Developmental epigenomic effects of maternal financial problems.

Early-life adversity as neglect or low socioeconomic status is associated with negative physical/mental health outcomes and plays an important role in health trajectories through life. The early-life environment has been shown to be encoded as changes in epigenetic markers that are retained for many years.We investigated the effect of maternal major financial problems (MFP) and material deprivation (MD) on their children's epigenome in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort. Epigenetic aging, measured with epigenetic clocks, was weakly accelerated with increased MFP. In subsequent EWAS, MFP, and MD showed strong, independent programing effects on children's genomes. MFP in the period from birth to age seven was associated with genome-wide epigenetic modifications on children's genome visible at age 7 and partially remaining at age 15.These results support the hypothesis that physiological processes at least partially explain associations between early-life adversity and health problems later in life. Both maternal stressors (MFP/MD) had similar effects on biological pathways, providing preliminary evidence for the mechanisms underlying the effects of low socioeconomic status in early life and disease outcomes later in life. Understanding these associations is essential to explain disease susceptibility, overall life trajectories and the transition from health to disease.

Web-Based Emotion Regulation Training for Sexual Health: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Effective emotional regulation (ER) skills are important for sexual function, as they impact emotional awareness and expression during sexual activity, and therefore, satisfaction and distress. Emotion regulation interventions may offer a promising approach to improve sexual health. Web-based emotion regulation may be a therapeutic strategy for men and women with sexual health concerns. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of intervention trials investigating its effects in this context, much less using the internet. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the effects of a web-based emotion regulation training program for sexual function in both men and women. METHODS: The participants were recruited based on their self-reported sexual problems, which for men was defined by a score of <25 on the International Index Erectile Function (IIEF) and for women by a score of <26.55 on the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). The final sample included 60 participants who were randomized to either a web-based emotion regulation training for sexual function or to a waitlist control group. The treatment consisted of an 8-week web-based emotion regulation training for sexual function. The participants were assessed at baseline, post intervention, and the 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 60 participants included, only 6 completed all 3 assessment points (n=5, 20% in the treatment group and n=1, 5% in the waitlist control group) after receiving the intervention. At follow-up, there were no significant differences between groups in any measure. Among the intervention completers, large-to-moderate within-group effect sizes were observed between the assessment points on measures of emotion regulation, depression, lubrication, orgasm, thoughts of sexual failure, and abuse during sexual activity. The adherence rate was very low, limiting the generalizability of the findings. CONCLUSIONS: Participants who completed the intervention showed improvements in both sexual function domains and emotion regulation. Nonetheless, due to a high dropout rate, this trial failed to collect sufficient data to allow for any conclusions to be drawn on treatment effects. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04792177; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04792177.

Frontal alpha asymmetry is associated with chronic stress and depression, but not with somatoform disorders.

Cardinal characteristics of somatoform disorders (SFDs) are worry of illness, and impaired affective processing. We used relative frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), a method to measure functional lateralization of affective processing, to investigate psychobiological correlates of SFDs. With alpha activity being inversely related to cortical network activity, relative FAA refers to alpha activity on the right frontal lobe minus alpha activity on the left frontal lobe. Less relative left frontal activity, reflected by negative FAA scores, is associated with lower positive and greater negative affectivity, such as observed in depression. Due to its negative affective component (illness anxiety), we expected to find less relative left frontal activity pattern in SFDs, and positive associations with self-reported chronic stress and depression symptoms. We recorded resting-state EEG activity with 64 electrodes, placed in a 10-10 system in 26 patients with a primary SFD, 23 patients with a major depressive disorder and 25 healthy control participants. The groups did not differ in FAA. Nevertheless, across all participants, less relative left frontal activity was associated with chronic stress and depression symptoms. We concluded that FAA may not serve as an indicator of SFDs. As the relationship of FAA and depressive symptoms was fully mediated by chronic stress, future studies have to clarify whether the association between FAA and chronic stress may represent a shared underlying factor for the manifestation of mental health complaints, such as depression.

Increased ventral anterior insular connectivity to sports betting availability indexes problem gambling.

