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Molecular Psychiatry Nov 2023Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by a harmful persistence of self-imposed starvation resulting in significant weight loss. Research...
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by a harmful persistence of self-imposed starvation resulting in significant weight loss. Research suggests that alterations in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and circulating endocannabinoids (eCBs), such as anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), may contribute to increased severity and maladaptive behaviors in AN, warranting an examination of the interplay between central reward circuitry and eCBs. For this purpose, we assessed NAcc functional connectivity and circulating AEA and 2-AG concentrations in 18 individuals with AN and 18 healthy controls (HC) to test associations between circulating eCBs, NAcc functional connectivity, and AN severity, as defined by body mass index (BMI). Decreased connectivity was observed between the NAcc and the right insula (NAcc-insula; p < 0.001) and the left supplementary motor area (NAcc-SMA; p < 0.001) in the AN group compared to HC. Reduced NAcc-insula functional connectivity mediated the association between AEA concentrations and BMI in the AN group. However, in HC, NAcc-SMA functional connectivity had a mediating role between AEA concentrations and BMI. Although no significant differences in eCBs concentrations were observed between the groups, our findings provide insights into how the interaction between eCBs and NAcc functional connectivity influences AN severity. Altered NAcc-insula and NAcc-SMA connectivity in AN may impair the integration of interoceptive, somatosensory, and motor planning information related to reward stimuli. Furthermore, the distinct associations between eCBs concentrations and NAcc functional connectivity in AN and HC could have clinical implications for weight maintenance, with eCBs being a potential target for AN treatment.
Topics: Humans; Nucleus Accumbens; Anorexia Nervosa; Endocannabinoids; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Reward
PubMed: 37759041
DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02253-2 -
Journal of Clinical Medicine Oct 2023Research has revealed that homosexual and bisexual people are at higher risk of mental health problems than heterosexual people. However, most studies have focused on...
Research has revealed that homosexual and bisexual people are at higher risk of mental health problems than heterosexual people. However, most studies have focused on differences in disorders and have not examined the intersection of gender and sexual orientation. The main aim of this study is to investigate the relevance of sexual orientation in women's and men's mental symptoms, life satisfaction, and self-esteem. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 309 women and men who were homosexual or bisexual and 309 women and men who were heterosexual, aged between 17 and 54. All participants were assessed by four self-reports measuring mental symptoms, life satisfaction, self-esteem, masculine/instrumental and feminine/expressive traits, and traditional gender role attitudes. Results showed an interaction between sexual orientation and gender, with lesbian or bisexual women scoring higher in severe depression symptoms and lower in life satisfaction than heterosexual women. Homosexual and bisexual people scored higher than heterosexuals in somatic symptoms, social dysfunction, and in self-esteem. Women scored higher than men in somatic, anxiety, and insomnia symptoms and in feminine/expressive traits, whereas men scored higher than women in traditional gender role attitudes. We conclude that sexual orientation and gender are relevant to the mental health and well-being of people.
PubMed: 37835010
DOI: 10.3390/jcm12196366 -
European Neuropsychopharmacology : the... Oct 2023Major depression disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are usual comorbidities in patients with substance use disorders (SUD), a condition known as dual disorder... (Review)
Review
UNLABELLED
Major depression disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are usual comorbidities in patients with substance use disorders (SUD), a condition known as dual disorder (DD). MDD, BD and SUD are associated with cognitive impairment, potentially leading to a greater functional impairment in the context of DD.
OBJECTIVES
To review the existing data on the cognitive impairment in DD patients with comorbid MDD or BD, considering the influence of the depressive symptomatology.
METHODS
Following the PRISMA protocol 19 studies were selected from the last 17 years, 13 of which focused on BD, five on MDD and one included both diagnoses.
RESULTS
Studies based in BD+SUD showed that the most affected cognitive domains were attention and executive functions, but not all of them found a greater impairment due to the comorbidity. While fewer studies were found for depression, MDD+SUD works point to a similar impairment cognitive pattern. Furthermore, depression improvement could be associated to better cognitive performance.
