Review
Behavioral Sciences
Daniela L. L. Uliana, Xiyu Zhu, Felipe V. V. Gomes, Anthony A. A. Grace
Summary: Animal models have been instrumental in studying psychiatric disorders and identifying therapeutic targets, but there is a recent shift towards focusing on circuits in normal subjects. This shift is driven by a lack of discovery of new effective targets and the failure of targets based on preclinical research to show efficacy.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Erin P. Harris, Andrew J. McGovern, Thieza G. Melo, Aaron Barron, Yvonne M. Nolan, Olivia F. O'Leary
Summary: Stress during childhood is a significant risk factor for depression, with higher prevalence in women suggesting biological sex plays a role. This study aimed to investigate whether stress during the prepubertal period induces sex-specific changes in anxiety-like behavior, anhedonia, and antidepressant-like behavior in adulthood. The results showed that juvenile stress led to long-lasting effects on antidepressant-like and reward-seeking behavior, potentially due to alterations in catecholaminergic innervation of the medial prefrontal cortex.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
S. Vancassel, H. Fanet, N. Castanon, C. Moncheaux De Oliveira, S. Cussotto, L. Capuron
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the response of the brain BH4 pathway to inflammatory stimulus and found that BH4 supply can help maintain or restore dopaminergic neurotransmission under inflammatory conditions. Experimental results indicated that BH4 activity may decrease in inflammation, but BH4 supply can effectively increase BH4 levels, restore dopamine levels, and dampen inflammatory cytokine expression.
BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ting Xu, Xinqi Zhou, Jonathan W. Kanen, Lan Wang, Jialin Li, Zhiyi Chen, Ran Zhang, Guojuan Jiao, Feng Zhou, Weihua Zhao, Shuxia Yao, Benjamin Becker
Summary: This proof-of-concept study demonstrated that the angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist losartan can improve learning from positive or negative outcomes and enhance positive outcome representations in the brain. This may have implications for the treatment of depression.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Magda Dubois, Tobias U. Hauser
Summary: Deciding whether to give up a good choice to explore a potentially more rewarding alternative is a challenging arbitration in human reasoning and artificial intelligence. This study tests theories on excessive exploration being a critical mechanism underlying the psychiatric dimension of impulsivity using large online samples, dimensional analyses, and computational modeling. The findings demonstrate a link between impulsivity and a specific form of exploration-value-free random exploration- and explore connections between exploration and other psychiatric dimensions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Christian M. Wood, Laith Alexander, Johan Alsio, Andrea M. Santangelo, Lauren McIver, Gemma J. Cockcroft, Angela C. Roberts
Summary: Poor outcomes are common in anxiety and depression, thus understanding the neural circuits underlying symptoms and treatment responses is important. By using a chemogenetics strategy involving designer receptors and drugs, the scACC-25 neural circuits related to anhedonia and anxiety in marmosets were identified. Targeting these circuits with the fast-acting antidepressant ketamine may lead to new treatment strategies.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hidekazu Sotoyama, Hiroyoshi Inaba, Yuriko Iwakura, Hisaaki Namba, Nobuyuki Takei, Toshikuni Sasaoka, Hiroyuki Nawa
Summary: Dopamine in the prefrontal cortex has opposing effects on social behavior depending on the duration of its activation. Sustained dopamine activation suppresses social behavior while acute activation enhances it. The duration of social interactions is positively correlated with transient dopamine release and negatively correlated with sustained dopamine increase in the prefrontal cortex. Dopamine levels also modulate neural calcium signaling and c-Fos induction triggered by social stimuli in prefrontal neurons.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Giorgia Targa, Francesca Mottarlini, Beatrice Rizzi, Damiana Leo, Lucia Caffino, Fabio Fumagalli
Summary: Dopamine overactivity reduces the translation and localization of cortical AMPA receptors through altered vesicular sorting. The decreased expression of anchoring proteins and structural markers indicates synaptic instability. Hyperdopaminergia significantly alters the homeostatic plasticity of AMPA receptors, leading to a destabilized and depotentiated AMPA-mediated glutamatergic neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex.
