Neuropsychobiology最新文献

Introduction: The etiology of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has not been fully understood, and oxidative stress may potentially contribute to its pathogenesis. However, there is no published evidence concerning the possible influence of oxidative stress on antidepressant treatment outcomes. This study investigated the ability of oxidative stress markers to predict treatment outcomes in GAD patients treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Methods: One hundred-one GAD patients and 100 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. The 101 GAD patients were selected for treatment with escitalopram (n = 52) or sertraline (n = 49) for 8 weeks. Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) assessments were conducted before and after treatment. The serum levels of eight oxidative stress makers, malondialdehyde (MDA), lipid hydroperoxides (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), cortisol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and nitric oxide (NO) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) before and after SSRI treatment in GAD patients and at the time of HC enrollment.

Results: The serum levels of MDA, cortisol, and LPO were higher in GAD patients than in HCs (all p < 0.001), while SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT were lower than in HCs (all p < 0.001). The baseline MDA, LPO, NO, and cortisol levels were positively correlated with anxiety severity, while GSH-Px was negatively correlated. After 8 weeks of SSRI treatment, the GSH-Px levels increased, and MDA and LPO decreased (all p < 0.05). Alterations in MDA levels covaried with changes in anxiety measures (all p < 0.05). The ability of the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) area of the baseline MDA levels to predict the SSRI endpoint treatment response was 0.804 (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The pathogenesis of GAD might involve oxidative stress. Moreover, serum MDA levels might predict treatment response to SSRIs. However, more research is warranted to confirm these findings.

Introduction: Recent research suggests various app-based-programs to promote mental health, resilience, and stress management. Insights gained from studies with healthy participants could potentially offer training strategies that could also prove beneficial for people with mental disorders. The effectiveness of an app-based resilience training was evaluated.

Methods: In the present study, 68 mentally healthy participants were included. They all received both the intervention as 2-month resilience training via an app and the control condition (waiting group) as part of a crossover design. In addition, the participants were interviewed before, and after each condition with the Stress and Coping Inventory (SCI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Resilience Scale (RS13), measuring psychological stress and symptoms.

Results: The results of the analyses of co-variance indicate that the app-training does not significantly improve resilience in healthy people (p = 0.278). However, it significantly enhances stress regulation in the intervention group and the control group (p = 0.030), independent of the initial stress level. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was found between effective stress regulation and improved mental health (measured by the BSI).

Conclusion: Emphasizing mindfulness and reflection through resilience training and the enhanced perception of mental health, can improve stress regulation, thereby underscoring its crucial role. To maximize the benefits of resilience training, it is imperative to further develop training apps, enhancing their attractiveness and suitability for long-term use, and extend its use. Future work should focus on refining these interventions to ensure sustained engagement and effectiveness.

Introduction: The present study investigated the electroencephalography (EEG) characteristics of gaming disorder (GD) and examined whether these EEG indices are associated with decision-making style and impulsivity in GD.

Methods: We included 46 participants in the GD group and 92 sex- and age-matched participants in the control group. Between-group differences in the resting-state EEG indices and scores on scales measuring decision-making style and impulsivity were assessed. We further analyzed the correlations between these EEG indices and the scale scores for decision-making style and impulsivity.

Results: The GD group was found not to favor the cognition-based decision-making style and presented with more dysfunctional impulsivity. In addition, the GD group had globally elevated delta and beta activity and elevated theta activity in the central area compared with the control group. Beta activity in the frontal and central area was negatively correlated with the deliberative decision-making style and positively correlated with dysfunctional impulsivity in the GD group.

Conclusion: EEG indices are potential neurophysiological biomarkers for GD. The associations of EEG indices with decision-making style and impulsivity are worth studying to clarify how they might relate to clinical interventions.

Introduction: It has been hypothesized that vitamin C may have antidepressant effect through its antioxidant property. However, evidence is still scarce to ascertain the effect of dietary vitamin C on depressive symptoms.

