A further examination of growth factors, T helper 1 polarization, and the gut microbiome in major depression: Associations with reoccurrence of illness, cognitive functions, suicidal behaviors, and quality of life.

Growth factors, T helper (Th)1 polarization, and the microbiome are involved in the pathophysiology of major depression (MDD). It remains unclear whether the combination of these three pathways could enhance the accuracy of predicting the features of MDD, including recurrence of illness (ROI), suicidal behaviors and the phenome. We measured serum stem cell factor (SCF), stem cell growth factor (SCGF), stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the ratio of serum Th1/Th2 cytokines (zTh1-zTh2), and the abundances of gut microbiome taxa by analyzing stool samples using 16S rDNA sequencing from 32 MDD patients and 37 healthy controls. The results show that serum SCF is significantly lower and VEGF increased in MDD. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and ROI are significantly associated with lowered SCF and increasing VEGF. Lifetime and current suicidal behaviors are strongly predicted (63.5%) by an increased VEGF/SCF ratio, Th1 polarization, a gut microbiome enterotype indicating gut dysbiosis, and lowered abundance of Dorea and Faecalobacterium. Around 80.5% of the variance in the phenome's severity is explained by ROI, ACEs, and lowered Parabacteroides distasonis and Clostridium IV abundances. A large part of the variance in health-related quality of life (54.1%) is explained by the VEGF/SCF ratio, Th1 polarization, ACE, and male sex. In conclusion, key features of MDD are largely predicted by the cumulative effects of ACE, Th1 polarization, aberrations in growth factors and the gut microbiome with increased pathobionts but lowered beneficial symbionts.

Changes in tryptophan breakdown associated with response to multimodal treatment in depression.

Background: Research on depression showed that dysregulations in tryptophan (TRP), kynurenine (KYN), and its KYN pathway metabolites are key aspects in the development and maintenance of depressive symptoms. In our previous reports, we described sex-specific changes in TRP breakdown as well as changes in KYN and KYN/TRP in association with treatment response and inflammatory and metabolic parameters. However, results of treatment effects on KYN pathway metabolites as well as how pathway changes are related to treatment response remain sparse. Objective: We investigated potential changes of KYN and KYN pathway metabolites in association with therapeutic response of individuals with depression during a six-week multimodal psychiatric rehabilitation program. Methods: 87 participants were divided into treatment responders and non-responders (48 responders, 39 non-responders; 38 male, 49 female; M age = 51.09; SD age = 7.70) using scores of psychological questionnaires. KYN pathway metabolites serum concentrations as well as their ratios were collected using high performance liquid chromatography. Changes over time (time of admission (t1) vs. time of discharge (t2)) were calculated using repeated measure analyses of (co)variance. Results: Non-responders exhibited higher levels of 3-Hydroxyanthralinic acid (3-HAA), nicotinic acid (NA), and 3-HAA/KYN, independently of measurement time. NA levels decreased, while 3-HAA levels increased over time in both groups, independently of treatment response. 3-HK/KYN levels decreased, while KYN levels increased in non-responders, but not in responders over time. Discussion: The results indicate that some compounds of the KYN pathway metabolites can be altered through multimodal long-term interventions in association with treatment response. Especially the pathway degrading KYN further down to 3-HAA and 3-HK/KYN might be decisive for treatment response in depression.

The impact of math anxiety and self-efficacy in middle school STEM choices: A 3-year longitudinal study.

INTRODUCTION: In today's world, which is progressively oriented towards science and technology and facing a growing demand for skilled professionals, it becomes essential to identify the factors that encourage individuals to pursue careers in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Previous research has shown that affective-motivational factors, math performance and gender influence STEM occupational and academic choices in adulthood. However, few studies examined how these factors may influence STEM choices as early as middle school. This study aims to assess how math anxiety, math self-efficacy, math performance and gender influence STEM school choices during middle school. METHODS: We longitudinally assessed a group of 109 students (Year 6) over three school years, with measurements taken on three different occasions. RESULTS: Findings indicated that individuals who made an STEM school choice experienced lower math anxiety, higher self-efficacy and math performance and were predominantly male. Furthermore, the results indicated that both math anxiety in Year 7 and self-efficacy in Year 6 made the most substantial unique contributions to the STEM school choice. CONCLUSION: Math anxiety and math self-efficacy seem to be both crucial in influencing middle school students' STEM choices, offering new perspectives for early interventions aimed at promoting more informed school choices.

