Blood biomarkers of neuronal injury and astrocytic reactivity in electroconvulsive therapy.

Despite electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) being recognized as an effective treatment for major depressive episodes (MDE), its application is subject to controversy due to concerns over cognitive side effects. The pathophysiology of these side effects is not well understood. Here, we examined the effects of ECT on blood-based biomarkers of neuronal injury and astrocytic reactivity.

Provincial and connector qualities of somatosensory brain network hubs in bipolar disorder.

Brain network hubs are highly connected brain regions serving as important relay stations for information integration. Recent studies have linked mental disorders to impaired hub function. Provincial hubs mainly integrate information within their own brain network, while connector hubs share information between different brain networks.

Mania-related effects on structural brain changes in bipolar disorder - a narrative review of the evidence.

Cross-sectional neuroimaging studies show that bipolar disorder is associated with structural brain abnormalities, predominantly observed in prefrontal and temporal cortex, cingulate gyrus, and subcortical regions. However, longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate whether these abnormalities presage disease onset or are consequences of disease processes, and to identify potential contributing factors. Here, we narratively review and summarize longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging studies that relate imaging outcomes to manic episodes.

Mega-analysis of association between obesity and cortical morphology in bipolar disorders: ENIGMA study in 2832 participants.

Background: Obesity is highly prevalent and disabling, especially in individuals with severe mental illness including bipolar disorders (BD). The brain is a target organ for both obesity and BD. Yet, we do not understand how cortical brain alterations in BD and obesity interact.

In Vivo 7-Tesla MRI Investigation of Brain Iron and Its Metabolic Correlates in Chronic Schizophrenia.

Brain iron is central to dopaminergic neurotransmission, a key component in schizophrenia pathology. Iron can also generate oxidative stress, which is one proposed mechanism for gray matter volume reduction in schizophrenia. The role of brain iron in schizophrenia and its potential link to oxidative stress has not been previously examined.

Neural and behavioral correlates of sexual stimuli anticipation point to addiction-like mechanisms in compulsive sexual behavior disorder.

Background And Aims: Compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) is characterized by persistent patterns of failure to control sexual impulses resulting in repetitive sexual behavior, pursued despite adverse consequences. Despite previous indications of addiction-like mechanisms and the recent impulse-control disorder classification in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the neurobiological processes underlying CSBD are unknown.

Methods: We designed and applied a behavioral paradigm aimed at disentangling processes related to anticipation and viewing of erotic stimuli.

Altered Neural and Behavioral Response to Sexually Implicit Stimuli During a Pictorial-Modified Stroop Task in Pedophilic Disorder.

Background: Pedophilic disorder (PD) entails sexual attraction to prepubertal children. A risk factor for committing child sexual abuse in PD is impaired cognitive control. However, the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms remain unclear.

Diagnosis of bipolar disorders and body mass index predict clustering based on similarities in cortical thickness-ENIGMA study in 2436 individuals.

Aims: Rates of obesity have reached epidemic proportions, especially among people with psychiatric disorders. While the effects of obesity on the brain are of major interest in medicine, they remain markedly under-researched in psychiatry.

Methods: We obtained body mass index (BMI) and magnetic resonance imaging-derived regional cortical thickness, surface area from 836 bipolar disorders (BD) and 1600 control individuals from 14 sites within the ENIGMA-BD Working Group.

Longitudinal Structural Brain Changes in Bipolar Disorder: A Multicenter Neuroimaging Study of 1232 Individuals by the ENIGMA Bipolar Disorder Working Group.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with cortical and subcortical structural brain abnormalities. It is unclear whether such alterations progressively change over time, and how this is related to the number of mood episodes. To address this question, we analyzed a large and diverse international sample with longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical data to examine structural brain changes over time in BD.

Association between body mass index and subcortical brain volumes in bipolar disorders-ENIGMA study in 2735 individuals.

Individuals with bipolar disorders (BD) frequently suffer from obesity, which is often associated with neurostructural alterations. Yet, the effects of obesity on brain structure in BD are under-researched. We obtained MRI-derived brain subcortical volumes and body mass index (BMI) from 1134 BD and 1601 control individuals from 17 independent research sites within the ENIGMA-BD Working Group.

Brain structure and clinical profile point to neurodevelopmental factors involved in pedophilic disorder.

