The design and implementation of a multi-center, pragmatic, individual-level randomized controlled trial to evaluate Baby2Home, an mHealth intervention to support new parents.

BACKGROUND: Becoming a parent is a transformative experience requiring multiple transitions, including the need to navigate several components of health care, manage any mental health issues, and develop and sustain an approach to infant feeding. Baby2Home (B2H) is a digital intervention built on the collaborative care model (CCM) designed to support families during these transitions to parenthood. OBJECTIVES: We aim to investigate the effects of B2H on preventive healthcare utilization for the family unit and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) trajectories with a focus on mental health. We also aim to evaluate heterogeneity in treatment effects across social determinants of health including self-reported race and ethnicity and household income. We hypothesize that B2H will lead to optimized healthcare utilization, improved PROs trajectories, and reduced racial, ethnic, and income-based disparities in these outcomes as compared to usual care. METHODS: B2H is a multi-center, pragmatic, individual-level randomized controlled trial. We will enroll 640 families who will be randomized to: [1] B2H + usual care, or [2] usual care alone. Preventive healthcare utilization is self-reported and confirmed from medical records and includes attendance at the postpartum visit, contraception use, depression screening, vaccine uptake, well-baby visit attendance, and breastfeeding at 6 months. PROs trajectories will be analyzed after collection at 1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12 months. PROs include assessments of stress, depression, anxiety, self-efficacy and relationship health. IMPLICATIONS: If B2H proves effective, it would provide a scalable digital intervention to improve care for families throughout the transition to new parenthood.

Effect of early medication adherence on behavioral treatment utilization and smoking cessation among individuals with current or past major depressive disorder.

SIGNIFICANCE: Little is known about the mechanisms by which medication adherence promotes smoking cessation among adults with MDD. We tested the hypothesis that early adherence promotes abstinence by increasing behavioral treatment (BT) utilization. METHODS: Data for this post-hoc analysis were from a randomized trial of 149 adults with current or past MDD treated with BT and either varenicline (n = 81) or placebo (n = 68). Arms were matched on medication regimen. Early medication adherence was measured by the number of days in which medication was taken at the prescribed dose during the first six of 12 weeks of pharmacological treatment (weeks 2-7). BT consisted of eight 45-minute sessions (weeks 1-12). Bioverified abstinence was assessed at end-of-treatment (week 14). A regression-based approach was used to test whether the effect of early medication adherence on abstinence was mediated by BT utilization. RESULTS: Among 141 participants who initiated the medication regimen, BT utilization mediated the effect of early medication adherence on abstinencea) an interquartile increase in early medication days from 20 to 42 predicted a 4.2 times increase in abstinence (Total Risk Ratio (RR) = 4.24, 95% CI = 2.32-13.37; p <.001); b) increases in BT sessions predicted by such an increase in early medication days were associated with a 2.7 times increase in abstinence (Indirect RR = 2.73, 95% CI = 1.54-7.58; p <.001); and c) early medication adherence effects on abstinence were attenuated, controlling for BT (Direct RR = 1.55, 95% CI = 0.83-4.23, p =.17). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of early medication adherence on abstinence in individuals with current or past MDD is mediated by intensive BT utilization.

Factors Associated with Depressive and Anxiety Symptom Trajectories Across Pregnancy and Postpartum in Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor-Treated Individuals.

Objective: The primary purpose of this article is to identify factors that are associated with worsening mood and anxiety trajectories across the perinatal period among pregnant individuals receiving treatment with a selective-serotonin reupdate inhibitor. Methods: This secondary analysis of primary data from the original article, Trajectories of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Across Pregnancy and Postpartum in Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor-Treated Women, explores if number of lifetime episodes of depression as characterized in the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, elevated maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACE) score, or specific obstetric or neonatal factors from the Peripartum Events Scale (PES) were associated with membership in trajectory groups with the highest symptom burden. Results: No difference in ACE scores or obstetric or neonatal factors were associated with membership in the trajectory groups using Wilcoxon rank sum tests and bi-variable logistic regression. The trajectory group with the highest anxiety symptom burden experienced more lifetime episodes of depression compared to other groups (odds ratio = 1.17, 95% confidence intervals, 1.02-1.34, p = 0.03). Conclusions: Congruent with other studies, we found a high prevalence of co-occurring mood and anxiety symptoms and that past episodes of depression remain an important historical risk factor for perinatal symptom burden. This reinforces that past experiences of depression increase not only the risk of future symptoms but also higher symptom burden during antidepressant treatment.

