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DEZEMBER 2020
Volume 13 • Issue 3
Charité
f T
Neur
i m e
o S c i e n c e
cn s
p t i o n o
Perce
Synchrony matters:
Chronobiology
Research Group
at Charité
Interview with
Professor Kramer
p. 4
The Future:
A Brave New
Cyborg World?
From rehabilitation
to self-enhancement
p. 17
Scholar Minds:
in, out and
about academia
p. 26
We first floated the combined theme of data visualization and science communication in late 2019,
but we ended up choosing another theme we were excited about: music and the brain. At that point,
Corona was still just a beer we drank only for reasons of nostalgia and only on a hot summer day,
preferably by a lake. The sudden, rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 did not make science communication
Edi t orial
important; but it has certainly highlighted its importance. To make the findings of science accessible
to the public, responsibly, without exaggeration but without Into theunderstating
future and back againto communicate
the point,
w w w.medical-neurosciences.de
clearly to non-expert audiences what canTime and cannot
can bebea interpreted
wibbly wobblyfrom the results
thing. For ofme,
rigorous
at least, it has
research — this turns out to be slightly moreSince
become. complicated
March,than
when stating
coronaa p-value.
first thumped over Berlin, I’ve found
myself immersed in one amorphous and strange chunk of time, that does not
As of this writing, inpass.
the wake of thisinpandemic,
Shortage manyas
demarcation, people are stuck
in small dailyatplans
home,I voraciously
used to have,consum-
made the time
ing an overload of information
gradually propagating
collapse among their screens.
my routine. A large
More than I’dnumber of the news
like to admit I find stories
myselfabout
losing track of
.medical-neurosciences.de
when
the pandemic are based on preliminary, not-yet-peer-reviewed study results. With emotions running
am I in space.
Edi t orial high and rumors
But thisrunning
virus itself.beHowever,
is onlyrampant,
disseminating
misinformation
my experience.
useful information
and pseudo-information
People experience
in a timely
different things
manner
spreads
remains
faster
in the thanofthe
realm
important.
perceived as distorted, stretched, or shrink. Why? Maybe it is age, cognitive integrity, atten-
time. It can
tion allocation, or only individual characteristics (p. 11). But time can be assessed via personal
In this setting, we present
reports, as mine,toor you:
by scientists
phenotypicalon science
features.communication
Like those that andmake
data visualization.
you tick in the Learn
morning. Are
the dos andyoudon’ts
an early bird or a late owl? Chronobiology may explain it. Read our interviewtowith Prof.
of displaying your data properly (p. 10), why it might be important for scientists
do some proactive PRget(p. a21) and of Wesee
then firstp.floated
16 for the combined
some theme of data visualization andreadscience communication
Kramer to grasp what makes you ticknice data
(p. 4), or visualization
when. tools. You can
a non-virus-related piece on medical communication (p. 18). The truth is, our theme came aboutmusic and the brain.
but we ended up choosing another theme we were excited about:
because weThare e objective
a big bunchnature Corona
of time
of nerds. Don’t awas
hotstill
is believe topicjustSee
me? ina physics.
beer we drank
our reviewsSomeofonly
say itfordoes
reasons
neurosciency not of nostalgia
exist.
TV, film Itand and only
is more like on a hot
a coordinate in the unfolding preferably by a lake.
of events The sudden,
- going beyond rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2
the spacetime did not make
forged by Einstein’s rela-science com
books (p. 38, p. 39, p. 57), including classic German childrens’ science shows (p. 28). Wondering how
Edi t orial
tivity theory. On the other important; but it hason
hand, research certainly
hypobarichighlighted
hypoxiaitsshows
importance.
the pros do it? Start with p. 6, p. 8, and p. 24. Up for a longer read? This memoir/opinion piece gives
To make the findings
that time-dilation is an of scien
observable phenomenon.toWho the public,
better responsibly,
than a climber without exaggeration
familiar with thebut without understating
Himalayas may talk about the point, to c
academia a thorough dressing down (p. 41). There is plenty more where that comes from: Browse
it (p. 8)? Go figure. And clearly
becausetotime non-expert audiencesinto
also translates what can and of
a handful cannot be interpreted
behaviors, I can askfrom
youthe result
the rest of our on-theme articles, career and campus
research
sections forbeour regular sources of wisdom.
how mindful are you of your time—(p. this24)?
turns out to
- and you slightly moreit.complicated than stating a p-value.
understand
The to
We’re excited objectivity
introduceofourtime
newmay be under
layout team construction,
for this issue: yet, as
Jana a concept,and
Quismundo it may be Lee,
Demi at a and
hand. We can
As of this writing, in the wake of this pandemic, many people are stuck at home, voracio
track, for
the new member example,
of our how people
editor-in-chief team: change
Lorena across their And
Sganzerla. lifespan.
if Can
your you
goal is remember
to take yourwhen
mind you start-
ing an overload of information propagating their screens. A large number of the news
ed minding
of everything, (p. 13)?
I can assure youHave
thattheyoutheever
for restwondered
of this what’s
issue, “goingyour agerefers
viral” in dog to years? Well,that
something science has.
pandemic are based on preliminary, not-yet-peer-reviewed study results. With emot
happens toAnd then
a cute attempted
picture to on
of a dog make translational age in animal research more accurate. For the benefit
social
high andmedia.
rumors running rampant, misinformation and pseudo-information spreads fa
of many, physicists included. Some may say it is just a number, but when it comes to serious
virus itself. However, disseminating useful information in a timely manner remains im
research, age does matter (p. 14).
Bettina Schmerl
And what if not only brain networks
In this setting,matt er but also
we present their timestamps?
to you: Chronnectome research-
Like
ers are now tracking connectome
the dos and timescales
AlexIsscientists
(p. 10). your
don’ts of displaying itdata
on science
Masurovsky
the properly
future of
communication
(p.brain research?
10), why
and data visuali
it might beWell,
important fo
what you see?
Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI)proactive
do some may be PR (p. (p.
