The spread of COVID-19 has created stress worldwide and continues to disrupt our day-to-day lives, making it very difficult to sustain healthy habits. Even as we seek to find a new normal, health care professionals and public figures continue to encourage us to ā€œstay homeā€ and ā€œtake time for yourselfā€. For those of us who find ourselves with some extra time on our hands, this can be a good opportunity to reflect on our mental and physical health. Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you exercise daily?
• Do you give your body the proper nutrients it needs? (and no mom, that doesnā€™t include )
• Do you average 7-9 hours of sleep every night?
• Are you able to effectively manage your day to day stress?

Our body operates as a cohesive and interconnected system.Ā  If we do not manage ALL of these contributors to our health (exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress management), then the system (our mental and physical health) may fail.

Why is mindfulness an important place to start?

Over the past 20 years there has been a vast body of research linking emotional intelligence to positive physical and mental health outcomes. Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to monitor feelings and emotions (your own and the emotions of others), to provide objective judgement, and to use this information as a guide for your thinking and actions (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Some experts believe that emotional intelligence is the key to success for personal relationships, professional relationships, and the relationship you have with yourself (Goleman, 2006; Zinn, 2003). It has also been suggested that emotional intelligence is not an innate skill, and that we can use mindfulness practices, such as meditation, to train these competencies in order to improve our quality of life (Goleman, 2006).

An eye-opening study led by Richard Davidson and Jon Kabat-Zinn (2003) examined the benefits of practicing meditation in a business setting. After eight weeks of using meditation techniques, employees reported significantly lower levels of anxiety and stress. Additionally, when electrical activity was measured in the brains of participants, the meditation group showed a significant increase in left-side anterior brain activation (i.e., parts of the brain associated with positive emotion). They also developed more antibodies to a flu vaccine than employees who did not meditate, suggesting that in addition to the positive psychological effects, those who practiced mindfulness developed stronger immune responses. In my opinion, the most exciting takeaway from this research is that it may be possible to train our minds so that our bodies become stronger!

A Buddhist monk meditating with EEG for neuroscience research

Another study demonstrated that practiced Buddhist meditators are able to voluntarily regulate their brain activity to generate high-amplitude gamma brain waves, which have been linked to more effective memory, learning and perception (Lutz et al., 2004). Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were used to compare the brain activity of eight Buddhists who had been practicing meditation for 15-40 years to a group of ten healthy students who had been practicing meditation for one week prior to the study. The skilful meditators were able to sustain high-amplitude gamma brain waves and phase-synchrony (a measure linked to higher-level mental processes) during meditation and also displayed higher baseline gamma-wave activity than the student group, suggesting that mental training may induce both short- and long-term changes in the brain (Lutz et al., 2004).

Other studies have demonstrated the value of mindfulness-based stress reduction practices for medical students and health care professionals, including doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and physiotherapists (Shapiro et al., 1998; Jain et al., 2007; Shapiro et al., 2005). By comparing individuals who engaged in mindfulness meditation to those who did not, these studies variously showed that consistent mindfulness practice led to decreased psychological distress, lower stress levels, and less burnout. Another study assessing the self-care practices and well-being of mental health professionals found that a state of mindfulness was key in linking self-care to well-being (Richards et al., 2010). , the results of these studies could inform efforts to help workers stay healthy both mentally and physically as they courageously work through these difficult times.

Together these studies demonstrate the positive effects of mindfulness training after only a few weeks of practice. If mindfulness practices can provide benefits to corporate employees, Buddhists, students, and health care workers alike, then they can certainly be helpful to all of us. Letā€™s learn about these practices!

The simple practice of mindfulness

Hopefully at this point youā€™ve started to evaluate how you can do better with self-care, regardless of where you think you currently stand on the ā€œhealthyā€ scale. Now Iā€™m going to explain two easy practices that you can try.

