Have you ever pulled an all-nighter and wound up feeling wired‚ hyper‚ even a bit like you’re drunk? Well‚ scientists are looking to harness that feeling to see if it could help people suffering from depression‚ and a new study in mice has uncovered the changes in the sleep-deprived brain that seem to cause it.For most of us‚ the thought of having to forego a night of restful sleep is not a cheerful one. But‚ when forced awake by a nightshift‚ long trip‚ or last-minute study session‚ many people find they feel surprisingly upbeat the next day. You might describe it as feeling “tired and wired”‚ or giddy‚ or even a bit delirious (but in a good way).If just one all-nighter can have this kind of effect‚ scientists reasoned‚ this could help us better understand how the brain changes to affect our mood‚ and how some antidepressants‚ like ketamine‚ can kick in so quickly.  “Interestingly‚ changes in mood state after acute sleep loss feel so real‚ even in healthy subjects‚ as experienced by myself and many others‚” said Mingzheng Wu‚ postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University and first author of a new study into sleep deprivation‚ in a statement. “But the exact mechanisms in the brain that lead to these effects have remained poorly understood.”To learn more‚ Wu and the team performed experiments in healthy adult mice. They devised a system for keeping the animals awake whilst minimizing the amount of stress they were under‚ using an enclosure with a raised platform above a slowly rotating beam. The mice could either chill on the platform‚ or go for an explore down below‚ but they had to keep moving to keep out of the way of the beam. The authors tested the device and found that when mice were housed in it‚ they got significantly less sleep.After a night of sleep deprivation‚ the authors observed the mice behaving in a more aggressive and hypersexualized way. The culprit? Dopamine: the reward neurotransmitter.The authors could see that dopamine signaling was increased in the animals’ brains‚ but they weren’t sure whether this was specific to certain regions or a whole-brain effect. They took a closer look at four regions – the prefrontal cortex‚ nucleus accumbens‚ hypothalamus‚ and dorsal striatum – monitoring them for dopamine release and then silencing them one by one.“The antidepressant effect persisted except when we silenced dopamine inputs in the prefrontal cortex‚” explained senior author Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy. “That means the prefrontal cortex is a clinically relevant area when searching for therapeutic targets. But it also reinforces the idea that has been building in the field recently: Dopamine neurons play very important but very different roles in the brain. They are not just this monolithic population that simply predicts rewards.”This point about therapeutic targets is key. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)‚ depression affects 16 million American adults each year‚ and antidepressant medications are widely used. Whilst some people have found traditional antidepressants to be transformative‚ they don’t work for everyone and can have significant side effects. Studies are exploring the potential of new approaches‚ such as psychedelics‚ for the hardest-to-treat cases‚ but there’s always a need for improved understanding that could lead to new therapies.That’s not to say‚ however‚ that Kozorovitskiy would recommend pulling an all-nighter as a quick fix. Organisms may have evolved this state of heightened awareness for times when delaying sleep and being on high alert could protect them from predation and other threats‚ but over time the problems of chronic sleep deprivation will quickly begin to outweigh these benefits.It is‚ however‚ an important new avenue for researchers to continue to explore.“We found that sleep loss induces a potent antidepressant effect and rewires the brain‚” Kozorovitskiy said. “This is an important reminder of how our casual activities‚ such as a sleepless night‚ can fundamentally alter the brain in as little as a few hours.”The study is published in the journal Neuron.

