Article
Psychology, Biological
Dirk Adolph, Tabea Flasinski, Michael W. Lippert, Verena Pflug, Alfons O. Hamm, Jan Richter, Juergen Margraf, Silvia Schneider
Summary: This study tested the feasibility of a new paradigm for investigating the mechanisms of exposure therapy, and found that it is effective for both children and adults. The results indicate that the paradigm is sensitive to age and anxiety-dependent individual differences in fear-learning and extinction.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Kati Roesmann, Elisabeth Johanna Leehr, Joscha Boehnlein, Christian Steinberg, Fabian Seeger, Hanna Schwarzmeier, Bettina Gathmann, Niklas Siminski, Martin J. Herrmann, Udo Dannlowski, Ulrike Lueken, Tim Klucken, Kevin Hilbert, Thomas Straube, Markus Junghoefer
Summary: The study found that pretreatment differences in behavioral and neural markers of fear generalization in spider-phobic patients may impact their response to exposure therapy. These findings suggest that fear generalization could be a potential predictive marker to identify patients who may not benefit from exposure therapy, helping personalize and optimize treatment strategies for vulnerable patient groups.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY-COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
JoAnn Difede, Barbara O. Rothbaum, Albert A. Rizzo, Katarzyna Wyka, Lisa Spielman, Christopher Reist, Michael J. Roy, Tanja Jovanovic, Seth D. Norrholm, Judith Cukor, Megan Olden, Charles E. Glatt, Francis S. Lee
Summary: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant public health issue with limited treatment options. This study tested the efficacy of virtual reality exposure (VRE) or prolonged imaginal exposure (PE) augmented with D-cycloserine (DCS) for combat-related PTSD, and explored the potential moderating effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). The results showed similar clinical improvement for both VRE and PE, with VRE being more effective for depressed participants and PE being more effective for nondepressed participants. The study also found a potential moderating effect of genetic markers on treatment response.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Thomas McGregor, Kirstin L. Purves, Elena Constantinou, Johanna M. P. Baas, Tom J. Barry, Ewan Carr, Michelle G. Craske, Kathryn J. Lester, Elisavet Palaiologou, Gerome Breen, Katherine S. Young, Thalia C. Eley
Summary: This study examines differences in fear conditioning between anxious and nonanxious participants using a remote fear conditioning task. Results show that the anxious group displayed greater expectancy towards both reinforced and unreinforced conditional stimulus compared to the nonanxious group. Effect size estimates from these comparisons were similar to those found in previous meta-analyses.
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
(2021)
Article
Psychiatry
Rebecca E. Lubin, Hayley E. Fitzgerald, David Rosenfield, Joseph K. Carpenter, Santiago Papini, Christina D. Dutcher, Sheila M. Dowd, Stefan G. Hofmann, Mark H. Pollack, Jasper A. J. Smits, Michael W. Otto
Summary: Inconsistent findings regarding the efficacy of DCS augmentation in exposure-based CBT for anxiety disorders have motivated the search for moderators. This study found that threat conditioning outcomes, specifically extinction and extinction retention, can predict treatment response to DCS augmentation in social anxiety disorder.
JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Reilly R. Kayser, Margaret Haney, Helen Blair Simpson
Summary: Support for using cannabis as a psychiatric treatment is limited by lack of evidence from rigorous studies; addiction researchers have experience studying cannabis use in human laboratory models despite regulatory hurdles; focus is on applying human laboratory models to study cannabis effects in patients with anxiety and related disorders.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Jordana K. Bayer, Amy Brown, Luke A. Prendergast, Lesley Bretherton, Harriet Hiscock, Cathrine Mihalopoulos, Margaret Nelson-Lowe, Tamsyn Gilbertson, Kate Noone, Natalie Bischof, Cassima Beechey, Fenny Muliadi, Ronald M. Rapee
Summary: This study aimed to investigate whether a parenting group programme could have sustained effects in reducing internalizing distress in shy/inhibited children. The results showed that there were no significant differences between the intervention and control group in terms of children's anxiety and depression symptoms, parenting practices, and parent mental health during middle childhood.
JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
Christopher D. Winkler, Peter Koval, Lisa J. Phillips, Kim L. Felmingham
Summary: This study aims to determine whether threat prediction error during exposure in social anxiety disorder treatment is related to clinically implied outcomes. The use of smartphone-based real-time assessments will help researchers understand the impact of threat prediction error, exposure surprise, and learning outcome on treatment effectiveness.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
C. M. B. Kwee, F. E. van der Flier, P. Duits, A. J. L. M. van Balkom, D. C. Cath, J. M. P. Baas
Summary: This study investigated the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on fear memory expression and fear re-extinction. The results showed that CBD reduced the expectation of threat during fear retention, but had no effect on fear re-extinction. However, in patients using antidepressant medication, CBD may interfere with the re-extinction of subjective fear.
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yizhen Jia, Prasad Nithianandam, Tzu-Li Liu, Jinghua Li
Summary: This report describes an interdisciplinary approach used in undergraduate laboratory classes to bridge the gap between scientific advances, engineering efforts, and practical applications in daily life. The field of biointegrated electronics is highlighted as an excellent opportunity for interdisciplinary learning models. Wearable glucose sensors are presented as a promising application requiring knowledge from multiple research areas. The laboratory experiment module provides students with hands-on experience in designing, testing, and integrating wearable glucose sensors. This lab class serves as an example of how interdisciplinary research can be integrated into undergraduate education and offers valuable skills and experiences for future careers.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
(2023)
Review
Neurosciences
Steven R. Laviolette
Summary: Nicotine can affect brain circuits, increasing the risk of developing mood and anxiety disorders in adolescents exposed to nicotine.
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Kerry Evans, Helen Moya, Marissa Lambert, Helen Spiby
Summary: The RAPID-2 intervention aims to support pregnant women with mild-to-moderate anxiety through discussions with midwives, support groups, and self-management materials. This paper reports the development of a training program for midwives and maternity support workers to facilitate the intervention. The training plan includes workshops and a manual, aiming to provide training within midwives' scope of practice and minimal additional resources.
BMC PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH
(2022)
Review
Psychology, Clinical
Steven R. Laviolette
Summary: Adolescence is a sensitive period for mammalian neurodevelopment, with nicotine and cannabis affecting neural circuits and increasing neuropsychiatric risk. Current research methods include epidemiological clinical studies and pre-clinical animal studies, with the latter providing more precise experimental control and analysis.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Caroline M. B. Kwee, Johanna M. P. Baas, Febe E. van der Flier, Lucianne Groenink, Puck Duits, Merijn Eikelenboom, Date C. van der Veen, Mirjam Moerbeek, Neeltje M. Batelaan, Anton J. L. M. van Balkom, Danielle C. Cath
Summary: Preclinical research suggests that enhancing CB1 receptor agonism may improve fear extinction. However, a clinical trial examining the use of cannabidiol (CBD) as an adjunctive therapy in anxiety disorders found that CBD did not improve treatment outcome or enhance fear extinction or extinction learning.
EUROPEAN NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Smilla Weisser, Madeleine Mueller, Jonas Rauh, Roland Esser, Johannes Fuss, Beat Lutz, Jan Haaker
Summary: This study found that the levels of circulating eCBs increase during the acquisition of threat responses. The elevated eCB levels are associated with physiological and neural responses during threat learning.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Simon Schmitt, Kai G. Ringwald, Tina Meller, Frederike Stein, Katharina Brosch, Julia-Katharina Pfarr, Tim Hahn, Hannah Lemke, Susanne Meinert, Jonathan Repple, Katharina Thiel, Lena Waltemate, Alexandra Winter, Dominik Grotegerd, Astrid Dempfle, Andreas Jansen, Axel Krug, Udo Dannlowski, Igor Nenadic, Tilo Kircher
Summary: Epidemiological studies have shown that gestational age and birth weight are associated with cognitive performance in adults. This study examined the relationships between gestational age, cortical gyrification, and specific neuropsychological factors in healthy adults. The findings suggest that gestational age is positively associated with cortical folding in certain brain regions, and these associations are moderated by gestational age. Additionally, gyrification is related to specific neuropsychological abilities. These results have important implications for understanding the cortical neurodevelopment of cognitive domains and mental health.
