Positive emotion and reward disturbance in mood disorders

A free webinar from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

We know that positive emotions motivate us to pursue important goals, savor experiences, counteract the cardiovascular effects of stress, and maintain vital social bonds. However, a relatively untouched question remains: Can positive emotions also be a source of dysfunction in particular contexts, or when not appropriately managed? In a free webinar, “Positive Emotion and Reward Disturbance in Mood Disorders” on Tuesday, May 12, 2026 at 2pm ET, Dr. Gruber will discuss her lab's work to delineate the nature of positive emotion disturbance in people with and without a history of mood difficulties. By studying healthy people, people at risk for mood disorders, as well as adults and adolescents with mood disorders, she seeks to develop new ways of understanding positive mood disturbance as well as treatments to enhance emotional well-being and sustainable happiness.

The guest speaker, June Gruber, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Gruber also received Young Investigator Grants in 2013 and 2019. The host, Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., is President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation and host of the Emmy® nominated television series Healthy Minds.

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About Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation awards research grants to develop improved treatments, cures, and methods of prevention for mental illness. These illnesses include addiction, ADHD, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, and schizophrenia, as well as research on suicide prevention. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $476 million to fund more than 5,700 leading scientists around the world. 100% of every dollar donated for research is invested in research. BBRF operating expenses are covered by separate foundation grants. BBRF is the producer of the Emmy®-nominated public television series Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, which aims to remove the stigma of mental illness and demonstrate that with help, there is hope.

Pennington Biomedical contributes to global study on physical activity and well-being

Study offers new insight into how physical activity and emotional well-being are connected in everyday life

Pennington Biomedical Research Center

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Research from LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center is part of a major international study published in Nature Human Behaviour that offers new insight into how physical activity and emotional well-being are connected in everyday life.

Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim analyzed data sets from more than 8,000 people to investigate how physical activity is related to good mood and positive emotions. For most people, the result was that mood improves with everyday movement. At the same time, people are more physically active when they are feeling better.

Dr. Amanda Staiano of Pennington Biomedical served as a co-author on the study, which brought together data from 67 research groups worldwide – including contributions from her research team in Baton Rouge – to better understand how movement impacts mood outside of controlled laboratory settings.

The large-scale analysis examined data from more than 8,000 participants and over 300,000 real-time mood reports collected through smartphones and wearable devices. These tools allowed researchers to capture how people feel and move throughout their daily routines – from walking and climbing stairs to household activities.

Key findings include:

• For most individuals, mood improves following everyday physical activity.
• People are also more likely to be active when they are already feeling positive.
• Energy levels showed the strongest relationship, with more than 95% of participants reporting increased energy around periods of activity.
• Individuals with lower baseline well-being experienced the greatest benefits from physical activity.

“This study reflects the growing importance of understanding health behaviors in real-world settings,” said Dr. Staiano, who directs the Pediatric Obesity and Health Behavior Laboratory. “By incorporating data from diverse populations from around the world – including participants studied here at Pennington Biomedical – we’re gaining a clearer picture of how even small amounts of daily movement can meaningfully impact how people feel.”

This study analyzed behavior in natural environments, helping researchers distinguish between how activity affects individuals over time and how people compare to one another.

While the findings confirm a strong link between physical activity and well-being, researchers note that more work is needed to determine causality and to understand why some individuals respond differently to exercise. Future studies will aim to identify the personal and environmental factors that shape these responses.

"That physical activity has a positive effect on well-being has been known for a long time – but previously only from laboratory and cross-sectional studies," said Dr. Markus Reichert of Ruhr University Bochum, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg and the Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, who coordinated the project.

Now, the connection has been investigated in studies that examine physical activity and well-being under natural, everyday conditions. This is made possible with the help of smartphones and similar systems. This allows everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs and housework to be studied.

This work represents the most comprehensive analysis to date of the relationship between physical activity and mood in everyday life and underscores the role of institutions like Pennington Biomedical in advancing global health research.

About the Pennington Biomedical Research Center

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. Pennington Biomedical has the vision to lead the world in promoting nutrition and metabolic health and eliminating metabolic disease through scientific discoveries that create solutions from cells to society. The center conducts basic, clinical and population research, and is a campus in the LSU System.