Cannabis and anhedonia: A systematic review.

This paper employs a systematic review to examine the correlation between anhedonia and marijuana use, exploring whether individuals with anhedonia use marijuana as a coping mechanism or if marijuana use plays a role in the onset of anhedonia. The search utilised PubMed and Web of Science databases, following PRISMA guidelines for paper selection. A total of 21 papers were selected to address this inquiry, and assessments were carried out using the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Exposures (ROBINS-E) tool. The results revealed that 17 studies exhibited moderate and low risk of bias. The evaluation encompassed a total of 12,427 participants, including both animals and humans. Experimental animal studies focused on exploring the association between cannabidiol (CBD) and anhedonia, while human studies primarily employed observational research, examining various forms of anhedonia in individuals with or without mental disorders such as depression or psychosis. These studies also delved into understanding the effects of anhedonia during adolescence and explored the causal relationship between these concepts. The findings indicate a reciprocal rather than unidirectional relationship, establishing that initial anhedonia predisposes individuals to cannabis use, and subsequent consumption significantly intensifies the anhedonia experienced. Particularly, the studies placed special emphasis on adolescents and individuals with mental disorders.

Perceived Family Functioning of Adolescents with Affective Disorders: A Multicentric Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the status of family functioning and dissatisfaction of family function from the perception of adolescents with affective disorders and explore associated factors. Methods: This was a multicentric cross-sectional study conducted from April 2022 to February 2023. Adolescents with affective disorders were surveyed in representative samples drawn from three hospitals in Sichuan province, China. Data were obtained from 235 participants regarding their demographic characteristics, family characteristics, disease-related characteristics, and family functioning. Results: The study found family functioning and its' dissatisfaction both lower than national norms from the perspectives of adolescents. Younger age, single-parent family, and reconstituted family were predictors of not close of cohesion. Younger age, lower educational level of father, and reconstituted family were associated with less change of flexibility. Less times of hospitalizations, higher educational level of father, stem family were more satisfy with cohesion. Higher educational level of father, and stem family were also associated with greater satisfaction with flexibility. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the family function of adolescents of affective disorders was poor, more attention should be paid to it. Age, family structure, number of hospitalizations and the educational level of father were influencing factors of family functioning. Therefore, it is important for medical worker to assess demographic and family characteristics of adolescents with affective disorders. Younger children, children of reconstituted family and single-parent family, children with repeated hospitalizations and fathers of lower level of education should be given emphasized in implementation of interventions. Based on the evaluation results, personalized family therapy has been proved to be an affective measure and could be used in clinical work.

The Relationship between SNAP25 and Some Common Human Neurological Syndromes.

Over the years, research on the pathogenesis of neurological diseases has progressed slowly worldwide. However, as the incidence rate continues to increase and the disease gradually develops, early diagnosis and treatment have become a top priority. SANP25, a protein present on the presynaptic membrane and involved in neurotransmitter release, is closely related to the loss or abnormal expression of synapses and neurons. SNAP25 deficiency can lead to synaptic disorders and inhibit neurotransmitter release. Therefore, a large amount of literature believes that SNAP25 gene mutation is a risk factor for many neurological diseases. This review used advanced search on PubMed to conduct extensive article searches for relevant literature. The search keywords included SNAP25 and Alzheimer's disease, SNAP25 and Parkinson's disease, and so on. After reading and summarizing the previous papers, the corresponding conclusions were obtained to achieve the purpose of the review. The deficiency or variation of SNAP25 might be related to the onset of schizophrenia, epilepsy, attention deficit/hypoactivity disorder, bipolar disorder effective disorder, and autism. SNAP25 has been found to be used as a neuropathological marker for neurological diseases, which could be the target of diagnosis or treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) or blood has been found to enable more effective drug development.

