Registered replication report of the construct validity of the error-related negativity (ERN): A multi-site study of task-specific ERN correlations with internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Intact cognitive control is critical for goal-directed behavior and is widely studied using the error-related negativity (ERN). A common assumption in such studies is that ERNs recorded during different experimental paradigms reflect the same construct or functionally equivalent processes and that ERN is functionally distinct from other error-monitoring event-related brain potentials (ERPs; error positivity [Pe]), other neurophysiological indices of cognitive control (N2), and even other theoretically unrelated indices (visual N1). The present registered report represents a replication-plus-extension study of the psychometric validity of cognitive control ERPs and evaluated the convergent and divergent validity of ERN, Pe, N2, and visual N1 recorded during flanker, Stroop, and Go/no-go tasks. Data from 182 participants were collected from two study sites, and ERP psychometric reliability and validity were evaluated. Findings supported replication of convergent and divergent validity of ERN, Pe, and ΔPe (error minus correct)-these ERPs correlated more with themselves across tasks than with other ERPs measured during the same task. Convergent validity of ΔERN across tasks was not replicated, despite high internal consistency. ERN strongly correlated with N2 at levels similar or higher than those in support of convergent validity for other ERPs, and the present study failed to provide evidence of divergent validity for ERN and Pe from N2 or N1. ERN and ΔERN were unrelated to internalizing or externalizing symptoms. Findings underscore the importance of considering the psychometric validity of ERPs, as it provides a foundation for interpreting and comparing ERPs across tasks and studies.

The psychometric properties and clinical utility of neural measures of reward processing.

Reward processing is implicated in the etiology of several psychological conditions including depressive disorders. In the current paper, we examined the psychometric properties of a neural measure of reward processing, the reward positivity (RewP), in 279 adult women at baseline and 187 women 8 weeks later. The RewP demonstrated excellent internal consistency at both timepoints and good test-retest reliability using estimates from both classical test theory and generalizability theory. Additionally, the difference between RewP following reward and loss feedback was marginally associated with depressive symptoms in a subsample of participants. We also examined the relationship between subject-level dependability estimates and depression severity, finding that depressive symptoms may contribute to lower dependability on reward trials. However, this finding did not survive correction for multiple comparisons and should be replicated in future studies. These findings support RewP as a useful measure of individual differences of reward processing and point to the potential utility of this measure for various forms of psychopathology.

Psychometric properties of the late positive potential in adult females.

The late positive potential (LPP) is an event related potential (ERP) that has been used to study the processing of emotional stimuli and has been proposed as a biomarker for depression. However, to relate the LPP to trait-like individual differences it is important to first determine its psychometric properties. The current study assessed the reliability and internal consistency of the LPP in a large adult sample of women. We assessed the LPP following pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images at baseline (n = 266) and approximately eight weeks later (n = 193). The LPP demonstrated good test-retest reliability and good-to-excellent internal consistency at both time points. The LPP response was not associated with concurrent depressive symptoms. These findings suggest the LPP is a relatively stable and reliable measure of emotional processing, but further research with larger samples and more elevated depression scores may be needed in order to clarify the associations between depression and LPP.

Introducing the Psychological Autopsy Methodology Checklist.

OBJECTIVE: Case-control psychological autopsy studies are the research standard for the postmortem, quantitative study of ongoing or recent risk factors for suicide. We aimed to develop a reliable checklist of methodological quality of these studies. METHOD: We adapted items from a validated checklist to address general methodological elements and created novel items to address the unique aspects of psychological autopsy research to generate a 16-item checklist assessing reporting, external validity, internal validity, and power. We used percent agreement and kappa to evaluate inter-rater reliability of the items and overall checklist based on independent ratings of 26 case-control psychological autopsy studies conducted internationally. We also summed the items to generate overall quality ratings, assessing internal consistency with coefficient alpha (α). RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability for the overall checklist was high (percent agreement, 86.5%) and that based conservatively on kappa was substantial (κ .71) whereas internal consistency was low (α = 0.56). The inter-rater reliability of the individual items showed acceptable to high agreement. CONCLUSION: A novel checklist provides a reliable means to assess the methodological quality of specific elements of quantitative case-control psychological autopsy studies, providing detailed guidance in planning such studies. Lower internal consistency may limit its utility as a summary measure of study quality.

