The Role of Cognition, Affective Symptoms, and Apathy in Treatment Adherence with Noninvasive Home Mechanical Ventilation in Myotonic Dystrophy.

Background: Chronic respiratory failure often occurs in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and can be treated with noninvasive home mechanical ventilation (HMV). Treatment adherence with HMV is often suboptimal in patients with DM1, but the reasons for that are not well understood. Objective: The aim of this exploratory study was to gain insight in the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment, affective symptoms, and apathy and to investigate their role in HMV treatment adherence in DM1. Methods: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) were used to assess cognition, affective symptoms, and apathy in DM1 patients that use HMV. Patients with low treatment adherence (average daily use HMV <5 h or <80% of the days) were compared with patients with high treatment adherence (average daily use of HMV≥5 h and ≥80% of the days). Results: Sixty patients were included. Abnormal scores were found in 40% of the total group for the MoCA, in 72-77% for the AES, and in 18% for HADS depression. There was no difference between the high treatment adherence group (n = 39) and the low treatment adherence group (n = 21) for the MoCA, AES, and HADS depression. The HADS anxiety was abnormal in 30% of the total group, and was significantly higher in the low treatment adherence group (p = 0.012). Logistic regression analysis revealed that a higher age and a higher BMI were associated with a greater chance of high treatment adherence. Conclusions: This exploratory study showed that cognitive impairment and apathy are frequently present in DM1 patients that use HMV, but they are not associated with treatment adherence. Feelings of anxiety were associated with low treatment adherence. Higher age and higher BMI were associated with high treatment adherence with HMV.

The structure of depressive symptoms using CES-D and ZDS in outpatients in a general hospital in Lima, Peru.

BACKGROUND: Depression represents one of the leading causes of disability due to illness worldwide. Previous studies have demonstrated the significant heterogeneity of the diagnosis of depression, making it necessary to develop new diagnostic approaches. Network analysis is a perspective that considers symptoms as constituents of the psychiatric disorder itself. The objective was to determine the structure of depressive symptoms using the CES-D and ZDS depression scales. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of secondary analysis of 194 patients using the CES-D and ZDS scales. Correlation matrices and regularised partial correlation networks were constructed from the database. Centrality measures were estimated, and a network stability analysis was performed. RESULTS: On the CES-D scale, the most central item was "Sad"; while on the ZDS scale, the most central items were "Sad" and "Live". On the CES-D scale, the connection between "Enjoy" and "Happy" was the strongest. On the ZDS scale, the strongest connection was between the items "Live" with "Useful". The item "Morning" was the least connected on the ZDS. CONCLUSIONS: The most central symptom from the CES-D scale was sadness, while from the ZDS scale, was sadness and anhedonia.

Elevated unanticipated acoustic startle reactivity in dyslexia.

People with dyslexia, a neurodevelopmental disorder of reading, are highly attuned to the emotional world. Compared with their typically developing peers, children with dyslexia exhibit greater autonomic nervous system reactivity and facial behaviour to emotion- and empathy-inducing film clips. Affective symptoms, such as anxiety, are also more common in children with dyslexia than in those without. Here, we investigated whether the startle response, an automatic reaction that lies at the interface of emotion and reflex, is elevated in dyslexia. We measured facial behaviour, electrodermal reactivity (a sympathetic nervous system measure) and emotional experience in response to a 100 ms, 105 dB unanticipated acoustic startle task in 30 children with dyslexia and 20 comparison children without dyslexia (aged 7-13) who were matched on age, sex and nonverbal reasoning. Our results indicated that the children with dyslexia had greater total facial behaviour and electrodermal reactivity to the acoustic startle task than the children without dyslexia. Across the sample, greater electrodermal reactivity during the startle predicted greater parent-reported anxiety symptoms. These findings contribute to an emerging picture of heightened emotional reactivity in dyslexia and suggest accentuated sympathetic nervous system reactivity may contribute to the elevated anxiety that is often seen in this population.

