Massachusetts General study suggests neurobiological basis of human-pet relationship

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3-Oct-2014

Contact: Noah Brown nbrown9@partners.org 617-643-3907 Massachusetts General Hospital @MassGeneralNews

It has become common for people who have pets to refer to themselves as "pet parents," but how closely does the relationship between people and their non-human companions mirror the parent-child relationship? A small study from a group of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers makes a contribution to answering this complex question by investigating differences in how important brain structures are activated when women view images of their children and of their own dogs. Their report is being published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

"Pets hold a special place in many people's hearts and lives, and there is compelling evidence from clinical and laboratory studies that interacting with pets can be beneficial to the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of humans," says Lori Palley, DVM, of the MGH Center for Comparative Medicine, co-lead author of the report. "Several previous studies have found that levels of neurohormones like oxytocin which is involved in pair-bonding and maternal attachment rise after interaction with pets, and new brain imaging technologies are helping us begin to understand the neurobiological basis of the relationship, which is exciting."

In order to compare patterns of brain activation involved with the human-pet bond with those elicited by the maternal-child bond, the study enrolled a group of women with at least one child aged 2 to 10 years old and one pet dog that had been in the household for two years or longer. Participation consisted of two sessions, the first being a home visit during which participants completed several questionnaires, including ones regarding their relationships with both their child and pet dog. The participants' dog and child were also photographed in each participants' home.

The second session took place at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at MGH, where functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which indicates levels of activation in specific brain structures by detecting changes in blood flow and oxygen levels was performed as participants lay in a scanner and viewed a series of photographs. The photos included images of each participant's own child and own dog alternating with those of an unfamiliar child and dog belonging to another study participant. After the scanning session, each participant completed additional assessments, including an image recognition test to confirm she had paid close attention to photos presented during scanning, and rated several images from each category shown during the session on factors relating to pleasantness and excitement.

Of 16 women originally enrolled, complete information and MR data was available for 14 participants. The imaging studies revealed both similarities and differences in the way important brain regions reacted to images of a woman's own child and own dog. Areas previously reported as important for functions such as emotion, reward, affiliation, visual processing and social interaction all showed increased activity when participants viewed either their own child or their own dog. A region known to be important to bond formation the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SNi/VTA) was activated only in response to images of a participant's own child. The fusiform gyrus, which is involved in facial recognition and other visual processing functions, actually showed greater response to own-dog images than own-child images.

"Although this is a small study that may not apply to other individuals, the results suggest there is a common brain network important for pair-bond formation and maintenance that is activated when mothers viewed images of either their child or their dog," says Luke Stoeckel, PhD, MGH Department of Psychiatry, co-lead author of the PLOS ONE report. "We also observed differences in activation of some regions that may reflect variance in the evolutionary course and function of these relationships. For example, like the SNi/VTA, the nucleus accumbens has been reported to have an important role in pair-bonding in both human and animal studies. But that region showed greater deactivation when mothers viewed their own-dog images instead of greater activation in response to own-child images, as one might expect. We think the greater response of the fusiform gyrus to images of participants' dogs may reflect the increased reliance on visual than verbal cues in human-animal communications."

Co-author Randy Gollub, MD, PhD, of MGH Psychiatry adds, "Since fMRI is an indirect measure of neural activity and can only correlate brain activity with an individual's experience, it will be interesting to see if future studies can directly test whether these patterns of brain activity are explained by the specific cognitive and emotional functions involved in human-animal relationships. Further, the similarities and differences in brain activity revealed by functional neuroimaging may help to generate hypotheses that eventually provide an explanation for the complexities underlying human-animal relationships."

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Massachusetts General study suggests neurobiological basis of human-pet relationship

Full Show 10/2/14: US Health Care: Privatization & Pandemics – Video

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Full Show 10/2/14: US Health Care: Privatization Pandemics
Mike Papantonio, attorney and host of the Ring of Fire radio show, joins Thom to talk about how the Supreme Court furthers Republican obstructionism. The Rev. Osagyefo Sekou gives Thom an update...

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Full Show 10/2/14: US Health Care: Privatization & Pandemics - Video

Why is this GOP governor talking health care with Obama?

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Mike Pence pressed Obama on health care Friday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- As soon as Air Force One touched down in Indiana on Friday, Gov. Mike Pence met President Barack Obama on the tarmac with a plea: Expand the state's access to government-sponsored health insurance.