The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes over 600 employees within a network of 44 clinics and research laboratories, and 16 highly specialized core service facilities. Its scientists and physician/scientists are supported by research trainees, lab technicians, nurses, dietitians and other support personnel. Pennington Biomedical is a globally recognized, state-of-the-art research institution in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

For more information, see www.pbrc.edu.  

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Journal

Nature Human Behaviour

DOI

10.1038/s41562-026-02427-2 

Article Title

An individual participant data meta-analysis of how physical activity relates to affective well-being in daily life

Article Publication Date

6-May-2026

A simple 30-second sit-to-stand test that can predict how well you age

A simple sit-to-stand test that estimates muscle power and identifies individuals at higher risk of hospitalization and mortality

Journal of Sport and Health Science

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The 30-second sit-to-stand (STS) test reveals that low relative muscle power is a key predictor of adverse health outcomes in aging populations.

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Credit: Dr. Francisco J. Garcia-Garcia and Dr. Luis M. Alegre from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain Image Source Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101080

The aging of the global population is one of the major demographic challenges of the 21st century. Advances in medicine and public health over recent decades have increased life expectancy. However, the real challenge lies in ensuring that these additional years are lived with independence and a good quality of life. In this context, muscle function plays a central role, often determining whether older adults remain independent or develop functional limitations and geriatric syndromes.

The musculoskeletal system is one of the most affected systems by aging. From the third decade of life, it begins to gradually decline, and this process accelerates significantly after the age of 60. Several biological changes contribute to this deterioration. Fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are responsible for generating rapid and powerful movements, progressively decrease in number and size. At the same time, the nervous system becomes less efficient at activating muscle fibers, and fat and connective tissue infiltration within the muscle increases. Altogether, these changes reduce the ability to generate force and move efficiently. Importantly, different studies have shown that muscle power declines earlier and faster than other components of the musculoskeletal system, with losses of around 2–3% per year, compared to 1.0–1.5% per year for muscle strength and about 0.5–1.0% per year for muscle mass.

Among the different components of muscle function, muscle power has emerged as a particularly important indicator of healthy aging. Muscle power refers to the ability to produce force quickly, combining both strength and velocity, and it is essential for daily movements such as walking and climbing stairs.

How can we measure muscle power in a simple way?

Traditionally, evaluating muscle power required expensive and sophisticated equipment, limiting its use in clinical practice. However, Alcazar et al. (1) developed a validated equation based on a simple functional test: the sit-to-stand (STS) test. In this test, a person is asked to stand up and sit down from a chair as many times as possible within 30 seconds, with arms crossed over the chest. Then, using the validated equation (or the POWERFRAIL app), which accounts for body mass, height, and the number of STS repetitions performed during the test, we can estimate the person’s muscle power. These values can then be normalized to body mass to obtain relative STS power.

Why should we use muscle power as a biomarker?

To better understand the role of muscle power in healthy aging, we analyzed data from 1,876 older adults aged 65 years and older from the Toledo Study for Healthy Aging, a large population-based cohort study conducted in Toledo, Spain. The study was made available online in the Journal of Sport and Health Science on August 13, 2025, and published in Volume 15 on December 01, 2026.

Using the 30-second STS test and Alcazar’s equation, we estimated each participant’s relative STS power. Based on previous research (2), we identified individuals with low relative STS power as those with values below 2.53 W/kg in men and 2.01 W/kg in women.

Falls and fractures

When we examined participants’ recent health history, clear differences emerged between individuals with normal and low relative STS power.

In men, low relative STS power was associated with a higher likelihood of previous all types of fractures and falls. In women, the pattern was slightly different. Those with low relative STS power showed a higher likelihood of previous hip fractures, and a trend was also observed for previous falls and all types of fractures.

Hospitalizations and mortality

During a follow-up period of 6 years, women with low relative STS power had a 29% higher risk of hospitalization, and they also tended to spend more days in the hospital compared with women with normal relative STS power. However, the most striking results were observed for mortality. Men with low relative STS power had a 57% higher risk of all-cause mortality compared with those with normal relative STS power. In women, the association was even stronger. Those with low relative STS power had more than double the risk of death (104% higher) during the follow-up period (9 years).