Clozapine as a mood stabiliser for schizoaffective disorder: Effectiveness during a three-month follow-up.

Clozapine has shown signs of effectiveness in treating symptoms of schizoaffective disorder, although little research has been carried out to specifically assess this question. The objective of this current work was to analyse the mood-stabilising effectiveness and tolerability of clozapine in patients with schizoaffective disorder. This was a prospective, longitudinal, and quasi-experimental trial with three months of follow-up in patients with refractory schizoaffective disorder (PANSS score exceeding 80). Clinical response was evaluated through monthly visits using the YMRS, MADRS, CDSS, CGI-S and UKU. Twenty-seven participants (63% men, 37% women) with a mean age of 32.56 years were included. Clozapine significantly reduced the symptoms of mania, as measured by the YMRS (pre-treatment: 16.19, post-treatment: 0.67; p < 0.01) as well as the symptoms of depression, quantified with the CDSS (pre-treatment: 6.11, post-treatment: 0.67; p < 0.01), MADRS (pre-treatment: 9.56, post-treatment: 1.07; p < 0.01), and CGI-S (pre-treatment: 4.74, post-treatment: 1.15; p < 0.01). The prescription of clozapine significantly reduced the average daily dose of neuroleptics, measured in mg of chlorpromazine (pre-treatment: 1253.55, post-treatment: 742.59; p < 0.01) and hypnosedatives, measured in mg of diazepam (pre-treatment: 33.88, post-treatment: 5.74; p < 0.05) required in these patients. Patient-perceived tolerability, measured with the UKU, also improved during follow-up (pre-treatment: 12.89, post-treatment: 8.14; p < 0.01). The efficacy of clozapine was significant for the affective symptoms of schizoaffective disorder, thereby improving patient tolerability and permitting reductions in the other medications the patients used.

Interplay of Dyadic Consensus, Reflective Functioning, and Perinatal Affective Difficulties in Modulating Fear of COVID-19 among First-Time Mothers: A Mediation Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated fears and anxieties, potentially influencing maternal perinatal mental health. This study addresses a gap in the literature on fear of COVID-19 in pregnant women, aiming to identify contributing factors. METHOD: Participants were 401 primiparous women with an average age of 34 years (SD = 4.56) who were recruited through the National Health System during birth support courses. They completed a series of self-reported instruments via an online survey, providing information on their levels of reflective functioning, dyadic consensus, perinatal maternal affectivity, and fear of COVID-19. Pearson's correlation and mediation analysis via a generalized linear model were implemented to analyze the collected data. RESULTS: The relationship between dyadic consensus and fear of COVID-19 was significant and negative. Furthermore, a significant parallel mediation involving perinatal maternal affectivity and reflective functioning was found to the extent that, when these factors were inserted into the model, the direct association between dyadic consensus and fear of COVID-19 became non-significant (total mediation). CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the importance of dyadic adjustment in alleviating maternal COVID-19 fear, emphasizing interventions promoting couple functioning, mentalization, and addressing affective difficulties. Such approaches are vital for supporting expecting mothers during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

Factor Structures in the Depressive Symptoms Domains in the 9Q for Northern Thai Adults and Their Association with Chronic Diseases.

Most of the common models to examine depression are one-factor models; however, previous studies provided several-factor structure models on each depressive symptom using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The Nine-Questions Depression-Rating Scale (9Q) is an alternative assessment tool that was developed for assessing the severity of depressive symptoms in Thai adults. This study aimed to examine the factor structure of this tool based on the factor structure models for the PHQ-9 provided in previous studies using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). We also examined the association of chronic diseases and depressive symptoms using the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes model among 1346 participants aged 19 years old or more without psychiatric disorders. The results show that the two-factor CFA model with six items in the cognitive-affective domain and three items in the somatic domain provided the best fit for depressive symptoms in the study population (RMSEA = 0.077, CFI = 0.953, TLI = 0.936). Dyslipidemia was positively associated with both cognitive-affective symptoms (ß = 0.120) and somatic depressive symptoms (ß = 0.080). Allergies were associated with a higher level of cognitive-affective depressive symptoms (ß = 0.087), while migraine (ß = 0.114) and peptic ulcer disease (ß = 0.062) were associated with a higher level of somatic symptoms. Increased age was associated with a lower level of somatic symptoms (ß = -0.088). Our findings suggested that considering depressive symptoms as two dimensions yields a better fit for depressive symptoms. The co-occurrence of chronic diseases associated with depressive symptoms should be monitored.