Breathing techniques – Bringing attention to breath is a simple and effective form of meditation (Tan, 2018). Try these simple steps:

1. Position yourself for meditation: begin by sitting comfortably. Sit in a position that enables you to be both relaxed and alert at the same time, whatever that means to you.
2. Take 3 deep breaths: take three slow deep breaths to inject both energy and relaxation into our practice.
3. Bring attention to what you are doing: breathe naturally and bring very gentle attention to your breath. You can bring attention to the nostrils, the abdomen, or the entire body of breath, whatever that means to you. Become aware of the in breath, the out breath and the space in between. If at any time you feel distracted by a sensation, thought or sound, just acknowledge it, experience it and gently let it go, then bring attention very gently back to your breath.

Practice this breathing technique for one minute. If you are able to hold you attention for longer, then you may lengthen the practice. This is about quality, not quantity, so if you feel you canā€™t sit still and focus for more than a few minutes, then try this exercise for 1 minute and build on it from there. And, because I like science, here is some evidence that shows what simple breathing practices can do for you. Valentine and Sweet (1999) compared long-term meditators, novice meditators (who were trained to focus on breath) and non-meditating controls on the Wilkinsā€™ counting test which measures the ability to sustain attention. As expected, the long-term meditators displayed superior performance in sustained attention, but the more interesting finding was the difference between novice meditators and the control group. With short-term training designed to focus on breathing, the novice meditators greatly outperformed the controls in sustaining attention. This suggests that although long term meditation provides the best benefits, even simple short-term practices can give you an edge.

Journaling – This exercise only requires 3 minutes of your time (set a timer)! You will give yourself a prompt and spend 3 minutes writing whatever comes to mind. Try not to think about it too much, just let the words flow onto the paper. If you run out of things to write, just write, ā€œI have run out of things to writeā€ until the 3 minutes is up. You can create your own prompt or use one of the following: What I am feeling now is, I am aware that, What motivates me is, I am inspired by, Today my focus is, I wish, Others are, Love is, I am grateful for…

Once again, because I like science, Spera, Buhrfeind and Pennebaker (1994) conducted a study where laid-off professionals wrote about their feelings for twenty minutes every day for five consecutive days. These individuals found new jobs at a much faster rate than the non-writing control group. Another study found that an 8-week gratitude journaling intervention for elderly patients experiencing heart failure lead to positive physiological outcomes such as reduced inflammation (Redwine et al., 2016). Although this study used a 20-minute journaling period, itā€™s important to tailor these practices to you and how long you can sustain your attention. Whether that means 3 minutes, 10 minutes, or 20 minutes is up to you. That is the whole idea behind these practices: becoming more in tune with what works for you so that you can take the appropriate steps to improve your health.

When working towards a healthier lifestyle, itā€™s important to have as many tools in your (figurative) toolkit as possible so that you can handle any situation life throws at you, and evidence shows that these techniques can work!Ā  But remember, knowing how to do something does not mean that you have mastered it. New skills must be practiced, and when you are training new habits, consistency is key. Thereā€™s no magic number for how many workouts to complete, how many cheat meals youā€™re allowed, or how many weeks you need to practice mediation for it to work. Practice, practice, practice!

To conclude, consider mindfulness as a new skill you can develop during this time of distancing and isolation. One minute of paying attention to your own needs might just turn a bad day into a good one. I wish everyone well during these challenging times. Stay healthy and stay you.

References

Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., … & Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation.Ā Psychosomatic medicine,Ģż65(4), 564-570.

Goleman, D. (2006).Ā Emotional intelligence. Bantam.

Jain, S., Shapiro, S. L., Swanick, S., Roesch, S. C., Mills, P. J., Bell, I., & Schwartz, G. E. (2007). A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation versus relaxation training: effects on distress, positive states of mind, rumination, and distraction.Ā Annals of behavioral medicine,Ģż33(1), 11-21.

Kabatā€Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulnessā€based interventions in context: past, present, and future.Ā Clinical psychology: Science and practice,Ģż10(2), 144-156.

Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Rawlings, N. B., Ricard, M., & Davidson, R. J. (2004). Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice.Ā Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences,Ģż101(46), 16369-16373.

Redwine, L., Henry, B. L., Pung, M. A., Wilson, K., Chinh, K., Knight, B., … & Mills, P. J. (2016). A pilot randomized study of a gratitude journaling intervention on HRV and inflammatory biomarkers in Stage B heart failure patients.Ā Psychosomatic medicine,Ģż78(6), 667.

Richards, K., Campenni, C., & Muse-Burke, J. (2010). Self-care and well-being in mental health professionals: The mediating effects of self-awareness and mindfulness.Ā Journal of Mental Health Counseling,Ģż32(3), 247-264.

Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence.Ā Imagination, cognition and personality,Ģż9(3), 185-211.

Shapiro, S. L., Astin, J. A., Bishop, S. R., & Cordova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: results from a randomized trial.Ā International journal of stress management,Ģż12(2), 164.

Shapiro, S. L., Schwartz, G. E., & Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical and premedical students.Ā Journal of behavioral medicine,Ģż21(6), 581-599.

Spera, S. P., Buhrfeind, E. D., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1994). Expressive writing and coping with job loss.Ā Academy of management journal,Ģż37(3), 722-733.

Tan, C. M. (2018).Ā Search inside yourself. Bentang Pustaka.

Valentine, E. R., & Sweet, P. L. (1999). Meditation and attention: A comparison of the effects of concentrative and mindfulness meditation on sustained attention.Ā Mental Health, Religion & Culture,Ģż2(1), 59-70.

By Sarah Zutrauen, Department of Health Sciences

Revenge. It often seems to be the first thing to cross someoneā€™s mind when they are wronged. It can seem satisfying in the moment. Even justified. Ā But is revenge actually sweet? Although vengeance may provide immediate satisfaction, it canĀ also have unanticipated (and unwelcome) consequences for mental and physical health. On the flip side, the alternative responseā€”forgivenessā€” may provide several benefits for health and well-being. But is this always the case?Ā  Both vengeance and forgiveness are often considered to be coping strategies used to deal with a variety of stressful events, but they can result in different outcomes, depending on the circumstances.

One of the most challenging types of stressful events to cope with (and potentially to forgive) is abuse. Following an abusive event, common psychological responses include a desire for revenge or avoidance, or a reluctance to forgive. Notably, women who have suffered abuse are at greater risk for subsequent stressor-related depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other psychological symptoms. Abuse may also prompt the body to mount a short-term adaptive physiological response, by releasing stress hormones, such as cortisol, together with several brain neurotransmitters. However, sustained exposure to stressors, such as continued abuse, may lead to an overload of the stress response (allostatic overload), thereby diminishing cortisol levels, and decreasing the ability to deal with the stressor effectively. Ā 

Although vengeance mightĀ be perceived as a fortifying option for women in abusive relationships and could feel good in the moment, it may be somewhat of a paradox in that it can also exact costs on psychological and physical health. But what about forgiveness?Ā  Is forgiveness good for health in the context of an abusive relationship? It has been suggested that forgiving reactions predict better psychological and physical functioning, including less severe depressive symptomatology (compared to not forgiving). As well, forgiveness is associated with diminished stress-related biological responses, such as lower heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conduction levels. However, in the context of abuse, forgiveness may actually comprise a two-edged sword. On one hand, forgiveness might foster resilience by buffering the negative psychological effects of abuse. On the other hand, it couldĀ be detrimental if forgiving the abusive partner results in the continuation of the relationship, potentially putting the victimā€™s health at further risk. Thus, the positive health effects of forgiveness might depend on many factors, including the type or severity of the transgression (abusive or non-traumatic), as well as the type of well-being in question (physical or psychological).