LIMITATIONS
More standardized research is needed regarding the influence of depression on cognitive performance of DD patients, especially on those with comorbid MDD. Factors such as main substance, abstinence, or MDD/BD-related variables should be considered. Unstudied factors, like gender or circadian rhythms, are proposed to improve knowledge in this area.
CONCLUSIONS
Current studies suggest that DD could potentiate cognitive impairment in BD, MDD and SUD. However, additional research is needed to improve the understanding of comorbidity to apply more individualized therapies in the treatment of these patients, considering the interference of their neurocognitive functioning.
PubMed: 37453267
DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2023.06.006 -
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity Feb 2024Depressed patients exhibit altered levels of immune-inflammatory markers both in the peripheral blood and in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and inflammatory processes...
Depressed patients exhibit altered levels of immune-inflammatory markers both in the peripheral blood and in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and inflammatory processes have been widely implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. The Choroid Plexus (ChP), located at the base of each of the four brain ventricles, regulates the exchange of substances between the blood and CSF and several evidence supported a key role for ChP as a neuro-immunological interface between the brain and circulating immune cells. Given the role of ChP as a regulatory gate between periphery, CSF spaces and the brain, we compared ChP volumes in patients with bipolar disorder (BP) or major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls, exploring their association with history of illness and levels of circulating cytokines. Plasma levels of inflammatory markers and MRI scans were acquired for 73 MDD, 79 BD and 72 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC). Patients with either BD or MDD had higher ChP volumes than HC. With increasing age, the bilateral ChP volume was larger in patients, an effect driven by the duration of illness; while only minor effects were observed in HC. Right ChP volumes were proportional to higher levels of circulating cytokines in the clinical groups, including IFN-γ, IL-13 and IL-17. Specific effects in the two diagnostic groups were observed when considering the left ChP, with positive association with IL-1ra, IL-13, IL-17, and CCL3 in BD, and negative associations with IL-2, IL-4, IL-1ra, and IFN-γ in MDD. These results suggest that ChP could represent a reliable and easy-to-assess biomarker to evaluate the brain effects of inflammatory status in mood disorders, contributing to personalized diagnosis and tailored treatment strategies.
Topics: Humans; Mood Disorders; Cytokines; Depressive Disorder, Major; Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein; Interleukin-17; Interleukin-13; Choroid Plexus; Biomarkers
PubMed: 38030049
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.11.036 -
Translational Psychiatry Jun 2024Major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are highly disabling illnesses defined by different psychopathological, neuroimaging, and cognitive profiles.... (Review)
Review
Major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are highly disabling illnesses defined by different psychopathological, neuroimaging, and cognitive profiles. In the last decades, immune dysregulation has received increasing attention as a central factor in the pathophysiology of these disorders. Several aspects of immune dysregulations have been investigated, including, low-grade inflammation cytokines, chemokines, cell populations, gene expression, and markers of both peripheral and central immune activation. Understanding the distinct immune profiles characterizing the two disorders is indeed of crucial importance for differential diagnosis and the implementation of personalized treatment strategies. In this paper, we reviewed the current literature on the dysregulation of the immune response system focusing our attention on studies using inflammatory markers to discriminate between MDD and BD. High heterogeneity characterized the available literature, reflecting the heterogeneity of the disorders. Common alterations in the immune response system include high pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α. On the contrary, a greater involvement of chemokines and markers associated with innate immunity has been reported in BD together with dynamic changes in T cells with differentiation defects during childhood which normalize in adulthood, whereas classic mediators of immune responses such as IL-4 and IL-10 are present in MDD together with signs of immune-senescence.
