Visual Acuity and Increased Mortality: The Role of Allostatic Load and Functional Status

Psychosocial factors over the life course and major life events are associated with the health, functional status, and survival of older adults. This chapter discusses the biological mechanisms through which these influences are thought to operate, and how life stresses might accelerate the usual ageing of biological systems. It starts with a brief description of psychosocial determinants of health and functioning before elaborating on the allostatic mechanisms by which the body adapts its internal physiological milieu in response to perceived stressors. The price paid for frequent and recurring adaptation is eventual dysregulation of the mediators of allostasis, or allostatic load. We close with a brief discussion of allostatic load links to health outcomes in older adults and potential interventions that might ameliorate the impact of psychosocial adversities on health.

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Periodontal Microsurgery and Microsurgical Instrumentation: A Review

Dental Journal of Advance Studies ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1672050 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 04 (02) ◽

pp. 074-080

Author(s):

Kawaldeep Kang ◽

Deepak Grover ◽

Viniti Goel ◽

Sumit Kaushal ◽

Gurpreet Kaur

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Surgical Procedures ◽

Wound Closure ◽

New Technologies ◽

Surgical Techniques ◽

Technical Skills ◽

Normal Vision ◽

Lighting System ◽

Tissue Trauma

AbstractIncreasing surgical refinement of procedures to meet both biologic and esthetic demands of patients is seen in today's periodontal practice. For these new technologies, instruments, and surgical techniques are necessary. Technical skills of the clinician are challenged by the limit of range of visual acuity. Periodontal microsurgery improves the outcome of basic periodontal surgical procedures by enhancing normal vision through magnification along with favorable lighting system. It gives enhanced outcomes not possible with traditional macrosurgery in terms of passive wound closure and reduced tissue trauma. The purpose of this review is to provide brief knowledge of periodontal microsurgery: the role of magnification, microsurgical instrumentation and applications of microsurgery.

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Proximal versus Distal Cue Utilization in Spatial Navigation: The Role of Visual Acuity?,

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory ◽

10.1006/nlme.2002.4062 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 78 (2) ◽

pp. 332-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

H Carman

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Spatial Navigation ◽

Cue Utilization

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The role of Peripheral Vision in the Flashed Face Distortion Effect

Perception ◽

10.1177/0301006618817419 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 93-101

Author(s):

Jamie Bowden ◽

David Whitaker ◽

Matt J. Dunn

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Analogue Scale ◽

Peripheral Vision ◽

Crowding Effect ◽

Visual Periphery ◽

Peripheral Location ◽

Distortion Effect ◽

Optical Defocus ◽

Visual Crowding

The flashed face distortion effect is a phenomenon whereby images of faces, presented at 4–5 Hz in the visual periphery, appear distorted. It has been hypothesized that the effect is driven by cortical, rather than retinal, components. Here, we investigated the role of peripheral viewing on the effect. Normally sighted participants viewed the stimulus peripherally, centrally, and centrally with a blurring lens (to match visual acuity in the peripheral location). Participants rated the level of distortion using a Visual Analogue Scale. Although optical defocus did have a significant effect on distortion ratings, peripheral viewing had a much greater effect, despite matched visual acuity. We suggest three potential mechanisms for this finding: increased positional uncertainty in the periphery, reduced deployment of attention to the visual periphery, or the visual crowding effect.

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Food Addiction and Psychosocial Adversity: Biological Embedding, Contextual Factors, and Public Health Implications

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12113521 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 3521

Author(s):

David A. Wiss ◽

Nicole Avena ◽

Mark Gold

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Disordered Eating ◽

Traumatic Stress ◽

Allostatic Load ◽

Food Addiction ◽

Contextual Factor ◽

Increase Risk ◽

Disordered Eating Behavior ◽

Pituitary Adrenal Axis

The role of stress, trauma, and adversity particularly early in life has been identified as a contributing factor in both drug and food addictions. While links between traumatic stress and substance use disorders are well documented, the pathways to food addiction and obesity are less established. This review focuses on psychosocial and neurobiological factors that may increase risk for addiction-like behaviors and ultimately increase BMI over the lifespan. Early childhood and adolescent adversity can induce long-lasting alterations in the glucocorticoid and dopamine systems that lead to increased addiction vulnerability later in life. Allostatic load, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and emerging data on epigenetics in the context of biological embedding are highlighted. A conceptual model for food addiction is proposed, which integrates data on the biological embedding of adversity as well as upstream psychological, social, and environmental factors. Dietary restraint as a feature of disordered eating is discussed as an important contextual factor related to food addiction. Discussion of various public health and policy considerations are based on the concept that improved knowledge of biopsychosocial mechanisms contributing to food addiction may decrease stigma associated with obesity and disordered eating behavior.

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