Glee in threes: Positive affect synchrony in parent-infant triads is moderated by maternal hair cortisol and parenting stress.

BACKGROUND: Positive affect synchrony, or the reciprocal exchange of positive affect during free play, can scaffold infants' socioemotional development. However, parental stress may compromise the expression and exchange of positive affect within families. The current study assesses whether parenting stress and hair cortisol are associated with positive affect synchrony during a triadic play interaction. METHOD: Within 70 different-sex dyads consisting of first-time parents and their six-month-old infants who participated in a four-minute laboratory-based free-play task, facial affect of each member of the triad was observationally microcoded at the second-by-second level. Hair samples were collected from mothers and fathers for cortisol assay, and parents completed a self-report measure of parenting stress. RESULTS: Using dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM), we found positive between-level and within-level affect synchrony across all family members, with one exception: infants' affect did not predict fathers' affect at the following timepoint. Mother-to-infant affect synchrony was greater in mothers with higher hair cortisol. Similarly, mothers with higher parenting stress tended to have greater infant-to-mother affect synchrony, and had infants that displayed less overall positive affect across the interaction. CONCLUSION: We found evidence for bidirectional, time-lagged synchrony in the momentary positive affect of mothers, fathers, and infants. Maternal hair cortisol concentration and parenting stress seem to increase affect synchrony between mothers and infants- suggesting that parental stress may correlate with greater affective attunement, but less overall positive affect in infants.

Pigs in heaven: Enhancing the lives of breeding boars.

The recognition of animals as sentient beings has raised societal awareness of the welfare of farmed animals. This has been instrumental in increasing the legislative pressure towards welfare-conscious farming practices and, more lately, greater consumer demand for ethically sourced products. Besides, improved animal welfare is a key driver for enhanced performance, particularly in breeding boars, as welfare conditions strongly influence reproductive outcomes. The stressors associated with confinement impact testicular physiology and semen quality and the efforts to improve the welfare of breeding boars have so far focused on mitigating the negative consequences associated with stressors. The Five Freedoms framework and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)'s 'welfare consequences' approach prioritise the alleviation of suffering. In breeding boars, key welfare negative consequences include movement restriction, isolation stress, inability to engage in exploratory behaviours, locomotory disorders, and prolonged hunger. The negative consequences, which can be mitigated by improved housing and management practices, should be tackled in any commitment to improve the welfare of breeding boars. Animal welfare science, however, has recently shifted towards cultivating positive welfare experiences and a life worth living, beyond just alleviating suffering. The Five Domain Model systematically evaluates animal welfare, considering both negative and positive aspects. Encouraging positive welfare states involves facilitating species-specific behaviours, such as exploration and play, and fostering positive human-animal interactions. In breeding boars, strategies promoting positive welfare include providing enriching environments, encouraging exploration, and cultivating positive interactions with caretakers. Thus, for an overall welfare improvement of breeding boars, not only should the absence of suffering be guaranteed, but also the promotion of positive experiences that make their lifes worth living.

Impact of health science popularization videos on user perceived value and continuous usage intention: based on the C-A-C and ECM model framework.

Objective: To enhance individuals' sustained intention to use health science popularization videos, this study investigated the path relationships and influencing mechanisms of health science popularization video factors on users' perceived value, expectancy confirmation, enjoyment, satisfaction, trust, and continuous usage intention based on the cognitive-affective-conative and expectation-confirmation model theoretical framework. Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected data using self-administered questionnaires. The hypotheses were analyzed using the smart partial least squares (Smart-PLS) structural equation modeling method with a dataset containing 503 valid responses. Subsequently, comprehensive data analysis was conducted. Results: Blogger and video quality factors present in health science popularization videos substantially influenced users' perceived value (p < 0.001). Furthermore, users' expectancy confirmation exerted a positive influence on both users' perceived value (p < 0.001) and satisfaction (p < 0.01). Perceived value, in turn, positively impacted satisfaction (p < 0.001) and pleasure (p < 0.001). User satisfaction (p < 0.001) and pleasure (p < 0.001) directly enhanced trust, which, in turn, significantly and directly impacted continuous usage intention (p < 0.001). Discussion: This study offers both theoretical and practical insights into enhancing the quality of health science popularization videos. From a theoretical perspective, it expands upon the cognitive-affective-conative and expectation-confirmation model theoretical frameworks, enriches the theoretical model, and offers theoretical references for future research in this domain. From a practical perspective, enhancing the overall quality of health science popularization content significantly influences users' perceived value, emotional engagement, and continued usage intention to engage with the content.