Topics: Humans; Bipolar Disorder; Depressive Disorder, Major; Cytokines; Inflammation Mediators; Biomarkers; Inflammation; Interleukin-6
PubMed: 38851764
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02921-z -
Bio Systems Dec 2023This paper delves into the concept of archetypes, universal patterns of behavior and cognition, and proposes a novel tripartite model distinguishing between structural,...
This paper delves into the concept of archetypes, universal patterns of behavior and cognition, and proposes a novel tripartite model distinguishing between structural, regulatory, and representational archetypes. Drawing on insights from code biology, neuroscience, genetics, and epigenetics, the model provides a nuanced framework for understanding archetypes and their role in shaping cognition and behavior. The paper also explores the interplay between these elements to express representational archetypes. Furthermore, it addresses the informational capacity of the genome and its influence on post-natal development and the psyche. The paper concludes by discussing the future trajectory of psychology, emphasizing the need for an integrative approach that combines our understanding of social constructs with insights into our inherent organizational propensities or archetypes. This exploration holds the potential to advance our understanding of the human condition.
Topics: Humans; Jungian Theory
PubMed: 37832929
DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.105059 -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Sep 20233D standard reference brains serve as key resources to understand the spatial organization of the brain and promote interoperability across different studies. However,...
3D standard reference brains serve as key resources to understand the spatial organization of the brain and promote interoperability across different studies. However, unlike the adult mouse brain, the lack of standard 3D reference atlases for developing mouse brains has hindered advancement of our understanding of brain development. Here, we present a multimodal 3D developmental common coordinate framework (DevCCF) spanning mouse embryonic day (E) 11.5, E13.5, E15.5, E18.5, and postnatal day (P) 4, P14, and P56 with anatomical segmentations defined by a developmental ontology. At each age, the DevCCF features undistorted morphologically averaged atlas templates created from Magnetic Resonance Imaging and co-registered high-resolution templates from light sheet fluorescence microscopy. Expert-curated 3D anatomical segmentations at each age adhere to an updated prosomeric model and can be explored via an interactive 3D web-visualizer. As a use case, we employed the DevCCF to unveil the emergence of GABAergic neurons in embryonic brains. Moreover, we integrated the Allen CCFv3 into the P56 template with stereotaxic coordinates and mapped spatial transcriptome cell-type data with the developmental ontology. In summary, the DevCCF is an openly accessible resource that can be used for large-scale data integration to gain a comprehensive understanding of brain development.
PubMed: 37745386
DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.14.557789 -
PloS One 2023Language comprehension involves both sub-lexical (e.g., phonological) and lexical-semantic processing. We conducted a task using functional magnetic resonance imaging...
Language comprehension involves both sub-lexical (e.g., phonological) and lexical-semantic processing. We conducted a task using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare the processing of verbs in these two domains. Additionally, we examined the representation of concrete-motor and abstract-non-motor concepts by including two semantic categories of verbs: motor and mental. The findings indicate that sub-lexical processing during the reading of pseudo-verbs primarily involves the left dorsal stream of the perisylvian network, while lexical-semantic representation during the reading of verbs predominantly engages the ventral stream. According to the embodied or grounded cognition approach, modality-specific mechanisms (such as sensory-motor systems) and the well-established multimodal left perisylvian network contribute to the semantic representation of both concrete and abstract verbs. Our study identified the visual system as a preferential modality-specific system for abstract-mental verbs, which exhibited functional connectivity with the right crus I/lobule VI of the cerebellum. Taken together, these results confirm the dissociation between sub-lexical and lexical-semantic processing and provide neurobiological evidence of functional coupling between specific visual modality regions and the right cerebellum, forming a network that supports the semantic representation of abstract concepts. Further, the results shed light on the underlying mechanisms of semantic processing and contribute to our understanding of how the brain processes abstract concepts.
Topics: Semantics; Telencephalon; Cerebellum; Brain; Cerebrum
PubMed: 37708205
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291558 -
Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics Mar 2024Aphasia is a communication disorder resulting from stroke and/or neurodegenerative conditions which involve the left cerebral hemisphere. It is a debilitating disorder...