EUROPEAN ARCHIVES OF PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Janik Goltermann, Nils Ralf Winter, Susanne Meinert, Lisa Sindermann, Hannah Lemke, Elisabeth J. Leehr, Dominik Grotegerd, Alexandra Winter, Katharina Thiel, Lena Waltemate, Fabian Breuer, Jonathan Repple, Marius Gruber, Maike Richter, Vanessa Teckentrup, Nils B. Kroemer, Katharina Brosch, Tina Meller, Julia-Katharina Pfarr, Kai Gustav Ringwald, Frederike Stein, Walter Heindel, Andreas Jansen, Tilo Kircher, Igor Nenadic, Udo Dannlowski, Nils Opel, Tim Hahn
Summary: This large-scale study found that most of the previous resting-state connectivity correlates of childhood maltreatment could not be replicated. The strongest evidence was found for clinically relevant maltreatment associations with altered adult amygdala-dorsolateral frontal connectivity in depression. Future studies should explore the relevance of this pathway for a maltreated subgroup of MDD patients.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Katharina Thiel, Susanne Meinert, Alexandra Winter, Hannah Lemke, Lena Waltemate, Fabian Breuer, Marius Gruber, Ramona Leenings, Lucia Wueste, Kathrin Rueb, Julia-Katharina Pfarr, Frederike Stein, Katharina Brosch, Tina Meller, Kai Gustav Ringwald, Igor Nenadic, Axel Krug, Jonathan Repple, Nils Opel, Katharina Koch, Elisabeth J. Leehr, Jochen Bauer, Dominik Grotegerd, Tim Hahn, Tilo Kircher, Udo Dannlowski
Summary: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) show reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) compared to patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), independent of mood state and acute symptom severity. This suggests that disruptions in white matter microstructure in BD may be a trait effect of the disorder.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Andre Pittig, Ingmar Heinig, Stephan Goerigk, Jan Richter, Maike Hollandt, Ulrike Lueken, Paul Pauli, Jurgen Deckert, Tilo Kircher, Benjamin Straube, Peter Neudeck, Katja Koelkebeck, Udo Dannlowski, Volker Arolt, Thomas Fydrich, Lydia Fehm, Andreas Strohle, Christina Totzeck, Jurgen Margraf, Silvia Schneider, Jurgen Hoyer, Winfried Rief, Michelle G. Craske, Alfons O. Hamm, Hans-Ulrich Wittchen
Summary: Individual responses to behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders vary considerably, which requires a better understanding of underlying processes. In this study, the violation and change of threat beliefs during exposure were examined, and it was found that these factors had a significant impact on treatment outcome.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tim Hahn, Nils R. Winter, Jan Ernsting, Marius Gruber, Marco J. Mauritz, Lukas Fisch, Ramona Leenings, Kelvin Sarink, Julian Blanke, Vincent Holstein, Daniel Emden, Marie Beisemann, Nils Opel, Dominik Grotegerd, Susanne Meinert, Walter Heindel, Stephanie Witt, Marcella Rietschel, Markus M. Noethen, Andreas J. Forstner, Tilo Kircher, Igor Nenadic, Andreas Jansen, Bertram Mueller-Myhsok, Till F. M. Andlauer, Martin Walter, Martijn P. van den Heuvel, Hamidreza Jamalabadi, Udo Dannlowski, Jonathan Repple
Summary: Network control theory is used to investigate the relationship between network controllability and genetic, individual, and familial risk in patients with major depressive disorder. The findings suggest that network controllability may be useful in predicting treatment response and designing personalized interventions.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nynke A. Groenewold, Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam, Alyssa R. Amod, Max A. Laansma, Laura S. Van Velzen, Moji Aghajani, Kevin Hilbert, Hyuntaek Oh, Ramiro Salas, Andrea P. Jackowski, Pedro M. Pan, Giovanni A. Salum, James R. Blair, Karina S. Blair, Joy Hirsch, Spiro P. Pantazatos, Franklin R. Schneier, Ardesheer Talati, Karin Roelofs, Inge Volman, Laura Blanco-Hinojo, Narcis Cardoner, Jesus Pujol, Katja Beesdo-Baum, Christopher R. K. Ching, Sophia Thomopoulos, Andreas Jansen, Tilo Kircher, Axel Krug, Igor Nenadic, Frederike Stein, Udo Dannlowski, Dominik