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Screen time may help concussion recovery
research shows.
Now a study suggests that getting back on TikTok and Snapchat may help, too.
After surveying 700 patients ages 8-16 following an injury, researchers for the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada A-CAP study team found that
A “moderate” amount was between 2 and 7 hours per day on various screens. “That includes their phones, computers, and televisions,” says lead author Molly Cairncross, PhD, of Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
People in the study who reported either less or more screen time than that in the 7-10 days after injury also reported more symptoms, such as headaches and fatigue, during the first month. After that month, all the participants reported similar symptoms, regardless of their early screen use – suggesting that screen time makes little difference long term in pediatric concussion recovery.
The findings differ from a 2021 study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, that found screen time slowed recovery. Why the clashing results? “I think what it comes down to are differences in study design,” says Dr. Cairncross. While the earlier study measured screen use in the first 48 hours, and recovery over 10 days, “we focused on screen time use over the first 7-10 days, and tracked recovery over 6 months,” she says.
“Taken together, the studies suggest a need to find balance – not too little and not too much time on screens for kids and teens following a concussion,” Dr. Cairncross says.
Ultimately, the findings support moderation rather than blanket restrictions on screen time as the best way to manage pediatric concussion, especially after the first 48 hours.
“It’s actually unsurprising,” says Sarah Brittain, MS, a speech-language pathologist and founder of Colorado Brain Recovery in Wheat Ridge, who was not involved in the study. “An early return to both cognitive and physical activity in a controlled fashion is really important. Sitting in a dark room and resting is not the answer and has been disproven in the literature.”
Old advice involved lying in a quiet, dark room for days, but recent evidence reveals that such “cocoon therapy” may actually prolong symptoms.
“With time, we have found this can negatively impact quality of life and depression scores, especially in teenagers,” says Katherine Labiner, MD, a child neurologist at Pediatrix Child Neurology Consultants of Austin, Tex., who was not involved in the study.
So, how might screens help? Dr. Labiner, Ms. Brittain, and Dr. Cairncross all point to the importance of connection – not the Internet kind, but the social kind. Children and teens use smartphones and computers to stay connected with peers, so banning screen time could have a negative impact on mental health by leading to loneliness, separation, and lack of social support.
“Depression can prolong the course of recovery,” says Ms. Brittain.
It’s worth noting that screen time could trigger visual symptoms in some patients, she says. “If someone feels worse within 2 minutes of being on a screen, that’s a good indicator that screens aren’t working for them,” Ms. Brittain says. “If being on a screen makes them dizzy or wiped out, or the words on the screen look like they’re moving when they’re not, that means it’s time to back off.”
She advises parents to watch for behavior changes like increased crankiness, impatience, and/or fatigue, which could mean that the child has returned to screen time – or any activity – too soon and should scale back until symptoms subside.
“The most important thing to stress with concussion is full recovery before complete return to activity,” Dr. Labiner says.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
research shows.
Now a study suggests that getting back on TikTok and Snapchat may help, too.
After surveying 700 patients ages 8-16 following an injury, researchers for the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada A-CAP study team found that
A “moderate” amount was between 2 and 7 hours per day on various screens. “That includes their phones, computers, and televisions,” says lead author Molly Cairncross, PhD, of Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
People in the study who reported either less or more screen time than that in the 7-10 days after injury also reported more symptoms, such as headaches and fatigue, during the first month. After that month, all the participants reported similar symptoms, regardless of their early screen use – suggesting that screen time makes little difference long term in pediatric concussion recovery.
The findings differ from a 2021 study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, that found screen time slowed recovery. Why the clashing results? “I think what it comes down to are differences in study design,” says Dr. Cairncross. While the earlier study measured screen use in the first 48 hours, and recovery over 10 days, “we focused on screen time use over the first 7-10 days, and tracked recovery over 6 months,” she says.
“Taken together, the studies suggest a need to find balance – not too little and not too much time on screens for kids and teens following a concussion,” Dr. Cairncross says.
Ultimately, the findings support moderation rather than blanket restrictions on screen time as the best way to manage pediatric concussion, especially after the first 48 hours.
