Identifying the nature of episodic memory deficits in Major Depressive Disorder using a Real-World What-Where-When task.

ABSTRACTDeficits in episodic memory have been reported in various psychiatric conditions, including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Many widely used episodic memory tests do not have the ability to distinguish between impaired memory of separate components of a real-life event (e.g., what happened, where it happened and when), and impaired binding of such real-life features. To address this issue, a naturalistic, real-world What-Where-When memory task was employed to assess the nature of episodic memory impairments in MDD. A validation study established that the task is sensitive to age-related episodic memory changes, and that intentional encoding does not invalidate the task. The main study then compared the performance of patients with depression and control participants on the intentionally encoded WWW task. Patients with MDD presented an overall episodic memory impairment arising from deficits in object memory and the ability to bind objects to temporal context. Taken together, our study confirms the episodic memory impairment in MDD, by providing evidence of deficient object memory and reduced ability to bind temporal context to objects in patients. Our naturalistic WWW task presents a promising approach for thorough identification of the nature of episodic memory impairments, under a real-world environment, in various conditions, including MDD.

Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program: Addressing Mental Health in Pediatric Trauma Centers.

OBJECTIVE: Approximately 225,000 children sustain injuries requiring hospitalization annually. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are prevalent among pediatric patients and caregivers post-injury. Most U.S. trauma centers do not address patients' mental health needs. Better models of care are needed to address emotional recovery. This article describes the engagement and recovery trajectories of pediatric patients enrolled in the Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program (TRRP), a stepped-care model to accelerate emotional recovery following hospitalization. METHODS: TRRP is designed to (a) provide in-hospital education about post-injury emotional recovery and assess child and caregiver distress; (b) track mental health symptoms via a 30-day text-messaging program; (c) complete 30-day PTSD and depression phone screens; and (d) provide evidence-based treatment via telehealth or in-person services or referrals, if needed. All 154 families approached were offered TRRP services, 96% of whom agreed to enroll in TRRP. Most patients were boys (59.8%), and average age was 9.12 years [standard deviation (SD) = 5.42]. Most injuries (45.8%) were sustained from motor vehicle accidents. RESULTS: In hospital, 68.5% of caregivers and 78.3% of children reported clinically significant distress levels. Over 60% of families enrolled in the texting service. TRRP re-engaged 40.1% of families for the 30-day screen, 35.5% of whom reported clinically significant PTSD (M = 13.90, SD = 11.42) and/or depression (M = 13.35, SD = 11.16). Most (76%) patients with clinically significant symptomology agreed to treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our intervention model was feasible and increased reach to families who needed services. Efforts to improve follow-up engagement are discussed, as are initial successes in implementing this model in other pediatric trauma centers.

Usability Testing of a Mobile Health Intervention to Address Acute Care Needs after Sexual Assault.

Sexual assault is associated with a range of poor mental health outcomes. To enhance access to care by this population, technology-based mental health interventions have been implemented in the emergency room; however, more accessible and easily disseminated interventions are needed. The aim of the present study was to test the usability of a mobile health intervention targeting alcohol and drug misuse, suicide prevention, posttraumatic stress symptoms, coping skills, and referral to formal assistance for individuals who have experienced sexual assault. Feedback on the usability of the intervention was collected from individuals who received a sexual assault medical forensic examination (n = 13), and feedback on the usability and likelihood of recommending the application was collected from community providers (n = 25). Thematic analysis was used to describe qualitative data. Content themes related to aesthetics, usability, barriers to resources, and likes/dislikes about the intervention arose from interviews following the intervention. Participants found the intervention to be user friendly and endorsed more likes than dislikes. Providers rated the intervention as being helpful and would recommend it to survivors of sexual assault. Findings suggest that the intervention is usable and fit for future effectiveness testing, filling an important gap in treatment for individuals who experience sexual assault.

Non-pulmonary vein mediated atrial fibrillation: A novel sub-phenotype.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a mechanistically heterogeneous disorder, and the ability to identify sub-phenotypes ("endophenotypes") of AF would assist in the delivery of personalized medicine. We used the clinical response to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) to identify a sub-group of patients with non-PV mediated AF and sought to define the clinical associations. METHODS: Subjects enrolled in the Vanderbilt AF Ablation Registry who underwent a repeat AF ablation due to arrhythmia recurrence were analyzed on the basis of PV reconnection. Subjects who had no PV reconnection were defined as "non-PV mediated AF". A comparison group of subjects were identified who had AF that was treated with PVI-only and experienced no arrhythmia recurrence >12 months. They were considered a group enriched for "PV-mediated AF". Univariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate clinical associations between the PV and non-PV mediated AF groups. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty nine subjects underwent repeat AF ablation and thirty three (14%) had no PV reconnection. They were compared with 91 subjects identified as having PV-mediated AF. Subjects with non-PV mediated AF were older (64 years [IQR 60,71] vs. 60 [52,67], P = 0.01), more likely to have non-paroxysmal AF (82% [N = 27] vs. 35% [N = 32], P<0.001), and had a larger left atrium (LA) (4.2cm [3.6,4.8] vs. 4.0 [3.3,4.4], P = 0.04). In univariate analysis, age (per decade: OR 1.56 [95% CI: 1.04 to 2.33], P = 0.03), LA size (per cm: OR 1.8 [1.06 to 3.21], P = 0.03) and non-paroxysmal AF (OR 8.3 [3.10 to 22.19], P<0.001) were all significantly associated with non-PV mediated AF. However, in multivariable analysis only non-paroxysmal AF was independently associated with non-PV mediated AF (OR 7.47 [95% CI 2.62 to 21.29], P<0.001), when adjusted for age (per decade: OR 1.25 [0.81 to 1.94], P = 0.31), male gender (OR 0.48 [0.18 to 1.28], P = 0.14), and LA size (per 1cm: 1.24 [0.65 to 2.33], P = 0.52). CONCLUSIONS: Non-paroxysmal AF was the only clinical variable found to be independently associated with non-PV mediated AF. We demonstrated that analysis of AF ablation outcomes data can serve as a tool to successfully identify a sub-phenotype of subjects who have non-PV mediated AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID # NCT02404415.