Norepinephrine
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Sleep enhances the brain's waste removal through synchronized fluctuations in norepinephrine and blood volume, a process disrupted by the common sleep aid, zolpidem. https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674\(24\)01343-6
The brain doesn’t just rest during sleep—it actively clears out waste that can damage brain cells. This crucial process, known as glymphatic clearance, relies on the movement of cerebrospinal fluid to wash away harmful proteins linked to neurodegenerative diseases. A recent study found that synchronized fluctuations in norepinephrine, blood volume, and cerebrospinal fluid are key drivers of glymphatic clearance during deep sleep, but some popular sleeping pills disrupt this process.
The researchers tracked blood and cerebrospinal fluid dynamics while mice slept naturally. Then, they examined how zolpidem, commonly known as Ambien, affected these dynamics during sleep.
They found that norepinephrine fluctuations triggered by the brain’s locus coeruleus drove rhythmic changes in blood vessel size. This facilitated the movement of cerebrospinal fluid into the brain and the removal of waste products. However, zolpidem disrupted norepinephrine activity, reducing cerebrospinal fluid flow and hindering this waste removal process.
These findings suggest that the brain’s waste removal system relies on a delicate balance of norepinephrine and blood vessel activity. Sleep aids like zolpidem disrupt this process, potentially contributing to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Learn more about the effects of sleep aids like Ambien in this episode featuring Dr. Matthew Walker.
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Cold exposure has long been used to reduce muscle soreness and promote muscle recovery after physical activity. However, evidence indicates that regular cold exposure also improves glucose and lipid metabolism, decreases inflammation, enhances immune function, and improves cognitive performance. Now, findings from a recent study suggest that cold exposure improves mood and increases connectivity between brain networks.
The study involved 33 men and women who were unaccustomed to regular cold exposure. The participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess their brain network connectivity before and after soaking in a cold water (20°C, 68°F) bath. They also reported on their mood before and after the intervention.
The participants reported feeling more active, alert, attentive, proud, and inspired after the cold exposure. The fMRIs revealed that the participants' positive moods correlated with increased connectivity in the default mode, frontoparietal, salience, and visual lateral networks, regions of the brain that contribute to self-reflection, attention, emotion regulation, and visual processing.
The findings from this small study suggest that short-term cold exposure improves mood by enhancing brain connectivity in regions associated with mood. These benefits may arise from the effects of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter involved in vigilance, focus, attention, and mood. Norepinephrine release is one of the most consistent and profound physiological responses to cold exposure. Learn more about cold exposure and the mechanisms that drive its effects in our comprehensive overview article.
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Openness – a sense of curiosity, open-mindedness, and interest in new experiences – is critical to preserving cognitive function as we age. A new study has found that a tiny region in the brain called the locus coeruleus may provide the link between openness and better cognitive health. People with greater locus coeruleus integrity demonstrated more openness and – interestingly – had higher intelligence.
Researchers gave 135 young adults a battery of tests to gauge their openness and intelligence. Then, using an imaging technique called voxel-based morphometry, they measured the participants' locus coeruleus volumes.
They found that the participants with greater locus coeruleus volumes tended to have more openness and higher intelligence, regardless of age, gender, or total brain volume. Because locus coeruleus volume is associated with cognitive function, these findings suggest that activities that maintain locus coeruleus volume may be beneficial for preserving cognitive function.
The locus coeruleus is the primary region of the brain responsible for norepinephrine production. It is located in the pons and participates in the body’s response to stress, attention, emotion, motivation, decision-making, learning, and memory. Poor sleep has profound effects on locus coeruleus integrity and cognitive function. Learn more about the brain effects of poor sleep in this episode featuring Dr. Matt Walker.
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Exercise may enhance focus and attention. www.nature.com
Selective attention – the ability to focus on what’s important and manage distraction – can be elusive. But findings from a new study suggest that exercise enhances selective attention. People who engaged in just a single exercise session before completing a task exhibited better focus and less distraction.
The study involved 24 healthy adults who participated in two protocols (20 minutes of exercise or 30 minutes of seated rest) on separate occasions. Participants completed a task before and after each protocol that tested their attention to attended versus unattended stimuli. Attended stimuli are things a person needs to focus on; unattended stimuli are those a person should ignore, such as background noise. Researchers measured the participants' brain activity during the task completion.
They found that participants focused better on the task after a single exercise session than after sitting. However, neither of the protocols influenced the participants' performance on the task. Processing of attended stimuli increased after exercise, while processing of unattended stimuli decreased, suggesting that exercise allocated neural resources to support attention.