“It’s actually unsurprising,” says Sarah Brittain, MS, a speech-language pathologist and founder of Colorado Brain Recovery in Wheat Ridge, who was not involved in the study. “An early return to both cognitive and physical activity in a controlled fashion is really important. Sitting in a dark room and resting is not the answer and has been disproven in the literature.”
Old advice involved lying in a quiet, dark room for days, but recent evidence reveals that such “cocoon therapy” may actually prolong symptoms.
“With time, we have found this can negatively impact quality of life and depression scores, especially in teenagers,” says Katherine Labiner, MD, a child neurologist at Pediatrix Child Neurology Consultants of Austin, Tex., who was not involved in the study.
So, how might screens help? Dr. Labiner, Ms. Brittain, and Dr. Cairncross all point to the importance of connection – not the Internet kind, but the social kind. Children and teens use smartphones and computers to stay connected with peers, so banning screen time could have a negative impact on mental health by leading to loneliness, separation, and lack of social support.
“Depression can prolong the course of recovery,” says Ms. Brittain.
It’s worth noting that screen time could trigger visual symptoms in some patients, she says. “If someone feels worse within 2 minutes of being on a screen, that’s a good indicator that screens aren’t working for them,” Ms. Brittain says. “If being on a screen makes them dizzy or wiped out, or the words on the screen look like they’re moving when they’re not, that means it’s time to back off.”
She advises parents to watch for behavior changes like increased crankiness, impatience, and/or fatigue, which could mean that the child has returned to screen time – or any activity – too soon and should scale back until symptoms subside.
“The most important thing to stress with concussion is full recovery before complete return to activity,” Dr. Labiner says.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
research shows.
Now a study suggests that getting back on TikTok and Snapchat may help, too.
After surveying 700 patients ages 8-16 following an injury, researchers for the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada A-CAP study team found that
A “moderate” amount was between 2 and 7 hours per day on various screens. “That includes their phones, computers, and televisions,” says lead author Molly Cairncross, PhD, of Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
People in the study who reported either less or more screen time than that in the 7-10 days after injury also reported more symptoms, such as headaches and fatigue, during the first month. After that month, all the participants reported similar symptoms, regardless of their early screen use – suggesting that screen time makes little difference long term in pediatric concussion recovery.
The findings differ from a 2021 study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, that found screen time slowed recovery. Why the clashing results? “I think what it comes down to are differences in study design,” says Dr. Cairncross. While the earlier study measured screen use in the first 48 hours, and recovery over 10 days, “we focused on screen time use over the first 7-10 days, and tracked recovery over 6 months,” she says.
“Taken together, the studies suggest a need to find balance – not too little and not too much time on screens for kids and teens following a concussion,” Dr. Cairncross says.
Ultimately, the findings support moderation rather than blanket restrictions on screen time as the best way to manage pediatric concussion, especially after the first 48 hours.
“It’s actually unsurprising,” says Sarah Brittain, MS, a speech-language pathologist and founder of Colorado Brain Recovery in Wheat Ridge, who was not involved in the study. “An early return to both cognitive and physical activity in a controlled fashion is really important. Sitting in a dark room and resting is not the answer and has been disproven in the literature.”
Old advice involved lying in a quiet, dark room for days, but recent evidence reveals that such “cocoon therapy” may actually prolong symptoms.
“With time, we have found this can negatively impact quality of life and depression scores, especially in teenagers,” says Katherine Labiner, MD, a child neurologist at Pediatrix Child Neurology Consultants of Austin, Tex., who was not involved in the study.
So, how might screens help? Dr. Labiner, Ms. Brittain, and Dr. Cairncross all point to the importance of connection – not the Internet kind, but the social kind. Children and teens use smartphones and computers to stay connected with peers, so banning screen time could have a negative impact on mental health by leading to loneliness, separation, and lack of social support.
“Depression can prolong the course of recovery,” says Ms. Brittain.
It’s worth noting that screen time could trigger visual symptoms in some patients, she says. “If someone feels worse within 2 minutes of being on a screen, that’s a good indicator that screens aren’t working for them,” Ms. Brittain says. “If being on a screen makes them dizzy or wiped out, or the words on the screen look like they’re moving when they’re not, that means it’s time to back off.”
She advises parents to watch for behavior changes like increased crankiness, impatience, and/or fatigue, which could mean that the child has returned to screen time – or any activity – too soon and should scale back until symptoms subside.