What is the strange black cat roaming the Arizona mountains? That’s the question that has baffled wildlife experts and residents alike after a video (see below) of the mysterious creature went viral on YouTube. The footage‚ captured by a Phoenix homeowner‚ shows a large feline with a long tail walking down the mountain slope. The animal does not match any of the known species of big cats that inhabit the state‚ such as mountain lions‚ bobcats‚ ocelots or jaguars. It also seems too big to be a domestic cat that escaped from its owner. Some experts have speculated that the animal could be an exotic pet that was bought at a wildlife auction and somehow got loose. It could be a species from Africa or South America‚ such as a serval‚ a caracal or a melanistic leopard. However‚ this raises more questions than answers. How did the animal survive in the harsh desert environment? How did it avoid detection for so long? And most importantly‚ is it dangerous to humans or other animals? The Arizona Game and Fish Department has stated that they will not intervene unless the animal poses a threat to public safety or wildlife. They have advised residents to keep their pets indoors and to report any sightings of the mysterious cat. They have also warned against approaching or feeding the animal‚ as it could be unpredictable and aggressive. The mystery of the black cat remains unsolved for now. It is possible that it is just a rare mutation of a native species‚ or a hybrid of two different cats. It is also possible that it is a hoax or a prank‚ although the video seems authentic and unedited. The post Giant black cat filmed in Arizona: an exotic escapee or a native mutant? appeared first on Anomalien.com.

The one thing that forces negative coverage of President Biden is negative polling. On Sunday's Meet the Press‚ NBC's politics guru Steve Kornacki explained to host Kristen Welker the latest NBC News findings‚ which show an erosion of Biden's standing‚ even among young Democrats. The war in Gaza is taking a toll‚ and Donald Trump now leads Biden‚ 46 to 44 percent. Welker said "Steve‚ some real stunning highlights here in this poll." Kornacki said Biden's approval rating is bottoming out: "We measure it now at 40% with 57% disapproving. The significance? That is the lowest President Biden has ever measured in our poll‚ in terms of job approval." The reason is erosion among Democrats: "Seven percent of Republicans approve of Joe Biden's job performance. But three times as many Democrats‚ 21 percent‚ that's more than one in five‚ say they disapprove. You need much more unified support in your own party if you're going to have a successful reelection campaign. And we mentioned the drop in that approval rating and the connection to the Middle East and here it is. On foreign policy 33% approve of Joe Biden's job performance." Another Sunday‚ another poll with “stunning” low numbers for Joe Biden. Approval now at 40%‚ 57% disapproval in new NBC News poll. @SteveKornacki: “That is the lowest President Biden has ever measured in our poll.” #MTP pic.twitter.com/u502KUnmvc — Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) November 19‚ 2023 Kornacki pointed out young voters really abandon Biden over Israel: "Among the oldest group of voters‚ 65-plus‚ there's a majority who approve of how Biden's handling this. That's plus 12. Look at the youngest group of voters. 20% approve‚ 70% disapprove. He is 50 points underwater with the youngest group of voters. That is a 62 point net swing between youngest and oldest on this topic of Israel-Hamas." This translates into Trump leading by two points. Welker said "this is significant because this is the first time in the history of our poll that former President Trump beats President Biden‚ still within the margin of error but still significant." Kornacki agreed: "Yeah‚ in 2019‚ 2020 when Trump was president he trailed all of them. This year he's trailed all of them in our poll. First time in more than a dozen polls we've seen a result like this."  “Wow....This is the first time‚ in the history of our poll‚ that former President Trump beats President Biden” 46% to 44% -- @kwelkernbc. But Trump toxic too in NBC News poll: “Generic Republican” would beat Biden 48% to 37%‚ Trump loses by 6 to any other Dem. #MTP pic.twitter.com/3CjFFLZld9 — Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) November 19‚ 2023 In the pundit roundtable at the end of the show‚ New York Times reporter Helene Cooper worried about Biden: "he’s in danger of not losing his own party over this‚ but he's really seen his support go down‚ as your polls showed‚ among young Democrats who are very angry of his full embrace‚ I would say‚ of – of a right-wing Israeli government – the right-wing Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu." Cooper felt a ceasefire would help Biden‚ like somehow the ceasefire could be extended quite a bit: "if it brings with it a five-day humanitarian pause‚ people are hoping‚ people within the U.S. government are hoping — you don't know‚ maybe you could extend that pause – are hoping that would – this would at least for five days be a cessation of the bombing campaigns that you're seeing and this spiraling of the civilian death toll‚ which is what is hurting President Biden‚ I think‚ in the polls."

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