers using only looks and hand gestures. The implication is simple but quite profound: meaning precedes language and isn’t necessarily “born” with it. Meaning emerges in the shared space in the child’s relationship with their caregivers, peers, and objects in their surroundings. Language refines and formalizes what preverbal communication already establishes in shared minds. For educators, this means treating gestures and glances as part of a child’s communicative toolkit as opposed to immature approximations of speech. For researchers, it means designing studies that don’t treat language as an “all-or-nothing” skill and rather as a layer built on top of rich embodied interaction. For families raising dual-language learners, it means trusting that understanding often outpaces expression, and that silence doesn’t mean absence of thought. Working with two- and three-year-olds has reshaped how I think about language. It’s easy to think of it as a “switch” that “flips on” at around age three, with milestones of “first words”, “first sentences”, and “grammar rules” along the way. But in the preschool classroom, I learned to notice the moments in between. A toddler silently offers a toy to comfort a crying friend. Two children chase each other across the yard, not saying anything but clearly playing the same game. Meaning lives not just in what we say, but also in how we connect with and understand one another, and perhaps maybe language begins in the shared impulse to make ourselves known. Works cited Alhama, R. G., Foushee, R., Byrne, D., Ettinger, A., Alishahi, A., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2024). Using computational modeling to validate the onset of productive determiner–noun combinations in English-learning children. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 121 (50). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2316527121 Colonnesi, C., Stams, G. J., Koster, I., & Noom, M. J. (2010). The relation between pointing and language development: A meta-analysis. Developmental Review , 30 (4), 352–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2010.10.001 De Anda, S., & Friend, M. (2020). Lexical-semantic development in bilingual toddlers at 18 and 24 months. Frontiers in Psychology , 11 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.508363 De Anda, S., Cycyk, L. M., Durán, L., Biancarosa, G., & McIntyre, L. L. (2023). Sentence diversity in Spanish–English bilingual toddlers. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology , 32 (2), 576–591. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_ajslp-22-00149 Forgács, B. (2024). Meaning as mentalization. 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