Impaired cognitive self-awareness mediates the association between alexithymia and excitation/inhibition balance in the pgACC.

BACKGROUND: Previous research showed that automatic emotion regulation is associated with activation of subcortical areas and subsequent feedforward processes to cortical areas. In contrast, cognitive awareness of emotions is mediated by negative feedback from cortical to subcortical areas. Pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) is essential in the modulation of both affect and alexithymia. We considered the interplay between these two mechanisms in the pgACC and their relationship with alexithymia. METHOD: In 68 healthy participants (30 women, age = 26.15 ± 4.22) we tested associations of emotion processing and alexithymia with excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance represented as glutamate (Glu)/GABA in the pgACC measured via magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 7 T. RESULTS: Alexithymia was positively correlated with the Glu/GABA ratio (N = 41, p = 0.0393). Further, cognitive self-awareness showed an association with Glu/GABA (N = 52, p = 0.003), which was driven by a correlation with GABA. In contrast, emotion regulation was only correlated with glutamate levels in the pgACC (N = 49, p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Our results corroborate the importance of the pgACC as a mediating region of alexithymia, reflected in an altered E/I balance. Furthermore, we could specify that this altered balance is linked to a GABA-related modulation of cognitive self-awareness of emotions.

Recurrent diabetic ketoacidosis and a brief history of brittle diabetes research: contemporary and past evidence in diabetic ketoacidosis research including mortality, mental health and prevention.

Pharmacological, technological and educational approaches have advanced the treatment of Type 1 diabetes in the last four decades and yet diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) continues to be a leading cause of admission in Type 1 diabetes. This article begins by reviewing the contemporary epidemiological evidence in DKA. It highlights a rise in DKA episodes in the last two decades, with DKA continuing to be the leading cause of death in young people with Type 1 diabetes, and that DKA episodes are a marker for subsequent all-cause mortality. It also summarizes the limited evidence base for DKA prevention and associations with psychopathology. To emphasize the importance of this group with high-risk Type 1 diabetes and the degree to which they have been overlooked in the past two decades, the article summarizes the research literature of recurrent DKA during 1976-1991 when it was extensively investigated as part of the phenomenon of 'brittle diabetes'. This period saw numerous basic science studies investigating the pathophysiology of recurrent DKA. Subsequently, research centres published their experiences of brittle diabetes research participants manipulating their treatment under research conditions. Unfortunately, the driver for this behaviour and whether it was indicative of other people with ketoacidosis was not pursued. In summary, we suggest there has been a stasis in the approach to recurrent DKA prevention, which is likely linked to historical cases of mass sabotage of brittle diabetes research. Further investigation is required to clarify possible psychological characteristics that increase the risk of DKA and thereby targets for DKA prevention.

Psychosocial intervention in at-risk adolescents: using event-related potentials to assess changes in decision making and feedback processing.

Decision making and feedback processing are two important cognitive processes that are impacted by social context, particularly during adolescence. The current study examined whether a psychosocial intervention could improve psychological wellbeing in at-risk adolescent boys, thereby improving their decision making and feedback processing skills. Two groups of at-risk adolescents were compared: those who were relatively new to a psychosocial intervention, and those who had engaged over a longer time period. Electroencephalography was recorded while the young people participated in a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm. The late positive potential (LPP) was measured during the decision phase of the task (where participants selected punishments for their opponents). The feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P3 components were measured during the task's outcome phase (where participants received 'win' or 'lose' feedback). Adolescents who were new to the intervention (the minimal-intervention group) were harsher in their punishment selections than those who had been engaged in the program for much longer. The minimal-intervention group also showed an enhanced LPP during the decision phase of the task, which may be indicative of immature decision making in that group. Analysis of the FRN and P3 amplitudes revealed that the minimal-intervention group was physiologically hypo-sensitive to feedback, compared with the extended-intervention group. Overall, these findings suggest that long-term community-based psychosocial intervention programs are beneficial for at-risk adolescents, and that event-related potentials can be employed as biomarkers of therapeutic change. However, because participants were not randomly allocated to treatment groups, alternative explanations cannot be excluded until further randomized controlled trials are undertaken.

