Hypothalamic-Pituitary-End-Organ Axes: Hormone Function in Female Patients with Major Depressive Disorder / 神经科学通报·英文版

Classic hypothalamic-pituitary-end-organ feedback loops – the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA), hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroidal axis (HPTA), and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA) – are associated with the neuroendocrine and immune systems in major depressive disorder (MDD). Female patients with MDD present with evident neuroendocrine and immunological changes. Glucocorticoid, thyroid hormone, and reproductive steroid levels fluctuate with menstrual cycles, which might lead to glucocorticoid receptor resistance, impairment of triiodothyronine conversion, and sex hormone secretion disorders. In this review, we summarize the independent and interactive functions of these three axes in female MDD patients. The similar molecular structure of steroids implies an interrelationship between the hypothalamic-pituitary-end-organ axes and the competitive inhibitory effects at the receptor level, especially when considering the HPAA and HPGA.

[Psychoanalytic therapy for a child with somnambulism: a case report].

Somnambulism is defined as a state of dissociated consciousness triggered by impaired arousal, which results in partial wakefulness and partial sleep. No effective therapy or medication has been available for treating children with somnambulism. Herein we present a case in a 4.5-year-old girl, who presented with somnambulism associated with separation anxiety disorder every night in a week. The girl received formal assessment and appropriate interventions, and the symptoms disappeared within a week. The treatment was carried out in 5 stages: diagnosis of the disease, establishment of trust, information collection, supervision, and individualized psychotherapy. Although dreams in childhood can be difficult to interpret, close observation of the behaviors in sleepwalking, as a special form of dream, in addition to the more precise description by the guardians, still provides useful clues to understand those dreams. For children with somnambulism, early intervention with psychotherapy can significantly decrease the false revival of the unconscious desires, and thus may serve as a treatment option other than medications.

The Relationship Between Neuroimmunity and Bipolar Disorder: Mechanism and Translational Application / 神经科学通报·英文版

Neuroimmune system may be involved in the pathological process of bipolar disorder (BD), but the essential association is not fully understood. Accumulating evidence has shown that BD involves the activation of immune cells and the release of inflammatory substances in the central nerve system (CNS). Meanwhile, neuroimmune responses also interact with other hypothesis of the etiology of BD that are widely recognized, such as neurotransmitter systems, neuroendocrine systems, neurotrophic factors, and oxidative stress. Simultaneously, related genes and immune changes in peripheral blood vary with it. Overall, neuroimmunity may play an important role in the pathogenesis of BD, and the inflammatory cytokines, especially interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, have potential value for the clinical diagnosis and prognosis of BD, as well as predicting the therapeutic effects of drugs. Large-scale studies are needed to extend the evidence on neuroimmunity in BD, and to examine its clinical value for applications such as early prediction and treatment.

Response inhibition and emotional responding in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with comorbid disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To characterize the traits of neuropsychological functioning deficits in patients with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with comorbid disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders (DICCD).@*METHODS@#Twenty out-patients with ADHD, 20 with ADHD with comorbid DICCD, and 20 with DICCD, all aged 6-16 years, were enrolled in this study, with 20 healthy subjects matched for age, gender and IQ serving as the healthy controls. The patients were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Revision (DSM-5). All the subjects were assessed with Golden Stroop test and emotional Stroop test to evaluate their response inhibition and emotional responding.@*RESULTS@#In Golden Stroop test, the interference scores (IGs) of errors and reaction time both differed significantly among the groups ( < 0.05), and were the highest in patients with ADHD only. In emotional Stroop test, the mean reaction time (MRT) showed significant differences among the groups ( < 0.05); the MRT of positive- congruent trials in ADHD with comorbid DICCD group was shorter than that in ADHD group but longer than that in group DICCD; the MRT in the 3 case groups were all longer than that in the control group. The MRT of both positive-incongruent trials and negative-congruent trials in ADHD with comorbid DICCD group and DICCD group was shorter than that in ADHD group but longer than that in the control group. The MRT of negative- incongruent trials in DICCD group was shorter than that in ADHD group and ADHD with comorbid DICCD group but longer than that in the control group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The response inhibition deficit and abnormal emotional responding are the core symptoms of ADHD. Bias emotional stimuli may render response inhibitory dysfunction in patients with DICCD with callous-unemotional traits of emotional responding disorder, especially in dealing with negative emotional trials, while the comorbidity of ADHD and DICCD tends to have the emotional response trait of DICCD.