With the advent of digital technologies, online sports betting is spurring a fast-growing expansion. In this study, we examined how sports betting availability modulates the brain connectivity of frequent sports bettors with [problem bettors (PB)] or without [non-problem bettors (NPB)] problematic sports betting. We conducted functional connectivity analyses centred on the ventral anterior insular cortex (vAI), a brain region playing a key role in the dynamic interplay between reward-based processes. We re-analysed a dataset on sports betting availability undertaken in PB (n = 30) and NPB (n = 35). Across all participants, we observed that sports betting availability elicited positive vAI coupling with extended clusters of brain activation (encompassing the putamen, cerebellum, occipital, temporal, precentral and central operculum regions) and negative vAI coupling with the orbitofrontal cortex. Between-group analyses showed increased positive vAI coupling in the PB group, as compared with the NPB group, in the left lateral occipital cortex, extending to the left inferior frontal gyrus, the anterior cingulate gyrus and the right frontal pole. Taken together, these results are in line with the central assumptions of triadic models of addictions, which posit that the insular cortex plays a pivotal role in promoting the drive and motivation to get a reward by 'hijacking' goal-oriented processes toward addiction-related cues. Taken together, these findings showed that vAI functional connectivity is sensitive not only to gambling availability but also to the status of problematic sport betting.

Estimating person-specific neural correlates of mental rotation: A machine learning approach.

Using neurophysiological measures to model how the brain performs complex cognitive tasks such as mental rotation is a promising way towards precise predictions of behavioural responses. The mental rotation task requires objects to be mentally rotated in space. It has been used to monitor progressive neurological disorders. Up until now, research on neural correlates of mental rotation have largely focused on group analyses yielding models with features common across individuals. Here, we propose an individually tailored machine learning approach to identify person-specific patterns of neural activity during mental rotation. We trained ridge regressions to predict the reaction time of correct responses in a mental rotation task using task-related, electroencephalographic (EEG) activity of the same person. When tested on independent data of the same person, the regression model predicted the reaction times significantly more accurately than when only the average reaction time was used for prediction (bootstrap mean difference of 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01-0.03, p < .001). When tested on another person's data, the predictions were significantly less accurate compared to within-person predictions. Further analyses revealed that considering person-specific reaction times and topographical activity patterns substantially improved a model's generalizability. Our results indicate that a more individualized approach towards neural correlates can improve their predictive performance of behavioural responses, particularly when combined with machine learning.

The Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies for Sexual Function and Mental Health: A Cluster Analytical Approach.

We investigated distinct profiles in emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal and suppression) and their associations with sexual function and mental health. The online survey sample consisted of 5436 adult participants. The gender stratified cluster analysis resulted in a four-cluster solution for both men and women. Better sexual function and mental health scores were found for participants with high cognitive reappraisal and low expressive suppression. High expressive suppression was associated with higher anxiety and depression and worse sexual function. Sexological care should take into account the assessment of emotion regulation abilities and emotion regulation training interventions to support reappraisal strategies.

Development and initial validation of a self-report measure to assess eating disorder-specific interoceptive perception.

Interoceptive deficits-particularly with respect to the perception of emotions, hunger, and satiety-constitute important targets for intervention in eating disorders (EDs). Suitable self-report measures to identify these deficits, however, are lacking. We, therefore, developed and validated a multidimensional questionnaire to assess eating disorder-specific interoceptive perception (EDIP) in terms of the ability to perceive and discriminate between emotions, hunger, and satiety. In two independent samples with a total of 2058 individuals (22.74% with self-reported EDs), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a four-factor solution of the EDIP Questionnaire (EDIP-Q) with the subscales Emotions, Hunger, Satiety, and Discrimination. The EDIP-Q has sound psychometric properties and was related to convergent questionnaires but unrelated to divergent self-report measures, supporting its construct validity. Participants with self-reported EDs had significantly lower EDIP-Q scores compared to participants without self-reported ED diagnosis. While individuals with self-reported anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge-eating disorder (BED) report similar difficulties in perceiving emotions, participants with BN and BED report greater difficulties in perceiving satiety and differentiating between hunger and emotional states compared to participants with AN. In contrast, individuals with AN report higher sensibility to satiety but lower sensibility to hunger compared to individuals with BN and BED. The EDIP-Q is a valuable clinical tool to establish profiles of deficits in EDIP that provide the basis for developing more targeted treatment approaches for EDs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The relationship between self-reported chronic stress, physiological stress axis dysregulation and medically-unexplained symptoms.

