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Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment 2024The purpose of this study was to evaluate the positive impact of mobile neurofeedback (MNF) in neurotypical children compared to sham mobile neurofeedback. (Clinical Trial)
Clinical Trial
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the positive impact of mobile neurofeedback (MNF) in neurotypical children compared to sham mobile neurofeedback.
METHODS
Neurotypical children aged 10-15 participated in the study. All subjects were assessed using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia Present and Lifetime Version Korean Version (K-SADS-PL-K) and confirmed to have no psychiatric symptoms. The participants were randomly assigned to the MNF active (N=31) or sham control (N=30) groups. The MNF program was administered using a mobile app for 30 min/day, 3 days/week, for 3 months. All participants and their parents completed self-report scales and participants complete neurocognitive function assessments including the continuous performance test, Stroop, children's color trails test-1 and 2, and intelligence test at baseline and after the 3-month MNF program.
RESULTS
This study involved 61 participants (mean [SD] age, 11.24 [1.84] years; 30 male participants [49.2%]). To verify the difference between the MNF group and the sham group, 2(MNF-Sham) X 2(Pre-Post) repeated measures ANOVA was performed. The main effect of the K-scale (Korea Internet addiction scale) between-group factor (MNF vs Sham) was not significant, but the main effect of the within-group factor (Pre vs Post) was significant (F=7.595, p=0.008). The interaction effect of between-group factors and within-group factors was also significant (F=5.979, p=0.017). In other self-reported scales of children and parents and neurocognitive function assessments, there was no significant difference between the two groups.
CONCLUSION
Active mobile neurofeedback significantly improved children's K-scale score compared to the sham group. Therefore, mobile neurofeedback could be an easy-to-access therapeutic option for children at risk of Internet addiction. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in other scales and neurocognitive function. A 3-month intervention may not have been long enough to cause change, so longer interventions are needed for confirmation.
PubMed: 38774254
DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S454881 -
Neuropsychopharmacology Reports May 2024This study aimed to identify subgroups of alcohol use disorder (AUD) based on a multidimensional combination of alexithymia, depression, and diverse drinking behavior.
AIM
This study aimed to identify subgroups of alcohol use disorder (AUD) based on a multidimensional combination of alexithymia, depression, and diverse drinking behavior.
METHOD
We recruited 176 patients with AUD, which were initially divided into non-alexithymic (n = 130) and alexithymic (n = 46) groups using a cutoff score of 61 on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Subsequently, the profiles of the two groups were compared. Thereafter, a two-stage cluster analysis using hierarchical and K-means methods was performed with the Z-scores from the TAS-20, the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report Japanese Version, the 12-item questionnaire for quantitative assessment of depressive mixed state, and the 20-item questionnaire for drinking behavior pattern.
RESULTS
In the first analysis, Alexithymic patients with AUD showed greater depressive symptoms and more pathological drinking behavior patterns than those without alexithymia. Cluster analysis featuring alexithymia, depression, and drinking behavior identified three subtypes: Cluster 1 (core AUD type) manifesting pathological drinking behavior highlighting automaticity; Cluster 2 (late-onset type) showing relatively late-onset alcohol use and fewer depressive symptoms or pathological drinking behavior; and Cluster 3 (alexithymic type) characterized by alexithymia, depression, and pathological drinking behavior featuring greater coping with negative affect.
CONCLUSION
The multidimensional model with alexithymia, depression, and diverse drinking behavior provided possible practical classification of AUD. The alexithymic subtype may require more caution, and additional support for negative affect may be necessary due to accompanying mood problems and various maladaptive drinking behaviors.
PubMed: 38773706
DOI: 10.1002/npr2.12449 -
Annals of Medicine May 2024Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating condition that affects more than 300 million people worldwide. Current treatments are based on a trial-and-error... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating condition that affects more than 300 million people worldwide. Current treatments are based on a trial-and-error approach, and reliable biomarkers are needed for more informed and personalized treatment solutions. One of the potential biomarkers, gamma-frequency (30-80 Hz) brainwaves, are hypothesized to originate from the excitatory-inhibitory interaction between the pyramidal cells and interneurons. The imbalance between this interaction is described as a crucial pathological mechanism in neuropsychiatric conditions, including MDD, and the modulation of this pathological interaction has been investigated as a potential target. Previous studies attempted to induce gamma activity in the brain using rhythmic light and sound stimuli (GENUS - Gamma Entrainment Using Sensory stimuli) that resulted in neuroprotective effects in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and animal models. Here, we investigate the antidepressant, cognitive, and electrophysiological effects of the novel light therapy approach using 40 Hz masked flickering light for patients diagnosed with MDD.