Initiating Intrapartum Nitrous Oxide in an Academic Hospital: Considerations and Challenges.

A 50%-50% mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen has long been used for managing pain during labor in many countries, but only recently has this intrapartum analgesic technique become popular in the United States. Nitrous oxide is considered minimal sedation and a safe pain management alternative. Many facilities are now interested in providing laboring women this analgesic option. The process of establishing use of nitrous oxide in a large institution can be complicated and may seem daunting. This brief report describes the challenges that occurred during the process of initiating nitrous oxide for pain management during childbirth at an academic medical center and discusses various committee roles. Nurses at the University of New Mexico Hospital now directly oversee the administration of nitrous oxide to women in labor in accordance to an established guideline. Despite limited available research, the guideline also allows offering nitrous oxide as a pain management technique for women with opioid dependence. Key components of the guideline and specifics related to education, cost, and safety are reviewed.

A double-blind, randomised, crossover study of two doses of a single-tablet combination of ibuprofen/paracetamol and placebo for primary dysmenorrhoea.

OBJECTIVES: Efficacy of pain relief may potentially be enhanced by combining two or more analgesics with different mechanisms of action. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of a novel single-tablet combination of ibuprofen and paracetamol compared with placebo in females experiencing moderate-to-severe pain due to primary dysmenorrhoea, a prevalent, recurrent condition characterised by pain at the time of menses. METHODS: This was a phase II/III, double-blind, randomised, cross-over, single-dose study in 94 women with moderate-to-severe dysmenorrhoea, examining the efficacy and tolerability of one or two tablets of a single-tablet combination of ibuprofen 200 mg/paracetamol 500 mg compared with placebo. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN42521357 RESULTS: Total pain relief over 6 hours post-dose (TOTPAR(0-6h)) was significantly greater following administration of two tablets of the single-tablet combination of ibuprofen 200 mg/paracetamol 500 mg compared with placebo (LS means: 2.35, 1.85, respectively; p = 0.0001) and approached significance for one tablet (LS mean: 2.10; p = 0.054). Statistically superior pain relief and reductions in pain intensity were achieved from 2 hours and 90 minutes post-dose, respectively, with the higher dose combination, and from 4 hours with the lower dose combination compared with placebo. Overall effectiveness (sum of pain intensity difference and pain relief score [SPRID] over 6 hours) were statistically superior to placebo for both one and two tablets of the ibuprofen/paracetamol combination (p = 0.0011 and p = 0.03, respectively). Both dose combinations were well-tolerated. Adverse events were minor and their frequency and nature did not differ with either treatment compared with placebo. CONCLUSIONS: One or two tablets of a single-tablet combination of ibuprofen 200 mg/paracetamol 500 mg is well-tolerated and provides superior analgesic efficacy to placebo in patients with primary dysmenorrhoea.

Meta-analysis of depression and substance use and impairment among cocaine users.

BACKGROUND: The study evaluated, among cocaine users, the hypothesized positive association of depression and concurrent cocaine use and impairment, alcohol use and impairment, and general drug use and impairment. The hypothesis that gender would moderate these associations, with women showing a stronger correlation between depression and measures of substance use and impairment, was also tested. Also examined was the association of depression with future cocaine use and impairment and substance use treatment participation. METHODS: Empirical reports on adult cocaine users published in English in peer-reviewed journals since 1986 that contained data on depression and substance use outcome(s) were obtained using a systematic search. Studies that placed restrictions on range of depression scores to select the sample, experiments that administered cocaine to subjects, and trials of antidepressant medications were excluded. The search yielded 60 studies for the analysis including 53 reports that collected data from clinical venues and seven that were community-based. RESULTS: As hypothesized, the analyses showed that depression is associated with concurrent cocaine-, alcohol-, and general drug use and impairment. Effect sizes were small. Hypothesized moderating effects of gender were not supported. Depression was not associated, at a statistically significant level, with treatment participation or future cocaine use and impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Depression is consistently but modestly associated with measures of cocaine-, alcohol-, and general drug use and impairment among cocaine users. Associations of depression with treatment participation and with future cocaine use and impairment are not immediately evident, although limitations of data warrant cautious interpretation.