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Progress in Brain Research 2016In this chapter, we briefly review the basic biology of psychological stress and the stress response. We propose that psychological stress and the neurobiology of the... (Review)
Review
In this chapter, we briefly review the basic biology of psychological stress and the stress response. We propose that psychological stress and the neurobiology of the stress response play in substance use initiation, maintenance, and relapse. The proposed mechanisms for this include, on the one hand, the complex interactions between biological mediators of the stress response and the dopaminergic reward system and, on the other hand, mediators of the stress response and other systems crucial in moderating key addiction-related behaviors such as endogenous opioids, the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary system, and endocannabinoids. Exciting new avenues of study including genomics, sex as a moderator of the stress response, and behavioral addictions (gambling, hypersexuality, dysfunctional internet use, and food as an addictive substance) are also briefly presented within the context of stress as a moderator of the addictive process.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Addictive; Gambling; Humans; Internet; Reward; Stress, Psychological; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 26806770
DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2015.08.001 -
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Jan 2019In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in investigating the effects of chronic and acute stress on cognitive processes, especially memory performance.... (Review)
Review
In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in investigating the effects of chronic and acute stress on cognitive processes, especially memory performance. However, research focusing on acute stress effects has reported contradictory findings, probably due to the many factors that can moderate this relationship. In addition to factors related to the individual, such as sex and age, other factors, such as the type of memory assessed, can play a critical role in the direction of these effects. This review summarizes the main findings of our research group and others about the effects of acute psychosocial stress on memory performance in young and older people of both sexes, taking into account the type and phase of memory assessed. In our opinion, an approach that addresses individual factors and other factors related to the type of stressor and temporal relationship between exposure to the stressor and performance will contribute to better understanding the mechanisms underlying the complex relationship between acute stress and memory. Finally, some new directions for future studies on this research topic are suggested.
Topics: Age Factors; Humans; Memory; Memory, Short-Term; Mental Recall; Neuropsychological Tests; Sex Factors; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 30503729
DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.11.013 -
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 2023
PubMed: 37324521
DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1213723 -
Journal of Psychiatric Research Aug 2022Psychological interventions are commonly used to treat mild-to-moderate depression, but their efficacy in young adults has not been exhaustively addressed. This... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Psychological interventions are commonly used to treat mild-to-moderate depression, but their efficacy in young adults has not been exhaustively addressed. This meta-analysis aims to establish it in comparison to no treatment, wait-list, usual treatment, passive interventions, and other bona-fide treatments.
METHODS
The search was conducted in Scopus, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ClinicalTrials.gov, the ISRCTN Registry, Cochrane CENTRAL, Clarivate BIOSIS Previews and the METAPSY database, retrieving studies from the start of records to April 2020. Eligibility criteria included samples of 16-30 years experiencing mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms and participating in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs, or pre-post studies measuring depressive symptomatology and featuring psychological treatments.
RESULTS
Up to 45 studies met criteria, consisting of 3,947 participants, assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies and their results meta-analyzed assuming random effects. Psychological interventions proved to be efficacious in RCTs compared to no treatment (g = -0.68; 95% CI = -0.87, -0.48) and wait-list (g = -1.04; 95% CI = -1.25, -0.82), while depressive symptoms also improved in pre-post studies (g = -0.99; 95% CI = -1.32, -0.66). However, intervention efficacy was similar to usual care, passive, and bona-fide comparators. The heterogeneity found, a likely reporting bias and the low quality of most studies must be considered when interpreting these results.
CONCLUSIONS
Psychological treatments are efficacious to reduce depressive symptoms in young adults, but comparable to other interventions in the mild-to-moderate range. Moderators like depression severity or therapist involvement significantly influenced their efficacy, with results encouraging clinicians to adopt flexible and personalized approaches.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Depression; Humans; Psychosocial Intervention; Psychotherapy; Waiting Lists; Young Adult
PubMed: 35793580
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.06.034 -
American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 2022Chronic stress is a ubiquitous problem shouldered by many people worldwide. Although the stressors are myriad (eg, loneliness, finances, health, discrimination), the... (Review)
Review
Chronic stress is a ubiquitous problem shouldered by many people worldwide. Although the stressors are myriad (eg, loneliness, finances, health, discrimination), the corporal response to them either causes or exacerbates mental and physical illness, including depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease. Identifying efficient ways to help people buffer their response and promote resilience and wellness is critical to improving overall health. Positive interpersonal connection is a proven way to promote resilience and happiness. It is associated with decreased mortality and markers of better health. Kindness and caring are prosocial behaviors that build positive interpersonal connections and can uplift both the giver and receiver. Simply seeing kindness and caring activates the neuropsychology of kindness, elevating the viewer and promoting generosity, interpersonal connection, and inclusion. That augmenting positive emotions, enhancing interpersonal connection, and inducing prosocial behavior change are possible through seeing kindness opens the opportunity to bolster resilience in higher stress settings like health care. In a recent study, watching kindness media in a health care setting rapidly increased self-reported feelings of happiness, calm, gratitude, and being inspired. Viewers were significantly more generous. Providing staff and patients with a nonjudgmental lift to enhance caring interactions through kindnesses media can be an important, low-cost adjunct to improving the healthcare environment.