Affective Symptoms in Pregnancy are Associated with the Vaginal Microbiome.

Composition of the vaginal microbiome in pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal, obstetric, and child health outcomes. Identifying the sources of individual differences in the vaginal microbiome is therefore of considerable clinical and public health interest. The current study tested the hypothesis that vaginal microbiome composition during pregnancy is associated with an individual's experience of affective symptoms and stress exposure. Data were based on a prospective longitudinal study of a diverse and medically healthy community sample of 275 mother-infant pairs. Affective symptoms and stress exposure and select measures of associated biomarkers (diurnal salivary cortisol, serum measures of sex hormones) were collected at each trimester; self-report, clinical, and medical records were used to collect detailed data on socio-demographic factors and health behavior, including diet and sleep. Vaginal microbiome samples were collected in the third trimester (34-40 weeks) and characterized by 16S rRNA sequencing. Identified taxa were clustered into three community state types (CST1-3) based on dissimilarity of vaginal microbiota composition. Results indicate that depressive symptoms during pregnancy were reliably associated with individual taxa and CST3 in the third trimester. Prediction of functional potential from 16S taxonomy revealed a differential abundance of metabolic pathways in CST1-3 and individual taxa, including biosynthetic pathways for the neuroactive metabolites, serotonin and dopamine. With the exception of bioavailable testosterone, no significant associations were found between symptoms- and stress-related biomarkers and CSTs. Our results provide further evidence of how prenatal psychological distress during pregnancy alters the maternal-fetal microbiome ecosystem that may be important for understanding maternal and child health outcomes.

Psychiatric manifestations in moyamoya disease: more than a puff of smoke? a systematic review and a case-reports meta-analysis.

Introduction: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a life-threatening condition characterized by stenosis of intracranial arteries. Despite the frequency and the impact of psychiatric symptoms on the long-term prognosis and quality of life of MMD patients, no systematic review on this topic exists. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis included 41 studies (29 being case reports), from PubMed, Scopus, Embase until 27/3/2023, on MMD patients exhibiting psychiatric symptoms. Results: Despite a fair average quality of the articles, quantitative synthesis through logistic regression was possible only for case reports, due to heterogeneity between the other studies. Psychosis, the most frequent psychiatric symptom reported in case reports, was more frequent in MMD patients with left hemisphere involvement. Neurological symptoms occurrence increased the odds of MMD diagnosis preceding psychiatric symptoms. Psychiatric symptoms are highly prevalent in MMD patients and are relatively often the only presenting symptoms. Discussion: We discuss the diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic implications of recognizing and characterizing specific psychiatric symptoms in MMD, outlining preliminary guidelines for targeted pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions. Lastly, we outline future research and clinical perspectives, striving to enhance the oft-overlooked psychiatric care for MMD patients and to ameliorate their long-term outcome. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42023406303.