Grotegerd, Hannah Lemke, Susanne Meinert, Alexandra Winter, Michael Erb, Benjamin Kreifelts, Qiyong Gong, Su Lui, Fei Zhu, Benson Mwangi, Jair C. Soares, Mon-Ju Wu, Ali Bayram, Mesut Canli, Rasit Tukel, P. Michiel Westenberg, Alexandre Heeren, Henk R. Cremers, David Hofmann, Thomas Straube, Alexander G. G. Doruyter, Christine Lochner, Jutta Peterburs, Marie-Jose Van Tol, Raquel E. Gur, Antonia N. Kaczkurkin, Bart Larsen, Theodore D. Satterthwaite, Courtney A. Filippi, Andrea L. Gold, Anita Harrewijn, Andre Zugman, Robin Buelow, Hans J. Grabe, Henry Voelzke, Katharina Wittfeld, Joscha Boehnlein, Katharina Dohm, Harald Kugel, Elisabeth Schrammen, Peter Zwanzger, Elisabeth J. Leehr, Lisa Sindermann, Tali M. Ball, Gregory A. Fonzo, Martin P. Paulus, Alan Simmons, Murray B. Stein, Heide Klumpp, K. Luan Phan, Tomas Furmark, Kristoffer N. T. Mansson, Amirhossein Manzouri, Suzanne N. Avery, Jennifer Urbano Blackford, Jacqueline A. Clauss, Brandee Feola, Jennifer C. Harper, Chad M. Sylvester, Ulrike Lueken, Dick J. Veltman, Anderson M. Winkler, Neda Jahanshad, Daniel S. Pine, Paul M. Thompson, Dan J. Stein, Nic J. A. Van der Wee
Summary: Limited convergence exists in neuroimaging investigations of subcortical brain region volumes in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Variations in methodological approaches and sample selection based on age and clinical characteristics may contribute to inconsistent findings. A global mega-analysis initiated by the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group revealed subtle volumetric alterations in subcortical regions in SAD patients. Differences were found in putamen and pallidum volumes, with additional factors such as comorbid anxiety disorders and age of SAD onset influencing these volumetric differences.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Janik Goltermann, Susanne Meinert, Carina Huelsmann, Katharina Dohm, Dominik Grotegerd, Ronny Redlich, Lena Waltemate, Hannah Lemke, Katharina Thiel, David M. A. Mehler, Verena Enneking, Tiana Borgers, Jonathan Repple, Marius Gruber, Nils Winter, Tim Hahn, Katharina Brosch, Tina Meller, Kai G. Ringwald, Simon Schmitt, Frederike Stein, Julia-Katharina Pfarr, Axel Krug, Igor Nenadic, Tilo Kircher, Nils Opel, Udo Dannlowski
Summary: This study examines the validity of adults' retrospective self-reports of childhood maltreatment and the potential bias from depression. The findings show that these self-reports are highly stable over a 2-year period and are minimally affected by depressive symptoms. This supports the use of retrospective self-reports of childhood maltreatment for research and clinical purposes.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Edward Ody, Benjamin Straube, Yifei He, Tilo Kircher
Summary: Efference copy-based forward model mechanisms help distinguish between self-generated and externally-generated sensory consequences. This study examined visual stimuli following active and passive button presses and found that there was suppression of early visual responses in the active condition, and this suppression was correlated with the suppression of the visual P2 component. These findings support the idea of efference copy-based forward model predictions in the visual sensory modality.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lisa Rosenblum, Alexander Kress, B. Ezgi Arikan, Benjamin Straube, Frank Bremmer
Summary: Self-motion induces sensory signals for determining travel distance. Predictive coding attenuates self-induced sensory responses, while task relevance reverses the attenuating effect of prediction. This fMRI study investigated the modulation of visual and tactile self-motion processing by prediction and task demands. Results showed enhancement in early visual areas and suppression in higher order areas of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) during active as compared to passive trials, suggesting IPL as a comparator of sensory self-motion signals and predictions thereof.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Maike Hollandt, Tim Kaiser, Heino Mohrmann, Jan Richter, Janine Wirkner
