Neuropsychopharmacologia Hungarica最新文献

Depression is a complex, multifactorial disorder with a pathophysiology that is still not fully understood. Recent research suggests that neuroinflammation and disruption of the blood-brain barrier may play a significant role in the development of depressive symptoms. Chemokines, particularly eotaxin-1, have emerged as a key component linking peripheral immune activation to central nervous system changes. Elevated levels of eotaxin-1 have been associated with reduced neurogenesis, cognitive decline, and depression-like behavior. Stress and infections can damage the blood-brain barrier, allowing peripheral chemokines such as eotaxin-1 to enter the brain or be locally expressed, potentially triggering neuroinflammation. Overall, findings suggest that chemokine signaling following blood- brain barrier disruption may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of depression and could offer potential targets for therapeutic intervention. (Neuropsychopharmacol Hung 2025; 27(2): 115-120)

Objectives: Over the last decades studies on the field of computational neuroscience have been striving to achieve a deeper understanding of the relationship between the pathophysiological basis, the complex brain processes involved and the behavioural characteristics of a continuously expanding circle of mental and neurodevelopmental disorders, while focusing on predictive coding accounts. The purpose of this study is to uncover the different ways of creating representations of the world (priors) by people living with autism as well as the related neurobiological and cognitive mechanisms.

Methods: The study helps to understand the implications of the theory of predictive coding by reviewing the relevant scientific literature in a systematic manner. Three dominant hypotheses stand out in the current computational neuroscientific approach of autism: the sensory precision hypothesis, the weak priors hypothesis and the rigid priors hypothesis. This study analyses the relevant research findings in the context of these hypotheses. The literature review centers on the process of prior acquisition in the analyses of related findings.

Results: The analyses found several differences within the three main fields the included studies have been assigned to. The differences in the sensory precision (precision of processing) come from the special characteristics of processing perceptual information in autism. According to the weak prior hypothesis, past experiences cannot properly influence the processing of current information, the integration of relevant information thus limiting the effective use of preexisting knowledge. Finally we direct our attention to the empirical results pointing to problems of prior acquisition and updating by autistic people that could lead to unusual responses to environmental changes.

Conclusions: The study points to different developmental trajectories of predictive abilities by neurotypical and autistic populations. To better understand the developmental process of the predictive abilities, further studies are needed, comparing these differences in various ages.

Aim: The impairment of working memory is a common phenomenon after stroke and critically affects daily functioning. Transcranial direct current stimulation and computer- based cognitive training are widely used in neurorehabilitation to enhance cognitive functions. This study examined the single vs combined effect of anodal stimulation and computer-based inhibitory control training on working memory function among post-stroke patients.

Methods: Thirty-five participants were randomly allocated to receiving either active stimulation, sham stimulation with training, or active stimulation with training. Forward/ Backward Digit Span Task, Listening Span Task, Corsi Block Tapping Task, and Trail Making Test were used to assess working memory functions at baseline and after the ten-session experimental program. For statistical analysis, we performed a Linear Mixed-effects Model.

Results: A significant group-by-time interaction showed in favour of the combined group over the active stimulation group in the case of forward digit span (p=.028).

Conclusion: Results indicate that cognitive training and stimulation solely did not lead to significant improvements in working memory related functions among post-stroke patients. However, the combined application may be favourable. The effectiveness of cognitive training and transcranial direct current stimulation needs further examination. (Neuropsychopharmacol Hung 2025; 27(2): 88-105)

It is becoming increasingly clear that newer chemotherapy treatments can significantly improve long-term survival rates for cancer patients. However, it is also becoming apparent that these treatments can be associated with long-term toxicities, including the possibility of cognitive decline. a number of factors may contribute to the development of cognitive impairment in cancer patients. It would seem that the symptom complex of chemotherapy-associated cognitive dysfunction, or 'chemobrain' as it is sometimes called in the international literature, is often underdiagnosed. This is despite the fact that it is one of the leading mental health problems in patients with malignant cancer. It is of the utmost importance that this issue is recognised and that appropriate management is put in place, as chemotherapy-associated neurocognitive impairment among people with cancer has the potential to significantly impair quality of life. In our non-systematic (narrative) summary study, we aim to provide a brief overview of the clinical picture and differential diagnosis of chemotherapy-associated neurocognitive impairment, as well as an overview of the main aspects of screening and treatment. We recognise that the characteristics of the symptomatic picture and the specific course of the disease raise a number of methodological issues that may be the subject of further empirical studies.