Conclusion

In just 30 seconds, a simple movement like standing up from a chair can reveal a person’s risk of falls, hospitalization, and even death. Muscle power is not only essential for maintaining independence, but also a powerful biomarker of how well we age. Measuring it is simple; its implications are profound.

 

Reference
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101080

 

Media Contact
Name: Francisco J Garcia-Garcia
Email: franjogarcia@telefonica.net
Tel: + 034 925 26 93 00 ext 2607

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Journal

Journal of Sport and Health Science

DOI

10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101080 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Low relative sit-to-stand power is associated with history of falls and fractures, prospective hospitalization, and all-cause mortality in older adults from the Toledo study for healthy aging

 

Even the most remote ocean is contaminated with zinc from human sources

ETH Zurich

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The vast, deserted South Pacific is considered unspoilt nature. But this ocean is not as unspoilt as we would like to think. A new study by a group of researchers from ETH Zurich and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel sheds light on this premise.  

The researchers have shown that zinc released by the combustion of fossil fuels and by industrial emissions has reached the most remote corners of the ocean and is now far more common in these waters than zinc from natural sources.  

“There is no more untouched nature, not even in the South Pacific, which is as far away from the nearest civilisation as the astronauts on the International Space Station,” states Tal Ben Altabet, the lead author of the study, which has just been published in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment. Ben Altabet is a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Derek Vance, Professor of Geochemistry at ETH Zurich. 

Zinc and other metals are released into the atmosphere during the combustion of fossil fuels, coal burning and metal smelting. The emitted metals attach to tiny aerosols in the air, which can travel thousands of kilometres before settling on the surface waters of the open ocean. In this way, atmospheric aerosols can transport metals from industrial areas to even the most remote seas. 

Plankton needs zinc 

Zinc and other trace elements such as iron and copper are essential for marine life. In particular, microscopic marine algae, phytoplankton, need zinc for photosynthesis. Through this process, phytoplankton absorbs carbon dioxide and produces organic matter and oxygen. In this way, these tiny green algae play a central role in regulating the Earth’s climate.  

In recent years, scientists have begun to measure not only the concentrations of trace metals in seawater but also their isotopic composition.  

Isotopes are variants of an element with different weights, and their ratios form a chemical fingerprint. These isotopic fingerprints help identify metal sources and track the processes they undergo in the ocean. Oceanic zinc is relatively enriched in heavier isotopes such as Zn-66, whereas human emissions are typically enriched in lighter isotopes such as Zn-64. 

Over the past ten years, marine geochemists have been investigating an unusual isotopic fingerprint in the upper ocean. Some researchers have attributed these anomalies to natural processes in the ocean, such as the adsorption of zinc onto particles in seawater. More recently, others have suspected that the anomalies reflect the input of zinc from human sources, delivered by atmospheric aerosols. 

Aerosols transporting zinc to the South Pacific 

To resolve this question, the ETH researchers, led by Ben Altabet, investigated one of the most remote marine regions on Earth – the South Pacific. Detecting a zinc fingerprint from human emissions there would highlight just how widespread human pollution is. 

The team pursued a novel approach: instead of analysing only the zinc dissolved in seawater, they also investigated the isotopic composition of zinc in particles in seawater and in aerosols from the atmosphere. To better identify human emission sources, the researchers also measured the isotopic composition of lead – an established indicator of environmental pollution. 

Almost only zinc from human sources detectable 

The results of the study were clear: the researchers found that zinc from human emissions, delivered by aerosols, is the dominant source of zinc in the upper layer of the South Pacific. By contrast, traces of zinc from natural sources were almost undetectable. 

“Essentially all of the zinc in the particles from the upper South Pacific is unnatural. These results show that even elements previously thought to be unaffected by human activity are now dominated by industrial pollution, which has reached the most remote parts of the open ocean,” Ben Altabet states 

Cycle out of balance? 

Naturally, the uppermost layer of the ocean is relatively low in zinc and other trace metals, as they are consumed by phytoplankton. For phytoplankton to thrive, these micronutrients must be present in the right proportions in seawater.  