Functional connectivity changes following interpersonal reactivity.

Attachment experiences substantially influence emotional and cognitive development. Narratives comprising attachment-dependent content were proposed to modulate activation of cognitive-emotional schemata in listeners. We studied the effects after listening to prototypical attachment narratives on wellbeing and countertransference-reactions in 149 healthy participants. Neural correlates of these cognitive-emotional schema activations were investigated in a 7 Tesla rest-task-rest fMRI-study (23 healthy males) using functional connectivity (FC) analysis of the social approach network (seed regions: left and right Caudate Nucleus, CN). Reduced FC between left CN and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) represented a general effect of prior auditory stimulation. After presentation of the insecure-dismissing narrative, FC between left CN and bilateral temporo-parietal junction, and right dorsal posterior Cingulum was reduced, compared to baseline. Post-narrative FC-patterns of insecure-dismissing and insecure-preoccupied narratives differed in strength between left CN and right DLPFC. Neural correlates of the moderating effect of individual attachment anxiety were represented in a reduced CN-DLPFC FC as a function of individual neediness-levels. These findings suggest specific neural processing of prolonged mood-changes and schema activation induced by attachment-specific speech patterns. Individual desire for interpersonal proximity was predicted by attachment anxiety and furthermore modulated FC of the social approach network in those exposed to such narratives.

Adolescent friendships predict later resilient functioning across psychosocial domains in a healthy community cohort.

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a key time period for the emergence of psychosocial and mental health difficulties. To promote adolescent adaptive ('resilient') psychosocial functioning (PSF), appropriate conceptualisation and quantification of such functioning and its predictors is a crucial first step. Here, we quantify resilient functioning as the degree to which an individual functions better or worse than expected given their self-reported childhood family experiences, and relate this to adolescent family and friendship support. METHOD: We used Principal Component and regression analyses to investigate the relationship between childhood family experiences and PSF (psychiatric symptomatology, personality traits and mental wellbeing) in healthy adolescents (the Neuroscience in Psychiatry Network; N = 2389; ages 14-24). Residuals from the relation between childhood family experiences and PSF reflect resilient functioning; the degree to which an individual is functioning better, or worse, than expected given their childhood family experiences. Next, we relate family and friendship support with resilient functioning both cross-sectionally and 1 year later. RESULTS: Friendship and family support were positive predictors of immediate resilient PSF, with friendship support being the strongest predictor. However, whereas friendship support was a significant positive predictor of later resilient functioning, family support had a negative relationship with later resilient PSF. CONCLUSIONS: We show that friendship support, but not family support, is an important positive predictor of both immediate and later resilient PSF in adolescence and early adulthood. Interventions that promote the skills needed to acquire and sustain adolescent friendships may be crucial in increasing adolescent resilient PSF.

When is Sessional Monitoring More Likely in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services?

Sessional monitoring of patient progress or experience of therapy is an evidence-based intervention recommended by healthcare systems internationally. It is being rolled out across child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in England to inform clinical practice and service evaluation. We explored whether patient demographic and case characteristics were associated with the likelihood of using sessional monitoring. Multilevel regressions were conducted on N = 2609 youths from a routinely collected dataset from 10 CAMHS. Girls (odds ratio, OR 1.26), older youths (OR 1.10), White youths (OR 1.35), and youths presenting with mood (OR 1.46) or anxiety problems (OR 1.59) were more likely to have sessional monitoring. In contrast, youths under state care (OR 0.20) or in need of social service input (OR 0.39) were less likely to have sessional monitoring. Findings of the present research may suggest that sessional monitoring is more likely with common problems such as mood and anxiety problems but less likely with more complex cases, such as those involving youths under state care or those in need of social service input.