Trait and situation-specific intolerance of uncertainty predict affective symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic, a high-uncertainty situation, presents an ideal opportunity to examine how trait intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and situation-specific IU relate to each other and to mental health outcomes. The current longitudinal study examined the unique associations of trait and COVID-specific IU with general distress (anxiety and depression) and pandemic-specific concerns (pandemic stress and vaccine worry). METHODS: A community sample of Florida adults (N = 2152) was surveyed online at three timepoints. They completed measures of trait IU at Wave 1 (April-May 2020) and COVID-specific IU at Wave 2 (May-June 2020). At Wave 3 (December-February 2021), they reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, pandemic stress, and vaccine worry. RESULTS: We used structural equation modeling to test our overall model. Trait IU significantly predicted later COVID-specific IU, however there was no significant effect of trait IU on any outcome measure after accounting for COVID-specific IU. Notably, COVID-specific IU fully mediated the relationship between trait IU and all four symptom measures. LIMITATIONS: There were several limitations of the current study, including the use of a community sample and high participant attrition. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that COVID-specific IU predicts mental health outcomes over and above trait IU, extending the existing literature. These findings indicate that uncertainty may be more aversive when it is related to specific distressing situations, providing guidance for developing more specific and individualized interventions. Idiographic treatments which target situation-specific IU may be more efficacious in reducing affective symptoms and related stress during the COVID-19 pandemic or other similar events.

Clinical and neuroimaging association between neuropsychiatric symptoms and nutritional status across the Alzheimer's disease continuum: a longitudinal cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) and nutritional status, and explore their shared regulatory brain regions on the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum. DESIGN: A longitudinal, observational cohort study. SETTING: Data were collected from the Chinese Imaging, Biomarkers, and Lifestyle study between June 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022. PARTICIPANTS: Overall, 432 patients on the AD continuum, including amnestic mild cognitive impairment and AD dementia, were assessed at baseline, and only 165 patients completed the (10.37 ± 6.08) months' follow-up. MEASUREMENTS: The Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) were used to evaluate nutritional status and NPS, respectively. The corrected cerebral blood flow (cCBF) measured by pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling of the dietary nutrition-related brain regions was analyzed. The association between the NPS at baseline and subsequent change in nutritional status and the association between the changes in the severity of NPS and nutritional status were examined using generalized linear mixed models. RESULTS: Increased cCBF in the left putamen was associated with malnutrition, general NPS, affective symptoms, and hyperactivity (P < 0.05). The presence of general NPS (ß = -1.317, P = 0.003), affective symptoms (ß = -1.887, P < 0.001), and appetite/eating disorders (ß = -1.714, P < 0.001) at baseline were associated with a decline in the MNA scores during follow-up. The higher scores of general NPI (ß = -0.048), affective symptoms (ß = -0.181), and appetite/eating disorders (ß = -0.416; all P < 0.001) were longitudinally associated with lower MNA scores after adjusting for confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: We found that baseline NPS were predictors of a decline in nutritional status on the AD continuum. The worse the severity of affective symptoms and appetite/eating disorders, the poorer the nutritional status. Furthermore, abnormal perfusion of the putamen may regulate the association between malnutrition and NPS, which suggests their potentially common neural regulatory basis.

Associations of sensory sensitivity, pain catastrophizing, and alexithymia with dental anxiety.

We aimed to reveal interrelationships between alexithymia, catastrophic thinking, sensory processing patterns, and dental anxiety among 460 participants who were registrants of a Japanese research company. Measures used were the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale, the Adult Sensory Profile, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The interrelationships among the constructs were analyzed using structural equation modeling, adjusting for age, gender, and negative dental treatment experience. Data from 428 participants were used in the analyses. Sensory sensitivity and pain catastrophizing were independently associated with anticipatory and treatment-related dental anxiety, while difficulty identifying feelings was not. In the mediation model, sensory sensitivity and pain catastrophizing served as full mediators between difficulty identifying feelings and the dimensions of dental anxiety (indirect effects were between 0.13 and 0.15). The strength of the associations was 0.55 from difficulty identifying feelings to both pain catastrophizing and sensory sensitivity, and between 0.24 and 0.26 to anticipatory and treatment-related dental anxiety. The association between trait-like phenomena, such as alexithymia, and dental anxiety may be mediated by neurophysiological and cognitive factors such as sensory sensitivity and pain catastrophizing. These findings could be crucial for new and innovative interventions for managing dental anxiety.