Prenatal affective cognitive training to reduce the risk of postpartum depression (PACT): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression (PPD) affects 30-50% of women with a history of previous depression or bipolar disorder and 8% of women with no history of depression. Negative cognitive biases in the perception of infant cues and difficulties with emotion regulation are replicated risk factors. Current interventions focus on detecting and treating rather than preventing PPD. The aim of this randomized controlled intervention trial is therefore to investigate the potential prophylactic effects of prenatal affective cognitive training for pregnant women at heightened risk of PPD. METHODS: The study will enrol a total of 292 pregnant women: 146 at high risk and 146 at low risk of PPD. Participants undergo comprehensive assessments of affective cognitive processing, clinical depressive symptoms, and complete questionnaires at baseline. Based on the responses, pregnant women will be categorized as either at high or low risk of PPD. High-risk participants will be randomized to either prenatal affective cognitive training (PACT) or care as usual (CAU) immediately after the baseline testing. The PACT intervention is based on emerging evidence for efficacy of affective cognitive training approaches in depression, including cognitive bias modification, attention bias modification, mindfulness-inspired emotion regulation exercises, and working memory training. Participants randomised to PACT will complete five individual computerised and virtual reality-based training sessions over 5 weeks. The primary outcome is the difference between intervention arms in the incidence of PPD, assessed with an interview 6 months after birth. We will also assess the severity of depressive symptoms, rated weekly online during the first 6 weeks postpartum. DISCUSSION: The results will have implications for future early prophylactic interventions for pregnant women at heightened risk of PPD. If the PACT intervention reduces the incidence of PPD, it can become a feasible, non-invasive prophylactic strategy during pregnancy, with positive mental health implications for these women and their children. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06046456 registered 21-09-2023, updated 08-07-2024.

Better understanding of c-reactive protein and leukocytes in psychiatric inpatients with affective disorders: A biopsychosocial approach.

BACKGROUND: Affective disorders (AD) have been linked to inflammatory processes, although the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are still not fully elucidated. It is hypothesized that demographic, somatic, lifestyle, and personality variables predict inflammatory parameters in AD. AIM: To identify biopsychosocial factors contributing to inflammation in AD measured with two parameters, C-reactive protein (CRP) and leukocytes. METHODS: This observational study investigated 186 hospital inpatients diagnosed with AD using demographic parameters, serum inflammatory markers, somatic variables, psychological questionnaires, and lifestyle parameters. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to predict inflammatory markers from demographic, somatic, lifestyle, and personality variables. RESULTS: Analyses showed that 33.8% of the variance of CRP was explained by body mass index and other somatic medication (e.g. anti-diabetics), age and education, and age of affective disorder diagnosis. For leukocytes, 20.1% of the variance was explained by smoking, diet, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and anti-inflammatory medication (e.g. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Other psychiatric or behavioural variables did not reach significance. CONCLUSION: Metabolic components seem important, with mounting evidence for a metabolic affective disorder subtype. Lifestyle modifications and psychoeducation should be employed to prevent or treat MetS in AD.

The Effect of Stress on a Personal Identification System Based on Electroencephalographic Signals.