University students' use of mental health services: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: International estimates suggest around a third of students arrives at university with symptoms indicative of a common mental disorder, many in late adolescence at a developmentally high-risk period for the emergence of mental disorder. Universities, as settings, represent an opportunity to contribute to the improvement of population mental health. We sought to understand what is known about the management of student mental health, and asked: (1) What proportion of students use mental health services when experiencing psychological distress? (2) Does use by students differ across health service types? METHODS: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines using a Context, Condition, Population framework (CoCoPop) with a protocol preregistered on Prospero (CRD42021238273). Electronic database searches in Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC and CINAHL Plus, key authors were contacted, citation searches were conducted, and the reference list of the WHO World Mental Health International College Student Initiative (WMH-ICS) was searched. Data extraction was performed using a pre-defined framework, and quality appraisal using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool. Data were synthesised narratively and meta-analyses at both the study and estimate level. RESULTS: 7789 records were identified through the search strategies, with a total of 44 studies meeting inclusion criteria. The majority of included studies from the USA (n = 36), with remaining studies from Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia and Italy. Overall, studies contained 123 estimates of mental health service use associated with a heterogeneous range of services, taking highly variable numbers of students across a variety of settings. DISCUSSION: This is the first systematic quantitative survey of student mental health service use. The empirical literature to date is very limited in terms of a small number of international studies outside of the USA; studies of how services link together, and of student access. The significant variation we found in the proportions of students using services within and between studies across different settings and populations suggests the current services described in the literature are not meeting the needs of all students.

Implementing peer support in higher education: A feasibility study.

Background: When experiencing mental distress, many university students seek support from their peers. In schools and mental health services, formalised peer support interventions have demonstrated some success but implementation challenges have been reported. This study aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability and safety of a novel manualized peer support intervention and associated data collection processes. Methods: A longitudinal mixed methods study was conducted following the pilot of a peer support intervention at a large London university between June 2021 and May 2022. The study utilised data routinely recorded on all students who booked a peer support session, focus groups with nine peer workers and five staff members implementing the intervention, pre-post intervention surveys with 13 students and qualitative interviews with 10 of those students. Results: 169 bookings were made during the pilot, of which 130 (77%) were attended, with November the peak month. Staff and peer workers described strong motivation and commitment to implement the intervention, noting that the peer support model and peer worker role addressed previously unmet needs at the university. However, students described implementation problems relating to the coherence of the intervention and the burden of participation. While students mostly described acceptable experiences, there were examples where acceptability was lower. No adverse events were reported during the pilot. Conclusion: The training and supervision of peer workers, and the provision of one-to-one peer support to students was found to be feasible, mostly acceptable, and safe. However, sustained implementation difficulties were observed. These pose challenges to the scalability of peer support in universities. We make recommendations to improve implementation of peer support including improving reach, greater clarity about the intervention, and fuller involvement of students throughout.

Impaired mentalizing in depression and the effects of borderline personality disorder on this relationship.

BACKGROUND: Mentalizing, the ability to understand the self and others as well as behaviour in terms of intentional mental states, is impaired in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Evidence for mentalizing deficits in other mental disorders, such as depression, is less robust and these links have never been explored while accounting for the effects of BPD on mentalizing. Additionally, it is unknown whether BPD symptoms might moderate any relationship between depressive symptoms and mentalizing. METHODS: Using multivariate regression modelling on cross-sectional data obtained from a sample of 274 participants recruited from clinical settings, we investigated the association between mentalizing impairment and depression and examined whether this was moderated by the presence and number of concurrent BPD symptoms, while adjusting for socio-demographic confounders. RESULTS: Impaired mentalizing was associated with depressive symptoms, after adjustment for socio-demographic confounders and BPD symptoms (p = 0.002, ß = - 0.18). BPD symptoms significantly moderated the association between impaired mentalizing and depressive symptoms (p = 0.003), with more severe borderline symptoms associated with a stronger effect of poor mentalization on increased depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Mentalizing impairments occur in depression even after adjusting for the effect of BPD symptoms. Our findings help further characterise mentalizing impairments in depression, as well as the moderating effect of BPD symptoms on this association.. Further longitudinal work is required to investigate the direction of association.