The catch: Pence wants to do it with a conservative twist.

At least, that's how he's selling his proposal. And his political future could hinge on whether the first-term Republican can convince conservatives that he's not just rebranding Obamacare.

Pence has spent much of his first two years in office trying to strike a bargain on one of the health care law's core components. Indiana will expand Medicaid coverage, Pence says, but only if it's allowed to do it through a tweaked version called the "Healthy Indiana Plan," which also requires users to make small payments into health savings accounts.

He spent five minutes chatting with Obama at the Evansville airport, lobbying to have the Health and Human Services Department green-light Indiana's request, before the president visited a factory in Princeton, Indiana.

"The president and I talked through a number of substantive issues that have arisen in our discussions over the Healthy Indiana Plan," Pence said afterward, "and I appreciated the opportunity to call the matter to his personal attention."

He said he also spoke last night with top Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, and will meet Monday with HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell.

Pence's focus on a health care expansion is at the center of his effort to evolve from a firebrand conservative congressman to an executive with a record of accomplishment ahead of a White House run that many Republicans close to him see as a question of when -- not if.

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Why is this GOP governor talking health care with Obama?

Facebook plots first steps to health care support communities

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Facebook Inc. already knows who your friends are and the kind of things that grab your attention. Soon, it could also know the state of your health.

On the heels of fellow Silicon Valley technology companies Apple Inc. and Google Inc., Facebook is plotting its first steps into the fertile field of health care, said three people familiar with the matter. The people requested anonymity as the plans are still in development.

The company is exploring creating online support communities that would connect Facebook users suffering from various ailments. A small team is also considering new preventative care applications that would help people improve their lifestyles.

In recent months, the sources said, the social networking giant has been holding meetings with medical industry experts and entrepreneurs, and is setting up a research and development unit to test new health apps. Facebook is still in the idea-gathering stage, the people said.

Health care has historically been an area of interest for Facebook, but it has taken a backseat to more pressing products.

Recently, Facebook executives have come to realize that health care might work as a tool to increase engagement with the site.

One catalyst: the unexpected success of Facebooks organ-donor status initiative, introduced in 2012. The day that Facebook altered profile pages to allow members to specify their organ-donor status, 13,054 people registered to be organ donors online in the United States, a 21-fold increase over the daily average of 616 registrations, according to a June 2013 study published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

Separately, Facebook product teams noticed that people with chronic ailments such as diabetes would search the social networking site for advice, said one former Facebook insider. In addition, the proliferation of patient networks such as PatientsLikeMe demonstrate that people are increasingly comfortable sharing symptoms and treatment experiences online.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg may step up his personal involvement in health. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, a pediatric resident at University of California San Francisco, recently donated $5 million to the Ravenswood Health Center in East Palo Alto.

Any advertising built around the health initiatives would not be as targeted as it could be on television or other media. Pharmaceutical companies, for instance, are prohibited from using Facebook to promote the sale of prescription drugs, in part because of concerns surrounding disclosures.

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Facebook plots first steps to health care support communities

Facebook plots move into health care field

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Facebook already knows who your friends are and the kind of things that grab your attention. Soon, it could also know the state of your health.

On the heels of fellow Silicon Valley technology companies Apple and Google,Facebookis plotting its first steps into the fertile field of health care, said three people familiar with the matter. The people requested anonymity as the plans are still in development.

The company is exploring creating online "support communities" that would connectFacebookusers suffering from various ailments. A small team is also considering new preventive care applications that would help people improve their lifestyles.

In recent months, the sources said, the social networking giant has been holding meetings with medical industry experts and entrepreneurs, and is setting up a research and development unit to test new health apps.Facebookis still in the idea-gathering stage, the people said.

Health care has historically been an area of interest forFacebook, but it has taken a back seat to more pressing products.

Recently,Facebookexecutives have come to realize that health care might work as a tool to increase engagement with the site.

One catalyst: the unexpected success ofFacebook's "organ-donor status initiative," introduced in 2012. The day thatFacebookaltered profile pages to allow members to specify their organ-donor status, 13,054 people registered to be organ donors online in theUnited States, a 21-fold increase over the daily average of 616 registrations, according to a June 2013 study published inthe American JournalofTransplantation.