The researchers anticipate that continued increases in man-made metal emissions could disturb the delicate nutrient balance. It is difficult to predict, however, exactly how phytoplankton will respond to this. If additional metals such as zinc, iron, copper and cadmium – all of which show signs of accumulation in seawater due to human activity – are introduced into the oceans, the availability of nutrients could change, thereby potentially impacting the entire marine food chain. 

Analysing other oceans for zinc isotopes 

The researchers now want to conduct further studies to elucidate the isotopic composition of zinc and other biologically essential metals, such as iron and copper, in marine particles from other ocean regions.  

“Only by studying different marine systems will we be able to understand trace metal behaviour across the ocean as a whole and how marine organisms respond to shifts in nutrient balances,” Ben Altabet explains. 

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Journal

Communications Earth & Environment

DOI

10.1038/s43247-026-03425-y 

Article Title

Pervasive contamination of the remote open ocean with anthropogenic zinc

 

From ocean to gut: The bacteria that shape both human health and marine carbon cycling

In the seas as in the human gut, related bacteria use the same survival toolkit.

Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

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The complex sugars in brown algae, such as these pictured during fieldwork in Roscoff by co-author Nicole von Possel, are among the hardest to break down by bacteria in the ocean, which makes them important for carbon storage. Marine relatives of the gut bacterium Akkermansia turn out to be specialists in tackling them.

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Credit: Nicole Von Possel/Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

Our gut is colonized by legions of bacteria, which supply us with essential nutrients and support our health. Among them are Akkermansia bacteria, which might be helpful in the management of conditions like obesity and diabetes. 

A group of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, now discovered that these bacteria are not unique to our guts, but can also be found in the ocean. In both habitats they use similar skills to ensure their survival and success. They seem to carry an old and widespread survival toolkit. 

Secrets hidden in the genomes

“We asked ourselves: Aren’t the traits that make these bacteria so successful in our gut – in particular how they feed on sugars – also useful in other environments?”, says Group Leader Luis Humberto Orellana Retamal (Coto) from the Max Planck Institute in Bremen. To find out if and where Akkermansiaceae bacteria live worldwide, the scientists searched nearly 250,000 datasets of DNA from different environments. And indeed: In animal guts, oceans, lakes and rivers they discovered members of the group were widespread.

The team then analyzed their genetic blueprint, the so-called genome, and looked for key proteins required to break down the sugars. “We found an astonishing similarity between Akkermansia bacteria in our gut and in the ocean”, says Coto. “In the ocean, these bacteria break down fucoidan, a sugar released by seaweed. In the gut, they concentrate on mucin, a complex sugar-coated protein gel that lines our intestine walls. Fucoidan and mucin are chemically similar. The scientists discovered that the bacteria breaking them down use the same core molecular machinery to get the job done, even though they inhabit completely different homes. 

A shared, ancient strategy ensures success across environments

The ecological success of Akkermansia bacteria across environments as different as the human gut and the open ocean is built on a shared, ancient strategy: They attach to complex sugars, take them up, and break them down inside the cell. What differs between environments is not the core machinery, but the specific proteins that fine-tune it to the local food source. Most probably, Akkermansia muciniphila, the human gut inhabitant, evolved from an aquatic ancestor already equipped to handle chemically similar sugars. It is a specialization rather than a completely new evolutionary invention. “This similarity suggests that these bacteria did not reinvent themselves when first colonizing the gut, but instead likely adapted an existing toolkit that was already in place”, Coto explains.

A therapeutically and ecologically relevant trait

Akkermansia muciniphila is among the most studied candidates in gut microbiome research with potential links to metabolic health. A better understanding of the molecular toolkit of Akkermansia could contribute to ongoing efforts to explore microbiome-based approaches for conditions like obesity, diabetes, and gut inflammation.

But the results now at hand are also of ecological importance: They reveal that these bacteria play an important and previously overlooked role in the ocean by breaking down fucoidan, a recalcitrant carbon-rich seaweed sugar. That makes them relevant players in the ocean's carbon cycle.