Article
Psychology, Biological
Romain Ligneul, Zachary Mainen, Verena Ly, Roshan Cools
Summary: The human brain estimates task controllability by comparing predictive models and exposure to uncontrollable stress leads to distortion in this process. Different brain regions play different roles in controllability estimation, and anxiety symptoms influence the direction of controllability estimation.
NATURE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Esfandiar Azadmarzabadi, Arvin Haghighatfard
Summary: This study evaluated the associations between dopaminergic pathway gene variants and stress resilience, finding multiple genetic variants significantly correlated with low-stress resilience, most of which are known risk alleles in psychiatric disorders. The research indicates the importance of dopamine as a pathway in stress and stress resilience, as well as shared genetic bases between low-stress resilience and several psychiatric disorders.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yang Yang, Sang-Min Lee, Fumiaki Imamura, Krishne Gowda, Shantu Amin, Richard B. Mailman
Summary: This study compared two different D-1 agonists and found that 2-methyldihydrexidine was more effective in enhancing cognition compared to CY208,243, based on its impact on neural activity and cognitive performance.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Gunasingh Jeyaraj Masilamoni, Allison Weinkle, Stella M. Papa, Yoland Smith
Summary: This study found decreased serotonergic and catecholaminergic innervation in the frontal cortex at early stages of Parkinson's disease. The use of MPTP-treated monkeys as animal models revealed that these changes may contribute to early non-motor symptoms in PD.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Jeremy K. Seamans, Stan B. Floresco
Summary: Despite being a mystery, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is believed to be involved in cognitive functions, regulation of autonomic and emotional states, and the control of downstream regions. ACC neurons have diverse representations of task events, and neuromodulators regulate the strength of ensemble activity patterns, ultimately affecting downstream targets. Pathologies arise when specific event-related representations gain excessive control over autonomic/emotional states.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Wen-Jing Ren, Ya-Fei Zhao, Jie Li, Patrizia Rubini, Zeng-Qiang Yuan, Yong Tang, Peter Illes
Summary: This study found that in a mouse model of major depressive disorder, depression-like behavior can be aggravated by microinjecting the P2X7R agonist ATP or its analog dibenzoyl-ATP into the medial prefrontal cortex, and this effect can be reversed by the P2X7R antagonist JNJ-47965567.
Article
Biology
David S. Jacobs, Madeleine C. Allen, Junchol Park, Bita Moghaddam
Summary: This study developed a novel model for anxiety during motivated behavior and found that neuronal activity in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) represents the relationship between action and punishment risk. Additionally, the study suggests that diazepam may have anxiolytic properties.
Article
Psychiatry
Krista M. Wartchow, Rafaela C. Cordeiro, Giselli Scaini
Summary: Recent studies have found associations between bipolar disorder and inflammation, oxidative stress, abnormalities in signaling pathways, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and circadian rhythm linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. However, more research is needed to validate these findings and increase their predictive ability.
