Exploring the impact of antenatal micronutrients used as a treatment for maternal depression on infant temperament in the first year of life.

Antenatal depression and maternal nutrition can influence infant temperament. Although broad-spectrum-micronutrients (BSM: vitamins and minerals) given above Recommended Dietary Allowances during pregnancy can mitigate symptoms of antenatal depression, their associated effects on infant temperament are unknown. One hundred and fourteen New Zealand mother-infant dyads (45 infants exposed to BSM during pregnancy (range of exposure during pregnancy: 12-182 days) to treat antenatal depressive symptoms (measured by Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) and 69 non-exposed infants) were followed antenatally and for 12 months postpartum to determine the influence of in utero BSM exposure on infant temperament. The Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised: Very Short-Form assessed temperament at 4 (T1), 6 (T2) and 12 (T3) months postpartum via online questionnaire. Latent growth curve modeling showed BSM exposure, antenatal depression and infant sex did not statistically significantly predict initial levels or longitudinal changes in orienting/regulatory capacity (ORC), positive affectivity/surgency (PAS) or negative affectivity (NEG). Higher gestational age was positively associated with initial PAS, and smaller increases between T1 and T3. Breastfeeding occurrence was positively associated with initial NEG. Although not significant, BSM exposure exerted small, positive effects on initial NEG (ß = -0.116) and longitudinal changes in ORC (ß = 0.266) and NEG (ß = -0.235). While BSM exposure did not significantly predict infant temperament, it may mitigate risks associated with antenatal depression. BSM-exposed infants displayed temperamental characteristics on par with typical pregnancies, supporting the safety of BSM treatment for antenatal depression.

Effect of antenatal micronutrient or antidepressant exposure on Brazelton neonatal behavioral assessment scale (NBAS) performance within one-month of birth.

BACKGROUND: Antenatal depression is a risk factor for poor infant outcomes. Broad-spectrum-micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) have shown efficacy in treating psychiatric symptoms in non-pregnant populations and are associated with reduced incidence of adverse birth outcomes, and improvements in neonatal development. We investigated the effects of treatment of antenatal depression with micronutrients above the Recommended Dietary Allowance on infant development compared to treatment with antidepressant medications and controls. METHOD: One-hundred-and-three infants were assessed using the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) within 28 days of birth: 37 exposed to micronutrients in-utero (50-182 days exposure), 18 to antidepressants in-utero (exposure for full gestation), and 48 controls whose mothers received neither treatment nor experienced depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Controlling for gestational age and parity, there were significant group differences on habituation, orientation, motor, state regulation, autonomic stability and reflexes (p < .05). Micronutrient-exposed performed better than antidepressant-exposed and controls on habituation, motor and autonomic stability (p < .05), effect sizes ranged 1.0-1.7 and 0.5-1.0, respectively. Antidepressant-exposed performed significantly worse on orientation and reflexes compared to micronutrient-exposed and controls. Micronutrient-exposed had significantly better state regulation compared to antidepressant-exposed. There was an association between micronutrient exposure length and better habituation (r = 0.41, p = .028). Micronutrient exposure was generally identified as a stronger predictor of neonatal performance over maternal depression, social adversity, gestational age and infant sex. CONCLUSION: In-utero micronutrient exposure appears to mitigate risks of depression on infant outcomes showing positive effects on infant behavior, on par with or better than typical pregnancies and superior to antidepressants. Limitations include differential exposure to micronutrients/antidepressants and lack of group blinding.

A systematic review of trial registration and selective outcome reporting in psychotherapy randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: Selective outcome reporting poses serious implications on our evidence base for best practice. The extent to which selective outcome reporting and trial registration occurs in the wider psychotherapy literature needs to be investigated. METHOD: Randomized controlled psychotherapy trials published between 2010 and 2014 were selected from the five highest impact factor journals in clinical psychology that publish clinical trials. Data on primary and secondary outcomes, funding, and participant numbers were extracted from the article and registry and compared. RESULTS: From 112 trials, 67 (59.8%) were registered, 27 (24.1%) were prospectively registered, and only 13 (11.6%) were correctly registered and reported. Seven of these 13 trials showed evidence of selective outcome reporting, of which four had discrepancies favoring significant outcomes. One of the remaining six trials changed their primary outcomes during participant enrollment. Overall, only five (4.5%) trials were free from selective outcome reporting. Three of these five trials had more than a 10% change between planned and achieved sample size. Funding was not associated with correct registration or reporting. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of psychotherapy randomized controlled trials correctly registered and transparently reported is poor. Psychologists should consider the impact these results have on public confidence in reported outcomes.

Distinctive amygdala kindled seizures differentially affect neurobehavioral recovery and lesion-induced basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) expression.

The differing effects of partial seizures on neurobehavioral recovery following anteromedial cortex (AMC) injury in rats have previously been reported. Specifically, convulsive Stage 1 seizures evoked ipsilateral to the lesion during the 6-day post-lesion critical period delayed recovery, while non-convulsive Stage 0 seizures were neutral. The present study was designed to elaborate on that research by examining several potential mechanisms for the seizure-associated difference observed in functional outcome. Anesthetized rats sustained unilateral AMC lesions followed by implantation of a stimulating electrode in the amygdala ipsilateral (Expt. 1) or contralateral (Expt. 2) to the lesion. Beginning 48 h after surgery, animals were kindled to evoke Stage 0 or Stage 1 seizure activity during the critical period. Kindling trials and afterdischarge (AD) were controlled to ascertain their role in functional outcome. Recovery from somatosensory deficits was assessed over a two-month period. The results revealed that (i) Stage 0 seizures did not impact recovery regardless of whether initiated ipsilateral or contralateral to the lesion, (ii) Stage 1 seizures prevented recovery only when initiated in the ipsilateral hemisphere during the post-lesion critical period, and (iii) the detrimental effect of Stage 1 seizures appears to be independent of the number of kindling trials provided and cumulative AD. Thus, to determine why Stage 1 seizures evoked in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the lesion impeded recovery, a separate group of animals (Expt. 3) were kindled accordingly and processed for c-Fos and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) immunohistochemistry. It was hypothesized that Stage 1 seizures evoked in the injured hemisphere prevent recovery by blocking lesion-induced bFGF expression in structures shown to be important for recovery after cortex lesions (e.g., striatum). The results confirmed our hypothesis and suggest that the seizure-associated inhibition of lesion-induced bFGF may alter the growth factor-mediated plasticity necessary for functional recovery.