Personal identification systems based on electroencephalographic (EEG) signals have their own strengths and limitations. The stability of EEG signals strongly affects such systems. The human emotional state is one of the important factors that affects EEG signals' stability. Stress is a major emotional state that affects individuals' capability to perform day-to-day tasks. The main objective of this work is to study the effect of mental and emotional stress on such systems. Two experiments have been performed. In the first, we used hand-crafted features (time domain, frequency domain, and non-linear features), followed by a machine learning classifier. In the second, raw EEG signals were used as an input for the deep learning approaches. Different types of mental and emotional stress have been examined using two datasets, SAM 40 and DEAP. The proposed experiments proved that performing enrollment in a relaxed or calm state and identification in a stressed state have a negative effect on the identification system's performance. The best achieved accuracy for the DEAP dataset was 99.67% in the calm state and 96.67% in the stressed state. For the SAM 40 dataset, the best accuracy was 99.67%, 93.33%, 92.5%, and 91.67% for the relaxed state and stress caused by identifying mirror images, the Stroop color-word test, and solving arithmetic operations, respectively.

An efficient, reliable and valid assessment for affective states during online learning.

The current study aims to develop an efficient, reliable and valid assessment, the affective states for online learning scale (ASOLS), for measuring learners' affective states during online learning using a sample of 173 young learners. The assessment consists of 15 items which assess five affective states, including concentration, motivation, perseverance, engagement, and self-initiative. To improve efficiency, five items (one for each affective state) are randomly selected and presented every 30 min during online learning. In addition, 14 among the participants were further invited to perform on-site online learning, and their affective states were validated by observations conducted by two psychologists. The ASOLS was found to be reliable and valid, with high internal consistency reliabilities and good construct, convergent and criterion validity. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the hypothesized five-factor structure demonstrated a satisfactory fit to the data. Moreover, engagement was found to be positively associated with learning performance. Our findings suggest that the ASOLS provides a useful tool for teachers to identify students in upper primary and junior secondary schools with deficits in affective states and offer appropriate remedy or support. It can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at enhancing students' affective states during online learning.

Distinguishing Affective Temperament Profiles in Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder Through the Short Version of TEMPS-A: Cross-Sectional Study Using Latent Profile Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to elucidate the distinct response patterns exhibited by patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) and those with major depressive disorder (MDD) through the application of the short version of the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A-SV). METHODS: A total of 2,458 participants consisting of patients with MDD (n=288), BD (BD I, n=111; BD II, n=427), and control group (n=1,632) completed the TEMPS-A-SV. The response patterns of the participants were classified into distinct profiles using latent profile analysis. The study further examined the impact of covariates such as age, sex, and diagnostic group on derived latent profile memberships. RESULTS: The following three latent profiles were identified: High Affective Temperament Group (17.86%), Low Affective Temperament Group (41.25%), and Middle Affective Temperament Group (40.89%). Compared with the patient group with MDD and BD, the control group was more likely to belong in the Low Affective Temperament Group, which showed a higher score on hyperthymic temperament than the Middle Affective Temperament Group. Furthermore, compared with the patients with BD, the MDD patients were more likely to be in the Low Affective Temperament Group rather than the Middle Affective Temperament Group. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that different affective temperaments exist between patients with MDD and BD. Attempting to classify response patterns using the TEMPS-A-SV can help diagnose MDD and BD correctly.

Masked emotions: does children's affective state influence emotion recognition?

Introduction: Facial emotion recognition abilities of children have been the focus of attention across various fields, with implications for communication, social interaction, and human behavior. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a face mask in public became mandatory in many countries, hindering social information perception and emotion recognition. Given the importance of visual communication for children's social-emotional development, concerns have been raised on whether face masks could impair their ability to recognize emotions and thereby possibly impact their social-emotional development. Methods: To this extent, a quasiexperimental study was designed with a two-fold objective: firstly, to identify children's accuracy in recognizing basic emotions (anger, happiness, fear, disgust, sadness) and emotional neutrality when presented with faces under two conditions: one with no-masks and another with faces partially covered by various types of masks (medical, nonmedical, surgical, or cloth); secondly, to explore any correlation between children's emotion recognition accuracy and their affective state. Sixty-nine (69) elementary school students aged 6-7 years old from Greece were recruited for this purpose. Following specific requirements of the second phase of the experiment students were assigned to one of three (3) distinct affective condition groups: Group A-Happiness, Group B-Sadness, and Group C-Emotional Neutrality. Image stimuli were drawn from the FACES Dataset, and students' affective state was registered using the self-reporting emotions-registration tool, AffectLecture app. Results: The study's findings indicate that children can accurately recognize emotions even with masks, although recognizing disgust is more challenging. Additionally, following both positive and negative affective state priming promoted systematic inaccuracies in emotion recognition. Most significantly, results showed a negative bias for children in negative affective state and a positive bias for those in positive affective state. Discussion: Children's affective state significantly influenced their emotion recognition abilities; sad affective states led to lower recognition overall and a bias toward recognizing sad expressions, while happy affective states resulted in a positive bias, improving recognition of happiness, and affecting how emotional neutrality and sadness were actually perceived. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the intriguing dynamics of how face masks affect children's emotion recognition, but also underlines the profound influence of their affective state.

