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Blocking certain neurons can help people with anxiety disorders
New York : Certain neurons in a brain region have been found to play a central role in triggering anxiety, and blocking these may help in better treatment of pateints with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), finds a study.
Experiments in mice showed that blocking the stress hormone corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) selectively in this group of neurons from the hypothalamus erased the animals’ natural fears.
Mice with the deletion readily walked elevated gangplanks, explored brightly lit areas and approached novel objects — things normal mice avoid, the results showed.
CRH, discovered nearly 40 years ago, coordinates our physical and behavioural stress response, often termed the “fight-or-flight” response.
This response helps us survive in the face of threats, but when it is activated at the wrong time or too intensely, it can lead to anxiety and/or depression, the study said.
Targeting these neurons,(that releases Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) gene) rather than the whole brain, could potentially provide a more effective treatment for anxiety and perhaps other psychiatric disorders, said Joseph Majzoub, researchers from the Boston Children’s Hospital in the US.
In the study, using genetic engineering, the team selectively removed the CRH gene from about 1,000 nerve cells in the hypothalamus of mice.
The targeted cells were in the paraventricular nucleus, an area of the hypothalamus known to control the release of stress hormones such as cortisol.
The loss of CRH in those cells affected not only hormone secretion, but also dramatically reduced anxiety behaviours such as vigilance, suspicion, fear in the mice.
“Blocking just certain neurons releasing CRH would be enough to alter behaviour in a major way,” Majzoub added.
In the above mentioned experiment, for example, the genetically altered mice were perfectly willing to venture onto an elevated maze, even the “open” section whose protective walls were removed.
Similarly, when the mice were presented with an open field, the modified mice explored much more of its center, rather than hang out at the periphery like the control mice.
Majzoub acknowledges that blocking CRH production in just a subset of neurons would be technically challenging in humans.
But if this could be done, it could be helpful for treating severe anxiety disorders or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), said the paper published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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