17).21)And, Ioana
so
and then much Weber
see p.for
16 the future,
for some CRISPR
nice has fi- tools.
data visualization
Interested in contributing? We are
nally made it in the present. The long-overdue
a non-virus-related Lorena
piecefemale-only
on Sganzerla
medical Nobel Prize has (p.
communication been18).granted
The truthto two
is, our theme
ways looking for new authors and submission on Meet Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of
Chemists. because we are a big bunch Co-editors
of nerds. Don’t believe me?
in chief See our reviews of neurosciency
nything related to the topic of neuroscience Pathogens and
Con t est
in Berlin. Sobooks
let me(p.not
38,waste
p. 39, p.more of your time,
57), including classicasGerman
we hopechildrens’
you enjoy this issue
science showsas(p. 28). Wo
yond. Send us an article, some beautiful shots from much as we did.the pros do it? Start with p. 6, p. 8, and p. 24. Up for a longer read? This memoir/opinio
ur microscope, poems, short stories, Like critiques, re-
academia a thorough dressing down (p. 41). There is plenty more where that comes f
what you see?will be re-
ews, anything! The best contribution Mit freundlichen Grüßen
the rest of our on-theme articles, career and campus sections for our regular sources of
arded with the book Welcome
Interested to Your Brain
in contributing? We are by Your CNS Editors-in-Chief.
ndra Aamodtalways
and Sam Wang.
looking for new authors and submission on We’re excited to introduce our new layout team for this issue: Jana Quismundo and D
anything related to the topic of neuroscience and beyond.
LORENA SGANZERLA
the new member of our editor-in-chief team: Lorena Sganzerla. And if your goal is to ta
ome on and write like there’s no tomorrow! Send AND BETTINA SCHMERL
of everything, I can assure you that for the rest of this issue, “going viral” refers to so
Contest
Send us an article, some beautiful
ur contribution to cns-newsletter@charite.de to shots from your micro-
happens to a cute picture of a dog on social media.
scope, poems, short stories, critiques, reviews, anything! The
win.
best contribution will be rewarded with the book The Future
of the Brain. Bettina Schme
This issue’s winner Like is Alex Masurovsk
Katharina Heine, Come on and who write like there’s
what you see?
no tomorrow! Send your con- Ioana Webe
wrote an informative
Interested piece
tribution into contributing?
cns-newsletter@We are Lorena Sganzerl
on how alwaysto looking
pick theforright
charite.de tonewwin. authors and submission on
graphanything
for your data
related(p. to
10).the topic of neuroscience and Co-editors in chi
Con t est
Th is issue’s winner is Lean-
beyond. Send us an article, some beautiful shots from
Congratulations, dre Rawatt
your microscope, ,and
who wrote
poems, shorta stories,
great critiques, re-
thanks overview
to anything!
views, everybodyThe piece about CRISPR/
forbest contribution will be re-
their warded Cas9,the
with
contributions! for which
book the Nobel Prize
Welcome to Your Brain by
was awared
Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang.recently (p. 20).
Congratulations, and thanks
Come on and write like there’s no tomorrow! Send
to everybody for their
your contribution to cns-newsletter@charite.de to
contributions!
win.
This issue’s winner
is
Katharina Heine, who
wrote an informative piece
on how to pick the right
graph for your data (p. 10).
CON T EN T S
FOCUS CAREER
Time distortions in Column: Dr Brown
Synchrony matters: cognitive aging #10 Motivation ... 23
Chronobiology How cognitive function
Research Group influences time
at Charité perception ... 12 Procrastination:
Interview with Professor Wasting Time vs.
Kramer ... 4 Using Time Effectively
Age matters! ... 14 How to identify your
motivation and find the
right tools ... 24
The Future:
A Brave New
Cyborg World? Scholar Minds:
From rehabilitation to in, out and about
self-enhancement ... 17 academia ... 26
The general
relativity of
time perception
(explained) ... 7
Time-Perception at
High Altitudes
Is Time ticking faster in
the mountains? ... 8 Comment from a Women‘s Careers
Berlin expert ... 19 and Networks
2021 ... 28
The Chronnectome
How time influences Cutting Edge Science
brain networks ... 10 How the 2020 Nobel Prize
in Chemistry asks us to
examine ethics and equity
When do we start in science ... 20 CAMPUS
“Minding”?
From rehabilitation to
self-enhancement ... 11 Soapbox Science
Berlin 2020 ... 29
News In Brief ...30
WhazzUp? ...31
Cover modified from rawpixel.com on Freepik | Demetria Lee
March 2020 C NS n ewsletter 3
F O C US
Synchrony matters:
Chronobiology Research Group at Charité
Interview with Prof. Achim Kramer
Professor Achim Kramer is a chrono- much experience with molecular biology
biologist at the Charité-Universitätsme- techniques, but this was quick to learn,
dizin and one of the leading experts in and the lab helped a lot. Compared to
the field worldwide. He studied bioche- biochemistry, in biology the data get noi-
mistry at Freie Universität, Berlin, then sier; when you look at a structure, there's
continued his Ph.D. in the same field at either a hydrogen bond or not, but when
Humboldt Universität Berlin. He did his you look at cells, all the cells look diffe-
first PostDoc in medical immunology rent, etc.
at Charité. However, it was his second
postdoc in neurobiology at Harvard Me- How did the Nobel Prize in 2017,
dical School to point out the direction of awarded to chronobiologists,
his career [3]. change the perception of
chronobiology by the public, as
What motivated you to do rese- well the scientific community?
arch on the chronobiology field? When the Nobel Prize was awarded to the circadian rhythms of COVID-19 pa-
I did my Ph.D. and my first postdoc in the three colleagues (Jeffrey C. Hall, Mi- tients in the ICUs. For example, rheuma-
a different field, peptide chemistry and chael Rosbash and Michael W. Young), I toid arthritis is a clear circadian disease,
protein structure. At that time, it was the was sitting in my office. I got a call from for which new medication, tailored to the
end of the last century, and it was said a journalist at Die Berliner Zeitung, who time of day, is tested, and so on.
that the 21st century will be the century wanted a statement explaining to the pu-
of the brain, which I found exciting. So, blic what the researchers were doing. The The experimental models that are
I travelled to the East Coast US to see journalist was already in the auditorium used to test drugs, for example,
which neurobiology lab would be a good downstairs, sitting together with many mice, are nocturnal and humans
fit for me, and I had several interviews. important people of Charité. There was are not. Could this explain the
Before I made my plan for the trip, I saw a habit of having a Nobel Prize breakfast so-called preclinical to clinical
in a Berlin newspaper, Tagesspiegel, a re- with people betting who will get the No- translational failure?