Response Inhibition and Emotional Regulation in the Patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Comorbidity of Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders

No abstract available.

The Mechanism of Cortico-Striato-Thalamo-Cortical Neurocircuitry in Response Inhibition and Emotional Responding in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder with Comorbid Disruptive Behavior Disorder / 神经科学通报·英文版

The neurocircuitries that constitute the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuit provide a framework for bridging gaps between neuroscience and executive function in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but it has been difficult to identify the mechanisms for regulating emotional problems from the understanding of ADHD comorbidity with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD). Research based on "cool" and "hot" executive functional theory and the dual pathway models, which are thought of as applied response inhibition and delay aversion, respectively, within the neuropsychological view of ADHD, has shed light on emotional responding before and after decontextualized stimuli, while CSTC circuit-related domains have been suggested to explain the different emotional symptoms of ADHD with or without comorbid DBD. This review discusses the role of abnormal connections in each CSTC circuit, especially in the emotion circuit, which may be responsible for targeted executive dysfunction at the neuroscience level. Thus, the two major domains - abstract thinking (cool) and emotional trait (hot) - trigger the mechanism of onset of ADHD.

Delay aversion test between the male children with obsessive-compulsive disorder and ones with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder / 中国心理卫生杂志

Objective:To clarify the characteristics and differences between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)in male children.Methods:Forty boys with OCD and 40 boys with ADHD were selected from out-patient department,and 40 normal boys matched with age,gender and IQ were recruited as the controls.Patients'diagnosis was made according to the International Statistical Classifica-tion of Diseases and Related Health Problems,Tenth Revision (ICD-10).The choice delay tasks (CDT1 /2)were assessed respectively for the measurements of normal or high ecological validity of delay aversion.In CDT1 /2, waiting time and scores of the tasks were indicators reflecting the delay aversion.Results:The scores of CDTs were higher in children with OCD than in the controls [CDT1,(30.9 ±3.2)vs.(27.6 ±3.8);CDT2,(31.3 ±4.4)vs. (28.5 ±4.9);P <0.01].The scores of CDTs were lower in children with ADHD than in the controls [CDT1, [(25.0 ±4.3)vs.(27.6 ±3.8)];CDT2,[(26.2 ±4.6)vs.(28.5 ±4.9);P <0.001].Conclusion:The results in-dicate that the children with OCD have a trend to choose the task with longer waiting time and higher score,and the children with ADHD trend to choose the task with shorter waiting time and lower score.The results suggest that the pathogenesis of hyperactivity/impulse control may be different between OCD and ADHD in delay aversion.

Response inhibition and fine-motor coordination in male children with Tourette syndrome comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder / 中国心理卫生杂志

Objective:To explore the differences and similarities of the neuropsychological functioning defi-cits in children between Tourette syndrome (TS)and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods:Thirty boys with TS-only,36 with TS-plus-ADHD,36 with ADHD were selected from out-patient department,and 50 normal boys (NC)matched with gender,age and IQ were recruited as the controls. Patients'diagnosis was made according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems,Tenth Revision (ICD-10). They were assessed with the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test (Stroop)and Purdue Pegboard Test (Purdue)to evaluate the response inhibition and fine-motor coordination respectively. Results:The Stroop scores were higher in children with ADHD than in other groups (P0. 05 ). All Purdue scores were higher in children with disease than in normal children (P<0. 05 ). Conclusion:The results indicate that the response inhibition deficit may be found in children with ADHD,but not in those with TS-only and TS-plus-ADHD. The neural compensatory mechanism may be re-sponsible for the response inhibition function in children with TS whilst the fine-motor coordination deficit was as-sociated with the disease groups.