Objective: Pedophilic disorder (PD) is characterized bypersistent, intense sexual attraction to prepubertal children that the individual has acted on, or causes marked distress or interpersonal difficulty. Although prior research suggests that PD has neurodevelopmental underpinnings, the evidence remains sparse. To aid the understanding of etiology and treatment development, we quantified neurobiological and clinical correlates of PD.

Influence of genetic variations in IL1B on brain region volumes in bipolar patients and controls.

Involvement of the immune system has been implicated in the etiology and pathophysiology of mood disorders, including bipolar disorder. Neuroimaging studies have reported structural brain pathology in bipolar disorder patients, and both levels of and genetic variants in cytokines have been associated with altered volumes of brain regions. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the gene coding for the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 beta (IL1B) and whole brain grey matter volume, as well as volumes of several brain regions shown to be of importance in mood disorders.

[ C]raclopride positron emission tomography study of dopamine-D receptor binding in patients with severe major depressive episodes before and after electroconvulsive therapy and compared to control subjects.

Aim: The aim of the study was to test: (i) if D /D binding in three functional subsections of striatum is different in patients with severe major depressive episodes than in controls; and (ii) if this difference is normalized after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Methods: Nine inpatients were examined with positron emission tomography (PET) and the radioligand [ C]raclopride before and after an average of 8.4 ECT sessions.

Longitudinal Cortical Thickness Changes in Bipolar Disorder and the Relationship to Genetic Risk, Mania, and Lithium Use.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a highly heritable psychiatric disorder characterized by episodes of manic and depressed mood states and associated with cortical brain abnormalities. Although the course of BD is often progressive, longitudinal brain imaging studies are scarce. It remains unknown whether brain abnormalities are static traits of BD or result from pathological changes over time.

Neuregulin-1 and schizophrenia in the genome-wide association study era.

Clinical and pre-clinical evidence has implicated neuregulin 1 (NRG1) as a critical component in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, the arrival of the genome-wide association study (GWAS) era has yielded results that challenge the relevance of NRG1 in schizophrenia due to the absence of a genome-wide significant NRG1 variant associated with schizophrenia. To assess NRG1's relevance to schizophrenia in the GWAS era, we provide a targeted review of recent preclinical evidence on NRG1's role in regulating several aspects of excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmission and in turn schizophrenia risk.

Brain change trajectories that differentiate the major psychoses.

Background: Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are highly heritable, often chronic and debilitating psychotic disorders that can be difficult to differentiate clinically. Their brain phenotypes appear to overlap in both cross-sectional and longitudinal structural neuroimaging studies, with some evidence to suggest areas of differentiation with differing trajectories. The aim of this review was to investigate the notion that longitudinal trajectories of alterations in brain structure could differentiate the two disorders.

The functional anatomy of psychomotor disturbances in major depressive disorder.

Psychomotor disturbances (PMD) are a classic feature of depressive disorder that provides rich clinical information. The aim our narrative review was to characterize the functional anatomy of PMD by summarizing findings from neuroimaging studies. We found evidence across several neuroimaging modalities that suggest involvement of fronto-striatal neurocircuitry, and monoaminergic pathways and metabolism.

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia show association with amygdala volumes and neural activation during affective processing.

Objectives: Negative symptoms in schizophrenia have been associated with structural and functional alterations of the amygdala. We hypothesised that there would be between-group differences in amygdala volume and neural activation patterns during processing of affective stimuli among patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We further hypothesised correlations between neuroimaging metrics and clinical ratings of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Functional and structural alterations in the cingulate motor area relate to decreased fronto-striatal coupling in major depressive disorder with psychomotor disturbances.

Psychomotor disturbances are a classic feature of major depressive disorders. These can manifest as lack of facial expressions and decreased speech production, reduced body posture and mobility, and slowed voluntary movement. The neural correlates of psychomotor disturbances in depression are poorly understood but it has been suggested that outputs from the cingulate motor area (CMA) to striatal motor regions, including the putamen, could be involved.

Subcortical morphometry and psychomotor function in euthymic bipolar disorder with a history of psychosis.

Psychomotor disturbances are prominent in bipolar disorder patients with a history of psychosis, but their neural correlates remain largely unexplored. We hypothesized that these psychomotor disturbances are associated with morphometric changes in functionally specific regions of the basal ganglia and thalamus. To test if psychomotor performance is associated with changes in volume and shape in these brain regions, we investigated 20 euthymic bipolar disorder patients with a history of psychosis and 20 healthy controls with structural magnetic resonance imaging and vertex-based morphometry.