port about a lab that discovered Bmal1, bel Prize for physiology and medicine. There was a recent paper in Nature in
one of the clock genes. I was unaware At the time, they all bet for CRISPR, and June [2], where this was exactly one of
back then of the existence of the circa- this year it happened. People, and may- the questions. It was about stroke tre-
dian clock. I thought it was very inte- be particularly the non-science people, atment, and they were addressing why
resting, so I e-mailed the guy and I did always thought chronobiology is a cool many of the preclinical attempts fail to
my second postdoc there. Now we are thing because they find they are all affec- cure or treat stroke. In preclinical stu-
working primarily with cells from peri- ted by the circadian clock. The Nobel Pri- dies with nocturnal animals, animals
pheral organs, which turned out to have ze changed the view in which everyone are treated at the wrong time of the day,
circadian clocks, too, rather than with now accepts it's a fundamental biological during their sleep and not during their
neurons; however, the molecular mecha- program with a clear genetic basis – and active phase. Nocturnal animals have an
nism is very similar; e.g., in the brain and not just a theory. anti-phasic sleep-wake cycle concerning
the liver [1]. the light compared to humans. Whether
Where is the field heading this is the reason why the translational
Did you find the transition to now? gap occurs needs to be tested. At least
from the field of biochemistry There is a change in science, and the the evidence in that paper is encoura-
to neurobiology difficult? trend is going towards circadian me- ging that there is a difference based on
It was in some ways difficult, but in dicine and not just circadian biology. the time of the day, as well as a diurnal
others not. The first difficulty was the We have many people at Charité who vs. nocturnal difference.
language barrier, and it's a little bit fun- are now doing projects on the circadi-
ny. I had my postdoc interview with an rhythm. For instance, Claudia Spies My hypothesis is that some of the trans-
Charles Weitz, who had a strong Cali- has designed new Intensive Care Units lational gaps may be due to the chrono-
fornian accent. I was used to the terms (ICUs) with nice light-dark cycles and type differences (the natural tendency
of peptide chemistry like acetylation or tests whether people get less delirium af- concerning the times of the day when so-
acylation. So, I always thought he was ter an operation when they have a good meone prefers to sleep or is most active)
talking about acylation – rather than os- circadian rhythm. We are conducting a [4] in the human population compared
cillation... At the time, I also didn't have study together to test what happens to to isogenic animals. Humans are always
4 CNS newsletter December 2020
F O CU S
different on a genetic basis compared to whether the underlined oscillator is also I donʹt think that chronotype could be
most animal strains in which drugs have dampening its amplitude. Amplitude used for prognosis. There is actually a
been tested. The genetic difference, in is difficult to measure because normal- REM-sleep behavior disorder (RBD) as
combination with the real world light/ ly you need many timepoints to check a prognostic marker for Parkinson's di-
dark difference, determines the chrono- whether at some time it´s high and the sease. However, the question is whether
type. We know that which time of the other time low. I am really interested in RBD patients have disturbed clocks in
day affects the pharmacokinetics and researching this and finding something the first place or whether they have par-
pharmacodynamics of many drugs. The- that gives us a good feeling or handles ticular clocks. This is not known yet. It's
re are thousands of clinical studies, and to measure the amplitude and correlate always the question of hen and egg; what
only a fraction of them take the time of it with the disease. This is also a little bit is causing what? If you have a disturbed
day into account. Therefore, my hypo- of what Claudia Spies is doing in the ICU clock, would this accelerate disease pro-
thesis is that many of the translational by applying light-dark cycles. In earlier gression? Or on the other hand, if you
gaps can be attributed to the difference days in the ICUs, lights were always on, make the clock better, would it have a
in chronotype. If you take your drug at and there was a relatively high light le- positive effect on the progression? How
8 am, for a late-type it might be in the vel. With a bright light during the day could you improve the clock? With what
middle of the night, and for an early and good darkness during the night, you kinds of treatment, for example, light
type, it might be well in the morning. Is it can improve patients' circadian clock. therapy, melatonin therapy or exercise
really important that you take your blood This will have, in turn, an effect on the versus good sleep, etc.? All these are all
pressure medication at 8 pm vs. 8 am? number of days they have to stay in the interesting questions.
What if you take it at 9 pm instead of 8 ICU, on the severity of delirium, cogni-
pm and how much is it different? When tion, and so on. This is what she is mea- Your current research includes
we talk about personalization and chro- suring. BodyTime, a test you have de-
notype adaptation, even one hour could veloped to identify an individual's
be important. The next years or decades Do you think that chronotype chronotype [4]. How do you achie-
will tell us how important it is exactly. could be used for the prognosis ve this, and how many phases
So, we need to do all those carefully de- of such diseases within the next have already been completed?
signed studies to really find out to what years? We have completed two phases. In the
extent this makes a difference. first phase, we used blood to measure
people's chronotype by using one sing-
What are the major challenges in le blood sample and an AI algorithm
the experimental design of chro- that would try to detect the so-called
nobiology? time-telling genes. Now we have trans-
Regarding human research, it is defini- ferred the technology to hair root cells,
tely a good stratification of the cohorts. from which we can get enough RNA by
Related to my subject, this refers to a plucking out just a couple of hairs. By
good chronotype. Two parameters are examining the relative expression of
important: the phase and the amplitude. certain time-telling genes, we can deter-
The phase is related to “when”; whether mine the phase or the chronotype. The
your chronotype is early or late com- idea is that many genes have a rhythmic
pared to others. The amplitude is about activity during the day: you have mor-
how good your clock is, whether it has a ning-, day-, evening-, and night-active
good rhythm. genes. If you plug out your hair in the
morning and night-active genes are still
In which cases has a disturbed very active, while the morning-active
clock been observed? genes are not so active yet; even if it was
When we talk about neuroscience, it has 8 am, then you are still biologically in
been observed that patients lose their the middle of the night, so you are pro-
good sleep-wake cycle in many diseases, bably a late-type.
like Alzheimerʹs or Parkinsonʹs. There
are indications that the circadian ampli- We are also doing a validation study that
tude is dampened. So, they donʹt have needs to be completed, in which also
a good sleep-wake cycle, which is only sleep patients and shift workers parti-
an output of the clock. The question is cipated. What's been completed are our
Images are from the BodyTime website
December 2020 CNS newsletter 5
F O C US
Images are from the BodyTime website
controls, which always needs to be com- How could chronobiolo-
pared to the gold standard. For chrono- gists contribute to better
type, the gold standard remains the de- circadian clock synchrony
termination of the time when melatonin for society? could have some of the work still going
secretion starts. Melatonin is a hormone We are lobbying a lot for schools. The on, which fortunately worked very well.