Engagement and retention in specialist services for people with personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify levels of engagement and retention in specialist services for people with personality disorder (PD). METHOD: Demographic and clinical data were collected on referrals to 10 specialist services for people with PD. Follow-up data on retention and drop-out from services were collected over the following 30 months. RESULTS: Seven hundred and thirteen (60.1%) of 1186 people referred to services were taken by them, of whom 164 (23.0%) subsequently dropped out prior to the completion of an episode of care. Men, younger people and those with higher levels of personality disturbance were less likely to complete a package of care. CONCLUSION: Specialist community-based services for adults with PD are able to engage most of those that are referred to them, but further efforts need to be made to find ways to engage younger people and men with PD.

Mentalizing impairment as a mediator between reported childhood abuse and outcome in nonaffective psychotic disorder.

Reported childhood abuse has been linked to the severity of clinical symptoms and social dysfunction in non-affective psychotic disorder. Impaired mentalizing ability may be one of the mechanisms accounting for this effect. This study examined whether impaired mentalizing mediates the effect of reported childhood abuse on positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and social dysfunction. Eighty-seven patients with non-affective psychotic disorder were examined. Reported childhood abuse was measured using the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse interview. Additionally, the Social Functioning Scale and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale were used. The Hinting Task was used to measure mentalizing impairment. Reported childhood abuse was significantly related to the severity of positive and negative symptoms, not to social dysfunction. Reported childhood abuse was also related to mentalizing impairment. Mentalizing impairment was related to negative symptoms, but not to positive symptoms or social dysfunction. Mentalizing impairment accounted for 40% of the association between reported childhood abuse and negative symptoms, indicating partial mediation. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the mediating effect was only observed in those who reported fairly severe childhood abuse.

Fact or fiction? A longitudinal study of play and the development of reflective functioning.

In Fonagy and Target's (1996, 2000) developmental model of mentalization, play is theorized as a precursor of later mentalization and reflective function (RF); however, the relationship between play and later mentalization and RF has yet to be empirically tested. These processes are particularly important in the context of trauma, but an empirical model of the relationships among mentalization, play, and trauma is currently lacking. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine whether children's capacity to engage in pretend play, to symbolize, and to make play narratives was associated with later RF in those children. Thirty-nine sexually abused children and 21 nonabused children (aged 3 to 8) participated in the study. The Children's Play Therapy Instrument was used to assess children's free play. Three years after the play assessment, children's RF was assessed using the Child Attachment Interview, coded with the Child and Adolescent Reflective Functioning Scale. Pretend play completion was associated with later other-understanding. Play was also found to mediate the relationship between sexual abuse and children's later mentalization regarding others. These findings are consistent with Fonagy and Target's emphasis on the role of pretend play in the development of a nuanced sense of the qualities of the mind and reality. In sum, the findings lend support to Fonagy and Target's account of playing with reality, and the development of mentalization suggests that it may be more than "fiction." Furthermore, these results suggest that children's ability to create meaningful and coherent play sequences after sexual abuse is associated with the development of a better understanding of their relationships with others. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Treatment of borderline personality disorder with psychoanalytically oriented partial hospitalization: an 18-month follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether the substantial gains made by patients with borderline personality disorder following completion of a psychoanalytically oriented partial hospitalization program, in comparison to patients treated with standard psychiatric care, were maintained over an 18-month follow-up period. METHOD: Forty-four patients who participated in the original study were assessed every 3 months after completion of the treatment phase. Outcome measures included frequency of suicide attempts and acts of self-harm, number and duration of inpatient admissions, service utilization, and self-reported measures of depression, anxiety, general symptom distress, interpersonal functioning, and social adjustment. RESULTS: Patients who completed the partial hospitalization program not only maintained their substantial gains but also showed a statistically significant continued improvement on most measures in contrast to the patients treated with standard psychiatric care, who showed only limited change during the same period. CONCLUSIONS: The superiority of psychoanalytically oriented partial hospitalization over standard psychiatric treatment found in a previous randomized, controlled trial was maintained over an 18-month follow-up period. Continued improvement in social and interpersonal functioning suggests that longer-term changes were stimulated.