Through two studies, researchers Renate Ysseldyk, Kimberly Matheson, and Hymie Anisman investigated the complex interactions among forgiveness, revenge, abuse, psychological health, and physiological stress responses among women who were currently involved in an abusive relationship, or had previously experienced intimate partner abuse (compared to women whose relationship conflicts were not abusive).

Psychological Health Implications

This research showed that womenā€™s experiences of abuse, in general, were associated with greater depression and PTSD symptomatology. Women experiencing abuse were also more likely to desire revenge, and fewer engaged in forgiving behaviours. Interestingly, however, at low levels of psychological abuse (less than 3 events in the past month), revenge and depressive symptoms were unrelated, but at high levels of psychological abuse, a desire for revenge was related to higher depressive symptoms. Conversely, although forgiveness was associated with fewer depressive and PTSD symptoms in the absence of physical abuse, this association was even stronger in the presence of physical abuse.

Overall, unlike revenge and avoidance, forgiveness was associated with fewer psychological symptoms. It may be that unforgiving attitudes escalate negative emotions and rumination, leading to the development or maintenance of depressive or PTSD symptoms. In contrast, forgiveness may be key for the healing process through reducing feelings of hurt and resentment, thereby diminishing adverse psychological symptoms following abuse. Importantly, however, although the psychological health benefits of forgiveness were most pronounced in the aftermath of relatively severe offences, this was most evident for offences that were not ongoing. With women no longer in an abusive situation, forgiveness might be a strategy for letting go and moving on.

Physiological Stress Reactivity Implications

Alongside the psychological health responses that often accompany stressors, cortisol release is an adaptive short-term physiological response to help individuals cope. However, prolonged cortisol release, as might occur with ongoing abuse, isĀ harmful to both physical and psychological health. In this study, although revenge was associated with increased cortisol reactivity following reminders of any relationship stressor, elevated cortisol reactivity was also evident among forgiving women in ongoing physically abusive relationships (following reminder cues of an abusive event). However, among women who reported no physical abuse, forgiveness and cortisol reactivity were unrelated.

In effect, a blunted cortisol response was seen among women in an abusive relationship when they were not forgiving of their partner, while cortisol reactivity was intensified when forgiveness was given. This finding suggests the possibility that forgiveness acted as an adaptive response to the stressor, kicking physiological systems into gear in an effort to cope with the abuse. However, it is equally possible that forgiving may have prolonged the abusive relationship, and that the increased cortisol reactivity observed was actually a marker of womenā€™s ongoing distress.

The Big Picture

Based on this research, in the context of an abusive relationship, is forgiveness sweet and revenge sour for health and well-being?

For the most part, revenge was sour. The desire for vengeance was associated with increased cortisol reactivity, as well as more symptoms of depression and PTSD among women enduring physical, and especially psychological, abuse.

In contrast, for the most part, forgiveness was sweet, if the abuse occurred well in the past. Forgiveness was also associated with increased cortisol reactivity in response to continuing relationships involving physical abuse. Thus, the sweetness of forgiveness implies letting go of resentment; it does not mean tolerating more abuse.

Overall, in the context of abusive relationships, the dual nature of forgiveness, the paradox of revenge, and the severity, type, and timing of abuse all contribute to the complex relations between these factors and womenā€™s health. So, what should we do the next time we are hurt or wronged?Ā  Once we can be sure we are out of harmā€™s way, this research points to taking stock of the big picture, considering the potentially sour ramifications of continuing to seek revenge, and the comparativeĀ release that might be provided byĀ forgiveness.

Based on:

Ysseldyk, R., Matheson, K. & Anisman, H. (2017). Revenge is sour, but is forgiveness sweet? Psychological health and cortisol reactivity among women with experiences of abuse. Journal of Health Psychology. doi:

If you are experiencing any form of abuse, many resources exist, and those listed below may provide help:

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ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦….24 hour (613) 238-3311

……………………………………..24 hour 1(877) 336-2433 ATS 1(866) 860-7082

By Hymie Anisman, Dept. of Neuroscience, ŠÓ°ÉŌ­““ University

In Danteā€™s Inferno, the ninth circle of hell is reserved for those who engage in treachery

Most of us spend about half of our waking hours at the workplace. For some people work is a positive experience and even acts as a buffer or coping method to deal with life stressors, whereas for others work is a drudge that must be endured. When the workplace becomes a stressor, especially when individuals experience high job demands, but with limited decision latitude (job strain), the occurrence of illnesses, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, increases appreciably. These outcomes are exacerbated further when job strain is accompanied by the perception of unfairness or injustice.