PubMed: 35185431
DOI: 10.1177/1559827620988268 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2022
PubMed: 36636666
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1118451 -
Frontiers in Neuroscience 2019Monoamines are involved in regulating the endogenous pain system and indeed, peripheral and central monoaminergic dysfunction has been demonstrated in certain types of... (Review)
Review
Monoamines are involved in regulating the endogenous pain system and indeed, peripheral and central monoaminergic dysfunction has been demonstrated in certain types of pain, particularly in neuropathic pain. Accordingly, drugs that modulate the monaminergic system and that were originally designed to treat depression are now considered to be first line treatments for certain types of neuropathic pain (e.g., serotonin and noradrenaline (and also dopamine) reuptake inhibitors). The analgesia induced by these drugs seems to be mediated by inhibiting the reuptake of these monoamines, thereby reinforcing the descending inhibitory pain pathways. Hence, it is of particular interest to study the monoaminergic mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. Other analgesic drugs may also be used in combination with monoamines to facilitate descending pain inhibition (e.g., gabapentinoids and opioids) and such combinations are often also used to alleviate certain types of chronic pain. By contrast, while NSAIDs are thought to influence the monoaminergic system, they just produce consistent analgesia in inflammatory pain. Thus, in this review we will provide preclinical and clinical evidence of the role of monoamines in the modulation of chronic pain, reviewing how this system is implicated in the analgesic mechanism of action of antidepressants, gabapentinoids, atypical opioids, NSAIDs and histaminergic drugs.
PubMed: 31942167
DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.01268 -
Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford,... Aug 2017The purpose of this article is to debate current understandings about the psychobiological effects of recreational 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or 'ecstasy'),... (Review)
Review
AIMS
The purpose of this article is to debate current understandings about the psychobiological effects of recreational 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or 'ecstasy'), and recommend theoretically-driven topics for future research.
METHODS
Recent empirical findings, especially those from novel topic areas were reviewed. Potential causes for the high variance often found in group findings were also examined.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The first empirical reports into psychobiological and psychiatric aspects from the early 1990s concluded that regular users demonstrated some selective psychobiological deficits, for instance worse declarative memory, or heightened depression. More recent research has covered a far wider range of psychobiological functions, and deficits have emerged in aspects of vision, higher cognitive skill, neurohormonal functioning, and foetal developmental outcomes. However, variance levels are often high, indicating that while some recreational users develop problems, others are less affected. Potential reasons for this high variance are debated. An explanatory model based on multi-factorial causation is then proposed.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
A number of theoretically driven research topics are suggested, in order to empirically investigate the potential causes for these diverse psychobiological deficits. Future neuroimaging studies should study the practical implications of any serotonergic and/or neurohormonal changes, using a wide range of functional measures.
Topics: Biomedical Research; Cognitive Dysfunction; Fetal Development; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Memory Disorders; N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine
PubMed: 28661257
DOI: 10.1177/0269881117711922 -
L'Encephale Feb 2016The placebo effect is an excellent model for understanding the mechanisms underlying the interaction between a subjective and complex mental activity (beliefs,... (Review)
Review
The placebo effect is an excellent model for understanding the mechanisms underlying the interaction between a subjective and complex mental activity (beliefs, expectations, hopes, learning, patient-physician relationship, socio-cultural context .) with different neural and biological systems. Initially, research on the placebo effect has focused on the mechanisms of pain and analgesia. The cognitive processes of conditioning and reward anticipation (hope of a relief) were highlighted. The involvement of different neurobiological pathways has been clearly shown: endogenous opioids, CCK, dopaminergic pathways, endocannabinoids, immunological factors... More recently, the field has open towards new perspectives: depression and anxiety, motor disorders, immune system, endocrine system. Intensive research in the field emerges because of its fundamental implications in neuroscience research but also because of the ethical, clinical and therapeutical issues. Moreover, the placebo effect is considered as a main methodological mean issue in clinical trials that allows the demonstration of the efficacy and tolerance of new drugs. In the field of psychiatry, depression is a placebo highly-sensitive disorder: placebo response rates in clinical trials are of the order of 30 % to 40 %. The identification of biological markers of placebo response, such as neuroimaging and quantitative electroencephalography may lead to develop more efficient models in clinical research.
Topics: Depressive Disorder; Depressive Disorder, Major; Humans; Placebo Effect
PubMed: 26879253
DOI: 10.1016/S0013-7006(16)30016-1 -
Current Pharmaceutical Design 2020
Topics: Behavior, Addictive; Cognition; Diet; Feeding Behavior
PubMed: 32552633
DOI: 10.2174/138161282620200520082619