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| Sat, 04-07-2007 - 8:12am |
Good morning! What's everyone got going on this fine day? Hope all of us who have a bug of some kind will be over it shortly. Wishing good weather for everyone too.
No great words of wisdom this morning, but I did read an interesting article about gardening and happiness that should interest any of you gardeners out there.
Can getting dirty lift your mood?
Posted: Apr 2nd 2007 12:00PM by Bethany Sanders
Filed under: Emotional Health, General Health, Health in the Media
Just in time for spring gardening comes this headline: A recent study found that the bacteria Mycobacterium accae, commonly found in soil, increased serotonin levels in the brains of mice. A lack of serotonin is thought to cause depression in humans. Researchers became interested in the bacteria after cancer patients being treated with it began unexpectedly reporting lifted moods and better quality of life.The study was small, but researchers hope to look into the connection between the bacteria, healthy immune systems and depression to find out if there would be benefit from developing treatment options from this or other kinds of bacteria. Gardeners already know that digging in the dirt and soaking up the springtime sunshine make them feel happy and rejuvenated, but as Dr. Chris Lowry -- lead author of this study -- says, "They (these studies) leave us wondering if we all shouldn't be spending more time playing in the dirt."
Treatment of mice with a ‘friendly’ bacteria, normally found in the soil, altered their behavior in a way similar to that produced by antidepressant drugs, reports research published in the latest issue of Neuroscience.
These findings, identified by researchers at the University of Bristol and colleagues at University College London, aid the understanding of why an imbalance in the immune system leaves some individuals vulnerable to mood disorders like depression.
Dr Chris Lowry, lead author on the paper from Bristol University, said: "These studies help us understand how the body communicates with the brain and why a healthy immune system is important for maintaining mental health. They also leave us wondering if we shouldn’t all be spending more time playing in the dirt."
Interest in the project arose after human cancer patients being treated with the bacteria Mycobacterium vaccae unexpectedly reported increases in their quality of life. Lowry and his colleagues reasoned that this effect could be caused by activation of neurons in the brain that contained serotonin.
When the team looked closely at the brains of mice, they found that treatment with M. vaccae activated a group of neurons that produce the brain chemical serotonin. The lack of serotonin in the brain is thought to cause depression in people, thus M. vaccae’s effects on the behavior of mice may be due to increasing the release of serotonin in parts of the brain that regulate mood.
The new research supports this hypothesis, but future studies will be designed to determine if M. vaccae, other bacteria, or pharmaceutical compounds have antidepressant properties through activation of this group of serotonin neurons.

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Miss P
Susan, I know they'd hate to
Miss P
Your post made me realize how much I miss coloring eggs!!! That was sweet of you and Katie to make the basket and for you to invite the young man to your
Miss P
Nancy, we woke up to snow this morning! DH was happy because he planted grass seed last Sat and had a few warm days for it and now has moisture on it. Crazy farmers!! LOL
Enjoy your time with DD!
Any word about your DH's leg?I hope
Miss P
Grace, I was thinking about you yesterday and wondering how the heck you do so many exercise classes!!! It's really something.
Happy Easter to you and your family!
Miss P
Hey, Patty...if it wasn't my "job" I would never do that many classes. The most I would when not teaching would be 1 1/2 hours. Most time I barely do an hour. Amazing what you can pull out when you have to. Just remember, you are working 3 jobs.
Grace
Keep on keeping on!
Grace
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