of the pineal gland, secreted when it be- beginning of school times should be later,
comes dark and is usually secreted about especially for the older kids. It has been Another area where chronobiologists can
2 and a half hours before bedtime. To de- shown that chronotype is age-dependent. try to impact society is the human-cent-
termine this time point, the participants At the end of adolescence, between six- ric lighting issue - what is healthy light?
have to come into the lab in the evening teen and approximately twenty-one, stu- We can also lobby for less light during
and sit in a dark room. They could also dents have a really late chronotype, so the night, more light in the offices during
do it at home with home sampling kits, school is starting way too early. the day, and having the right color at the
but it would be less accurate. They have right time. So, no blue light in the eve-
to give a little bit of saliva every half an Could this also apply to the job ning from your computers, a lot of blue
hour for about six hours in a row. Then, market? Many jobs start in the light during the day when you work in
you do an ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Im- early morning, which may inter- your office and so on.
munoSorbent Assay, a commonly used fere with a late-type person's
analytical biochemistry assay), and you performance. I think most of the Now, especially with home-office,
determine when the melatonin levels employers would not be aware of it's hard to reduce the screen-
start to rise. So, we compare our hair test this circadian rhythm issue and time. I think everybody noticed
against this gold standard. The deviati- maybe wouldn't be too interested during quarantine that it was
on between this melatonin test and our in it. Could this eventually change harder to get to sleep, and our
hair test is between half an hour and one in order to adjust the work sche- whole clock was disturbed.
hour, which is approximately the noise dule according to the employee's Exactly. The complex thing to under-
or the melatonin test's accuracy. Thus, chronotype? stand is that light, including blue light,
we are probably as good as the melato- Some companies are indeed interested is good and bed, depending on the time.
nin test, but much simpler; you just take in the health of their employees. For in- There are companies selling blue light
your hairs out in the morning, put it in stance, we have collaborated with one shielding goggles, and this is not always
the solution, and then send it to the lab. hospital in Bavaria, which did the chro- good. It´s only good for certain times of
We can measure these time-telling ge- notype test for many of their employees the day. In the morning and during the
nes using NanoString technology, which and tried to do a chronotype adapted day, blue light is good; it helps you be
involves hybridization overnight. It's personal work schedule. I believe it will alert and have a good cognitive perfor-
then scanned with a fluorescent scanner, change eventually, but it will not be easy. mance to keep your clock synchrony.
and the numbers are fed into the algo- For schools, you could make it better for When you have blue light at the wrong
rithm, which tells you what state of the all of them by shifting it later. When you time, then it is especially harmful. It's not
clock you have. The time needed to do have groups and teams at work, though, so simple as saying blue light is bad, and
the test is about 48 hours. If you real- it can't be really personalized, but you we don't need it.
ly hurry, you can do the test within 24 can have a good average for everyone.
hours, but right now, we have one night In the first phase of the lockdown, we How do you find the plan of
in between. also did chrono-adapted shifts so that we abolishing the practice of day-
6 CNS newsletter December 2020
F O CU S
light saving time? Does it have people would vote for the normal Middle Take home message
a positive influence on our circa- European Time. However, summertime is Taking everything into account, whether
dian rhythm? Do you think there Eastern European time. Studies showed you are an early bird or a night owl,
should be a common European that if your social clock is aligned to the make sure you adapt your life as much as
policy in choosing either winter- sun clock, your midday is really when the possible to your chronotype. In this way,
or summertime? sun is in the zenith, it is healthier. It has you'll prevent yourself from living out
It is already agreed among the EU to abo- been shown that people who live in the of synchrony with your biological clock,
lish the daylight saving time switch twice Eastern part of a timezone are healthier which would eventually lead, among
a year and there is good scientific evi- than those living in the western part. Sin- others to fatigue and the so-called soci-
dence why it is better. Then, the question ce Berlin is roughly at the center of our al jet lag. Don't forget to find the light
is whether it should be „summertime“ or time zone right now, we strongly recom- (in this case literally!) - the right light
„wintertime“. This is the wrong question mended that keeping the normal Middle during the day to keep you alert and no
being asked in the first place. There was a European Time (wintertime) is the right blue light in the night. And keep in mind:
poll, and people were asked whether they time for keeping us healthy. However, we Synchrony is the best policy!
want permanent summertime or winter- probably have to redefine the time zones
time. Of course, people voted for sum- in Europe again. There are papers out ZOI CHASAPOPOULOU
mertime, because they associated it with already from my colleagues, pointing to M.SC. MEDICAL NEUROSCIENCES
warm weather, nice evenings and so on. where the time zone should be. For ex-
The alternative equally accurate question ample, it makes no sense to have Spain in [1] Damiola et al., Genes Dev, 2000
to ask would be are you voting for our the same time zone as Poland. They are [2] Esposito et al., Nature, 2020
normal Middle European time, or are you so far apart, and you can never be right [3] https://trr186.uni-heidelberg.de/en/node/61
voting for Eastern European Time? Then for both of them. [4] https://www.bodytime.health/english
The general
relativity of
time perception
(explained)
„If I could slow down time“
Shaira Bibera @wholesomecomics
December 2020 CNS newsletter 7
F O C US
Time-Perception at High Altitudes
Is time ticking faster in the mountains?
Time has been paradoxically viewed as we wanted to apply Einstein’s relativity significantly lower than at sea-level. We
concrete in terms of its measurability, theory to our perception of time, it‘s the cannot yet ascertain if time-perception is
and abstract in terms of its concept. hardware of psychophysics streaming in distorted in the mountain heights due to
We consider the time to tick once every our brains’ software. In other words, our the subjective time-dilation, or the cog-
second and believe that one hour is subjective experience, or thoughts about nitive dysfunction. Interestingly, Chro-
made of sixty minutes, but sometimes an object or event are squeezed into a nic Mountain Sickness which is usually
elevation to heights could convince us point of time when we focus on that ob- observed above c.a. 2,500 metres, and is
otherwise. Let’s find out how heights ject or event, hence, the time appears to characterised by low level of oxygen in
modify time. pass faster within seconds. Einstein said the blood is found to be less frequent/se-
in 1905 that the perception of a spherical vere in folks living in Tibetan highlands.