Depression Severity Moderates Reward Learning Among Smokers with Current or Past Major Depressive Disorder in a Smoking Cessation Randomized Clinical Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Behavioral and pharmacological smoking cessation treatments are hypothesized to increase patients' reward learning to reduce craving. Identifying changes in reward learning processes that support effective tobacco dependence interventions among smokers who experience depression may guide patients towards efficient treatment strategies. The objective was to investigate the extent to which adult daily cigarette smokers with current or past major depressive disorder (MDD) learned to seek reward during 12 weeks of treatment combining behavioral activation and varenicline. We hypothesized that a decline in reward learning would be attenuated (least to most) in the following order: 1) Behavioral activation integrated with ST (BASC) + varenicline, 2) BASC + placebo, 3) Standard behavioral cessation treatment (ST) + varenicline, 4) ST + placebo. METHODS: We ran a Phase 4, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial with 300 participants receiving 12 weeks of one of four conditions across two urban medical centers. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI). Reward learning was ascertained at Weeks 1, 7, and 14 using the Probabilistic Reward Task (PRT), a laboratory task that uses an asymmetric reinforcement schedule to assess (a) learning to seek reward (response bias), (b) differentiate between stimuli, and (c) time to react to cues. RESULTS: There was a significant interaction of BDI group x PRT response bias. Response bias declined from Week 7 to 14 among participants with high baseline depression symptoms. The other two BDI groups showed no change in response bias. CONCLUSIONS: Controlling for baseline depression, participants showed a decrease in response bias from Week 1 to 14, and from Weeks 7 to 14. Treatment condition and abstinence status were unassociated with change in reward learning. IMPLICATIONS: Smokers who report greater depression severity show a decline in reward learning despite their participation in smoking cessation treatments, suggesting that depressed populations pose unique challenges with standard smoking cessation approaches.

Seeing Through the Blind: Belief about Treatment Randomization and Smoking Cessation Outcome among People with Current or Past Major Depressive Disorder who Smoke in a Placebo-Controlled Trial of Varenicline.

INTRODUCTION: Blinding participants to randomization is a cornerstone of science. However, participant beliefs about their allocation can influence outcomes. We examined blind integrity, the association between trial arm belief and cessation, and potential mechanisms linking treatment arm and treatment arm belief among people with major depressive disorder (MDD) who smoke receiving varenicline in a placebo-controlled trial. METHODS: 175 participants were asked at the end of treatment (EOT) if they thought they received placebo, varenicline, or were not sure. We assessed the relationship between treatment arm belief and actual treatment allocation, examined the association between treatment arm belief and EOT cessation, and evaluated changes in craving, withdrawal, side effects, depression symptoms, and smoking reward as mediators through which treatment arm was believed. RESULTS: Treatment arm belief was significantly associated with actual arm assignment (χ2(2)=13.0, p=0.002). Participants in the varenicline arm were >3 times as likely to believe they were taking varenicline, vs. "not sure" (RR=3.05 [1.41-6.60], p=0.005). Participants in the placebo arm were just as likely to believe they were taking placebo vs. "not sure" (χ2[2]=0.75, p=0.69). Controlling for treatment arm, belief that one received varenicline was significantly associated with an increase in cessation rate (OR=5.91 [2.06-16.92], p=0.001). Change in the rewarding experience of smoking may mediate participant ability to discern getting varenicline B=0.077 [0.002-0.192], p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Participants receiving varenicline can discern that they received varenicline and this belief is associated with higher cessation rates. Research is needed to continue to examine how participants correctly identify their allocation to varenicline.