Separately,Facebookproduct teams noticed that people with chronic ailments such as diabetes would search the social networking site for advice, said one formerFacebookinsider. In addition, the proliferation of patient networks such as PatientsLikeMe demonstrate that people are increasingly comfortable sharing symptoms and treatment experiences online.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg may step up his personal involvement in health. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, a pediatric resident atUniversity of California at San Francisco, recently donated $5 million to theRavenswood Health Centerin EastPalo Alto, Calif.

Any advertising built around the health initiatives would not be as targeted as it could be on television or other media. Pharmaceutical companies, for instance, are prohibited from usingFacebookto promote the sale of prescription drugs, in part because of concerns surrounding disclosures.

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Facebook plots move into health care field

Health care a priority says Minister

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Long-Term Care Home, health authority, to benefit from $9.8 million in new funding

The Long-Term Care Home in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and the Labrador Health Centre will be seeing great improvements soon.

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The provincial government made a multi-million dollar funding announcement in Happy Valley-Goose Bay earlier today, with a commitment of $9.8 million to go towards a 20-bed expansion at the Long Term Care Home and equipment upgrades. Taking part in the sod turning were, from left: David Brazil, Minister of Transportation and Works; Keith Russell, Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs; Steve Kent, Minister of Health and Community Services; and Happy Valley-Goose Bay Mayor Jamie Snook.

The province announced $9.8 million dollars is being invested into more beds and equipment.

Minister of Health and Community Services, Steve Kent, made the funding announcement at the facility earlier today.

Quality health care is vital to the people of our province, and I assure the residents of Labrador that their health and the health of their families remains a priority for our government, said Kent.

Through this investment, we are ensuring that the equipment at the Labrador Health Centre is upgraded and that residents in this region are positively impacted by the 20-bed expansion of the Happy Valley-Goose Bay Long-Term Care Home.

An $8.2 million contract has been awarded to increase capacity at the Happy Valley-Goose Bay Long-Term Care Home from 50 beds to 70. The 20-bed expansion will be completed by Pomerleau Inc. and is expected to be ready for occupancy in winter 2016. The facility provides levels three and four nursing care to residents and includes a 13-bed protective care unit, multipurpose room, quiet room, conference room, living room and a chapel.

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Health care a priority says Minister

Health-care signup starting soon; in York County, could be close to 34,000 still without insurance

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A report from Enroll America shows that more than 8,000 York County residents signed up for health care coverage earlier this year, but there could be as many as 34,000 still without insurance here.

That number has local organizations preparing for the next open enrollment period, set to begin Nov. 15, in hopes that people who didn't sign up previously might get the coverage they need.

Julia Cusick, communications leader with Enroll America's Pennsylvania chapter, said the Department of Health and Human Services enrollment figures during the first open enrollment period that ended in March showed enrollment in York County totaled 8,225, one of the highest figures in the state.

"Probably the biggest challenge we face is the lack of information about how easy and affordable it can be to enroll," Cusick said. "A lot of people don't realize that there are many opportunities to get free, in-person assistance in choosing a plan."

Those who enroll also are eligible for financial aid, Cusick added. In Pennsylvania, 81 percent of enrollees received financial aid last year and 68 percent paid less than $100 a month, she said.

While the high enrollment number is encouraging, there are still many in need of insurance, said Jenny Englerth, CEO of Family First Health in York.

Pennsylvania Healthy Access Network released U.S. Census Data earlier this year that showed 42,317 York County residents were uninsured, and that 8 out of 10 families had a full-time worker in the home.

Antoinette Kraus, spokeswoman with Pennsylvania Healthy Access Network, said new data has not been gathered since the end of the first enrollment period. Subtracting about 8,000 from the roughly 42,000 uninsured would only be an estimate of the need in York County, she said.

Regardless of the number, Englerth is confident Family First Health and other local organizations can tackle a large part of the uninsured population. Many people who signed up early on were eager to get insurance, Englerth said.

"Now we have this group that's harder to reach and more willing to accept the penalty," she said, noting the 1 percent yearly household income fee or $95 per person for the year. "It's also important that those who did enroll see the benefits of having insurance."

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Health-care signup starting soon; in York County, could be close to 34,000 still without insurance

Facebook may be eyeing your health data. Should you trust it?

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Reuters is reporting that Facebook may enterthe health care space a step that many have been expectingsince the company bought the fitness-tracking app Moves earlier this year.