METHODS AND DESIGN
Sixty patients with a current diagnosis of a major depressive episode will be enrolled in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. The active treatment group will receive 40 Hz masked flickering light stimulation while the control group will receive continuous light matched in color temperature and brightness. Patients in both groups will get daily light treatment in their own homes and will attend four follow-up visits to assess the symptoms of depression, including depression severity measured by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), cognitive function, quality of life and sleep, and electroencephalographic changes. The primary endpoint is the mean change from baseline to week 6 in depression severity (HAM-D subscale) between the groups.
Topics: Humans; Depressive Disorder, Major; Double-Blind Method; Male; Female; Adult; Middle Aged; Phototherapy; Treatment Outcome; Young Adult; Gamma Rhythm; Aged; Electroencephalography; Adolescent
PubMed: 38767238
DOI: 10.1080/07853890.2024.2354852 -
Psychiatry and Clinical... Dec 2023Functional impairment in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder is a compelling issue, and revealing unknown related factors with functional impairment is a substantial...
BACKGROUND
Functional impairment in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder is a compelling issue, and revealing unknown related factors with functional impairment is a substantial topic. We aimed to assess the effects of clinical factors, affective temperaments, and attachment on overall functioning in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder.
METHODS
Sixty-three patients with bipolar disorder and 61 healthy controls participated in this study. The assessment involved Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; Young Mania Rating Scale; Relationship Scales Questionnaire; Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego; and Functioning Assessment Short Test.
RESULTS
Secure attachment scores were significantly higher in the control group than in the bipolar disorder group. Depressive, anxious, and cyclothymic temperament scores were significantly higher in the bipolar disorder group. In the bipolar disordergroup higher occupational, cognitive, autonomy, interpersonal relationships, and leisure subdomain and overall functional impairment scores were found than in the healthy control group. Secure attachment scores were significantly and negatively correlated with anxious and depressive temperaments. Secure attachment scores were positively and significantly correlated with hyperthymic temperament scores. Years of education; subclinical depressive symptoms; secure attachment; and cyclothymic, irritable, depressive, hyperthymic, and anxious temperaments were all significantly correlated with the overall functional impairment in the patient group. The cyclothymic and anxious temperament positively predicted the overall functional impairment in the bipolar group, while the secure attachment negatively predicted the overall functional impairment in the regression analysis.
CONCLUSION
The results suggest that, when following up the patients with bipolar disorder in relation to functional impairment, secure attachment, cyclothymic, and anxious temperaments should be taken into consideration.
PubMed: 38765849
DOI: 10.5152/pcp.2023.22597 -
Psychiatry and Clinical... Dec 2023Studies comparing insight toward illness in patients with bipolar I disorder manic episode and in patients with major depressive disorder are scarce. The aim of this...
BACKGROUND
Studies comparing insight toward illness in patients with bipolar I disorder manic episode and in patients with major depressive disorder are scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes and insight of patients with bipolar I disorder in manic episode and in patients with major depressive disorder.
METHODS
In total, 86 patients were recruited, including 52 inpatients with bipolar I disorder in manic episodes and 34 inpatients with major depressive disorder. Attitudes toward illness were evaluated using the Self-Appraisal of Illness Questionnaire. Higher Self-Appraisal of Illness Questionnaire scores indicate better awareness and positive attitudes toward one's illness. Insights were assessed using the Insight Scale for Affective Disorders. Higher scores indicate poorer insight. To identify group differences, we used Mann-Whitney test for statistical analysis.
RESULTS
In the Self-Appraisal of Illness Questionnaire, items 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 15, and 17 showed significantly lower scores in patients with bipolar I disorder than those with major depressive disorder (05). All 3 subscales (presence/outcome of illness, need for treatment, and worry) of the Self-Appraisal of Illness Questionnaire revealed significantly lower scores in the bipolar I disorder group ( < .05). In the Insight Scale for Affective Disorders, items 3, 4, 12, and 16 showed significantly higher scores in the bipolar I disorder group (05).
