Evaluation of Neurofeedback for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Related to Refugee Experiences Using Self-Report and Cognitive ERP Measures.

. Neurofeedback holds promise as an intervention for the psychophysiological dysfunction found in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Few empirical studies have assessed the efficacy of neurofeedback for PTSD, and none in individuals with refugee trauma.

Reduced safety processing during aversive social conditioning in psychosis and clinical risk.

Social impairment occurs across the psychosis spectrum, but its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that reduced differential responses (aversive vs. neutral) in neural circuitry underpinning aversive conditioning of social stimuli characterizes the psychosis spectrum.

Characterizing neurocognitive markers of familial risk for depression using multi-modal imaging, behavioral and self-report measures.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with poorer behavioral performance in domains of working memory and associated cognitive systems for cognitive control and attention. Functional neuroimaging studies show altered functioning in MDD in frontal executive control circuits implicated in these cognitive processes. It is not yet known whether poor cognitive performance involving these circuits is part of the familial risk for MDD, and we addressed this issue using a multi-modal imaging, behavioral and self-report approach in unaffected first-degree relatives of parent probands with MDD.

Social aversive conditioning in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis and with psychosis: An ERP study.

Background: Social cognition and emotion processing are compromised in schizophrenia. Disruptions in these domains may also be present during the psychosis-risk state. Aversive conditioning is an established translational research paradigm to investigate affective reactivity and learning.

Electrocortical reactivity to negative and positive facial expressions in individuals with a family history of major depression.

Facial expressions signaling threat and mood-congruent loss have been used to probe abnormal neural reactivity in major depressive disorder (MDD) and may be implicated in genetic vulnerability to MDD. This study investigated electro-cortical reactivity to facial expressions in 101 unaffected, adult first-degree relatives of probands with MDD and non-relative controls (n = 101). We investigated event-related potentials (ERPs) to five facial expressions of basic emotion: fear, anger, disgust, sadness and happiness under both subliminal (masked) and conscious (unmasked) presentation conditions, and the source localization of group differences.

Profiling risk for depressive disorder by circuit, behavior and self-report measures of emotion function.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by maladaptions in affective brain circuitry and in emotion regulation. It remains unknown whether these maladaptions characterize first-degree relatives of probands who are unaffected yet have a higher risk of developing MDD.

Methods: Participants were 72 unaffected first-degree relatives of probands with MDD and 66 matched non-relative controls.

Neurofeedback as an adjunct therapy for treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder related to refugee trauma and torture experiences: two case studies.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the use of neurofeedback for refugee-related chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in two case studies.

Methods: We describe the assessment and application of neurofeedback integrated into the treatment of two clients with chronic PTSD. We include details of our treatment schedule, symptoms and quantitative electrophysiological data for each case.

Using multiple methods to characterize the phenotype of individuals with a family history of major depressive disorder.

Background: Unaffected relatives (URs) of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) are biologically more vulnerable to depression. We compare healthy URs and controls at the level of phenotype (symptoms and functioning) and endophenotype (negative emotion bias), and further investigate the interrelation between these and the contribution of environmental early life stress.

Methods: URs (n=101), identified using Family History Screen interview methods and matched controls completed written and interview questions assessing symptoms of depression and anxiety, negative cognitive style, life functioning and early life stress.

Negative biases and risk for depression; integrating self-report and emotion task markers.

Background: Negativity biases and their impact on reactivity to negative emotion are implicated in the mechanisms of risk for depression. The aim of this study was to determine whether self-reported negativity bias is related to objective cognitive measures of emotional reactivity.

Methods: A previously established Web self-report measure of negativity bias was used to assess 1,080 volunteers from the Brain Resource International Database (overseen by the nonprofit BRAINnet Foundation).