Methods: We conducted 5.9 years (median) follow-up on 91,113 Koreans who responded to Food Frequency Questionnaire and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale as items of health check-up. They were categorized into four quartile groups based on dietary vitamin C intake and two groups based on the use of vitamin supplements. Incident depressive symptoms were determined by the identification of CES-D ≥16 for follow-up. Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for depressive symptoms (multivariable-adjusted HR [95% CI]) according to quartiles of dietary vitamin C intake. Subgroup analysis was conducted by sex and physical activity.

Results: In the analysis of all participants, there was no significant association between dietary vitamin C intake quartile groups and the risk of depressive symptoms (quartile 1: reference, quartile 2: 1.01 [0.96-1.06], quartile 3: 0.99 [0.93-1.05], and quartile 4: 1.00 [0.93-1.08]). No significant association was identically observed in both men and women. Vitamin supplementation was associated with the slight increase in the risk for depressive symptoms in all participants (1.08 [1.04-1.12]), men (1.06 [1.01-1.12]), and women (1.10 [1.04-1.16]).

Conclusion: An increase in dietary vitamin C intake and vitamin supplementation had no significant effect on reducing the risk of depressive symptoms.

Introduction: The relationship between vitamin D levels and cognition in young patients with schizophrenia remains incompletely understood. We explored the association between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentration and long-term memory (i.e., 30-min delayed recall in the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. The body mass index was measured due to the accumulation of vitamin D in fat.

Methods: Forty-six male participants aged 20.9 ± 2.3 years old with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder were recruited. The median body mass index was 24.1, and 25-hydroxy vitamin D was 39.3 nmol/L. The mean delayed recall was 7.6 ± 3.4 words. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentration and memory performance were below the normative values for healthy adults. 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentrations and ten clinical variables were included as independent variables, and delayed recall values were included as dependent variables in the multiple regression analysis.

Results: Regression analysis revealed a statistically significant link between 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentration, benzodiazepine use, and delayed recall, but not for other clinical variables.

Conclusion: We found a positive association between 25-hydroxy vitamin D serum concentration and delayed recall in patients with first-episode schizophrenia, supporting a need for interventional study investigating vitamin D supplementation for the cognition of patients with schizophrenia. A negative association between benzodiazepine intake and memory performance calls for attention to minimalize benzodiazepine use.

Introduction: The clinical efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in Japan has not been adequately investigated. Furthermore, the relationship between stimulation-site pain and the antidepressant effects of rTMS has not been thoroughly examined. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify (1) the real-world efficacy and safety of rTMS for TRD in Japan and (2) the relationship between stimulation-site pain and clinical improvement of depressive symptoms.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study involving 50 right-handed patients with TRD. All patients received high-frequency rTMS for up to 6 weeks. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Montgomery-Åsberg depression rating scale (MADRS). Pain at the stimulation site was reported by the patients using a visual analog scale (VAS) after each session. Remission and response rates at 3 and 6 weeks were calculated based on the MADRS scores. The correlation between changes in the MADRS and VAS scores was examined.

Results: Remission and response rates were 36% and 46%, respectively, at the end of 3 weeks, and 60% and 70%, respectively, at 6 weeks. At the end of the treatment, there was significant correlation between the reduction of MADRS and VAS scores (r = 0.42, p = 0.003).

Conclusion: This study demonstrates the clinical efficacy of rTMS in Japan and the correlation between its antidepressant effects and stimulation-site pain.

Background: The 75th anniversary of introducing lithium into modern psychiatry is recognized, attested by the 1949 paper of John Cade. About this event, my editorial in the special 2010 issue of Neuropsychobiology was titled "Lithium: Sixty Years Thereafter." Since then, fifteen more years have brought further information about lithium. This paper makes a narrative review of the most important articles published in this period.