Efficacy and safety of combination behavioral activation for smoking cessation and varenicline for treating tobacco dependence among individuals with current or past major depressive disorder: A 2 × 2 factorial, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Treatment of depression-related psychological factors related to smoking behavior may improve rates of cessation among adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study measured the efficacy and safety of 12 weeks of behavioral activation for smoking cessation (BASC), varenicline and their combination. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: This study used a randomized, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial design comparing BASC versus standard behavioral treatment (ST) and varenicline versus placebo, taking place in research clinics at two urban universities in the United States. Participants comprised 300 hundred adult smokers with current or past MDD. INTERVENTIONS: BASC integrated behavioral activation therapy and ST to increase engagement in rewarding activities by reducing avoidance, withdrawal and inactivity associated with depression. ST was based on the 2008 PHS Clinical Practice Guideline. Both treatments consisted of eight 45-min sessions delivered between weeks 1 and 12. Varenicline and placebo were administered for 12 weeks between weeks 2 and 14. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcomes were bioverified intent-to-treat (ITT) 7-day point-prevalence abstinence at 27 weeks and adverse events (AEs). FINDINGS: No significant interaction was detected between behavioral treatment and pharmacotherapy at 27 weeks (χ2 (1) = 0.19, P = 0.67). BASC and ST did not differ (χ2 (1) = 0.43, P = 0.51). Significant differences in ITT abstinence rates (χ2 (1) = 4.84, P = 0.03) emerged among pharmacotherapy arms (16.2% for varenicline, 7.5% for placebo), with results favoring varenicline over placebo (rate ratio = 2.16, 95% confidence interval = 1.08, 4.30). All significant differences in AE rates after start of medication were higher for placebo than varenicline. CONCLUSION: A randomized trial in smokers with major depressive disorder found that varenicline improved smoking abstinence versus placebo at 27 weeks without elevating rates of adverse events. Behavioral activation for smoking cessation did not outperform standard behavioral treatment, with or without adjunctive varenicline therapy.

Treatment adherence in a smoking cessation clinical trial for individuals with current or past major depressive disorder: Predictors and association with cessation.

INTRODUCTION: Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibit high rates of tobacco use and lower responsiveness to tobacco cessation treatments. Treatment adherence is a strong predictor of treatment outcomes in the general population but has not been evaluated in this under-served community of smokers with MDD. METHODS: We used data from a randomized clinical trial on smoking cessation treatment among 300 smokers with MDD to examine the rate of adherence (medication and counseling), the association of adherence with cessation outcomes, and factors associated with adherence, including demographic and smoking characteristics, psychiatric characteristics, smoking cessation processes (e.g., withdrawal, reinforcers), and treatment-related side effects (e.g., nausea). RESULTS: Overall, 43.7% of participants were adherent with medication and 63.0% were adherent with counseling. Medication adherence was significantly associated with cessation, with 32.1% of adherent vs. 13.0% of non-adherent participants quitting smoking at EOT. Counseling adherence was also significantly associated with cessation, with 32.3% of adherent vs. 2.7% of non-adherent participants quitting smoking. Multivariate regression models showed that medication adherence was associated with higher engagement in complementary reinforcers and higher baseline smoking reward, while counseling adherence was associated with identifying as female, lower alcohol use and nicotine dependence, higher baseline smoking reward, and higher engagement in substitute and complementary reinforcers within the first weeks of medication use. CONCLUSIONS: As with the general population of smokers, non-adherence to treatment in smokers experiencing depression is widespread and a significant barrier to cessation. Interventions that target reinforcers may improve rates of treatment adherence.

Comparative effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention (M-Body) on depressive symptoms: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial in a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).

BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to improve psychological outcomes including stress, anxiety, and depression in general population studies. However, effectiveness has not been sufficiently examined in racially and ethnically diverse community-based settings. We will evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of a mindfulness-based intervention on depressive symptoms among predominantly Black women at a Federally Qualified Health Center in a metropolitan city. METHODS: In this 2-armed, stratified, individually randomized group-treated controlled trial, 274 English-speaking participants with depressive symptoms ages 18-65 years old will be randomly assigned to (1) eight weekly, 90-min group sessions of a mindfulness-based intervention (M-Body), or (2) enhanced usual care. Exclusion criteria include suicidal ideation in 30 days prior to enrollment and regular (>4x/week) meditation practice. Study metrics will be assessed at baseline and 2, 4, and 6 months after baseline, through clinical interviews, self-report surveys, and stress biomarker data including blood pressure, heart rate, and stress related biomarkers. The primary study outcome is depressive symptom score after 6 months. DISCUSSION: If M-Body is found to be an effective intervention for adults with depressive symptoms, this accessible, scalable treatment will widely increase access to mental health treatment in underserved, racial/ethnic minority communities. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03620721. Registered on 8 August 2018.

Trajectories of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Across Pregnancy and Postpartum in Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor-Treated Women.