INTRODUCTION
Aphasia is a communication disorder resulting from stroke and/or neurodegenerative conditions which involve the left cerebral hemisphere. It is a debilitating disorder affecting a person's ability to speak, understand, read, and write. Its impact on daily life necessitates therapeutic strategies to aid patients with aphasia.
AREAS COVERED
In this special report, the authors speculate whether current pharmacotherapeutic strategies are effective in treating aphasia. The authors look at aphasia caused by different conditions and how this could impact therapy before providing the reader with their expert perspectives. The aim of this paper is for the reader to gain a clearer understanding of the efficacy of the current pharmacotherapeutic treatment paradigms as well as potential future developments.
EXPERT OPINION
The exploration of pharmacotherapy for aphasia in vascular brain disorders and neurodegenerative diseases has received much attention in recent years with various therapeutic strategies having been put forward. In terms of whether pharmacotherapy is effective for the treatment of aphasia, there is still no clear-cut answer. Further research is needed with more studies requiring a greater emphasis on language and communication deficits. Biomarkers may also help clinicians provide their patients with a more personalized treatment plan.
Topics: Humans; Aphasia; Stroke; Brain; Stroke Rehabilitation
PubMed: 38323346
DOI: 10.1080/14737175.2024.2313557 -
Psychoneuroendocrinology Dec 2023The underlying psychobiology that contributes to Anorexia Nervosa (AN) onset and disease progression remains unclear. New research is emerging suggesting a possible link...
INTRODUCTION
The underlying psychobiology that contributes to Anorexia Nervosa (AN) onset and disease progression remains unclear. New research is emerging suggesting a possible link between inflammation and a variety of mental illnesses. Alterations of cytokines may play a role in the pathogenesis of AN. Some studies have found differences in the cytokine profile of those with AN compared to healthy controls, but results are heterogeneous. The aim of this work was to systematically review existing studies investigating in-vivo cytokine production in those with AN before and after weight restoration compared to controls.
METHODS
A comprehensive literature search of four electronic databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, EMBASE and CINAH) was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to identify human in-vivo studies investigating the relationship between AN and cytokine production. Data extracted from included studies related to population characteristics (e.g. age, gender, mean mBMI/%IBW), cytokine measurement and relevant findings. Confounding factors (e.g. smoking status, co-morbid mental illness, menstruation status) were also collected.
RESULTS
36 studies were eligible for this systematic review of which the majority were conducted in Europe (77.8%) and involved female subjects (97.2%). Those with AN ranged in age from 13 to 47 years and had an illness duration of 3 months to 24 years. 15 candidate cytokines and 3 receptors were identified (TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1B, CRP, IL-2, IL-7, IL-10, IFN-γ, TNF-R2, IL-1 α, IL-15, TNF-R1, IL-17, IL-18, TGF-B1, IL-12, IL-6R and TGF-B2) exploring in-vivo levels in patients with AN and comparing to controls. TNF-alpha and IL-6 were the most extensively studied with IL-6 being significantly elevated in 4 out of 8 (50%) of longitudinal studies when comparing AN patients at baseline compared to post weight restoration. Following weight restoration, there was no difference in IL-6 levels when comparing to HC in 7 of 8 (87.5%) longitudinal studies examined.
CONCLUSIONS
The most promising cytokine potentially involved in the pathogenesis of AN appears to be IL-6, and possibly TNF-alpha pathways. The heterogeneity of clinical and methodology factors impedes the generalizability of results. Future studies may wish to address these methodological shortcomings as alterations in cytokine levels in AN could act as therapeutic targets assisting with weight restoration and psychopathology and may offer diagnostic potential.
Topics: Humans; Female; Adolescent; Young Adult; Adult; Middle Aged; Anorexia Nervosa; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Interleukin-6; Cytokines; Longitudinal Studies
PubMed: 37769539
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106390