Involuntary admissions for non-affective psychotic disorders in young refugees and peers in Denmark: A population cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: People with psychotic disorders are at increased risk of experiencing involuntary hospital admissions relative to other psychiatric patients. Within this group, refugees and other minority groups may be at even greater risk. However, little is known about the role of migration background in the risk of involuntary admissions around the time of first psychosis-related treatment. METHOD: We utilized nationwide administrative data from Denmark covering the period 2006-2018. We included all persons aged 18-35 years in first treatment for psychotic disorders [inpatient and hospital-based outpatient settings (N = 11,871)]. We estimated odds ratios (OR) of any involuntary inpatient admission within three months of first treatment using logistic regression, and rate ratios (RR) of further involuntary admissions, total number of involuntary admissions, and days of involuntary care among patients initially admitted involuntarily using Poisson regression. We compared refugees with majority peers (native-born with native-born parent), other migrants, and descendants of non-refugee migrants. RESULTS: Compared with the majority group, refugees, non-refugee migrants and descendants were at increased risk of involuntarily admissions (ORrange = 2.12-2.69). Differences in sex, age, education, household income and family situation did not explain these disparities. In contrast, the risk of subsequent involuntary care did not differ between groups (RRrange = 0.77-1.31). CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the need to review if and why processes of needs detection and voluntary treatment enrolment are less effective for minorities in Denmark. Further studies should investigate the pathways to care across population groups to inform interventions that address disparities.

Examining Psychological Factors in Peripheral Artery Disease: Affective Temperament, Anxiety, and Depression in Patients Undergoing Revascularization Procedures.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients, correlating these symptoms with clinical parameters and examining affective temperaments within the study group. Material and Methods: A total of 159 PAD patients, predominantly male, admitted for vascular surgery due to lower limb atherosclerosis, participated in this cross-sectional study. Various assessments were conducted, including the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) for affective temperaments, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for anxiety and depression symptoms, and the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for pain intensity. Additionally, the Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) was measured to assess circulation in the legs. Results: The findings revealed a higher prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in the PAD patient group compared to the control group. Notably, depressive and anxiety symptoms correlated with the severity of PAD, as indicated by lower ABI values in the operated leg. Patients undergoing surgical revascularizations exhibited higher depressive symptoms than those undergoing endovascular procedures. Furthermore, correlations were observed between depressive symptoms and the number of previous vascular procedures and amputations, alongside increased pain levels at admission. Clinical factors such as diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, previous revascularization procedures, amputations, and the intensity of affective temperaments did not correlate with HADS scores. Discussion: The study highlighted the intricate relationship between mood disorders and PAD severity, emphasizing the potential prognostic implications of untreated depression and anxiety in PAD patients. These findings suggest the importance of closely monitoring and addressing psychological well-being in PAD management. However, the study encountered limitations such as varying assessment timing and sample size discrepancies among comorbidities, impacting the observation of associations between mood disorders and certain conditions. Conclusion: In conclusion, depressive and anxiety symptoms are often in PAD. Further research is needed to explore therapeutic interventions targeting mental health and pain management to improve the course and outcomes of PAD.

Cognitive impairment in young adults following cerebellar stroke: Prevalence and longitudinal course.