Effectiveness of partial hospitalization in the treatment of borderline personality disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the effectiveness of psychoanalytically oriented partial hospitalization with standard psychiatric care for patients with borderline personality disorder. METHOD: Thirty-eight patients with borderline personality disorder, diagnosed according to standardized criteria, were allocated either to a partially hospitalized group or to a standard psychiatric care (control) group in a randomized controlled design. Treatment, which included individual and group psychoanalytic psychotherapy, was for a maximum of 18 months. Outcome measures included the frequency of suicide attempts and acts of self-harm, the number and duration of inpatient admissions, the use of psychotropic medication, and self-report measures of depression, anxiety, general symptom distress, interpersonal function, and social adjustment. Data analysis used repeated measures analysis of covariance and nonparametric tests of trend. RESULTS: Patients who were partially hospitalized showed a statistically significant decrease on all measures in contrast to the control group, which showed limited change or deterioration over the same period. An improvement in depressive symptoms, a decrease in suicidal and self-mutilatory acts, reduced inpatient days, and better social and interpersonal function began at 6 months and continued until the end of treatment at 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: Psychoanalytically oriented partial hospitalization is superior to standard psychiatric care for patients with borderline personality disorder. Replication is needed with larger groups, but these results suggest that partial hospitalization may offer an alternative to inpatient treatment.

Creating a peaceful school learning environment: a controlled study of an elementary school intervention to reduce violence.

OBJECTIVE: The impact of a manual-based antiviolence program on the learning climate in an elementary school over 4 years was compared with the outcome in a control school. METHOD: The two schools were matched for demographic characteristics. The intervention in the experimental school was based on zero tolerance for bullying; the control school received only regular psychiatric consultation. Disciplinary and academic achievement data were collected in both schools. RESULTS: The experimental school showed significant reductions in discipline referrals and increases in scores on standardized academic achievement measures. CONCLUSIONS: A low-cost antiviolence intervention that does not focus on individual pathology or interfere with the educational process may improve the learning environment in elementary schools.

The effects of the benzodiazepine antagonist Ro 15-1788 on psychophysiological performance and subjective measures in normal subjects.

Ro 15-1788 is an imidazodiazepine which was initially described as a pure benzodiazepine antagonist lacking in intrinsic actions. Although recent animal work has shown the drug to have differing intrinsic actions depending on the dose, the majority of studies on human subjects conclude that it is a pure antagonist of benzodiazepines. Two oral doses of Ro 15-1788 (30 mg and 100 mg) were compared with 5 mg diazepam and placebo in their intrinsic effects on a range of psychophysiological, performance and subjective measures in 12 healthy adult subjects. At both these doses Ro 15-1788 showed a mixture of agonist (benzodiazepine-like) effects and other non-benzodiazepine-like effects on the variables measured. Although there was no clear-cut dose-response relationship, the results suggested a predominance of benzodiazepine-like effects at the higher dose on physiological measures whilst the lower dose was observed to have greater effects on a number of behavioural and subjective dimensions. The subjective changes were the opposite of those normally found for benzodiazepines.

The efficacy of psychoanalysis for children: prediction of outcome in a developmental context.