CONCLUSION
Patients with major depressive disorder had significantly more positive attitudes and greater insight than those with bipolar I disorder. Patients with bipolar I disorder are less aware of their symptoms, including changes in mood, speed of mental functioning, and social relationships. The clinicians may integrate the findings into treatment plans for mood disorders.
PubMed: 38765845
DOI: 10.5152/pcp.2023.23668 -
IBRO Neuroscience Reports Jun 2024Continuous challenges have been imposed on mental health science by Anxiety and Depression disorders as the most prevalent and debilitating psychiatric conditions...
Continuous challenges have been imposed on mental health science by Anxiety and Depression disorders as the most prevalent and debilitating psychiatric conditions worldwide. Pharmacologic and cognitive behavioral therapies, either alone or in combination, have been considered as the first-line therapies, however, resistant symptomatology is prevalent in comorbid conditions with symptoms remaining after interventions. The demand for new therapeutic solutions has given space to the development of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques (NIBS), and the transmagnetic direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been reported as a safe and well-tolerated technique for the treatment of several mental health conditions, including Anxiety and Depression disorders. Relying on quantitative electroencephalography(qEEG)- tDCS approach, the current study aims to inspect the effect of tDCS intervention on patients who suffer from anxiety-depression comorbidity, in particular, the impact of tDCS intervention on qEEG spectral power activity and resting-state connectivity organization during eyes closed and eyes open protocols. QEEG data were acquired from eight patients suffering from moderate to severe anxiety-depression comorbid symptoms along with poor coping skills to manage stress and negative affect. Twelve control subjects allocated in the control group exhibiting low to moderate symptoms in both anxiety and depression conditions went also through the qEEG data acquisition. In addition, a sham-controlled study was conducted, and the patient group went through resting-state qEEG-tDCS neuromodulation once a week for ten weeks. Various-stage qEEG recordings were performed to inspect the efficacy of tDCS treatment during the modulation of brain regions involved in the regulation of affective responses. Our results demonstrated that after tDCS neuromodulation, the patients' groups exhibited decreased absolute power abnormalities over the left anterior cingulate cortex and reduced abnormal activity in the alpha band over posterior regions; improved functional connectivity indexes; decreased anxiety and depressive scores while positive affect score was improved. Besides the promising improvements, our study did not find a significant tDCS effect on perceived stress and negative affect scores. Consistently, significant differences in absolute spectral power over the left anterior cingulate cortex were detected among the patient group, as compared to the controls, as expected. Therefore, our study offers preliminary data to understand the neuroplasticity changes that potentially result from the manipulation of cortical excitability during affective regulation protocols followed by the consequent decrease of comorbid anxiety and depressive symptomatology. The pilot study was followed by prospective registration with ChiCTR2200062142.
PubMed: 38764542
DOI: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2024.04.007 -
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology May 2024Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease with an estimated heritability of around 70%. Previous GWASs have detected several risk loci for psoriasis. To further improve...
Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease with an estimated heritability of around 70%. Previous GWASs have detected several risk loci for psoriasis. To further improve the understanding of the genetic risk factors impacting the disease, we conducted a discovery GWAS in FinnGen and a subsequent replication and meta-analysis with data from the Estonian Biobank and the UK Biobank; the study sample included 925,649 individuals (22,659 cases and 902,990 controls), the largest sample for psoriasis yet. In addition, we conducted downstream analyses to find out more about psoriasis' cross-trait genetic correlations and causal relationships. We report 6 risk loci, which, to our knowledge, are previously unreported, most of which harbor genes related to NF-κB signaling pathway and overall immunity. Genetic correlations highlight the relationship between psoriasis and smoking, higher body weight, and lower education level. In addition, we report causal relationships between psoriasis and mood symptoms as well as 2-directioned causal relationship between psoriasis and lower education level. Our results provide further knowledge on psoriasis risk factors, which may be useful in the development of future treatment strategies.
PubMed: 38763176
DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2024.03.043 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Jul 2024Previous research has suggested that self-bias (i.e., enhanced cognitive processing of self-versus other-relevant information) may be atypical in autism spectrum...