Yet another powerful stressor that can be encountered in the workplace is bullying. Although bullying is most frequently discussed in relation to adolescents and school environments, particularly as it has become especially pernicious though attacks coming through social media, it isnā€™t restricted to adolescent experiences, being much too common in the workplace.

Workplace bullying can take any of multiple forms, and there is little doubt that intentional, prolonged harassment (or violence) coming from a coworker or from a group (mobbing) can lead to a variety of negative neurobiological changes, as well as a range of psychological and physical illnesses. Bullying can be manifested in the form of ostracism, belittling, sarcastic remarks, rudeness, name calling, sexual harassment, scapegoating, threats, violence, overworking an employee, or by ignoring or marginalizing them. Even one of these stressful experiences, such as being ostracized by others, gives rise to brain changes that in several respects are reminiscent of those elicited by pain.

Not unexpectedly, being the victim of frequent bullying may be accompanied by disturbances of the stress hormone, cortisol, and its diurnal profile is reminiscent of that seen among individuals with PTSD or those going through other chronic stressor experiences. Predictably, bullying can tax coping resources and can have cumulative effects and the distress created, like a cancer, can metastasize so that victims may develop symptoms of depression and anxiety, sleep problems, and in some instances post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with symptoms persisting for years.

It is sometimes assumed that bullying is uncommon in the workplace, after all ā€˜weā€™re all adults hereā€™ and lectures by some human resource groups portray bullying as occurring fairly infrequently. In fact, however, the Workplace Bullying Institute reported in 2007 that 13% of workers felt that they were currently being bullied, and 37% reported that they had been bullied at some time in their working career. What makes the problem worse is that of these individuals only 60% had informed their employers (the remainder indicated that it was pointless to do so), and of that number, two thirds reported the issue was not resolved.

It seems that the bully is an equal-opportunity harasser, and might appear in any type of organization. It might be government organizations, charitable foundations, large corporations or small companies, and even universities.

Itā€™s especially unfortunate when the bullying emanates from a boss (manager). Thereā€™s hardly anyone who hasnā€™t heard about the boss who is egotistical, demanding, criticizes others for no reason other than self-aggrandizement, who makes a habit or game of humiliating them publicly, and who is described as ā€œnot brooking fools lightlyā€ (as if this were a positive attribute). In this group are ā€˜victim bulliesā€™ who have little in the way of social skills and have themselves previously experienced being bullied or marginalized. This type of bully is relatively easy to spot as they typically exhibit high levels of anger and hostility, and have deficient social skills, problems with emotional regulation, and internalizing disorders, such as depression. In their frustration they take their problems out on staff, perceiving others to be working against them, and because of their own insecurities they react to imaginary threats. Then there are the ā€˜proactive bulliesā€™, who have positive social skills, but tend to display abusive behavior that is goal-oriented, enabling the them to take credit for the work of others, and whose behavior ultimately benefits them with greater power, privileges, or rewards. This bully canā€™t bear not being the hero and so is not pleased when others succeed. If anyone challenges this type of bully-boss, they can count on a short tenure in the organization. When the features of the different types of bullies come together in a single individual, then the outcomes are still more ferocious.

There are any number of factors that determine why bully bosses (or bully professors) behave the way they do. Bullying might be a means to maintain power and control over others. Alternatively, as described more than six decades ago, experiences of frustration might breed anger and aggression which is misdirected at those not in a position to fight back. The frustration and ensuing ruthless behavior might develop as a result of excessive job demands (workload and role conflict) and job-related resources that were unavailable (ultimate decision authority, salary/promotion prospects), coupled with a self-perceived incompetence that can be covered over by aggressive behaviors.