CURRENT OPINION IN PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Marco Solmi, Trevor Thompson, Andres Estrade, Agorastos Agorastos, Joaquim Radua, Samuele Cortese, Elena Dragioti, Friedrich Leisch, Davy Vancampfort, Lau Caspar Thygesen, Harald Aschauer, Monika Schloegelhofer, Elena Aschauer, Andres Schneeberger, Christian G. Huber, Gregor Hasler, Philippe Conus, Kim Q. Do Cuenod, Roland von Kaenel, Gonzalo Arrondo, Paolo Fusar-Poli, Philip Gorwood, Pierre-Michel Llorca, Marie-Odile Krebs, Elisabetta Scanferla, Taishiro Kishimoto, Golam Rabbani, Karolina Skonieczna-Zydecka, Paolo Brambilla, Angela Favaro, Akihiro Takamiya, Leonardo Zoccante, Marco Colizzi, Julie Bourgin, Karol Kaminski, Maryam Moghadasin, Soraya Seedat, Evan Matthews, John Wells, Emilia Vassilopoulou, Ary Gadelha, Kuan-Pin Su, Jun Soo Kwon, Minah Kim, Tae Young Lee, Oleg Papsuev, Denisa Mankova, Andrea Boscutti, Cristiano Gerunda, Diego Saccon, Elena Righi, Francesco Monaco, Giovanni Croatto, Guido Cereda, Jacopo Demurtas, Natascia Brondino, Nicola Veronese, Paolo Enrico, Pierluigi Politi, Valentina Ciappolino, Andrea Pfennig, Andreas Bechdolf, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Kai G. Kahl, Katharina Domschke, Michael Bauer, Nikolaos Koutsouleris, Sibylle Winter, Stefan Borgwardt, Istvan Bitter, Judit Balazs, Pal Czobor, Zsolt Unoka, Dimitris Mavridis, Konstantinos Tsamakis, Vasilios P. Bozikas, Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, Michael Maes, Teerayuth Rungnirundorn, Thitiporn Supasitthumrong, Ariful Haque, Andre R. Brunoni, Carlos Gustavo Costardi, Felipe Barreto Schuch, Guilherme Polanczyk, Jhoanne Merlyn Luiz, Lais Fonseca, Luana V. Aparicio, Samira S. Valvassori, Merete Nordentoft, Per Vendsborg, Sofie Have Hoffmann, Jihed Sehli, Norman Sartorius, Sabina Heuss, Daniel Guinart, Jane Hamilton, John Kane, Jose Rubio, Michael Sand, Ai Koyanagi, Aleix Solanes, Alvaro Andreu-Bernabeu, Antonia San Jose Caceres, Celso Arango, Covadonga M. Diaz-Caneja, Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei, Eduard Vieta, Javier Gonzalez-Penas, Lydia Fortea, Mara Parellada, Miquel A. Fullana, Norma Verdolini, Eva Andrlikova, Karolina Janku, Mark John Millan, Mihaela Honciuc, Anna Moniuszko-Malinowska, Igor Loniewski, Jerzy Samochowiec, Lukasz Kiszkiel, Maria Marlicz, Pawel Sowa, Wojciech Marlicz, Georgina Spies, Brendon Stubbs, Joseph Firth, Sarah Sullivan, Asli Enez Darcin, Hatice Aksu, Nesrin Dilbaz, Onur Noyan, Momoko Kitazawa, Shunya Kurokawa, Yuki Tazawa, Alejandro Anselmi, Cecilia Cracco, Ana Ines Machado, Natalia Estrade, Diego De Leo, Jackie Curtis, Michael Berk, Philip Ward, Scott Teasdale, Simon Rosenbaum, Wolfgang Marx, Adrian Vasile Horodnic, Liviu Oprea, Ovidiu Alexinschi, Petru Ifteni, Serban Turliuc, Tudor Ciuhodaru, Alexandra Bolos, Valentin Matei, Dorien H. Nieman, Iris Sommer, Jim van Os, Therese van Amelsvoort, Ching-Fang Sun, Ta-wei Guu, Can Jiao, Jieting Zhang, Jialin Fan, Liye Zou, Xin Yu, Xinli Chi, Philippe de Timary, Ruud van Winkel, Bernardo Ng, Edilberto Pena, Ramon Arellano, Raquel Roman, Thelma Sanchez, Larisa Movina, Pedro Morgado, Sofia Brissos, Oleg Aizberg, Anna Mosina, Damir Krinitski, James Mugisha, Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani, Farshad Sheybani, Masoud Sadeghi, Samira Hadi, Serge Brand, Antonia Errazuriz, Nicolas Crossley, Dragana Ignjatovic Ristic, Carlos Lopez-Jaramillo, Dimitris Efthymiou, Praveenlal Kuttichira, Roy Abraham Kallivayalil, Afzal Javed, Muhammad Iqbal Afridi, Bawo James, Omonefe Joy Seb-Akahomen, Jess Fiedorowicz, Andre F. Carvalho, Jeff Daskalakis, Lakshmi N. Yatham, Lin Yang, Tarek Okasha, Aicha Dahdouh, Bjoern Gerdle, Jari Tiihonen, Jae Il Shin, Jinhee Lee, Ahmed Mhalla, Lotfi Gaha, Takoua Brahim, Kuanysh Altynbekov, Nikolay Negay, Saltanat Nurmagambetova, Yasser Abu Jamei, Mark Weiser, Christoph U. Correll