The positive feedback model of medically-unexplained symptoms posits that chronic stress affects the activity of the physiological stress axes, which in turn generates medically-unexplained symptoms. As a first step to empirically test its model assumptions, we investigated potential associations between chronic stress, physiological stress axis activity and medically-unexplained in a cross-sectional study. One hundred-ninety-nine healthy individuals provided self-reports on chronic stress and medically-unexplained symptoms, resting heart rate/variability (HR/HRV; e.g., root mean square of successive differences/RMSSD, low frequency/LF power), cortisol awakening response (CAR) and diurnal cortisol. Significant positive contributors to medically-unexplained symptoms were the chronic stress scales 'lack of social appreciation' and 'chronic worries', as well as CAR and LF HRV; diurnal cortisol was a negative contributor. Mediation analyses showed that the impact of neural indicators associated with physiological stress axis activity (HR/HRV) related to medically-unexplained symptoms, which was mediated by chronic stress, whereas the mediation effect as suggested by the positive feedback model was not significant. These cross-sectional findings do not support the positive feedback model. Longitudinal studies are required to conclude about potential mechanistic and causal relationships in the model. Nevertheless, our mediation analyses give first indication that the constitution of physiological stress axes may play a major role in how stressors are perceived and which kind of health-consequences (e.g., medically-unexplained symptoms) this may have.

Gaming passion contributes to the definition and identification of problematic gaming.

Even if for most people playing video games is a healthy leisure activity, a minority of vulnerable users present an excessive use associated to negative consequences (e.g., psychosocial maladjustment, sleep interference) and functional impairment. The current study first aims to identify psychological factors that contribute to discriminate highly involved (but healthy) gamers from problematic gamers. For that purpose, we used a cluster analysis approach to identify different groups of gamers based on their profiles of passion towards gaming (using the Dualistic Model of Passion). Another objective of the present study is to explore, using supervised machine-learning, how gaming disorder symptoms, assessed within the substance use disorder framework (e.g., tolerance, withdrawal), might be linked to harmonious and/or an obsessive passion for gaming. Three distinct clusters of gamers were identified based on their passion profiles, including risky gamers, engaged gamers, and casual gamers. Supervised machine-learning algorithms identified that specific gaming disorder symptoms (salience, mood modification, tolerance, low level of conflict) were predominantly related to harmonious passion, whereas others (withdrawal, high level of conflict, relapse) were more directly related to obsessive passion. Our results support the relevance of person-centered approaches to the treatment of problematic gaming.

Lower gastric sensitivity in quiescent inflammatory bowel disease than in irritable bowel syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Visceral hypersensitivity is considered a key symptom in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), both of which seriously affect health-related quality of life (HrQoL). Previous findings are mostly based on invasive procedures that may interfere with the assessment of visceral perception. The current study, therefore, investigates whether IBD and IBS are characterized by altered perception of 'natural' gastric distensions ('interoception'). METHODS: Twenty IBD patients in remission (13 Crohn's disease, 7 ulcerative colitis), 12 IBS patients, and 20/12 matched healthy control (HC) individuals, respectively, underwent the water load test, in which they could drink ad libitum until the subjective thresholds of satiation (stage 1) and fullness (stage 2) were reached. Gastric motility was assessed using electrogastrography. RESULTS: IBD patients drank significantly more water until satiation than IBS patients, whereas no differences between patients and HC groups were observed. Electrogastrographic patterns were comparable between groups, suggesting no pathologies in gastric motility in IBD or IBS. The amount of water consumed until satiation negatively correlated with HrQoL related to bowel symptoms in IBD patients, but was positively associated with emotional well-being in IBS patients. CONCLUSION: Our findings implicate relative gastric hypersensitivity in IBS, and relative hyposensitivity in IBD patients, which are both related to specific HrQoL aspects.

Risk aversion and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

We here investigate the role of risk aversion in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The theoretical effect is ambiguous, as both COVID-19 infection and vaccination side-effects involve probabilistic elements. In large-scale data covering five European countries, we find that vaccine hesitancy falls with risk aversion, so that COVID-19 infection is perceived as involving greater risk than is vaccination.

Stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex modulates brain cue reactivity to reward (un)availability.