Although it isnā€™t my intent to describe the multiple factors that could potentially create the bully, I can hardly resist making a couple of comments. There was a move toward explaining this pathology on the basis of dysfunctions within particular brain regions, and there have even been suggestions that these individuals shouldnā€™t be blamed for their sickness! Regardless, itā€™s hard to feel sorry for a psychopathic boss who derives satisfaction from humiliating employees. Robert Hare, a major researcher in psychopathy has indicted that 1% of individuals could be categorized as being a psychopath. Although movies and some novels would have us believe that the psychopath is an evil person who engages in criminal acts (like Dr Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, or Patrick Bateman in American Psycho), psychopaths are present across the spectrum of white collar professions. According to Hare, psychopathy ought to be distinguished from insanity. Psychopaths know and understand what theyā€™re doing, but experience an “emotional deafness”, being unable to have any empathy for others. They focus on their own interests and perceive others simply as pawns or suckers that can be preyed upon, and when they encounter pushback, even if itā€™s imaginary, they claim that theyā€™re the victim.

As psychopaths typically have above average intelligence, their ruthlessness and fixation on personal power increase the odds that they will make advances in organizations (corporate, political, university). In their 2007 book ā€˜Snakes in Suits; When Psychopaths go to Workā€™, Babiak and Hare provided an extensive description of the corporate psychopath, the different strategies they endorse to get what they want (manipulation, bullying, anger, emotional outbursts, among other manipulative behaviors) and the extent to which they will go to reach the goals and needs on their agenda. It has been estimated by Boddy and his associates (2010) that although they might make up only 1% of the workforce, psychopaths account for more than 26% of workplace bullying. Given these numbers, one might wonder why bullies arenā€™t gotten rid of by their bosses? Boddy surmised that the corporate culture has enabled the destructive bullying behaviors by these individuals, as their corporations look to profits generated by psychopaths, and thus take little action to discourage malevolent behaviors. In essence, the psychopathic bully might be convenient to have around. Alternatively, because psychopathic bullies punch down and suck up, their bosses might not recognize them as being what they actually are.

Bullying is obviously a serious problem for any organization, and it requires a good leader to manage such issues. This is especially important given the effects of bullying on workplace productivity, creativity, and loyalty, sick leaves being taken, absenteeism as well as disengagement from the organization. In this regard, ill effects are not only experienced by the victim of bullying, but also by witnesses to the bullying. This could stem from empathetic reactions, or perhaps from the guilt or despair created by not being able to intervene, or the fear of the same thing happening to them. It may be particularly relevant that witnesses to others being bullied increases their intention to leave the organization.

When a leader sits does nothing in the face of others being persecuted, theyā€™re essentially taking the side of the oppressor. Unfortunately, this occurs all too frequently. Often, despite the bullying by low level managers, more senior managers might simply ignore obvious problems, even when complaints have been made. Perhaps theyā€™ll mouth patronizing statements about there being two sides to every story. However, some senior managers rarely speak with the rank and file and might simply hear the story from the side of the low level manager. In some instances, the senior manager hopes the problem will dissipate on its own over time, or they may engage in a series of exercises that donā€™t fix the problem, but instead inflame an already bad situation. Unfortunately, fires donā€™t go out until all the fuel has been consumed.

Hymie Anisman has recently authored two books providing an evidence-based approach to understanding the role of stress on human health, and identifyingĀ characteristics andĀ behaviours that render people more vulnerable or resilient. Both are available at Amazon.ca

By Josee Beaudry, Department of Psychology, ŠÓ°ÉŌ­““ University

Our life experiences may have a considerable impact on not only our own development, but as well, the development of our children. Which events and experiences, and how they impact individuals in early and later life is the fundamental question in Frances Champagneā€™s research. Champagne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Columbia University. Her research crosses the disciplines of neuroscience and psychology with a primary focus on how early life experiences influence the brain and behaviour and the molecular mechanisms associated with them. One main focus of her research is on the role of maternal care experienced and how it varies and has effects on offspring development.

