How an individual responds to the environment depends upon both personal life history as well as inherited genetic and epigenetic factors from ancestors. Using a ‘two-hit, 3 generations apart’ model, we tested how F3 descendants of rats given in utero exposures to the environmental endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) vinclozolin reacted to stress during adolescence in their own lives, focusing on sexually dimorphic phenotypic outcomes.

The association between pesticide use and an increased suicide risk is a controversial issue. Previous studies have shown higher rates of suicide among agricultural workers and people living in small municipalities, but have not identified the causes of these results. Crude suicide rates of a 15-year time series (1996–2010) were examined, followed by an ecological study using age-standardized suicide rates for the period 2006–2010. The unit of analysis was all 558 Brazilian micro-regions.

A randomized controlled 3-month trial was conducted with two post-treatment assessments of 200 breast cancer survivors assigned to either 12 weeks of 90-minute twice per week hatha yoga classes or a wait-list control.

Numerous studies have documented the normal age-related decline of neural structure, function, and cognitive performance. Preliminary evidence suggests that meditation may reduce decline in specific cognitive domains and in brain structure. Here we extended this research by investigating the relation between age and fluid intelligence and resting state brain functional network architecture using graph theory, in middle-aged yoga and meditation practitioners, and matched controls. Fluid intelligence declined slower in yoga practitioners and meditators combined than in controls.

The prevalence of obesity among adults, and in particular extreme obesity, has risen rapidly over previous decades. Current levels of extreme obesity (BMI ≥40 kg/m2) in the US have increased 70% over the last decade between 2000 and 2010, with the prevalence rate reaching 6.6%, whilst current UK prevalence rates of extreme obesity are 3% for females and 2% for males. Indeed, recent estimates predict the rate of extreme obesity to reach 5% in the UK by 2033 and 9% in the US by 2030.

Neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, and other cognitive impairments, affect millions of children worldwide, and some diagnoses seem to be increasing in frequency. Industrial chemicals that injure the developing brain are among the known causes for this rise in prevalence. In 2006, we did a systematic review and identified five industrial chemicals as developmental neurotoxicants: lead, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic, and toluene.

Changes in electroencephalography (EEG) amplitude modulations have recently been linked with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Existing tools available to perform such analysis (e.g., detrended fluctuation analysis), however, provide limited gains in discriminability power over traditional spectral based EEG analysis. In this paper, we explore the use of an innovative EEG amplitude modulation analysis technique based on spectro-temporal signal processing.