Objective: Tracking perinatal mood and anxiety disorders is championed by the American Psychiatric Association and the International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health. We conducted this study to examine trajectories of monthly depressive and anxiety symptoms through pregnancy and postpartum. Methods: This is a prospective longitudinal observational cohort study of pregnant women interviewed at baseline (≤18th gestational week), every four weeks through delivery and at 6 and 14 weeks postpartum at three urban academic medical centers (N = 85) and a single rural health center (N = 3) from 2016 to 2020. Pregnant women had at least one prior episode of major depressive disorder, were not in a current episode, and were treated with sertraline, fluoxetine, citalopram, or escitalopram. Of 192 women screened, 88 (46%) women enrolled, and 77 (88%) women completed the postpartum follow-up. Symptom trajectories were generated with scores from the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, 7-item, and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global Health measure. A semi-parametric, group-based mixture model (trajectory analysis) was applied. Results: Three relatively stable depression trajectories emerged, described as Minimal, Mild, and Subthreshold, in each group across pregnancy. Two of the four anxiety trajectories were stable, including Asymptomatic and Minimal, while the third, termed Breakthrough, was ascending with increasing symptoms and the fourth trajectory, described as Mild, had descending symptoms. Conclusions: Screening for anxiety with depression for pregnant women will yield a comprehensive view of psychiatric symptoms and treatment targets in perinatal women.

Modulation of brain networks during MR-compatible transcranial direct current stimulation.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can influence performance on behavioral tasks and improve symptoms of brain conditions. Yet, it remains unclear precisely how tDCS affects brain function and connectivity. Here, we measured changes in functional connectivity (FC) metrics in blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI data acquired during MR-compatible tDCS in a whole-brain analysis with corrections for false discovery rate. Volunteers (n = 64) received active tDCS, sham tDCS, and rest (no stimulation), using one of three previously established electrode tDCS montages targeting left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, n = 37), lateral temporoparietal area (LTA, n = 16), or superior temporal cortex (STC, n = 11). In brain networks where simulated E field was highest in each montage, connectivity with remote nodes decreased during active tDCS. During active DLPFC-tDCS, connectivity decreased between a fronto-parietal network and subgenual ACC, while during LTA-tDCS connectivity decreased between an auditory-somatomotor network and frontal operculum. Active DLPFC-tDCS was also associated with increased connectivity within an orbitofrontal network overlapping subgenual ACC. Irrespective of montage, FC metrics increased in sensorimotor and attention regions during both active and sham tDCS, which may reflect the cognitive-perceptual demands of tDCS. Taken together, these results indicate that tDCS may have both intended and unintended effects on ongoing brain activity, stressing the importance of including sham, stimulation-absent, and active comparators in basic science and clinical trials of tDCS.

History and Correlates of Smoking Cessation Behaviors Among Individuals With Current or Past Major Depressive Disorder Enrolled in a Smoking Cessation Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Smoking among adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) is at least double that of the general US population. More effective smoking cessation interventions for depressed smokers may be facilitated through a better understanding of the smoking and depression-related characteristics of this population. METHODS: We used baseline data from 300 participants enrolled in randomized clinical trial for smokers with current or past MDD. We described history of smoking cessation behaviors (ie, quit attempts, quit motivation, and cessation treatment utilization) and used multivariate regression to identify demographic and depression-related correlates of these behaviors. RESULTS: Sixty-eight percent of participants reported at least one quit attempt in the past year, nearly 51% reported motivation to quit in the subsequent 30 days, and 83% reported prior use of a nicotine replacement therapy. A greater readiness to quit smoking was associated with increased age (p = .04) and lower cigarettes per day (p = .01). Greater use of smoking cessation medication was associated with greater education and nicotine dependence, minority race, and greater use of complementary reinforcers (eg, activities associated with increased reinforcing value of smoking; p's < .05). CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that smokers with current or past MDD are highly motivated to quit smoking and have a history of engaging in efforts to quit. Interventions to promote smoking cessation behaviors should address younger and lighter smokers, who may perceive less risk from tobacco use, and efforts to promote smoking cessation medications and counseling should address minority smokers who are engaging in complementary reinforcers. IMPLICATIONS: These data are inconsistent with the assumption that smokers with serious mental illness are not willing to quit smoking and suggest the need for studies that test behavioral interventions that address complementary reinforcers to treat tobacco use in this community.

Components of Behavioral Activation Therapy for Depression Engage Specific Reinforcement Learning Mechanisms in a Pilot Study.