OBJECTIVE: This is the third report from a chart review of 763 cases of child psychoanalysis and psychotherapy at the Anna Freud Centre. This paper examines the way in which the age of a child or adolescent at the time of treatment in psychoanalytic psychotherapy relates to the outcome of that treatment. METHOD: One hundred twenty-seven children were selected from each of three age bands (younger than 6 years, 6 to 12 years, and adolescents); they were matched on broad diagnostic grouping, gender, socioeconomic status, global adaptation (Children's Global Assessment Scale), and frequency of sessions. Outcome was indicated by diagnostic change and clinically significant change in adaptation. RESULTS: Younger children were more likely to show significant improvement. Children younger than 12 benefited from intensive (four or five times weekly) treatment more than from nonintensive (one or two times weekly) treatment; this was not true of adolescents. There were interactions between certain diagnostic categories, age, and outcome. Predictors of good and poor outcome were different for the three age groups, further highlighting the importance of a developmental perspective. CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of a retrospective design, this study suggests that in psychodynamic treatment, younger age is an advantage and developmental factors considerably affect the outcome of this form of therapy.

Efficacy of psychoanalysis for children with emotional disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This is the second report from a chart review of 763 cases of child psychoanalysis and psychotherapy at the Anna Freud Centre. METHOD: Three hundred fifty-two children and adolescents were identified who met DSM-III-R criteria for emotional disorders or who had sleep or somatoform symptoms with marked emotional disturbance. Two hundred fifty-four were treated in full psychoanalysis, the remainder one to three times per week, for an average of 2 years. Outcome was indicated by diagnostic change and by change in overall adaptation, measured by the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). RESULTS: Of those treated for at least 6 months, 72% showed reliable improvement in adaptation, 24% still had some diagnosis at termination, and 15% still had an emotional disorder. Simple phobias were most likely to remit, and depressed children were least likely to return to normal CGAS levels. Children younger than 11 years were considerably more likely to be well at the end of treatment. Intensive treatment generally led to greater improvements, independently of age and treatment length. Certain disorders, and more severe pathology, required intensive treatment; 50% of severe cases showed no improvement in psychotherapy. Thirty-one percent of variance in CGAS change could be predicted, and greater than 50% when diagnostic groupings were examined separately. CONCLUSION: Despite methodological limitations, the study identifies predictors of improvement (e.g., younger age, phobic symptoms, intensity and length of treatment) and shows that severe or pervasive pathology requires intensive analytic help.

The efficacy of psychoanalysis for children with disruptive disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This paper describes a chart review of 763 cases of child psychoanalysis and psychotherapy at the Anna Freud Centre, and illustrates its usefulness by examining predictors of treatment outcome in children with disruptive disorders. METHOD: 135 children and adolescents with a principal diagnosis of disruptive disorder were individually matched with others suffering from emotional disorders. Outcome was indicated by diagnostic change and change in overall adaptation (clinically significant improvement or return to normal functioning). RESULTS: Improvement rates were significantly higher for the emotional than for the disruptive group. Within the disruptive group, significant improvement was more frequent among children with oppositional defiant disorder (56%) than those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (36%) or conduct disorder (23%). However, 31% of the children terminated treatment within 1 year. Of those disruptive children who remained in treatment more than 1 year, 69% were no longer diagnosable on termination. Fifty-eight percent of the variance in outcome ratings could be accounted for within this group. The crucial variables in predicting attrition and symptomatic improvement were found to be quite different in the disruptive and emotional groups. CONCLUSION: Although the study has several methodological limitations, it does suggest demographic, clinical, and diagnostic characteristics of those disruptive children most likely to benefit from intensive and nonintensive psychodynamic treatment.

A controlled study of psychoanalytic treatment of brittle diabetes.

The study compared two equivalent groups of 11 diabetic children with grossly abnormal blood glucose profiles necessitating repeated admissions to a hospital. Patients in the treatment group were offered an intensive inpatient treatment program including psychoanalytic psychotherapy three to four times a week, which took place on the hospital ward and lasted an average of 15 weeks. The intervention was highly effective in improving the diabetic control of the children, and this was maintained at a 1 year follow-up. Patients in the comparison group, who were offered only inpatient medical intervention, returned to their prehospitalization level of metabolic control within a period of 3 months from discharge.