Einstein’s hardware and brain’s object is deformed according to the posi- They have been surviving at an altitude
software tion of the observers; that is, if they are with oxygen pressure less than 80 mmHg
In Neuroimaging studies on time percep- at rest, they would perceive the object for ages, which is drastically lower than
tion, visual stimuli are presented to as- moving at a different speed. Whereas if at sea level. The factors controlling oxy-
sess perception. Looming refers to the the object is traveling closer to the speed gen sensing are noticeably different in
large refraction of an object, like a rising of light, they would perceive it as moving highlanders and lowlanders [3]. A cer-
sun seen over a duration of time, and slowly [2]. What an intriguing combina- tain influence of the genetic make-up
cues like e.g. discs having a circle on it, tion of physics and subjective perception must be playing a role, as highlanders
which gets either smaller (recedes), or is this! like monks, or Hindu religious ascets, in
bigger (looms) as the discs are presen- the Himalayas are even able to hold on
ted, are called looming stimuli. An fMRI Time-perception at high altitudes to their breaths and thoughts in a stable
study on such looming stimuli revealed Funnily enough, the height of „high“ alti- manner at the high altitudes, somewhere
that time is perceived differently by par- tudes is a subjective term in itself. Howe- beyond 4,000 metres, where we can me-
ticipants presented with visual targets. ver, hypobaric hypoxia (a medical con- agerly breathe.
The time perception is subjectively slo- dition when blood oxygen levels are too
wer for looming stimuli than for static low, giving rise to distortions in cognitive Sneak-peak into a mountain
or receding stimuli [1]. This phenome- functioning) typically occurs at altitudes climber’s experience
non is called subjective time-dilation. If where the partial pressure of oxygen is In order to get a first-hand narration, we
Mt. Shivling from Nandanvan c.a. 4400mtrs
Picture Credit: Amit Janorikar, 2007
8 CNS newsletter December 2020
F O CU S
asked a mountaineer, Amit Janorikar, red by Sherpas, inhabitants of the most ted time-perception at high altitudes.
from India about his experience at the mountainous regions of eastern Tibet, Considering it would be a herculean task
Himalayas. who do not think the time is passing to carry a portable EEG on a mountain
slowly while they climb down. Import- climber’s head, wouldn’t it be amazing as
Mr Janorikar got trained from the Indi- antly, he distinguishes this experience a future research idea, though?
an Nehru Institute of Mountaineering from altitude sickness. He shared that
(NIM) and went on expeditions on dif- when fellow climbers suffered from alti- Unless we gather and analyse some so-
ferent peaks in the Himalayas, like peak tude sickness, their distortions were not lid data, we may only speculate. It is a
Bhagirathi II which has an elevation of just under- or over-estimating time, but mysterious world over there on the top,
more than 6,000 metres. When asked to much more extreme - in that they did not where the definition of time and how we
recall his experience, in particular about even know what date, or place, or time see it is questioned once again.
his perception of time, he explained that it was. He kindly consented to include
during the climbing, time appeared to the photos he clicked during two of his
move faster; however, during descend, expeditions. POORVA KULKARNI
it moved slower. He reports that it also M.A. BERLIN SCHOOL
moved slower when the expedition team It was amusing and intriguing to listen to OF MIND AND BRAIN
was halting in their tents as a storm pas- his excerpts from his expeditions. How- HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT
sed by, or until the snow lifted its huge ever, to get a hand on whether time is ZU BERLIN
blanket from the surrounding landscape. relative in great height, we either need
He imagines this might happen because a substantial and systematic sample size,
one focuses on that ongoing situation or or a solid methodology to delve deeper
event so much that the time only appears into the concepts of heights in order to
to move slower when there are no other generalize, don’t we? [1] Wassenhove et al., Front Neurosci, 2011
distractions. [2] Tozzi, When Einstein’s Relativity Meets
From the past to the future Neuroscience, 2018
Despite knowing from similar impres- Although there are plenty of studies re- [3] Petousi & Robbins, J Appl Physiol, 2013
sions of other climbers, Mr Janorikar porting distortions in cognitive function [4] Banasiewicz et al., Trends Sport Sci,
noticed that this experience is not sha- [4], hardly any seem to have investiga- PsyArXiv, 2014
Picture Credit: Amit Janorikar, 2007, amitjanorikar@gmail.com
Mt. Bhagirathi II, c.a. 6512 mtrs.
December 2020 CNS newsletter 9
F O C US
The Chronnectome
How time influences brain networks
In 2011, the Human Connectome Project anges can be meaningfully related to behavi- controls. Further, some differences to cont-
started an ambitious attempt to construct or and cognition. rols are only present in certain connectivity
a complete map of structural and functio- states. For example, reduced connectivity
nal neural connections in the human brain. Applications of chronnectomic between the putamen and sensory networks
Being awarded almost $40 million, the aim research was only present in a state of high thalamic
of the project consortium was to deepen our The promise of chronnectomic analyses connectivity. This highlights the advantage
understanding of brain function and chan- is clear: By more accurately capturing all of dynamic connectivity analyses to unco-
ges introduced by pathologies. The project information contained in the data, these ver finer differences between different stu-
also developed new neuroimaging methods analyses might be able to uncover new bio- dy populations. In general, it has also been
and acquired a massive dataset available to markers for illness and potentially a finer suggested that static connectivity follows
all researchers [1,2]. Now in the next step, scale for disease progression. For example, anatomical connectivity [6], while dynamic
researchers are using the knowledge gathe- Damaraju and colleagues [5] illustrate this connectivity might be crucial to study more
red in this project to investigate the stability idea in patients with schizophrenia, where subtle changes in processing, coordination,
and impact of time on the connectome. analyses using static functional connectivity and integration of stimuli [7].
have been mixed, reporting both hyper- and
Is connectivity static? hypoconnectivity between identical brain Limitations
For many years, connectivity was treated regions. In their study, they performed both The identification of time-varying connec-
as static over time [3]. For example, res- static and dynamic analyses of functional tivity states is crucial for chronnectomic
ting-state functional MRI aims to assess connectivity. For static connectivity, the analyses [4]. Different statistical tools have
functional connectivity between different signal was averaged over the whole time been used for this purpose, including in-
brain regions. If this is done for the whole course, while dynamic connectivity was dependent component analysis and graph
brain, a functional connectome is generated. theory metrics. Yet on a more fundamental
For this protocol, subjects are scanned for level, the question of what qualifies a state
several minutes without performing a task. needs to be answered. Can there be only one
The resulting signal is then averaged to one state present at one time or multiple sta-
connectivity value for each connecti- tes to varying degrees? Is there a sharp
on over the whole scanning time. switch between two states or a slow
However, recent studies [3] have transition? How different do states
shown variations in functional have to be to qualify as different?