Background: Behavioral activation is an evidence-based treatment for depression. Theoretical considerations suggest that treatment response depends on reinforcement learning mechanisms. However, which reinforcement learning mechanisms are engaged by and mediate the therapeutic effect of behavioral activation remains only partially understood, and there are no procedures to measure such mechanisms. Objective: To perform a pilot study to examine whether reinforcement learning processes measured through tasks or self-report are related to treatment response to behavioral activation. Method: The pilot study enrolled 13 outpatients (12 completers) with major depressive disorder, from July of 2018 through February of 2019, into a nine-week trial with BA. Psychiatric evaluations, decision-making tests and self-reported reward experience and anticipations were acquired before, during and after the treatment. Task and self-report data were analysed by using reinforcement-learning models. Inferred parameters were related to measures of depression severity through linear mixed effects models. Results: Treatment effects during different phases of the therapy were captured by specific decision-making processes in the task. During the weeks focusing on the active pursuit of reward, treatment effects were more pronounced amongst those individuals who showed an increase in Pavlovian appetitive influence. During the weeks focusing on the avoidance of punishments, treatment responses were more pronounced in those individuals who showed an increase in Pavlovian avoidance. Self-reported anticipation of reinforcement changed according to formal RL rules. Individual differences in the extent to which learning followed RL rules related to changes in anhedonia. Conclusions: In this pilot study both task- and self-report-derived measures of reinforcement learning captured individual differences in treatment response to behavioral activation. Appetitive and aversive Pavlovian reflexive processes appeared to be modulated by separate psychotherapeutic interventions, and the modulation strength covaried with response to specific interventions. Self-reported changes in reinforcement expectations are also related to treatment response. Trial Registry Name: Set Your Goal: Engaging in GO/No-Go Active Learning, #NCT03538535, http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Postpartum anhedonia: Emergent patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression.

The objective of this study was to identify differences in the longitudinal course anhedonia symptoms during postpartum in women diagnosed with unipolar or bipolar disorder. Female participants diagnosed with either bipolar (n = 104) or unipolar (n = 136) depression at week 20 during pregnancy were evaluated prospectively at weeks 2, 12, 26, and 52 postpartum using clinical interviews. A semi-parametric, group-based mixture model was applied to separate distinct longitudinal patterns of symptoms of anhedonia. Across time, among those who reported anhedonia, twice as many women had the diagnoses of bipolar depression relative to unipolar depression (65.03% versus 39.47%, respectively). Moreover, the rate and stability of anhedonia was higher in women with bipolar relative to unipolar depression. Across groups, anhedonia was associated with significantly higher depressive symptom severity. Anhedonia is a more stable and frequent symptom in women with postpartum bipolar relative to unipolar depressive disorder.

Increased Depression Screening and Treatment Recommendations After Implementation of a Perinatal Collaborative Care Program.

OBJECTIVE: The study evaluated whether implementation of perinatal collaborative care is associated with improvements in screening and treatment recommendations for perinatal depression by obstetric clinicians. METHODS: This cohort study, conducted from January 2015 to January 2019, included all women who received prenatal care in five obstetric clinics and delivered at a single quaternary care hospital in Chicago. In January 2017, a perinatal collaborative care program (COMPASS) was implemented. Completion of depression screening and recommendations for treatment following a positive depression screen were compared before and after COMPASS implementation. Adjusted analyses included inverse probability weighting by using propensity scores to impose control over imbalance between exposure groups with respect to prespecified covariates. RESULTS: A total of 7,028 women were included in these analyses: 3,227 (46%) before and 3,801 (54%) after COMPASS implementation. Women who received obstetric care after implementation were significantly more likely than those who received care before implementation to receive antenatal screening for depression (81% versus 33%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=8.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]=7.6-9.5). After implementation, women with a positive antenatal screen for depression were more likely to receive a treatment recommendation (61% versus 44%; aOR=2.1, 95% CI=1.2-3.7). After implementation of perinatal collaborative care, combined psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy were more frequently recommended, compared with before implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a perinatal collaborative care program was associated with improvements in perinatal depression screening and recommendations for treatment by obstetric clinicians.

