Addressing Key Gaps in Existing Longitudinal Research and Establishing a Pathway Forward for Firearm Violence Prevention Research.

The main purpose of this article and this special section is to encourage greater attention to the key gaps that exist in our understanding of the epidemiology of adolescent firearm violence and to provide a pathway forward for future longitudinal research that will inform prevention efforts. This increased attention is especially salient given: (a) firearms are the leading cause of death for adolescents and emerging adults in the United States, with the majority of these deaths due to interpersonal violence; (b) significant health and social disparities with regards to the populations that are most affected by interpersonal firearm violence have been documented; and, (c) limitations in federal research funding during the past 30 years have created a deficit of knowledge about key risk and protective factors necessary to inform evidence-based prevention efforts. We discuss the implications of the articles in this special edition for existing and novel prevention programs. We also identify key considerations for future epidemiological research, including the need for a greater focus on collecting longitudinal data among nationally representative samples enriched with subgroups of at-risk youth, the need to examine the role of protective factors and mediating variables within existing and novel theoretical models of firearm risk behaviors, the need to examine key factors across all levels of the socio-ecological model, and the need to incorporate novel and innovative research designs, methods and analyses.

Introduction.

The theme of this monograph reflects the growing research interest in the contribution of the microbiome-gut-brain axis to mental health. This chapter introduces readers to the study of the microbiome in psychiatric research and emphasises how research into the gut microbiome has had a significant impact on our understanding of mental health. A brief summary of the historical background for microbiome research in mental health is followed by examples of evidence linking gut microorganisms to changes in brain function. As novel technological developments have played a major role in providing the evidence for microbiome modulation of brain function, an overview of modern techniques and technologies is then provided. These have broadened our understanding of the range of microorganisms, in addition to bacteria, which contribute to the changes initiated by the microbiome. In addition, common experimental models are reviewed in light of the important role that animal studies, particularly in germ-free rodents, have played in establishing microbiome-gut-brain interactions. This introduction concludes with a summary of the challenges for future microbiome research, providing a forward-thinking perspective echoed in many of the following chapters.

Leveraging Daily Social Experiences to Motivate Healthy Aging.

Models of healthy aging highlight the motivating influence of social connections. Social experiences constantly shape our thoughts and behaviors throughout daily life, and these daily processes slowly and consistently influence our health and well-being. In this article, we discuss research that has moved from cross-sectional laboratory designs emphasizing individual behaviors to more naturalistic within-person paradigms linking daily social experiences to emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being. We mention research gaps that need to be filled to advance our knowledge of the powerful forces of the social environment for motivating healthy aging. We also offer future directions to move this research forward. We conclude with an outlook on how to leverage these powerful forces in novel intervention approaches that are sensitive to the constantly changing nature of the person and the environment.

Practical Methodological Reform Needs Good Theory.

In the face of unreplicable results, statistical anomalies, and outright fraud, introspection and changes in the psychological sciences have taken root. Vibrant reform and metascience movements have emerged. These are exciting developments and may point toward practical improvements in the future. Yet there is nothing so practical as good theory. This article outlines aspects of reform and metascience in psychology that are ripe for an injection of theory, including a lot of excellent and overlooked theoretical work from different disciplines. I review established frameworks that model the process of scientific discovery, the types of scientific networks that we ought to aspire to, and the processes by which problematic norms and institutions might evolve, focusing especially on modeling from the philosophy of science and cultural evolution. We have unwittingly evolved a toxic scientific ecosystem; existing interdisciplinary theory may help us intelligently design a better one.