Summary: This study protocol presents an experimental approach to investigate interpersonal synchrony during emotion processing, aiming to establish research methods for real-life psychotherapy research. The study will analyze synchrony and correlations to examine emotional synchrony in same-sex pairs, as well as the association between physiological and neural synchrony and subjective ratings.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Fabian Huth, Leonardo Tozzi, Michael Marxen, Philipp Riedel, Kyra Broeckel, Julia Martini, Christina Berndt, Cathrin Sauer, Christoph Vogelbacher, Andreas Jansen, Tilo Kircher, Irina Falkenberg, Florian Thomas-Odenthal, Martin Lambert, Vivien Kraft, Gregor Leicht, Christoph Mulert, Andreas J. Fallgatter, Thomas Ethofer, Anne Rau, Karolina Leopold, Andreas Bechdolf, Andreas Reif, Silke Matura, Silvia Biere, Felix Bermpohl, Jana Fiebig, Thomas Stamm, Christoph U. Correll, Georg Juckel, Vera Flasbeck, Philipp Ritter, Michael Bauer, Andrea Pfennig, Pavol Mikolas
Summary: The pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD) is unclear, but a valid biomarker is needed for early detection. This study used structural MRI to compare volumes of hippocampus, amygdala, and their subfields/nuclei in individuals at risk for BD. Although there were no volume differences between risk groups, machine learning could still predict the risk for BD based on certain criteria. This suggests that neural changes may have prognostic value in BD.
Article
Psychiatry
Amke Mueller, Stefan Konigorski, Carina Meissner, Tahmine Fadai, Claire V. Warren, Irina Falkenberg, Tilo Kircher, Yvonne Nestoriuc
Summary: The study aims to assess the effectiveness of open-label placebo (OLP) treatment in reducing antidepressant discontinuation symptoms through a series of N-of-1 trials. The trials will be conducted on patients with fully remitted major depressive disorder, and the primary outcome will be self-reported discontinuation symptoms and expectations, as well as mood.
Article
Neurosciences
Christina V. Schmitter, Konstantin Kufer, Olaf Steinstraeter, Jens Sommer, Tilo Kircher, Benjamin Straube
Summary: Through the study of behavioral and neural correlates of temporal recalibration, it was found that the hippocampus plays an important role in encoding and retrieving temporal stimulus associations, the activation in the cerebellum may reflect the retention of multiple representations of temporal stimulus associations, and sensorimotor predictions modulate recalibration-related processes, explaining the perceptual advantage of sensorimotor versus intersensory temporal recalibration.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Rasmus Schuelke, Christina V. Schmitter, Benjamin Straube
Summary: This study investigated the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on causality perception among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). The results showed that tDCS, especially when applied to the right parietal region, increased the influence of spatial stimulus characteristics on patients' causality perception.
JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY & NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Mark Berardi, Katharina Brosch, Julia-Katharina Pfarr, Katharina Schneider, Angela Sueltmann, Florian Thomas-Odenthal, Adrian Wroblewski, Paula Usemann, Alexandra Philipsen, Udo Dannlowski, Igor Nenadic, Tilo Kircher, Axel Krug, Frederike Stein, Maria Dietrich
Summary: Speech is a promising biomarker for schizophrenia spectrum disorder and major depressive disorder. This study demonstrates that speech and voice features can be used as objective and reproducible classifiers for these disorders. The important features identified in this study are related to articulation coordination, number of pauses per minute, and speech variability, and they differ between healthy individuals, those with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, and those with major depressive disorder.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2023)