Summary: The COH-FIT survey is a valid instrument to measure global mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study confirmed the validity of COH-FIT items and the internal reliability of the co-primary outcome, the P-score. The survey has been translated into 30 languages and measures various mental health symptoms and factors.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
David Nunes De Lima, Carlos Winston Luz Costa Filho, Ilgner Justa Frota, Alissandra Lima Barbosa de Oliveira, Carlos Eduardo de Souza Menezes, Adriano Jose Maia Chaves Filho, Glautemberg de Almeida Viana, Eugenio de Moura Campos, Monica Collares, Maria Goretti Rodrigues de Queiroz, Said Goncalvez da Cruz Fonseca, Silvania Maria Mendes Vasconcelos, Danielle S. Macedo, Lia Lira Olivier Sanders
Summary: This study aimed to verify the therapeutic effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) supplementation in patients with schizophrenia. The results showed no significant improvement in body parameters, cognitive function, psychopathology, antipsychotic adverse effects, or oxidative stress and inflammation in the experimental group compared with placebo. A significant decrease in red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelet counts in the ALA treatment group was observed, which requires further investigation.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michael Maes, Francis F. Brinholi, Ana Paula Michelin, Andressa K. Matsumoto, Laura de Oliveira Semeao, Abbas F. Almulla, Thitiporn Supasitthumrong, Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, Decio S. Barbosa
Summary: In acute ischemic stroke patients, oxidative stress biomarkers can independently predict neurological recovery and brain damage after stroke, and antioxidant agents can be potential drug targets to prevent stroke and neurodegenerative diseases.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Hussein Kadhem Al-Hakeim, Tabarek Hadi Al-Naqeeb, Abbas F. Almulla, Michael Maes
Summary: This study found that peripheral indicators of neuroaxis damage in MDD were associated with serum inflammatory and insulin resistance markers, calcium, and the physio-affective phenome. CRP and HOMA2-IR predicted 28.9% of the variance in the neuroaxis index. Peripheral inflammation and insulin resistance may damage astroglial and neuronal projections, interfering with mitochondrial transport and contributing to the phenome of MDD.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Francis F. Brinholi, Ana Paula Michelin, Andressa K. Matsumoto, Laura de O. Semeao, Abbas F. Almulla, Thitiporn Supasitthumrong, Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, Decio S. Barbosa, Michael Maes
Summary: This study examines the associations between PON1 status and AIS as well as consequent disabilities. The results show that reduced CMPAase and increased AREase activities are significantly associated with AIS and its severity scores. The best predictors of AIS/disabilities are a decrease in the zCMPAase-zAREase score and a lowered zCMPAase + zHDLc score.
METABOLIC BRAIN DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Francisco Eliclecio Rodrigues da Silva, Rafaela Carneiro Cordeiro, Camila N. de Carvalho Lima, Pablo Leal Cardozo, Germana Silva Vasconcelos, Aline Santos Monte, Lia Lira Olivier Sanders, Silvania Maria Mendes Vasconcelos, David Freitas de Lucena, Breno Fiuza Cruz, Rodrigo Nicolato, Mary V. Seeman, Fabiola Mara Ribeiro, Danielle S. Macedo
Summary: This study found that females with schizophrenia experience more severe symptoms during the pre-ovulation phase of the menstrual cycle, and the administration of estrogen can alleviate these symptoms. The researchers also discovered that alterations in GPER may play a role in the gender differences observed in schizophrenia.
MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Letter
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Abbas F. Almulla, Michael Maes
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xia Qiu, Yin Wu, Ying Sun, Brooke Levis, Jizhou Tian, Jill T. Boruff, Pim Cuijpers, John P. A. Ioannidis, Sarah Markham, Roy C. Ziegelstein, Simone N. Vigod, Andrea Benedetti, Brett Thombs, Chen He, Ankur Krishnan, Parash Mani Bhandari, Dipika Neupane, Zelalem Negeri, Mahrukh Imran, Danielle B. Rice, Marleine Azar, Matthew J. Chiovitti, Simon A. Gilbody, Lorie B. Kloda, Scott D. Patten, Nicholas Mitchell, Ruben Alvarado, Jacqueline Barnes, Cheryl Tatano Beck, Carola Bindt, Humberto Correa, Tiago Castro e Couto, Genesis Chorwe-Sungani, Valsamma Eapen, Nicolas Favez, Ethel Felice, Gracia Fellmeth, Michelle Fernandes, Sally Field, Barbara Figueiredo, Jane R. W. Fisher, Eric P. Green, Simone Honikman, Louise M. Howard, Pirjo A. Kettunen, Jane Kohlhoff, Zoltan Kozinszky, Angeliki A. Leonardou, Michael Maes, Pablo Martinez, Sandra Nakic Rados, Daisuke Nishi, Susan J. Pawlby, Tamsen J. Rochat, Heather J. Rowe, Deborah J. Sharp, Alkistis Skalkidou, Johanne Smith-Nielsen, Alan Stein, Kuan-Pin Su, Inger Sundstroem-Poromaa, Meri Tadinac, S. Darius Tandon, Iva Tendais, Annamaria D. Toereki, Thach Tran, Kylee Trevillion, Katherine S. Turner, Mette Vaever, Thandi M. van Heyningen, Johann Vega-Dienstmaier, Karen A. Wynter, Kimberly Yonkers
Summary: Item 10 of the EPDS assesses self-harm thoughts but may also elicit concerns about accidental self-harm. The EPDS-9, which omits item 10, is sometimes used in research due to concerns about its implications. A meta-analysis of individual participant data showed that EPDS-9 performs similarly to the full EPDS in detecting major depression among pregnant and postpartum women.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Hussein Kadhem Al-Hakeim, Anwar Khairi Abed, Shatha Rouf Moustafa, Abbas F. Almulla, Michael Maes
Summary: In this study, we found that severe Long COVID patients had low serum tryptophan, low oxygen saturation, high insulin resistance, high C-reactive protein, and high ratings on all symptom domains. Inflammatory responses, decreased tryptophan, and increased kynurenine may contribute to the physio-affective phenome of Long COVID.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Ketsupar Jirakran, Asara Vasupanrajit, Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, Michael Maes
Summary: This study aimed to determine whether neuroticism is a feature of the acute state of major depressive disorder (MDD), including suicidal behaviors, and whether adverse childhood experiences are associated with neuroticism in MDD. The results showed that neuroticism was significantly higher in MDD patients compared to healthy controls, and it explained a large portion of the variance in the depression phenome. Neglect and abuse in childhood accounted for a significant portion of the variance in the latent vector representing MDD phenome, with neuroticism partially mediating the effects of neglect and completely mediating the effects of abuse.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Yoshiko Abe, Wandee Sirichokchatchawan, Ussanee Sangkomkamhang, Sirina Satthapisit, Michael Maes
Summary: This study evaluates the association between the severity of depressive premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and antenatal depression (AD) during early and late pregnancy, and finds that the affective symptoms of PMS strongly predict AD symptoms, suggesting an overlap in the pathophysiology of these conditions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Paulo Levi Bezerra Martins, Ian Araujo Moura, Gabrielle Mendes, Vittoria Cristina Almeida Flexa Ribeiro, Andre Arnaud, Clarissa S. Gama, Michael Maes, Danielle S. Macedo, Joel Porfirio Pinto
Summary: This systematic review evaluated the immune alterations induced by clozapine and its relationship with clinical response. The results showed that clozapine treatment activates the compensatory immune-regulatory system and increases plasma levels of interleukin-6. Clozapine-induced immune alterations may contribute to the drug's mechanism of action and adverse effects.
EUROPEAN NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rafaela C. Cordeiro, Camila N. C. Lima, Gabriel R. Fries, Giovana Zunta-Soares, Jair C. Soares, Joao Quevedo, Giselli Scaini
Summary: This study investigates the impact of mitochondrial dysfunction on bipolar disorder (BD). The study finds that BD patients have a lower mitochondrial health index (MHI) compared to non-psychiatry controls, with a negative correlation between MHI and cell-free mtDNA levels. The study further reveals that MHI is related to the expression of mitochondria quality control (MQC) proteins, and a longer illness duration, worse functional status, and higher depressive symptoms are associated with lower MHI and higher cell-free mtDNA levels.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Neurosciences
Rafaela Carneiro Cordeiro, Krista M. Wartchow, Tina Li, Bashar Asi, Giovana Zunta-Soares, Albert J. Fenoy, Jair C. Soares, Joao Quevedo, Giselli Scaini
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2023)