connectivity over time and even Many of these debates are still on-
during the rather short scanning going, and concerns have been rai-
time. They thus claimed that avera- sed, whether different states might
ging activity is insufficient to capture all solely represent artifacts, for ex-
information contained in the data. Instead, ample, due to subject motion [8,9].
functional connectivity should be conside- Certainly, more research is needed
red as dynamic with several distinct connec- to show the validity of chronnectomic
tivity states. Credit: approaches and their usefulness in clinical
Lucius S. Fekonja practice. Already now, it raised important
The time-varying connectome questions on existing analysis practices in
This idea is summarized by the term obtained by dividing the resting-state fMRI connectomic research, thereby advancing
chronnectome. The term was first intro- data in overlapping 44-second windows and the field.
duced by Calhoun and colleagues in 2014 identifying five reoccurring connectivity
[4] and combines the study of time dy- states in the data. Analysis of static connec- MELINA ENGELHARDT
namics (chrono) with the study of brain tivity showed stronger connectivity (hyper- PH.D. STUDENT, AG PICHT
connections. Thus, the goal of chronnec- connectivity) between thalamus and senso-
tomic research is to identify time-varying ry networks in these patients compared to [1] http://www.humanconnectomeproject.org/about/
but reoccurring patterns of coupling among healthy controls, but hypoconnectivity bet- [2] Glasser et al., Nature Neuroscience, 2016
two or more brain regions. The investiga- ween sensory networks. However, some dif- [3] Hutchison et al., Neuroimage, 2013
ted timeframe can range from years (slow ferences between patients and controls only [4] Calhoun et al., Neuron, 2014
changes) to milliseconds (fast changes); became apparent in the dynamical approach. [5] Damaraju et al., Neuroimage Clin, 2014
however, a focus is placed on changes wit- Dynamic results suggest that schizophrenic [6] Deco et al., Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2011
hin the range of seconds to minutes. Simply patients spend less time in states characteri- [7] Hutchison et al., Human Brain Mapping, 2011
said, Calhoun proposes that functional brain zed by strong, large-scale connectivity (hy- [8] Laumann et al., Cereb Cortex, 2016
networks change consistently, and these ch- perconnected states) compared to healthy [9] Battaglia et al., Neuroimage, 2020
10 CNS newsletter December 2020F O CU S
When do we start “Minding”?
Me and the other Neuroscience research
When is the sense of self-present within the infants, and how Deen et al. [4] questioned: “How much of the human brain
to conceive it? structure and mind is already defined at birth, and how much
results from experience? To answer this question, they scanned
This sense is an active issue in developmental psychology and awake infants with fMRI while viewing multiple categories of
mind theories. “False believe” tests have long reached some visual stimuli.
developmental psychologists to suppose that a child does not
realize the existence of others‘ minds different from their own The primary purpose was to observe a part of the brain called
until about the age of four. Thus, they cannot distinguish their the extrastriate visual cortex; a profoundly systematic functi-
own selves from others until that time. In the “false belief” tests onal organization exists in virtually every average adult, in-
[1], young children are asked to predict what others will be- cluding regions favoring behaviourally significant stimulus
lieve and, up to the age of four, they prove they are unable to categories, such as faces, bodies. Their results indicated that
attribute to the other any belief different than what they 4–to 6-month-old infants’ visual cortex contains areas that
themselves know to be true [2]. respond preferentially to abstract types (faces and scenes)
similarly to adults. However, detailed patterns of activity
However, do infants possess an ability to differenti- over various visual categories differ between infants and
ate themselves perceptually as “embodied subjects” adults. These results demonstrate that the large-scale
from other objects and people? Even if they can’t structure of category preferences in the visual cortex
yet distinguish between “my” and others believe, is adult-like within some months after birth but is
they might be able to separate unreflectively bet- consequently improved through development [4].
ween [2]:
This study offers a road to understanding
a. “My”. the earliest beginnings of the mind, and it
b. Others’ actions. seems to provide, to some degree, eviden-
c. “My” embodied being and others. ce to Zahavi’s view of the inherited sense
d. Myself and that thing of self [3]. However, it still does not answer
(any other object). whether babies are born with this ability or
not, or whether this ability is innate. In this
An innate self regard, Deen et al. [4] indicated that the infant
Philosophers such as Dan Zahavi [3] argue does not have specialized areas for different in-
that infants have an embodied, perceptual sen- puts such as faces or scenes, which need time to
se of themselves as a distinct self that precedes develop different faculties in the brain like the
any recognition; thus, an infant can distinguish motor capacities as Maclaren [2] argued.
their body as an object from other objects. So
Zahavi suggests that humans have an innate Uncertain world
ability of perceptual sense of self that prece- Researchers are currently not quite sure
des their conceptual understanding of this whether we are born with an innate entity of
self, which will come later through the in- the self or does it evolve later by the experi-
teractions with their society. ence with the world. They are just starting to
understand how babies’ brains are arranged.
Later, one becomes oneself It will require more hours of collecting data from many babies
Other researchers, such as Maclaren [2], contradict this view to fully understand how and when the mind begins.