Aims: In the clinical assessment of alcohol use disorder (AUD), measuring tools are essential to help recognizing the condition, determining the severity of the disorder, and assessing craving and relapse after identifying potential complications. Currently, there are no measurement tools available in Hungary that can quantify the severity of alcohol dependence, the extent of alcohol craving, and the risk of relapse, or help in the early detection of complicated alcohol withdrawal syndrome (c-AWS). There for the aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric indicators of the Hungarian versions of the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SAD-Q), Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), Multidimensional Alcohol Craving Scale (MACS), Alcohol Relapse Risk Scale (ARRS), and the Prediction of Alcohol Withdrawal Severity Scale (PAWSS).

Methods: The present study was conducted among patients (n = 44) admitted to the Department of Psychiatry, University of Szeged with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, or alcohol withdrawal syndrome with delirium. In addition to the aforementioned questionnaires, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were administered. Internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's alpha, item-total correlation) and convergent validity indices (Spearman correlations) were calculated, Mann-Whitney test was used to assess differences in the risk of relapse for the ARRS total score, and the independent-sample t-test was used to explore differences in complicated and non- complicated withdrawal for the PAWSS total score. In addition, binomial logistic regression was performed for both scales to analyze whether total scores were good predictors of c-AWS and relapse.

Results: Cronbach's alpha values ranged from 0.875 to 0.948, and the construct validity indices (Spearman correlations) ranged from 0.537 to 0.760. For the ARRS, significantly higher total scores were found for those who relapsed within 3 months, and for the PAWSS, significantly higher total scores were found for patients experiencing complicated withdrawal. The ARRS and PAWSS total scores are good predictors of relapse and c-AWS.

Conclusions: Based on our results, the questionnaires listed are reliable and valid measuring instruments, and their use might facilitate a more modern investigation and treatment of AUD.

Introduction: Fear is the primary emotional response to threats, driving individuals to cope with threats by triggering a stress response. This response can manifest in three distinct ways: defensive attack (fight), escape (flight), or immobility (freeze). Understanding these reaction types is crucial in personality psychology, neuroscience, and psychopathology. In this context, the adaptation of a Hungarian-language questionnaire to assess these responses is both timely and necessary.

Methodology: The aim of the present study is to adapt and validate the Fight-Flight-Freeze Questionnaire (FFFQ-HU) in Hungarian. The questionnaire development consisted of three phases: (1) a qualitative preliminary study to select terms describing the constructs, (2) a quantitative (N = 420) study to explore the preliminary factor structure and select the final items, and (3) a quantitative (N = 851) study to explore and confirm the final factor structure and validate it. The ZKA-PQ-R, ANPS, BIS-BAS, and TCI55 questionnaires were used as validation scales.

Results: Exploring the preliminary factor structure revealed clearly identifiable factors related to both the fight and freeze dimensions. In addition, we obtained one factor describing the emotional component of the fear response and one factor describing the avoidance behaviour, of which we retained the one containing the behavioural component for construct validity. The three-factor structure of the final questionnaire was confirmed, with acceptable or excellent fit indices for the exploratory analysis (RMSEA= 0.05; SRMR= 0.02; CFI= 0.97; TLI= 0.96), and also for the confirmatory one (RMSEA= 0.08; SRMR= 0.06; CFI= 0.97; TLI= 0.96, GFI= 0.99). The fight dimension did not correlate with the other factors, while flight and freeze showed a high positive correlation with each other, which differs from the results of the original questionnaire but can be explained by other research findings. The internal reliability indices of the factors were good (ω= 0.86-0.94; α= 0.86-0.94), and the correlation with the validation scales also supported the validity of the questionnaire.

Conclusion: The results suggest that the Hungarian version of the Fight-Flight-Freeze Questionnaire (FFFQ-HU) is an appropriate measure for assessing types of stress reactions, thus enabling a wider range of research on fear reactions in Hungarian in the future.