Summary: The selected key literature of 2010-2024 addressed lithium prophylactic efficacy in bipolar disorder (BD), including pediatric, recurrent depression, and lithium augmentation of antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Novel data have been obtained for lithium adverse effects (kidney, thyroid) and beneficial outcomes of long-term lithium administration (anti-suicidal, neuroprotective, antiviral, and others). The results on the mechanisms of lithium action covered genetic investigations of the Consortium of Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) and in vitro studies with induced pluripotent stem cells and lymphoblastoid cell lines. The underutilization of lithium nowadays was emphasized, and the ways to overcome it were considered.

Key messages: Lithium remains the choice drug for recurrence prevention in BD, also in adolescents, and a significant option for augmentation of antidepressants in TRD. The adverse side effects should be carefully followed and managed according to current guidelines. There are also beneficial lithium impacts, of which anti-suicidal and anti-dementia seem the most important. Most of the results of neurobiological studies on lithium mechanisms may be related to lithium response and some (e.g., immunomodulatory) to the pathogenesis of BD. Better education about lithium could make more patients the beneficiary of this drug.

Introduction: Discriminating bipolar disorder (BD) from major depressive disorder (MDD) remains a challenging clinical task. Identifying specific peripheral biosignatures that can differentiate between BD and MDD would significantly increase diagnostic accuracy. Dysregulated neuroplasticity is implicated in BD and MDD, and psychotropic medications restore specific disrupted processes by increasing neurotrophic signalling. The nerve growth factor inducible vgf gene (non-acronymic) encodes a precursor protein named proVGF, which undergoes proteolytic processing to produce several VGF peptides, some of which were suggested to be implicated in mood disorders and have antidepressant effects. Since the presence of VGF peptides in humans has been exclusively investigated in brain and cerebrospinal fluid, we aimed to identify which VGF peptides are present in the plasma and to investigate whether their levels could differentiate BD from MDD as well as responders from non-responders to pharmacological interventions.

Methods: VGF peptides were investigated in plasma from patients diagnosed with MDD (n = 37) or BD (n = 40 under lithium plus n = 29 never exposed to lithium), as well as healthy controls (HC; n = 36).

Results: Three VGF peptides (TLQP-11, AQEE-14, and NAPP-19) were identified using spectrometry analysis of plasma from HC. These peptides were then measured in the entire sample using ELISA, which showed significantly lower levels of AQEE and NAPP in BD than in HC and MDD (p = 5.0 × 10-5, p = 0.001, respectively).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that lower plasma levels of NAPP and AQEE are specifically associated with BD, thus possibly representing a diagnostic biomarker in mood disorders.

Introduction: An increasing body of evidence suggests a strong relationship between gut health and mental state. Lately, a connection between butyrate-producing bacteria and sleep quality has been discussed. The PROVIT study, as a randomized, double-blind, 4-week, multispecies probiotic intervention study, aims at elucidating the potential interconnection between the gut's metabolome and the molecular clock in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: The aim of the PROVIT-CLOCK study was to analyze changes in core clock gene expression during treatment with probiotic intervention versus placebo in fasting blood and the connection with the serum- and stool-metabolome in patients with MDD (n = 53). In addition to clinical assessments in the PROVIT study, metabolomics analyses with 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (stool and serum) and gene expression (RT-qPCR) analysis of the core clock genes ARNTL, PER3, CLOCK, TIMELESS, NR1D1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of fasting blood were performed.

Results: The gene expression levels of the clock gene CLOCK were significantly altered only in individuals receiving probiotic add-on treatment. TIMELESS and ARNTL gene expression changed significantly over the 4-week intervention period in both groups. Various positive and negative correlations between metabolites in serum/stool and core clock gene expression levels were observed.

Conclusion: Changing the gut microbiome by probiotic treatment potentially influences CLOCK gene expression. The preliminary results of the PROVIT-CLOCK study indicate a possible interconnection between the gut microbiome and circadian rhythm potentially orchestrated by metabolites.