and suggest an alternative understanding of selfhood. She in-
dicates that selfhood is not a given entity but rather a result
(one becomes oneself). This result comes through perceptu- SHEREEN ABDELNABI
al-motor interactions with others. After developing the motor M.SC. BERLIN SCHOOL OF MIND AND BRAIN
capacities, children can follow others’ directives and deter- HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN
mine them and their boundaries; they will not initially make
perceptual sense without these capacities. Therefore, the sense
of selfhood is more environmentally oriented. Through the in- [1] Wimmer, H., & Perner, J. Cognition, 1983
teraction with the surroundings, even though the eyes are ga- [2] Maclaren, K. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2008
zing, children can develop their perceptual-motor capabilities [3] Zahavi, D. Advances in consciousness research, 2004
and master it to retrieve a sense of self-possession [2]. [4] Deen, B., Richardson, H., Dilks, D. et al. Nat Commun, 2017
Designed by macrovector / Freepik
December 2020 CNS newsletter 11F O C US
Time distortions in cognitive ageing
How cognitive function influences time perception
Humans have a fitful connection with the brain is exposed to the exact same associated higher-order processes such
the clock, and indeed the nature of time interval frequently neurons tend to get as attention, memory, or decision ma-
is rooted in our bodies. Our subjecti- overstimulated and fire less, contribu- king provide proximal explanations to
ve sense of time is fundamental to our ting to cognitive fatigue and altered sen- a slower internal clock. The brain areas
cognition and conceptions of reality. It se of time. In order to explore whether which have a role in mediating our sense
forms the intellectual structure by which neuronal fatigue causes skewed sense of time, such as the caudate nucleus, su-
we comprehend the temporal course of of time, let’s dive in to understand what pramarginal gyrus and the frontal lobe,
events in our lives. Our ability to percei- the “fatigue effect” entails! have been associated with atrophy as a
ve the world around us and our very consequence of normal aging [1]. The
sense of self is based upon our looping The time paradox shrinkage of neural networks serves as a
perception of time, which connects me- Time perception is an essential element mediator of less dopamine-related tem-
mories of the past, present sensations, of our awareness. One of the most per- poral processing affecting time percep-
and anticipation about the future. plexing issues about our subjective ex- tion [1]. As we grow older, our internal
perience is that attention influences our clock's speed winds down throughout
Yet, the way we perceive time is immen- perception of time [1]. This implies that the course of the day and seems to take
sely debated! Time perception and time less attention attributed to the time di- longer to recover than when we were
experience are different amongst popu- mension leads the internal clock to run younger. The accelerated depletion of
lations of older age group. Ever wonde- slower relative to the passage of physi- dopamine function is what enables us to
red why people report that “Christmas cal time [1]. The process is often intui- sense that the external world is moving
comes around earlier every year” or tive, reflected in the saying, “time flies faster, when, in fact, it may be our inter-
“time presents heavy in their hands” as when you’re having fun.” nal clock that is going slower! In con-
they age, and that days seem to crawl clusion, similar to memory, intelligence,
in a way they never used to when they This leads to the under-estimation and and attention, our sense of time is multi-
were younger? The burgeoning interest over-production of intervals in context faceted, and some timing tasks are more
in time perception and how it might be to the physical passage of time. Additi- robust to the aging process than others.
altered in certain clinical populations onally, studies exploring the connection
would undoubtedly bolster our under- between time and attention reveal that Making sense of the world?
standing of time-related disorders, pro- interval-timing performance is highly The disruption of temporal dynamics of
viding a perspective on implementing sensitive to attentional maneuvers neural activation and slowing down of
therapeutic and external sup- such as divided attention and processes involved in time perception
port to facilitate tem- adherence to distrac- due to age-associated decline in cogni-
poral dimensions of tions [1]. However, the tive functions have become the major
cognition amongst the “... attention influences gradual depletion of focus for a wide plethora of studies rela-
elderly (see also our our perception striatal dopamine due ted to time perception in the elderly [2].
Interview with Prof. to sustained cogniti- The perturbations of timing ability are
Kramer, chronobiology
of time ...” ve engagement during observed in clinical populations of in-
researcher at Charité acquisition of skills dividuals with Parkinson’s disorder and
on p 4). While impover- can lead to the fatigue associated neurological deficits. While
ished time perceptual inputs effect, associated with skewed several of these conditions exhibit defi-
can increase cognitive difficulty whi- sense of time [1]. In populations of cits in sensory processing, as well as de-
le performing tasks, effective cognitive older age groups, due to the aforemen- velopmental and behavioral profiles, it is
strategies can compensate for impaired tioned phenomenon, a person with a essential to keep in mind that there is no
time perception. Furthermore, our abi- slow internal clock or circadian timing human condition that can be attributed
lity to time intervals in milliseconds to might perceive a three-second stimulus solely to a disorder of time perception
minutes extending over hours to days as lasting five seconds and vice versa. [2]. Therefore, it is interesting to see
relies on circadian timing and the inte- In addition, the neural correlates un- differences in time perception in patho-
gration of different neural systems. As derlying time perception, such as dopa- physiological conditions. For instance,
our internal clock slows down with age minergic functions and cortico-striatal Parkinson’s disease, which is characte-
and seems to wind down over the course pathways, suggest age-related decline rized via depletion of substantia nigra,
of the day, it is imperative to acknowled- minimizes the involvement of attention and reduction in dopamine-releasing
ge that time in the brain does not follow and memory processes [1]. This impacts neurons, contributes to basal ganglia
the steady ticking patterns of the wor- internal clock and time perception. Th- dysfunction. Recent research analyzing
ld's most precise clocks. Instead, when erefore, age differences in cognition and peak interval timing in patients with
12 CNS newsletter December 2020F O CU S
the disease found that patients without Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and fron- Loss of time perception?
levodopa medication, showed a slightly totemporal dementia (FTD). The neural The experience of how we perceive time
longer or relatively lengthening (also paradigm permits a rationale for under- is of fundamental importance to make
known as “slowing”) of temporal proces- standing alterations of temporal aware- sense of our external surroundings.
sing [2]. This suggested that the effects ness associated with neurodegenerative While our ability to perceive the esti-
of medication in Parkinson’s disease pathologies [4]. Recent research based mation of duration is largely influenced
are secondary to the overall integrity of on assessing the structural and neuroa- by cognitive and behavioral profiles, it
the basal ganglia canonical to timing in natomical correlations of altered tempo- might also be conjectured that this abi-
subthreshold and suprathreshold ranges ral processing in AD using voxel-based lity's integrity is subjected to an indivi-
of interval timing. In addition, a similar morphometry, suggested that patients dual’s internal timing of life events! In
study performed to analyze the fading with typical amnestic and language-ba- fact, in the elderly, these can be hindered
sense of time in patients with mild co- sed AD show significant disturbances in by differentially shaped time functions
gnitive impairment reported a variety of temporal interval estimation and event due to cerebellum pathologies. One such
temporalities: “Just the realization that ordering [4]. On the contrary, FTD syn- disorder of time perception is Dyschro-
we’re getting older … I savor the things dromes exhibit reduced temporal fle- nometria. The disorder is characterized
that are all around us. I enjoy them. I en- xibility and clockwatching. Across the by the inability to accurately monitor
joy seeing the sun come up and go down patient cohort, behaviors pertaining to the passage of time and can make mi-
when I go to bed. And, I watch the moon time perception, including the tendency nutes seem like hours and vice versa.
a lot … I wish I could just slow things to re-live past events, were associated It is a co-morbid disease which occurs
down” [3]. Although making sense of with the relatively preserved gray matter as an outcome of cerebellar lesions or
the external world poses its own challen- within the left-sided network, including cerebellar ataxia [5]. The pathological
ges and ambiguity amongst the elderly, the hippocampus, posterior cingulate condition leads to short-term memory
a considerably reliable body of research gyrus [4]. Besides, patients might also impairment and diminished spatial awa-
suggests that information-processing encounter difficulty in staying connec- reness [5]. Therefore, it is imperative to
rates and memory decline can ted with the present understand that if you step outside even
moment [4]. Th- for a short period of time, a person be-
erefore, activities longing to an older age group's percepti-
on of how long you’ve taken is likely to
be quite different from your own!