“The most important thing to stress with concussion is full recovery before complete return to activity,” Dr. Labiner says.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
FROM PEDIATRICS
Scientists find brain mechanism behind age-related memory loss
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have identified a mechanism in the brain behind age-related memory loss, expanding our knowledge of the inner workings of the aging brain and possibly opening the door to new Alzheimer’s treatments.
The researchers looked at the hippocampus, a part of the brain thought to store long-term memories.
Neurons there are responsible for a pair of memory functions – called pattern separation and pattern completion – that work together in young, healthy brains. These functions can swing out of balance with age, impacting memory.
The Johns Hopkins team may have discovered what causes this imbalance. Their findings – reported in a paper in the journal Current Biology – may not only help us improve dementia treatments, but even prevent or delay a loss of thinking skills in the first place, the researchers say.
Pattern separation vs. pattern completion
To understand how the hippocampus changes with age, the researchers looked at rats’ brains. In rats and in humans, pattern separation and pattern completion are present, controlled by neurons in the hippocampus.
As the name suggests, pattern completion is when you take a few details or fragments of information – a few notes of music, or the start of a famous movie quote – and your brain retrieves the full memory. Pattern separation, on the other hand, is being able to tell similar observations or experiences apart (like two visits to the same restaurant) to be stored as separate memories.
These functions occur along a gradient across a tiny region called CA3. That gradient, the study found, disappears with aging, said lead study author Hey-Kyoung Lee, PhD, an assistant research scientist at the university’s Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute. “The main consequence of the loss,” Dr. Lee said, “is that pattern completion becomes more dominant in rats as they age.”
What’s happening in the brain
Neurons responsible for pattern completion occupy the “distal” end of CA3, while those in charge of pattern separation reside at the “proximal” end. Dr. Lee said prior studies had not examined the proximal and distal regions separately, as she and her team did in this study.
What was surprising, said Dr. Lee, “was that hyperactivity in aging was observed toward the proximal CA3 region, not the expected distal region.” Contrary to their expectations, that hyperactivity did not enhance function in that area but rather dampened it. Hence: “There is diminished pattern separation and augmented pattern completion,” she said.
– they may recall a certain restaurant they’d been to but not be able to separate what happened during one visit versus another.
Why do some older adults stay sharp?
That memory impairment does not happen to everyone, and it doesn’t happen to all rats either. In fact, the researchers found that some older rats performed spatial-learning tasks as well as young rats did – even though their brains were already beginning to favor pattern completion.
If we can better understand why this happens, we may uncover new therapies for age-related memory loss, Dr. Lee said.
Coauthor Michela Gallagher’s team previously demonstrated that the anti-epilepsy drug levetiracetam improves memory performance by reducing hyperactivity in the hippocampus.
The extra detail this study adds may allow scientists to better aim such drugs in the future, Dr. Lee speculated. “It would give us better control of where we could possibly target the deficits we see.”
A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have identified a mechanism in the brain behind age-related memory loss, expanding our knowledge of the inner workings of the aging brain and possibly opening the door to new Alzheimer’s treatments.
The researchers looked at the hippocampus, a part of the brain thought to store long-term memories.
Neurons there are responsible for a pair of memory functions – called pattern separation and pattern completion – that work together in young, healthy brains. These functions can swing out of balance with age, impacting memory.
The Johns Hopkins team may have discovered what causes this imbalance. Their findings – reported in a paper in the journal Current Biology – may not only help us improve dementia treatments, but even prevent or delay a loss of thinking skills in the first place, the researchers say.
Pattern separation vs. pattern completion
To understand how the hippocampus changes with age, the researchers looked at rats’ brains. In rats and in humans, pattern separation and pattern completion are present, controlled by neurons in the hippocampus.
As the name suggests, pattern completion is when you take a few details or fragments of information – a few notes of music, or the start of a famous movie quote – and your brain retrieves the full memory. Pattern separation, on the other hand, is being able to tell similar observations or experiences apart (like two visits to the same restaurant) to be stored as separate memories.