Brain imaging studies have shown that stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), which plays a pivotal role in high-order cognitive control processes, modulates brain reactivity to reward-related cues. Nevertheless, the impact of contextual factors such as reward availability (the reward that is depicted in the cue exposure task) on such modulation effect remains unclear. Here we tested whether a single session of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) over the left dlPFC differently impacts brain reactivity to cues signalling either availability or unavailability of a sports betting opportunity. Employing a within-subject design (verum versus sham HF-rTMS) among thirty-two frequent sports bettors, we first observed that, as compared to the sham condition, verum HF-rTMS modulated brain reactivity to game cues prior to being made (un)available for betting, through simultaneous increases (posterior insula and caudate nucleus) and decreases (occipital pole) in brain activation. Second, verum HF-rTMS led to increased ventral striatal activity towards cues available for betting but did not modulate brain response to cues unavailable for betting. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that transient stimulation of the left dlPFC led to a general modulation in brain activity in responses to cues, and that this effect is only partly dependent on cues signalling for reward (un)availability.

A machine learning approach to predict self-protecting behaviors during the early wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using a unique harmonized real-time data set from the COME-HERE longitudinal survey that covers five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden) and applying a non-parametric machine learning model, this paper identifies the main individual and macro-level predictors of self-protecting behaviors against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the first wave of the pandemic. Exploiting the interpretability of a Random Forest algorithm via Shapely values, we find that a higher regional incidence of COVID-19 triggers higher levels of self-protective behavior, as does a stricter government policy response. The level of individual knowledge about the pandemic, confidence in institutions, and population density also ranks high among the factors that predict self-protecting behaviors. We also identify a steep socioeconomic gradient with lower levels of self-protecting behaviors being associated with lower income and poor housing conditions. Among socio-demographic factors, gender, marital status, age, and region of residence are the main determinants of self-protective measures.

Predictors of Cyberchondria During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Study Using Supervised Machine Learning.

BACKGROUND: Cyberchondria is characterized by repeated and compulsive online searches for health information, resulting in increased health anxiety and distress. It has been conceptualized as a multidimensional construct fueled by both anxiety and compulsivity-related factors and described as a "transdiagnostic compulsive behavioral syndrome," which is associated with health anxiety, problematic internet use, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Cyberchondria is not included in the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, and its defining features, etiological mechanisms, and assessment continue to be debated. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate changes in the severity of cyberchondria during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify the predictors of cyberchondria at this time. METHODS: Data collection started on May 4, 2020, and ended on June 10, 2020, which corresponds to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. At the time the study took place, French-speaking countries in Europe (France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg) all implemented lockdown or semilockdown measures. The survey consisted of a questionnaire collecting demographic information (sex, age, education level, and country of residence) and information about socioeconomic circumstances during the first lockdown (eg, economic situation, housing, and employment status) and was followed by several instruments assessing various psychological and health-related constructs. Inclusion criteria for the study were being at least 18 years of age and having a good understanding of French. Self-report data were collected from 725 participants aged 18-77 (mean 33.29, SD 12.88) years, with females constituting the majority (416/725, 57.4%). RESULTS: The results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected various facets of cyberchondria: cyberchondria-related distress and compulsion increased (distress z=-3.651, P<.001; compulsion z=-5.697, P<.001), whereas the reassurance facet of cyberchondria decreased (z=-6.680, P<.001). In addition, COVID-19-related fears and health anxiety emerged as the strongest predictors of cyberchondria-related distress and interference with functioning during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cyberchondria and identify factors that should be considered in efforts to prevent and manage cyberchondria at times of public health crises. In addition, they are consistent with a theoretical model of cyberchondria during the COVID-19 pandemic proposed in 2020. These findings have implications for the conceptualization and future assessment of cyberchondria.

The more, the better? Learning rate and self-pacing in neurofeedback enhance cognitive performance in healthy adults.

Real time electroencephalogram (EEG) based neurofeedback has been shown to be effective in regulating brain activity, thereby modifying cognitive performance and behavior. Nevertheless, individual variations in neurofeedback learning rates limit the overall efficacy of EEG based neurofeedback. In the present study we investigated the effects of learning rate and control over training realized by self-pacing on cognitive performance and electrocortical activity. Using a double-blind design, we randomly allocated 60 participants to either individual upper alpha (IUA) or sham neurofeedback and subsequently to self- or externally paced training. Participants receiving IUA neurofeedback improved their IUA activity more than participants receiving sham neurofeedback. Furthermore, the learning rate predicted enhancements in resting-state activity and mental rotation ability. The direction of this linear relationship depended on the neurofeedback condition being positive for IUA and negative for sham neurofeedback. Finally, self-paced training increased higher-level cognitive skills more than externally paced training. These results underpin the important role of learning rate in enhancing both resting-state activity and cognitive performance. Our design allowed us to differentiate the effect of learning rate between neurofeedback conditions, and to demonstrate the positive effect of self-paced training on cognitive performance in IUA neurofeedback.