Experiences of people with multiple sclerosis and clinicians in using cognitive behavioural therapies for hidden symptoms: a systematic review and meta-aggregation.

PURPOSE: Cognitive behavioural therapies (CBTs) are a standard of care for treatment of many 'hidden symptoms' in people with MS (PwMS), such as stress, depression, and fatigue. However, these interventions can vary widely in formatting and may not be tailored for PwMS. To optimize CBTs for MS, understanding the experiences of PwMS and clinicians is essential. This systematic review and meta-aggregation synthesizes existing qualitative data on stakeholder perspectives of CBTs for PwMS. METHODS: Systematic searches across five major electronic databases were conducted. Studies reporting qualitative data were identified. Two reviewers performed screening, quality assessment, data extraction, and certainty of evidence assessments. Meta-aggregation was performed as per the Joanna Briggs Institute approach, entailing qualitative data extraction, developing categories, and synthesizing overall findings. RESULTS: Twenty-eight studies were included in this review, comprising data from 653 PwMS and 47 clinicians. In the meta-aggregation, 122 qualitative results were extracted and grouped into nine categories. Categories were then combined into six synthesized findings: (1) setting the context-life with MS, (2) reasons for participating in CBTs, (3) acceptability of and experiences with participating in CBTs, (4) perceived benefits of CBTs, (5) perceived challenges with CBTs, and (6) suggestions to improve CBTs for PwMS. CONCLUSIONS: A range of benefits including psychological, social, and lifestyle improvements were reported, but varied based on the design of the CBT intervention. Future CBT interventions should be tailored to participant needs, delivered in group settings, offer online options, and be delivered by a trained facilitator familiar with MS. Further exploration of the ideal CBT design for PwMS, as well as engagement with caregivers and clinicians treating MS, is warranted.

Dynamic relationships among feeling fat, fear of weight gain, and eating disorder symptoms in an eating disorder sample.

Feeling fat and fear of weight gain are key cognitive-affective symptoms that are theorized to maintain eating disorders (EDs). Little research has examined the dynamic relationships among feeling fat, fear of weight gain, emotions, cognitions, and ED behaviors. Furthermore, it is unknown if these relations vary by ED diagnosis (e.g., anorexia nervosa (AN) vs other ED). The current study (N = 94 ED participants; AN n = 64) utilized ecological momentary assessments collected four times a day for 18 days (72 timepoints) asking about feeling fat, fear of weight gain, emotions (i.e., anxiety, guilt), cognitions (i.e., feelings of having overeaten, thoughts about dieting), and ED behaviors (i.e., vomiting, diuretic/laxative use, excessive exercise, body checking, self-weighing, binge-eating, restriction) at stressful timepoints (contemporaneous [mealtime], and prospective/temporal [next-meal]). Multilevel modeling was used to test for between and within-person associations. Higher feeling fat and fear of weight gain independently predicted higher next-meal emotions (i.e., anxiety, guilt), cognitions (i.e., feelings of having overeaten, thoughts about dieting, fear of weight gain, feeling fat), and ED behaviors (i.e., body checking, self-weighing [feeling fat]). There were relationships in the opposite direction, such that some emotions, cognitions, and ED behaviors prospectively predicted feeling fat and fear of weight gain, suggesting existence of a reciprocal cycle. Some differences were found via diagnosis. Findings pinpoint specific dynamic and cyclical relationships among feeling fat, fear of weight gain, and specific ED symptoms, and suggest the need for more research on how feeling fat, fear of weight gain and cognitive-affective-behavioral aspects of ED operate. Future research can test if treatment interventions targeted at feeling fat and fear of weight gain may disrupt these cycles.