INTRODUCTION: Cognitive impairment is a well-known result of a stroke, but for cerebellar stroke in young patients detailed knowledge on the nature and extent of cognitive deficits is limited. This study examined the prevalence and course of cognitive impairment in a large cohort of patients with cerebellar stroke. METHODS: Sixty young (18-49 years) cerebellar stroke patients completed extensive neuropsychological assessments in the subacute (<9 months post-stroke) and/or chronic phase (≥9 months post-stroke). Performance and course were assessed using standardized scores and Reliable Change Index analyses. Associations between cognitive deficits and lesion locations were explored using subtraction analyses, and associations with subjective cognitive complaints and fatigue were examined. RESULTS: Sixty patients (52% male) were included with a mean age at event of 43.1 years. Cognitive impairment was observed in 60.3% of patients in the subacute phase and 51.2% during the chronic phase. Deficits were most frequent for visuo-spatial skills and executive functioning (42.5-54.6%). Both improvement and decline were observed over time, in 17.9% and 41.0% of participants, respectively. Cognitive deficits seem to be associated with lesions in certain cerebellar regions, however, no distinct correlation was found for a specific subregion. Subjective cognitive complaints were present in the majority of participants (61-80.5%) and positively correlated with fatigue in both phases (ρ = -.661 and ρ = -.757, p < .001, respectively). DISCUSSION: Cognitive impairment in cerebellar stroke patients is common, with deficits most pronounced for visuo-spatial skills and executive functioning, as in line with the Cerebellar Cognitive Affective Syndrome. The course of cognitive performance was heterogenous, with cognitive decline despite the fact that no recurrent strokes occurred. No clear association between lesion location and cognitive deficits was observed. Subjective cognitive complaints and fatigue were prevalent and positively correlated. Clinicians could use this information to actively screen for and better inform patients about possible cognitive sequalae.

Loneliness as a moderator of the association of affective symptoms and binge eating among college women.

Affective symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, shame) are a potent risk factor for binge eating. However, less is known on the role of loneliness as a moderator of affective symptoms and binge eating. This objective of the current study was to investigate main effects and interactions of affective symptoms and loneliness in relation to binge eating in college women. A sample of 556 undergraduate women completed self-report questionnaires of affective symptoms, loneliness, and binge eating. Results revealed significant interactions between each affective symptom variable and loneliness in relation to binge eating, such that loneliness strengthened the positive association of affective symptoms and greater binge eating. The findings of this study demonstrate an important role of loneliness to binge eating among college women, especially those with underlying affective vulnerabilities. More theoretical and treatment-oriented work on the role of loneliness in binge eating is needed to understand mechanisms and interventions/preventions.

Emotional contextual effects of face perception: a test of the affective realism hypothesis.

Affective feelings naturally infuse individuals' perceptions, serving as valid windows onto the real world. The affective realism hypothesis further explains how these feelings work: as properties of individuals' perceptual experiences, these feelings influence perception. Notably, this hypothesis based on affective feelings with different valences has been substantiated, whereas the existing evidence is not compelling enough. Moreover, whether specific affective feelings can be experienced as properties of target perception remains unclear. Addressing these two issues deepens our understanding of the nature of emotional representation. Hence, we investigated the affective realism hypothesis based on affective feelings with different valences and specific emotions, comparing it with the affective misattribution hypothesis. In Experiment 1, we examined the effects of affective feelings with various valences on targets' perception through the AM (1a) and CFS paradigms (1b). In Experiment 2, we investigated the effects of affective feelings with anger, sadness, and disgust using similar methods. Results from Experiments 1a and 1b consistently indicated significant differences in valence ratings of neutral faces under emotional contexts with varying valences. Experiment 2a revealed significant differences in specific emotion ratings of neutral faces under different specific emotional contexts in the AM paradigm, whereas such differences were not observed in the CFS paradigm in Experiment 2b. We concluded that affective feelings with different valences, rather than specific emotions, can be experienced as inherent properties of target perception, validating the affective realism hypothesis. These findings supported the view that the nature of emotional representation should be described as affective dimensions.