Champagneā€™s research began during her undergraduate work at Queens University. The Psychology Department at the time focused primarily on criminal populations, which was not surprising as there were a lot of high security prisons within the Kingston area. She did her honors thesis on the personality and social characteristics of child molesters and how they differed from non-offenders. The variables she focused on were loneliness, social aptitude, feelings of empathy and self-worth. Through this research it became apparent that a lot of these problems emanated from early life adversities these individuals experienced. This line of research led her to be interested in exploring diseases and risks of psychopathology in schizophrenic patients and their developmental origins. She went on to do her Masters at McGill University, where she helped conduct a 3 year study on early life determinants of schizophrenia. The outcome of interest was not whether the individual became schizophrenic or not, but rather, what kind of symptom profiles were exhibited. The research team did assessments on family history of mental illness to identify genetic risk factors, as well as looked at siblings to see whether they had developmental challenges as well.

In the end, it was very clear that most schizophrenic patients encountered a lot of family and environmental stressors that put them at risk. She then went on to work with colleagues in the Neuroscience Department on maternal care and its influence on the development of the brain in animal models. This was the right move for her in terms of what she wanted to study; although she could look at a lot through humans, she couldnā€™t experiment, manipulate, and control the environment the same as with animal models. One of her maing research findings was that prenatal stress decreases the quality of maternal care, which ,in turn, is predictive of difficulties later in life for the infants. Getting involved in the Neuroscience lab really allowed her to explore how early life experiences and variation in care could shape the brain, as well as whether or not social enrichment could reverse some of these effects.

Throughout her research, stress seems to be a critical pre-disposing factor for developmental disruptions and challenges. Experiencing stress can be adaptive in the sense that it tells our body when something is wrong and that we need to act on it. Mild acute stressors have minimal impacts, but if an organism suffers from chronic stress the effects can be considerable. The problem though is that stress is difficult to define; what is stressful for some is not stressful to others. Certainly it is easier to measure in animal models because researchers can expose the animals to a specific stressor of fixed duration. In human studies it is different. Researchers have to measure how individuals perceive stressors rather than absolute stressor exposure, because each individual might appraise or cope with the stressor differently, which results in variations of the subjective experience.

A lot of research has focused on how mothers and their exposure to social and environmental stressors affect their offspring. Much less research has been done to assess whether the paternal stressor exposures plays a role. Champagne and her colleagues is fairly unique in that they have looked the effects of paternal stress, and in particular on how it influences maternal care. They conducted a study using rats in which stress on half the male rats were stressed by restricting their accessibility to food. They found that, even though the females werenā€™t around during the stressful event, that their level of maternal care for their young ones were affected by whether the male they subsequently mated with had or had not been exposed to the stressor. The females that mated with a stressed male showed higher levels of maternal care; perhaps they somehow sensed the wellness of the male rat and compensated with greater care of the offspring. Champagne is now looking at how what signaled to the female rat the need to change her level of maternal care.

As a result of her research, Champagne has come to appreciate the importance of looking at both paternal and maternal stressor exposure. She is also finding evidence that the effects of stressors on offspring can depend on the timing of when the stressors were encountered. Effectively, like others, her work is contributing to a greater understanding and appreciation of how plastic neuronal systems are. Such ā€˜epigeneticā€™ plasticity means that we arenā€™t hardwired; bad experiences donā€™t decide who you become. What we experience may have an influence on us but we can change and adapt as well.

On November 29, Dr. Frances ChampagneĀ delivered a public lecture onĀ Epigenetic Impact of Toxins, Stress & Social Interactions: Transgenerational Perspectives. Ā Her slides can be accessed hereĀ .