Food Restriction in Anorexia Nervosa in the Light of Modern Learning Theory: A Narrative Review.

Improvements in the clinical management of anorexia nervosa (AN) are urgently needed. To do so, the search for innovative approaches continues at laboratory and clinical levels to translate new findings into more effective treatments. In this sense, modern learning theory provides a unifying framework that connects concepts, methodologies and data from preclinical and clinical research to inspire novel interventions in the field of psychopathology in general, and of disordered eating in particular. Indeed, learning is thought to be a crucial factor in the development/regulation of normal and pathological eating behaviour. Thus, the present review not only tries to provide a comprehensive overview of modern learning research in the field of AN, but also follows a transdiagnostic perspective to offer testable explanations for the origin and maintenance of pathological food rejection. This narrative review was informed by a systematic search of research papers in the electronic databases PsycInfo, Scopus and Web of Science following PRISMA methodology. By considering the number and type of associations (Pavlovian, goal-directed or habitual) and the affective nature of conditioning processes (appetitive versus aversive), this approach can explain many features of AN, including why some patients restrict food intake to the point of life-threatening starvation and others restrict calorie intake to lose weight and binge on a regular basis. Nonetheless, it is striking how little impact modern learning theory has had on the current AN research agenda and practice.

Children's internalizing behavior development is heterogeneously associated with the pace of epigenetic aging.

BACKGROUND: Internalizing behaviors are an indicator of children's psychological and emotional development, predicting future mental disorders. Recent studies have identified associations between DNA methylation (DNAm) and internalizing behaviors. This prospective study aimed at exploring the associations between pace of biological aging and the developmental trajectories of internalizing behaviors. METHODS: Participants were children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort (N = 974). Measures of DNA methylation were collected at birth, age 7 and ages 15-17. The pace of aging was estimated using the DunedinPoAm algorithm (PoAm). Internalizing behaviors reported by caregivers between ages 4 and 16 using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. To explore heterogeneity in the association between PoAm and internalizing behaviors we use Poisson quantile regression in cross-section heterogeneity and longitudinal latent class analysis over the childhood and adolescence. RESULTS: Internalizing behavior trajectories were identified: low-risk, childhood limited, late onset and early onset (persistent). Accelerated aging at birth was negatively associated with internalizing behaviors in early childhood but positively correlated during adolescence. Higher PoAm at birth increased chance of low-risk profile, while decreasing likelihood of childhood limited trajectory. PoAm at age 15 was negatively associated with childhood limited profile and positively linked to late onset trajectories. Associations were larger at higher values of internalizing symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The heterogeneity in the association between biological age acceleration and internalizing behaviors suggests a complex dynamic relationship, particularly in children with high or increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes.

Mothers' and fathers' reflective functioning and its association with parenting behaviors and cortisol reactivity during a conflict interaction with their adolescent children.

We assessed parental reflective functioning (PRF) with the Parent Development Interview-Revised and investigated its association with parenting behaviors, that is, autonomy support and psychological control (operationalized in terms of behaviors promoting and undermining autonomy relatedness), and stress responses (cortisol reactivity) during a parent-child conflict interaction task (Family Interaction Task). Participants were 40 mothers and 28 fathers, who took part in the study together with their adolescent children (N = 49). Mothers had significantly lower PRF and displayed more psychologically controlling behaviors in the interaction with their children than fathers. Rather than sex per se, high levels of PRF were the best predictors of autonomy support, whereas lower levels of PRF predicted more psychological control. Higher levels of PRF were also the best predictor for lower levels of parenting stress. Stress in the context of parenting was neither related to autonomy support nor to psychological control, which were best predicted by divorced family status and, for psychological control only, by parental sex. The findings point to the potential utility of interventions aimed at improving PRF, especially in divorced families, given its protective effect on parenting behaviors and stress in the context of parenting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).