“Our results lie at the intersection of two major areas of societal concern: human health and the environment,” Coto points out. „Concerning health, they support the development of microbiome-based therapies. Concerning the environment, they show us how marine bacteria process carbon, which helps predicting how ocean ecosystems will respond to climate change.” This study also illustrates the broader point that fundamental discoveries can emerge from unexpected places. “The ocean, for example, can provide surprising insights into what happens in our own gut”, he concludes. 

 

Super-resolution microscopy showing marine Akkermansiaceae cells (red, contained DNA in blue) with internalized fucoidan (green), confirming the uptake of this complex seaweed sugar. 

Credit

Nicole Von Possel/Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

 

An almost perfect match: Two protein subunit structures, one from a gut bacterium and one from a marine relative, overlaid on top of each other. The striking overlap reveals how conserved this protein is across environments. 

Credit

Isabella Wilkie/Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

Journal

The ISME Journal

DOI

10.1093/ismejo/wrag096 

Article Title

Conserved glycan-utilization strategies shape Akkermansiaceae success across aquatic and gut ecosystems

 

Scientists link phosphorus spikes in ancient oceans to major mass extinctions

New study provides first direct geochemical evidence of long theorized but never before measured phenomena

University of Ottawa

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An international collaboration involving researchers from the University of Western Australia, the University of Ottawa and several partner institutions specializing in geosciences has identified direct geological evidence linking sharp spikes in ocean phosphorus to environmental disruptions associated with two of the largest mass extinctions in the history of life on Earth. This new study provides the first direct geochemical evidence for a mechanism long theorized but never before measured.

Extinctions 400 million years in the making

The Late Ordovician Mass Extinction (roughly 445 million years ago) and the Late Devonian Mass Extinction (roughly 372 million years ago) wiped out approximately 85% and 80% of marine species, respectively. Scientists had long suspected that pulses of phosphorus flooding ancient oceans may have triggered episodes of anoxia, a dangerous depletion of oxygen in seawater, helping set off cascading biological collapses. Until now, that hypothesis lacked direct geochemical proof.

"Anticosti Island, located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada, is one of the rare places in the world where Late Ordovician carbonate rocks are so well preserved and accessible," says André Desrochers, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Ottawa. "The outcrops there gave us sedimentary archives of exceptional precision for reconstructing ocean conditions during the Ordovician."

New geochemical tool detects ancient ocean chemistry

The team applied an innovative technique called carbonate-associated phosphate (CAP), sampling rocks from seven globally distributed sites, including Anticosti Island in Quebec, to directly measure fluctuations in phosphorus levels in ancient seawater. The results reveal short but intense phosphorus spikes that occurred in global synchrony during critical intervals of both extinctions.

"What is striking is the global coherence of these signals," explains Professor Desrochers. "Rocks formed on different continents, in very different marine environments, all tell the same story at the same moment in time."

Lessons from the deep past

According to the model proposed by the research team, these influxes of phosphorus could have boosted biological productivity in the oceans, leading to increased oxygen consumption, the expansion of ocean anoxia, and global cooling through carbon burial, a chain of events with major consequences for marine biodiversity.

The study also indicates that phosphorus was not acting alone: climate cooling and sea-level change were also part of the crises, especially during the first Late Ordovician extinction pulse.

"This study reminds us that disruptions to nutrient cycles can have devastating consequences for marine ecosystems," concludes Professor Desrochers. "In a context of accelerating climate change and increasing agricultural nutrient runoff into the world's oceans, these lessons from the deep past are more relevant than ever."

Although today’s climate forcing differs from these ancient cooling events, the researchers suggest that a better understanding of these ancient mechanisms could help anticipate the risks posed by current anthropogenic nutrient loading in the modern ocean.

The study, titled “Recurring marine phosphorus spikes during major palaeozoic mass extinctions and climate change”, was published in Nature Communications. It was conducted by a multidisciplinary team comprising Matthew S. Dodd, Chao Li, Zihu Zhang, Aleksey Y. Sadekov, André Desrochers, Olle Hints, Detian Yan, Xiangrong Yang, Annette D. George, Maya Elrick, David White, Wenkun Qie, Bo Chen, Andrew S. Merdith & Benjamin J. W. Mills.

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-026-70701-y 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Recurring marine phosphorus spikes during major palaeozoic mass extinctions and climate change