Previous research has suggested that self-bias (i.e., enhanced cognitive processing of self-versus other-relevant information) may be atypical in autism spectrum conditions (ASC), perhaps due to difficulties with self-other distinction. However, empirical evidence for this is inconsistent, and the neural basis of processing differences remains unknown. We present two experiments that aimed to test perceptual self-bias and familiarity effects in ASC using a perceptual-association task. Participants were asked to distinguish face/label associations of the self from those of other people of differing levels of familiarity (i.e., friend vs stranger). Experiment 1 took an individual differences approach by testing whether behavioural self-bias is associated with the number of autistic traits in a neurotypical adult sample (N = 59). Experiment 2 took a case-control approach by testing whether behavioural self-bias and associated ERP responses differ between neurotypical (N = 27) and autistic (N = 30) adults. Across both experiments, behavioural results showed that participants experienced a self-bias (self > friend and stranger) and a familiarity effect (e.g., friend > stranger); neither effect was affected by the number of autistic traits or autism diagnosis. In Experiment 2, analysis of N1, N2, and P3 ERP components revealed a typical self-bias in both groups (self distinct from friend and stranger), and only the autistic group showed evidence of a familiarity effect (N2 more negative-going for stranger than friend). The findings are discussed in relation to self-other distinction ability, and the relevance of other neuropsychological and psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and alexithymia are also considered.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Adult; Recognition, Psychology; Young Adult; Autistic Disorder; Evoked Potentials; Electroencephalography; Self Concept; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Adolescent
PubMed: 38760243
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.03.012 -
Journal of Psychiatric Research Apr 2024Infra-low frequency neurofeedback training (ILF-NFT) has shown promise in addressing cognitive and affective distress symptoms across a range of psychiatric disorders....
Infra-low frequency neurofeedback training (ILF-NFT) has shown promise in addressing cognitive and affective distress symptoms across a range of psychiatric disorders. This study tested ILF-NFT's effects in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled longitudinal context in healthy psychology students. Across five weeks, forty-two healthy psychology students (aged 18-35) were randomly allocated into two groups, receiving ten sessions of 30 minutes of active and sham ILF-NFT. Dependent variables were measured before, following, and two months after the intervention and were comprised of: heartrate variability assessments as a measure of stress resilience; digit span, n-back, trail making and go-no-go task measures of executive functioning performance; and SCL-90-R, WHOQOL-Bref, and peak performance measures of subjective self-report. Statistical analysis was performed using an ANCOVA and compared across groups correcting for baseline differences and multiple comparisons. ANCOVA analyses revealed no significant differences across active and placebo groups in any dependent variables, when correcting for multiple comparisons. Thus, the remaining analyses focused on questionnaire correlations. Here, significant correlations were observed between the novel peak performance questionnaire with the SCL-90-R and WHOQOL-Bref, confirming its construct and retest validity. Despite several methodological limitations, including a potential type-2 error, this study highlights limited effects of ILF-NFT in healthy volunteers. Future research should thus focus on clinically driven experimental designs to explore ILF-NFT's potential in psychiatric contexts. Further research utilization of the novel peak performance questionnaire is recommended for measures of peak performance.
PubMed: 38759495
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.04.035 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024International evidence strongly suggests that medical students are at high risk of mental health problems. This distress, which can be mediated by a variety of...
INTRODUCTION
International evidence strongly suggests that medical students are at high risk of mental health problems. This distress, which can be mediated by a variety of individual, interpersonal and contextual factors within the curriculum, can be mitigated by effective coping strategies and interventions. Central to this discourse is the recognition that the challenges of professional identity formation can contribute significantly to medical students' distress. The focus of our study is therefore to examine discrepancies in professional identities and role models in undergraduate medical education in relation to affective burden.
METHODS
Medical students at different stages of university education and high school graduates intending to study medicine were surveyed in a cross-sectional study. The study employed Osgood and Hofstätter's polarity profile to evaluate the self-image of participants, the image of an ideal and real physician, and their correlation with depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7).
RESULTS
Out of the 1535 students recruited, 1169 (76.2%) participated in the study. Students rated their self-image as somewhere between a more critical real image of physicians and a more positive ideal image. Medical students at all training levels consistently rated the ideal image as remaining constant. Significant correlations were found between the professional role models of medical students and affective symptoms, particularly for the discrepancy between the ideal image of a physician and their self-image. Furthermore, 17% and nearly 15% reported significant symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively.
DISCUSSION
Our study adds to the growing body of knowledge on professional identity formation in medicine and socialisation in the medical environment. The study highlights the importance of discrepancies between self-image and ideal image in the experience of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Primary prevention-oriented approaches should incorporate these findings to promote reflective competence in relation to professional role models and strengthen the resilience of upcoming physicians in medical training.
PubMed: 38757136
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1358173