Screening and Treatment After Implementation of a Universal Perinatal Depression Screening Program.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether initiation of an institutional policy of universal perinatal depression screening was associated with sustained increases in frequency in screening and of depression treatment subsequent to a positive screen. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included women receiving prenatal care in outpatient offices at a single academic medical center from 2008 to 2015. In 2009, an institutional policy of universal perinatal depression screening was disseminated in which screening twice antenatally and again postpartum were recommended. The frequency of screen completion at each recommended time point was compared between the prepolicy and postpolicy cohorts. A test of trend that assessed the frequency of screening each year after policy initiation was used to assess changes over time. The frequency with which care plans were created for women who screened positive for perinatal depression were compared before and after implementation. RESULTS: Of the 5,127 women who met inclusion criteria, 4,005 (78%) were in the postpolicy cohort. The frequency of completion of depression screening at the first prenatal visit (0.1% vs 65.5%), in the third trimester (0.0% vs 42.7%), and at the postpartum visit (69.5% vs 90.0%) increased after initiation of the policy (P<.001 for all). The improvement in postpartum depression screening completion persisted after controlling for potential confounders (adjusted odds ratio 5.3, 95% CI 4.4-6.5). After the initial increase in uptake of screening, the frequency of screening at the first and third trimester prenatal visits continued to increase over time (P<.001 for each), although this frequency remained stable for the postpartum visit (P=.29). Women with a positive postpartum depression screen were more likely to have depression treatment recommended or provided by their obstetrician postpolicy (64.7% vs 30.1%, P<.001). CONCLUSION: Implementation of an institutional policy of universal perinatal depression screening was associated with improvements in perinatal depression screening with concomitant improvements in depression treatment recommendations for women with a positive postpartum depression screen.

Functional connectivity of reflective and brooding rumination in depressed and healthy women.

Ruminative thinking is related to an increased risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) and perpetuates negative mood states. Rumination, uncontrollable negative thoughts about the self, may comprise both reflective and brooding components. However, only brooding rumination is consistently associated with increased negativity bias and negative coping styles, while reflective rumination has a less clear relationship with negative outcomes in healthy and depressed participants. The current study examined seed-to-voxel (S2.V) resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in a sample of healthy (HC) and depressed (MDD) adult women (HC: n=50, MDD: n=33). The S2V FC of six key brain regions, including the left and right amygdala, anterior and posterior cingulate cortex (ACC, PCC), and medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (mPFC, dlPFC), was correlated with self-reported reflective and brooding rumination. Results indicate that HC and MDD participants had increased brooding rumination associated with decreased FC between the left amygdala and the right temporal pole. Moreover, reflective rumination was associated with distinct FC of the mPFC, PCC, and ACC with parietal, occipital, and cingulate regions. Depressed participants, compared with HC, exhibited decreased FC between the PCC and a region in the right middle frontal gyrus. The results of the current study add to the understanding of the neural underpinnings of different forms of self-related cognition-brooding and reflective rumination-in healthy and depressed women.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms during the postpartum period. A prospective cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and to ascertain risk factors for this condition. STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective cohort of postpartum women carried out from June to September 2009. A total of 461 women were recruited after delivery at a tertiary care institution. Demographic, psychiatric, and obstetric information were collected from each participant. Patients were contacted at 2 weeks and at 6 months postpartum and completed screening tests for depression, anxiety, and OCD. RESULTS: Eleven percent of women screened positive for OCD symptoms at 2 weeks postpartum. At 6 months postpartum almost half of those women had persistent symptoms, and an additional 5.4% had developed new OCD symptoms. Concomitant positive screens for anxiety and depression were predictive factors for the development of OCD symptoms. CONCLUSION: Prior population-based studies estimate the prevalence of OCD to be approximately 2-3%. We found much higher rates among women in the postpartum period. The postpartum period is a high-risk time for the development of OCD symptoms. When such symptoms develop, they have a high likelihood of persisting for at least 6 months.

The effect of an end-of-clerkship review session on NBME psychiatry subject exam scores.

OBJECTIVE: The NBME Psychiatry Subject Examination (PSE) is used throughout North America to test MS-III end-of-clerkship knowledge; yet, literature on PSE preparatory methods remains sparse. This study assesses the effect of a curriculum intervention on NBME PSE scores. METHOD: An optional 1.5-hour review session and accompanying fill-in-the-blank handout was offered to 62 MS-III students 3 days before their exam. Students who did not attend the session were e-mailed the handout with completed answers. The primary outcome measure was a change in scores, with students in the previous year serving as the control group. RESULTS: The average raw PSE score of students offered the review session was 84.53, versus 77.15 for matched controls (p <0.0001). The effect size for the intervention was 0.89. CONCLUSION: This study may suggest that offering a comprehensive review session to third-year medical students 3 days before their NBME PSE significantly improves their scores.