These functions occur along a gradient across a tiny region called CA3. That gradient, the study found, disappears with aging, said lead study author Hey-Kyoung Lee, PhD, an assistant research scientist at the university’s Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute. “The main consequence of the loss,” Dr. Lee said, “is that pattern completion becomes more dominant in rats as they age.”
What’s happening in the brain
Neurons responsible for pattern completion occupy the “distal” end of CA3, while those in charge of pattern separation reside at the “proximal” end. Dr. Lee said prior studies had not examined the proximal and distal regions separately, as she and her team did in this study.
What was surprising, said Dr. Lee, “was that hyperactivity in aging was observed toward the proximal CA3 region, not the expected distal region.” Contrary to their expectations, that hyperactivity did not enhance function in that area but rather dampened it. Hence: “There is diminished pattern separation and augmented pattern completion,” she said.
– they may recall a certain restaurant they’d been to but not be able to separate what happened during one visit versus another.
Why do some older adults stay sharp?
That memory impairment does not happen to everyone, and it doesn’t happen to all rats either. In fact, the researchers found that some older rats performed spatial-learning tasks as well as young rats did – even though their brains were already beginning to favor pattern completion.
If we can better understand why this happens, we may uncover new therapies for age-related memory loss, Dr. Lee said.
Coauthor Michela Gallagher’s team previously demonstrated that the anti-epilepsy drug levetiracetam improves memory performance by reducing hyperactivity in the hippocampus.
The extra detail this study adds may allow scientists to better aim such drugs in the future, Dr. Lee speculated. “It would give us better control of where we could possibly target the deficits we see.”
A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have identified a mechanism in the brain behind age-related memory loss, expanding our knowledge of the inner workings of the aging brain and possibly opening the door to new Alzheimer’s treatments.
The researchers looked at the hippocampus, a part of the brain thought to store long-term memories.
Neurons there are responsible for a pair of memory functions – called pattern separation and pattern completion – that work together in young, healthy brains. These functions can swing out of balance with age, impacting memory.
The Johns Hopkins team may have discovered what causes this imbalance. Their findings – reported in a paper in the journal Current Biology – may not only help us improve dementia treatments, but even prevent or delay a loss of thinking skills in the first place, the researchers say.
Pattern separation vs. pattern completion
To understand how the hippocampus changes with age, the researchers looked at rats’ brains. In rats and in humans, pattern separation and pattern completion are present, controlled by neurons in the hippocampus.
As the name suggests, pattern completion is when you take a few details or fragments of information – a few notes of music, or the start of a famous movie quote – and your brain retrieves the full memory. Pattern separation, on the other hand, is being able to tell similar observations or experiences apart (like two visits to the same restaurant) to be stored as separate memories.
These functions occur along a gradient across a tiny region called CA3. That gradient, the study found, disappears with aging, said lead study author Hey-Kyoung Lee, PhD, an assistant research scientist at the university’s Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute. “The main consequence of the loss,” Dr. Lee said, “is that pattern completion becomes more dominant in rats as they age.”
What’s happening in the brain
Neurons responsible for pattern completion occupy the “distal” end of CA3, while those in charge of pattern separation reside at the “proximal” end. Dr. Lee said prior studies had not examined the proximal and distal regions separately, as she and her team did in this study.
What was surprising, said Dr. Lee, “was that hyperactivity in aging was observed toward the proximal CA3 region, not the expected distal region.” Contrary to their expectations, that hyperactivity did not enhance function in that area but rather dampened it. Hence: “There is diminished pattern separation and augmented pattern completion,” she said.
– they may recall a certain restaurant they’d been to but not be able to separate what happened during one visit versus another.
Why do some older adults stay sharp?
That memory impairment does not happen to everyone, and it doesn’t happen to all rats either. In fact, the researchers found that some older rats performed spatial-learning tasks as well as young rats did – even though their brains were already beginning to favor pattern completion.
If we can better understand why this happens, we may uncover new therapies for age-related memory loss, Dr. Lee said.
Coauthor Michela Gallagher’s team previously demonstrated that the anti-epilepsy drug levetiracetam improves memory performance by reducing hyperactivity in the hippocampus.
The extra detail this study adds may allow scientists to better aim such drugs in the future, Dr. Lee speculated. “It would give us better control of where we could possibly target the deficits we see.”
A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.
FROM CURRENT BIOLOGY