One mechanism that drives the increased focus after exercise may be related to norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter produced in the locus coeruleus. Exercise increases norepinephrine release, which in turn promotes attention and vigilance.
This was a small study; nevertheless, it supports other evidence suggesting that exercise has potent effects on the brain. Learn more about the effects of exercise in our overview article.
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Cold treatment and sympathetic nervous stimulation increases T Regulatory cells (Tregs) in fat tissue: brown fat most of all, visceral least www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
The number of obese people as well as those suffering from type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide. Both disorders are associated with metabolic changes including amplified inflammatory responses in adipose tissue. “Previous studies have indicated that immunosuppressive regulatory T-cells – or Tregs for short – play an important role in these processes,”[…]
[They] determined that the number of Tregs in adipose tissue increases in response to different environmental stimuli. These stimuli included a short-term cold treatment, stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (beta-3-adrenoreceptors) or short-term high-caloric exposure. “All these stimuli supported those immunosuppressive cells directly in the adipose tissue,”
T regulatory cell response to cold and adrenaline reduced in visceral fat:
The magnitude of the increase in Tregs differed depending on the type of adipose tissue: it was particularly pronounced in brown fat, somewhat weaker in subcutaneous fat and weakest in visceral fat.
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Supplemental probiotics for 12 weeks improved cognition in Alzheimer's patients & also lowered inflammatory markers. www.sciencedaily.comBrain Alzheimer's Gut Microbiome Inflammation Probiotics Behavior Insulin Triglycerides Dopamine Norepinephrine Acetylcholine
The probiotics also lowered triglycerides, VLDL, and markers of insulin resistance. There was no cognitive improvement in the placebo group.
The participants took 2 billion Bifidobacterium bacteria per day, which is a pretty small quantity of probiotics. It is likely that the probiotics are working through multiple mechanisms such as lowering inflammation and increasing neurotransmitters. Other studies have shown that gut bacteria are able to modulate the levels of GABA, norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and acetylcholine through the gut-brain axis.
I spoke with the gut experts, Drs. Justin and Erica Sonnenburg, about the importance of the gut microbiome in human health and the various foods (ie. fermentable fiber and other prebiotics) that provide our gut bacteria with the food they need to thrive. Here is the interview (also available on iTunes and Sticher): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOZcbNw7sng
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New 20-page report on cryotherapy just released! Cold shock boosts norepinephrine up to 5-fold & increase type of immune cell that kills tumor cells. www.foundmyfitness.comExercise Brain Alzheimer's Aging Metabolism Inflammation Memory Immune System Norepinephrine Protein
This 20-page report explains how cold shock is a type of hormesis, which is a description of a type of stress that, in the right doses, is enough to shock the body and kick off adaptive processes and response mechanisms that are hardwired into our genes, and, once on, are able to create a resilience that actually exceeds what was needed to counter the initial stimuli. Rhonda discusses how cold exposure increases norepinephrine up to 5-fold in the brain and what the temperature and duration needed to do this are, how norepinephrine has an effect on mood, vigilance, focus, and attention, how cold exposure increases cold shock proteins including one in the brain that repairs damaged synapses and in muscle prevents atrophy, how cold-induced norepinephrine lowers inflammation and pain by decreasing the levels of 3 inflammatory mediators, how chronic cold shock may increase immune cell numbers and particularly a type of immune cell that kills cancer cells, how cold exposure increases metabolic rate, the number of mitochondria, and the burning of fat, what the effects of different cold exposure temperatures and timing are on athletic performance, recovery time, and muscle mass, and the differences between various types of cold shock modalities, including cold water immersion and whole body cryotherapy.
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Just watched the interview, and it’s easy to see why people do it. He seems very authentic, and his enthusiasm is infectious!
What I was wondering though.. why is an immune response to endotoxin injection a bad thing? Or put another way, why is it better for adrenaline to kick in instead of the immune system… seems counterintutive, no? Or at least, I always thought stress horomones (Cortisol, Adrenaline) are PRO-inflammatory, much like the cytokines that norephinephrine wants to supress.
Minus the epinephrine inducing breathing technique of letting in, more than you let out, is the Wim Hof Method the same as doing Whole Body Cryotherapy (as touted by Tony Robbins)?
I think I’d like to buy his ($200?) course, but doesn’t seem like any theory is covered in it… i.e. why cold exposure increases norephinephrine, and why that may be useful for treating psychological disorders. Can purely physiological / generic disorders (ex. TMAU) be improved?