The plans, which are still being developed, would establish online support groups to connect people with similar lifestyles and ailments, according to Reuters. Facebook wouldalso developa series of apps, some of which would presumably monitor your workout and other aspects of your health.

Online support groups for diseases like Parkinson's and celiac have been around almost since the dawn of the Internet itself. Facebook, too, has all manner of user-created communities to address health care issues. But Facebook may bebetting that by creating its own official versions, the company can keep users more engaged with the site and perhaps even improve health outcomes in a small but measurable way.

There's also a lot of money floating around the healthcare industry an estimated $3 trillion worth and no doubt Facebook hopes to capture a slice of that market. Health records are so valuable, security experts say, that hackers will pay up to 20 times more for a person's medical record on the black market than for a stolen credit card number.

All this raises questions about the security of your health data as it's increasingly held not by medical professionals like doctors and hospitals, but by tech companies. Moves is one example. Apple's HealthKit, with its ability to collect and centralize health information across apps, is another. Some lawmakers have urged tech companies to prevent the sale of personal health information to third parties and to require that users explicitly opt-in to any information sharing.

"Including provisions like these in privacy policies should be a no-brainer for tech companies," Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)told TheWashington Post last month.

There are important distinctions between the kind of health data these companies dabble in and the kind your doctor holds. The former isn't held to the same legal standards as the latter. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA,restricts how patients data can be used. But those regulations typically doesn't apply to casual health trackers on smartphones, for example, because consumers are often the ones generating the data and by using these services, they've often alreadyagreed to share their data. There are effectively "zero" protections for consumers who give up that data, Deborah Peel,executive director of the Austin-based nonprofit Patient Privacy Rights, told my colleague Andrea Peterson in May.

"This is really, really a privacy nightmare," Peel said.

Facebook won't be selling its users' health data to pharmaceutical marketers, according to Reuters. Still, consumers may find themselves torn between their appetite for new, tech-enabled health care services and giving even more data to a company that has been criticized for its privacy practices in the past.

According to Reuters, Facebook is aware of the potential concerns. Its solution? Scrub the health services of Facebook branding:

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Facebook may be eyeing your health data. Should you trust it?

Genetic test reveals risk of atrial fibrillation, stroke

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Many of those who are genetically predisposed to develop atrial fibrillation, which dramatically raises the risk of stroke, can be identified with a blood test. This is shown by new research from Lund University in Sweden.

The number of people affected by atrial fibrillation is rising rapidly, partly as a result of the ageing population.

Over recent years, a research group at Lund University in Sweden, working with other universities and hospitals in Europe and the USA, has identified twelve genetic variants in the human genome that increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. The research group has now studied the possible clinical benefits of a DNA test:

One in five people have a genetic weakness that means they have twice as high a risk of developing atrial fibrillation as those with a low genetic risk. This genetic risk is therefore one of the strongest risk factors for atrial fibrillation that we know of in people without overt cardiac disease. It increases the risk as much as high blood pressure, for example, said Olle Melander, Professor of Internal Medicine, and Gustav Smith, Associate Professor in Cardiology, both from Lund University.

Since the symptoms of atrial flutter can be weak and unclear, they are sometimes difficult to pick up. However, even those with weak or absent symptoms of atrial flutter are at significantly higher risk of stroke.

In patients who are suspected of having temporary but recurrent episodes of atrial fibrillation, or in people with high blood pressure, it can be important for doctors to look at their genetic predisposition using a blood test. The test can give guidance as to how often and how intensively doctors need to screen for presence of atrial fibrillation in these individuals. We also consider that more widespread treatment of high blood pressure may be justified in those with a high genetic risk of atrial fibrillation, explained Professor Melander.

Patients already diagnosed with atrial fibrillation were also studied, and the researchers observed that if they had the risk genes, their risk of stroke was increased by a further 7080 per cent.

If an individual with atrial fibrillation is regarded as having a sufficiently high stroke risk, lifelong treatment with anticoagulant drugs such as warfarin is required in order to lower the risk.

There are also benefits of checking the genetic risk of those who have already been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. The test makes it easier to correctly assess whether anticoagulant medication is necessary to prevent stroke, especially for those under 65, said Olle Melander.

The research data was taken from a long-term follow-up of 27400 participants in a population study.

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Genetic test reveals risk of atrial fibrillation, stroke