To sum things up, perturbations in time
perception and time experience are pre-
sented by a number of neurological de-
ficits. This further mediates changes in
attention, memory, internal clock, and
decision stages of temporal processing.
And as the world’s population steadily
grows and reaches older age, it is essen-
tial to utilize our temporal knowledge
to bridge the gap between learning and
conditioning to be able to distinguish
between events.
that involve increased interaction SIRJAN CHHATWAL
with family and home care can M.SC. MEDICAL NEUROSCIENCES
surely make them feel connec-
influence time perception ted even with a distorted sense
to a large extent [3]. of time. Additionally, even trivi- [1] Turgeon et al., Frontiers. Aging
al activities such as looking and Neuroscience, 2016
Altered time preception talking about old photographs or [2] Allman et al., Brain, 2012
in dementia keeping the organization of the living [3] Gomersall et al., Gerontologist, 2015
Time distortion is one of the many chal- space static can bolster the feelings of [4] Komuro et al., Frontiers in Neurology, 2020
lenging effects of dementia, including consistency and safety. [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyschronometria
Designed by Bettina Schmerl with graphics by macrovector_official, rawpixel.com, gstudioimagen / Freepik
December 2020 CNS newsletter 13F O C US
Age matters!
And it doesn’t get enough atten- shorter life span than humans. Around 80% mental groups as a range, often in months,
tion in current animal research of studies registered in Medline and Emba- which has serious implications. First, gi-
design and reporting practices. se are performed on mice and rats with an ven the short lifespan and the associated
average life span of two to three years un- accelerated physiological changes in ro-
In biomedical research, experiments on ani- der laboratory conditions [4]. dents, months are a very rough unit of
mals are used to investigate basic physiolo- measurement. Second, ranges don’t con-
gical mechanisms, disease biology and drug Several attempts have been made to tain any distributional information. The
efficacy. The aim is to model the human translate the age of research animals into lack of distributional information, either
condition and infer insights into the human human age but the translation of age as mean and standard deviation or as in-
population. How we design those experi- between species is not trivial [5-7]: The dividual animal data, decreases the infor-
ments and which animals we choose can developmental pace between humans and mation value of age data and further limits
have a direct impact on the results as well animals differs and the conversion rate is statistical analysis possibilities.
as the validity of those inferences. One im- nonlinear throughout life because it varies
portant factor often overlooked is age; more from developmental stage to developmen- Developmental stages -
specifically the age of research animals and tal stage. An animal life cannot just be same same but different
the way it is reported in publications. perceived as a „short human life“ [4]. The conceptualization and reporting
of age as developmental stages such as
Inconsistent choice in animal age and in- Due to the shorter life span, age differen- ‘adult’ instead of more detailed informati-
accurate reporting of age information has ces of several weeks may already affect on becomes even more controversial when
the potential to impact data quality and experimental outcomes in rodents. Ade- researchers don’t have a unified definition
increase variability. Inappropriate choice quate choice of age regarding the research of them. A study by the National Centre
of animal age can decrease the validity question at hand is therefore as important for the Replacement, Refinement and Re-
and predictive value of preclinical rese- as being consistent in age choices. Not duction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
arch at the expense of animals, time, and acting accordingly can increase data vari- revealed how problematic the use and re-
money. It is therefore highly relevant to ability and potentially decrease relevance porting of just developmental stages is.
consider age consciously when planning to the human condition studied. Further-
experiments and report it with precision. more, the ability of other researchers to In a 2017 survey, researchers of various
evaluate and contextualize experimental fields in biology were asked which ani-
Age is not just a side note results requires transparent and precise mals they used, how old these animals
Many physiological processes change reporting of age information. were, and what reasons justified their
significantly over the course of life. Th- choice of age [9]. The NC3Rs investiga-
roughout different developmental stages, It is all about resolution tors were able to show that researchers
biological systems undergo alterations in Unfortunately, this is rarely done. Age do not use or define developmental cate-
hormone homeostasis, metabolism and information is currently reported with ex- gories unanimously. The most frequent-
susceptibility to injury and disease [1-3]. tremely low resolution. Although a con- ly used animals across research domains
These alterations have the potential to in- tinuous variable, age is often categorized were 8-12 weeks old. However, the defini-
fluence experimental outcomes of studies into groups representing broad develop- tion of ‚adult‘ varied between 6-20 weeks
investigating for example basic disease mental stages for expediency reasons. The for mice and 8-16 weeks for rats, indica-
biology. Age-related physiological chan- most frequently used groups are ‘adult’, ting the lack of a consistent definition for
ges can also contribute to altered pharma- ‘middle aged’ and ‘aged’. this developmental stage.
cokinetics and pharmacodynamics when
assessing drug efficacy [2]. When reporting and evaluating experi- Inconsistency in defining developmen-
mental results, researchers usually de- tal stages became even more evident in
Therefore, age is a relevant factor in ex- scribe their animals as being, for example a recent systematic review on the effect
perimental design and should be carefully ‘adult’, often omitting more detailed infor- of age on stroke (unpublished data). The
considered when choosing animals for re- mation about their actual age. A 2014 stu- animals described as ‘aged’ differed con-
search purposes. Choosing the appropria- dy assessing age reporting in over 15.000 siderably in age between studies, encom-
te animal age, however, is not as straight- studies on mice was able to demonstrate passing a range from 16 to 36 months.
forward as one might think. that almost 40% of included papers did not
report age [8]. The use of differently aged animals under
The devil is in the detail the umbrella of one developmental stage
The majority of mammals used in preclini- Even if more accurate age information is can cause variability in experimental re-
cal research are rodents, which have a much reported, it is usually reported for experi- sults. The omission of detailed age infor-
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