Efficacy of psychosocial interventions to reduce affective symptoms in sexual and gender minorities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) individuals are more likely than cisgender heterosexuals to experience mental, physical, and sexual health issues. A promising contemporary strategy to address the issue of affective symptoms in sexual and gender minorities (SGM) is psychosocial intervention. OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the effect of psychosocial interventions on the improvement of affective symptoms in SGM, and to provide a reference for the implementation of effective psychological interventions for SGM with affective symptoms. METHODS: Between the date of database construction until December 10, 2022, a computerized search of the English-language literature published both nationally and worldwide was done. 8 literature databases and 3 additional gray databases were searched. We gathered randomized controlled trials that used psychological interventions for SGM. To evaluate risk bias in included papers in accordance with Cochrane cooperation criteria, we used Review Manager 5.4 software. In conjunction with post-test and follow-up data, mean differences were standardized using Stata 12.0 software. Subgroup analysis was used to investigate the cause of heterogeneity. The study was conducted strictly in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, and it was registered on the PROSPERO platform (CRD42023408610). RESULTS: This review covered 18 research, and 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis. A total of 1194 study cases, including 706 cases from the control group and 488 cases from the experimental group, were included in these investigations. Compared to the control group, the psychosocial intervention group had significantly lower levels of depression (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.17;95% CI = [-0.30, -0.04]; p = 0.012) and anxiety (SMD = -0.22; 95% CI = [-0.41, -0.04]; p = 0.01), but no significant differences were found for distress (SMD = -0.19; 95% CI = [-0.45,0.07]; p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: According to this study, psychosocial interventions helped lessen the symptoms of depression and anxiety in SGM but had no significant effect on their psychological distress. To assess the impact of psychological intervention on SGM, more randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes and numerous follow-up times should be done.

Pathways from childhood trauma to aberrant salience: A structural equation approach to mentalization model.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between affective disturbances and aberrant salience in the context of childhood trauma, attachment, and mentalization in an analogue study. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, an online community sample completed self-report measures of key variables. Structural equation modelling was used to test childhood trauma's influence on aberrant salience via a set of intermediate risk factors (depression, negative schizotypy, and insecure attachment). These intermediate risk factors were assumed to lead to the proximal risk factors of aberrant salience (i.e., disorganized schizotypy and disorganized attachment) depending on the vulnerability of mentalizing capacity to elevated stress. RESULTS: The sample (N = 1263) was 78% female and aged between 18 and 35 years. The tested models closely fitted the observed data, revealing significant pathways from childhood trauma to aberrant salience via the hypothesized pathways. The direct effect of childhood trauma on aberrant salience was significant. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that the pathway to aberrant salience may be characterized by disorganization of self-state and intersubjectivity as a function of diminishment in mentalizing ability. This may relate to changes in attachment organization and socio-cognitive capacity, which could constitute possible risk factors signalling development of aberrant salience.

Advances in near-infrared brain functional imaging of emotional tasks in affective disorder / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

Emotional task is one of the main methods to study the attention bias and emotional function of affective disorder.Functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS)studies based on emotional tasks in patients with affective disorders have shown that facial emotion recognition task,the emotional stroop effect,and the emotion induction task combined with fNIRS technology have clinical value in the diagnosis and treatment of affective disorders.The defects of attention function and emotional processing in patients with affective disorders are related to abnormal activation of the left prefrontal cortex,especially the differences in brain activation patterns are related to depressive symptoms in patients with depressive disorders.The future direction of using fNIRS to study emotional tasks is to combine a variety of neuroimaging methods to conduct large-sample longitudinal cohort studies to obtain more objective bases for diagnosis and treatment,and to compare the differences in activation areas of different emotional stimulation materials.