Objectives: Mental health professionals pay particular attention to adolescents, as many psychiatric disorders begin at this age, and the mental state of adolescents has been deteriorating worldwide in the last decade. Based on previous international research, the ability to regulate negative emotions and mentalization - that is, the ability to identify the thoughts and emotions behind one's own and others' behaviour - mediate the negative effects of attachment difficulties experienced in close relationships on the quality of life. This relationship has not yet been investigated among Hungarian adolescents. Adolescent events can have a long-term effect on a person's mental health, so it is very important to examine the factors that influence the quality of life. This research aimed to examine the relationship between attachment, mentalization, emotion regulation and quality of life among adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age.

Method: In our research, 141 adolescents filled out the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire and the Quality of Life Scale after informed consent. We tested two mediator models, in which emotion regulation and mentalization were the mediating variables in the relationship between attachment difficulties and quality of life.

Results: In our analyses, attachment difficulties and emotion regulation problems also predicted a reduced quality of life. Attachment problems also reduce the quality of life of young people through emotional regulation difficulties. Our results suggest that adolescents' emotion regulation has a prominent role in their quality of life in addition to attachment styles.

Conclusion: To improve the quality of life among adolescents, we recommend using techniques that develop emotion regulation.

For decades, the molecular target of drug therapy in the treatment of major depression has been the monoamine system, primarily the serotonin transporter (SERT) and the norepinephrine transporter (NAT). Newer antidepressants have a better side effect profile than first-generation drugs due to their selectivity, but the monoaminergic target and the associated difficulties and challenges remain, primarily the problem that some of their neurochemical effects appear immediately, but it takes weeks for the antidepressant effect to develop. As a result of intensive research over the past decade, four approved antidepressants are now available whose molecular target is not a member of the monoamine system; they are not serotonergic or noradrenergic, but have a glutamatergic or GABAergic mechanism of action. Their advantages include the short time required for the onset of the effect; they exert their antidepressant effect within hours or days instead of weeks; their side effect profile is better, and they also offer a new treatment option for therapy-resistant patients. Two glutamatergic drugs, esketamine and dextromethorphan-bupropion (AXS-05), have already been approved for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression. The GABAergic drugs brexanolone and zuranolone are approved for the treatment of postpartum depression. These novel treatment options pave the way for novel avenues for further research and new targets in the treatment of depression.

The purpose of this research is to study the impact of herbal medicinal products based on Melissa officinalis on the anxiolytic effect in animals at different dosages of the drug. The study was conducted on albino Wistar rats using a sequence of three behavioural test systems (black and white chamber, elevated cruciform maze and open field). The combined medicinal product included the following starting materials of herbal origin: Melissa officinalis, Origanum vulgare, Salvia officinalis, Crataegus berries and Glycyrrhiza glabra root, in the ratio 17:10:10:10:10. Two dosages of the drug were tested: 5 ml and 2.5 ml per 1 kg of animal weight. The active components of the starting materials of herbal origin were isolated through continuous extraction in the Soxhlet apparatus with ethyl alcohol; after that, the solvent was distilled in a rotary evaporator. The herbal preparation produced notable effects by alleviating stress caused by the experimental setup (reducing phobic reactions) and simultaneously enhancing locomotion as well as exploratory and searching activities. These effects were observed to varying degrees across all three behavioural models. A comparative analysis of the testing results at different dosages of the experimental herbal preparation demonstrated the comparability of quantitative changes in the recorded behavioural reactions. This data makes it possible to use a lower drug dosage (2.5 ml/kg) in subsequent studies. The developed complex herbal medicinal product can be used as a basis for creating phytopreparations with targeted anxiolytic effect. The experimental data obtained will subsequently help in choosing the optimal dosage for rational pharmacotherapy and prevention of psycho-emotional disorders in humans and animals. (Neuropsychopharmacol Hung 2025; 27(1): 6-13)

In our review we discuss various forms of aging and briefly touch upon its psychological aspects. We also explore the prevalence of and the clinical manifestations associated with late-life depression. We present the etiological factors of late-life depression, including psychological and psychosocial factors, as well as biological causes such as genetic and epigenetic factors, immune, inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes, changes in neurotransmitter and neurotrophic systems, alterations in the HPA axis, and the impact of physical illnesses, medications, and hormonal changes. The process of differential diagnosis is summarised, along with an exploration of the complex concept of quality of life. We provide an overview of the characteristics of suicide in older populations and offer insight into the key pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions. (Neuropsychopharmacol Hung 2025; 27(1): 51-64)