The international initiatives of the collaboration between the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Medicine, the Panhellenic Medical Association and the World Psychiatric Association, concerning mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, all European countries were hit, but mortality rates were heterogenous, with some countries being hit very hard, while others including Greece had a much lower death rate during the first wave of spring 2020. The ultra-fast application of measures was probably the reason of this outstanding success. This outbreak is expected to trigger feelings of fear, worry, and stress, as responses to an extreme threat for the community and the individual. In addition, changes in social behavior, as well as in working conditions, daily habits and routine, are expected to impose further stress, especially with the expectation of an upcoming economic crisis and possible unemployment. In Greece, where the lockdown was extremely successful in terms of containing the outbreak, worries concerning the possible adverse effects on mental health were also predominant. A collaboration concerning mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak was established, between the Aristotle University School of Medicine, the Panhellenic Medical Association and the World Psychiatric Association. Two large multinational studies were launched, one concerning the general population and one university students. Students' mental health is an area of special interest, both because of the vulnerability of this age group as well as because any disruption during the time of the studies has profound long-term consequences in the lives of the individuals, and this might trigger feelings of fear, worry, and stress. According the results from the Greek arm of the students' study, during the lockdown, two-thirds of university students reported at least 'much' increase in anxiety, one third in depressive feelings and in 2.59% concerning suicidal thoughts. There was also a worsening of quality of life and deterioration of lifestyle issues. Major depression was present in 12.43% with an additional 13.46% experiencing severe distress. Beliefs in conspiracy theories enjoyed wide acceptance ranging from 20-68%, with students of law, literature, pedagogics, political sciences and related studies manifesting higher acceptance rates. Female sex and depression/dysphoria both independently but also in interaction were related to higher rates of such beliefs. The results of the Greek arm of the general population study suggested that during the lockdown, clinical depression was present in 9.31%, with an additional 8.5% experiencing severe distress. Increased anxious and depressive emotions (including subclinical cases) were present in more than 40% of the population. In persons with a previous history of depression, 23.31% experienced depression vs. 8.96% of cases without previous history, who were experiencing their first depressive episode. Family dynamics suggested that fewer conflicts and better quality of relationships were surprisingly related to higher anxiety and depressive emotions, higher rates of depression and distress, and greater rates of suicidal thoughts. Eventually, spiritual and religious affiliation could protect the individual from the emerging suicidal thoughts. As correlation does not imply causation, the results suggest that conspiracy theories could be either the cause of depression or on the contrary a coping mechanism against depression. After taking into consideration that also in the family environment the expression of anger seemed to be a protective factor, the most likely explanation could be that the beliefs in conspiracy theories are a coping and 'protective' mechanism against the emergence of depression. These studies were among the first published, they went deeper in the data collection and even led to the creation of a model with distinct stages for the development of mental disorders during the lockdown. The analysis of the international data will probably provide further insight into the prevalence of mental disorders and the universal but also culturally specific models and factors pertaining to their development. At the time this editorial was in press, more than 40 countries representing more than two thirds of earth's population were participating with more than 45,000 responses already gathered.

National Institutes of Health social and behavioral research in response to the SARS-CoV2 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been mitigated primarily using social and behavioral intervention strategies, and these strategies have social and economic impacts, as well as potential downstream health impacts that require further study. Digital and community-based interventions are being increasingly relied upon to address these health impacts and bridge the gap in health care access despite insufficient research of these interventions as a replacement for, not an adjunct to, in-person clinical care. As SARS-CoV-2 testing expands, research on encouraging uptake and appropriate interpretation of these test results is needed. All of these issues are disproportionately impacting underserved, vulnerable, and health disparities populations. This commentary describes the various initiatives of the National Institutes of Health to address these social, behavioral, economic, and health disparities impacts of the pandemic, the findings from which can improve our response to the current pandemic and prepare us better for future infectious disease outbreaks.

Going wild for functional genomics: RNA interference as a tool to study gene-behavior associations in diverse species and ecological contexts.

Identifying the genetic basis of behavior has remained a challenge for biologists. A major obstacle to this goal is the difficulty of examining gene function in an ecologically relevant context. New tools such as CRISPR/Cas9, which alter the germline of an organism, have taken center stage in functional genomics in non-model organisms. However, germline modifications of this nature cannot be ethically implemented in the wild as a part of field experiments. This impediment is more than technical. Gene function is intimately tied to the environment in which the gene is expressed, especially for behavior. Most lab-based studies fail to recapitulate an organism's ecological niche, thus most published functional genomics studies of gene-behavior relationships may provide an incomplete or even inaccurate assessment of gene function. In this review, we highlight RNA interference as an especially effective experimental method to deepen our understanding of the interplay between genes, behavior, and the environment. We highlight the utility of RNAi for researchers investigating behavioral genetics, noting unique attributes of RNAi including transience of effect and the feasibility of releasing treated animals into the wild, that make it especially useful for studying the function of behavior-related genes. Furthermore, we provide guidelines for planning and executing an RNAi experiment to study behavior, including challenges to consider. We urge behavioral ecologists and functional genomicists to adopt a more fully integrated approach which we call "ethological genomics". We advocate this approach, utilizing tools such as RNAi, to study gene-behavior relationships in their natural context, arguing that such studies can provide a deeper understanding of how genes can influence behavior, as well as ecological aspects beyond the organism that houses them.

mHealth Research Applied to Regulated and Unregulated Behavioral Health Sciences.

Behavioral scientists are developing new methods and frameworks that leverage mobile health technologies to optimize individual level behavior change. Pervasive sensors and mobile apps allow researchers to passively observe human behaviors "in the wild" 24/7 which supports delivery of personalized interventions in the real-world environment. This is all possible because these technologies contain an incredible array of sensors that allow applications to constantly record user location and can contextualize current environmental conditions through barometers, thermometers, and ambient light sensors and can also capture audio and video of the user and their surroundings through multiple integrated high-definition cameras and microphones. These tools are a game changer in behavioral health research and, not surprisingly, introduce new ethical, regulatory/legal and social implications described in this article.