Effect of modernized collaborative care for depression on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and depressive symptom clusters: Data from the eIMPACT trial.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels are lower in people with depression and are normalized following pharmacological treatment. However, it is unknown if psychological treatments for depression improve BDNF and if change in BDNF is a mediator of intervention effects on depressive symptoms. Therefore, using data from the eIMPACT trial, we sought to determine the effect of modernized collaborative care for depression on 12-month changes in BDNF and cognitive/affective and somatic depressive symptom clusters and to examine whether BDNF changes mediate intervention effects on depressive symptoms. 216 primary care patients with depression from a safety net healthcare system were randomized to 12 months of the eIMPACT intervention (internet cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT], telephonic CBT, and select antidepressant medications) or usual primary care. Plasma BDNF was measured with commercially available kits, and depressive symptom clusters were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The intervention did not influence BDNF but did improve both the cognitive/affective and somatic clusters over 12 months. Changes in BDNF did not mediate the intervention effect on either cluster. Our findings suggest that modernized collaborative care is an effective treatment for both the cognitive/affective and somatic symptoms of depression and that the mechanism of action is not improvements in BDNF. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02458690.

Analyzing the atypical - Methods for studying the menstrual cycle in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The female pubertal transition is characterized by a rapidly changing hormone milieu, which is heavily influenced by the first menstrual cycle - menarche. The first year following menarche is associated with menstrual cycles that are irregular and anovulatory. Peripuberty also marks the beginning of a female-biased risk for suicidality and depression, suggesting some influence by the menstrual cycle and ovarian hormone fluctuations. However, there are limited methods and guidelines for studying the menstrual cycle and related affective symptoms in this developmental window. Thus, this study's objective was to identify the most accurate methods for detecting ovulation in irregular cycles (Part 1) and develop guidelines based on these methods for determining menstrual cycle phases. These methods were applied to investigate hormones and affective symptoms based on cycle phase and ovulation status in a sample of peripubertal females (Part 2). METHODS: Thirty-two peripubertal females (ages 11-14) provided daily urine samples of estrogen (E1G) and progesterone (PdG) metabolites and luteinizing hormone (LH), and ratings of affective symptoms for one menstrual cycle. Ten literature-derived methods for determining the presence of an LH-peak or PdG rise were compared, focusing on their feasibility for psychological research. RESULTS: Methods by Sun et al. (2019) and Park et al. (2007) most accurately detected PdG rises and LH peaks in this sample, identifying 40.6% of cycles as ovulatory. As expected, ovulatory participants showed greater LH in the periovulatory phase (p = .001), greater PdG in the mid-luteal phase (p < .0001), and greater E1G in the periovulatory phase (p = .001) compared with anovulatory participants. Exemplary methods to compare psychological symptoms between both groups are provided. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations and guidelines for studying the menstrual cycle in irregular cycling adolescents are offered. Novel methods for ovulation detection identified phase-specific hormonal patterns in anovulatory and ovulatory adolescent cycles.

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Odor Awareness Scale.

Background: The Odor Awareness Scale (OAS) is a questionnaire that assesses individual differences in awareness of odors in the surrounding environment, which has been shown to be associated with affective symptoms in recent researches. To further research, A Chinese version of the OAS needs to be introduced. Objective: To investigate the factor structure and validate the psychometric properties of the OAS. Methods: A total of 978 participants from college were randomly allocated into two groups for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively. Additionally, the study entailed item analysis and scrutinized internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity. Test-retest reliability was assessed by having 214 participants complete the OAS twice at a one-week interval. Concurrent validity was measured using the Body Odor Sniffing Questionnaire (BOSQ), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results: EFA identified three factors that best fit the data: odor sensitivity, odor impact, and odor attention. CFA validated a second-order factor model, yielding good fit indices: χ2/ Df = 2.326, RMSEA = 0.052, CFI = 0.911, TLI = 0.900, SRMR = 0.053. The final version of the OAS comprised 27 items and exhibited a commendable internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.913), and a good test-retest reliability, as evidenced by the high Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.940) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC = 0.940). The OAS was significantly correlated with BOSQ (r = 0.416), GAD-7 (r = 0.155), and TAS-20 (r = -0.081). Conclusion: The Chinese version of the OAS demonstrated robust reliability and validity, rendering it a valuable instrument for evaluating odor awareness in the Chinese population.