Combined cognitive assessment and automated MRI volumetry improves the diagnostic accuracy of detecting MCI due to Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) confers a high annual risk of 10-15 % of conversion to Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. MRI atrophy patterns derived from automated ROI analysis, particularly hippocampal subfield volumes, were reported to be useful in diagnosing early clinical stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to combine automated ROI MRI morphometry of hippocampal subfield volumes and cortical thickness estimates using FreeSurfer 6.

Subclinical hypomanic experiences in young adults after sleep deprivation are independent of depressive disorders, chronotype or 5-HTTLPR polymorphism.

Introduction: The acute antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation (SD) in patients with depressive disorders has been studied for more than 60 years. However, hypomanic mood swings after partial or total SD have also been described in people without diagnosed mental disorders. Studying this phenomenon in the general population may yield insights about the mechanisms of therapeutic SD, mania and bipolar disorders.

Trait emotional intelligence and resilience: gender differences among university students.

Background: Previous studies have reported strong correlations of emotional intelligence (EI) with mental health and wellbeing; it is also a powerful predictor of social functioning and personal adaption. Resilience is the ability to adapt to significant life stressors and is also crucial for maintaining and restoring physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate EI and resilience in healthy university students, with a focus on gender differences in EI and resilience components.

The effect of inflammation, SARS-CoV-2 infection, age and mental health on serotonin, and kynurenine and catecholamine pathway metabolites.

Background: A high prevalence of mental disorders following COVID-19 has been described. It is therefore essential to elucidate underlying biological mechanisms linking SARS-CoV-2 infection and mental health. The kynurenine and catecholamine metabolic pathways are modulated by inflammation and can affect systemic levels of serotonin and dopamine.

Consequences and Perception of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients and Caregivers in an Austrian Memory Clinic Population One Year After Pandemic Onset.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with high mortality and negative consequences for patients with Alzheimer's disease or dementia and their caregivers. Memory clinics play an important role in enabling early dementia diagnosis and providing support for patients and their caregivers.

Objective: This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions on patients of a memory clinic and their caregivers between March 2020 and March 2021.

Setup of an Online Mental Health Self-Help Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Description of the Development and Implementation Processes and Analysis of Its Users' and Usage Profiles.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic hit Austria in March 2020. This led to a considerable reduction in outpatient psychiatric therapies. People with mental disorders as well as with newly emerging mental health issues found themselves with very limited treatment options.

Disorder-Specific Profiles of Self-Perceived Emotional Abilities in Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder.

Deficits in social cognition are a core feature of neuropsychiatric disorders. The purpose of this study was to compare profiles of self-perceived abilities across the core domains of emotional functioning between patients with schizophrenia ( = 22), major depressive disorder ( = 31) and healthy participants ( = 43) with the Self-report Emotional Ability Scale (SEAS). Profile analyses were used to explore group differences in the overall level of self-perceived effectiveness of emotional functioning and in the patterns in which the four functions of emotion perception and regulation in the intra- and inter-personal domains are arranged to each other.

Reduced ability to discriminate colours - an under-recognised feature of depressive disorders? A pilot study.

Although in clinical practice an impairment of sensory perception is frequently reported by depressed patients no mention of these symptoms is made in DSM-5, ICD-10 or ICD-11. Previous studies on colour perception have largely relied on patient self-reports and few have studied colour discrimination. The ability to discriminate small colour differences was assessed in 30 patients currently experiencing a moderate to severe depressive episode (ICD-10: F32.

Combined Processing of Facial and Vocal Emotion in Remitted Patients With Bipolar I Disorder.

Objectives: Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with impairments in facial emotion and emotional prosody perception during both mood episodes and periods of remission. To expand on previous research, the current study investigated cross-modal emotion perception, that is, matching of facial emotion and emotional prosody in remitted BD patients.

Methods: Fifty-nine outpatients with BD and 45 healthy volunteers were included into a cross-sectional study.

[Cultural differences concerning depressive disorders and attachment dimensions].

Background: Attachment is a psychological parameter across cultures and is influenced by childhood experiences. Though the construct of attachment tends to certain stability, different influences, like culture, can change the quality of attachment during lifetime. As can be seen from the example of depression in adulthood the clinical symptoms of this disorder may be different due to the cultural background.

What Characterizes Depression in Old Age? Results from the Bruneck Study.

Introduction: Depression in old age is associated with functional disabilities, cognitive impairment, lower self-rated quality of life, and increased mortality. The aim of the study was to reveal the prevalence of depression and to investigate the characteristics of patients treated with antidepressants.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Bruneck Study 2010.

Severity of Depression Impacts Imminent Conversion from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been suggested to represent a prodromal stage of dementia and to confer a high risk for conversion to dementia Alzheimer's type (DAT).

Objectives: In this study, we examined the predictive value of depressive symptoms and neuropsychological variables on conversion of MCI to DAT.

Methods: Neuropsychological and clinical follow-up data of 260 MCI patients seen at the Psychiatric Memory Clinic of the Medical University of Innsbruck between 2005 and 2015 were analyzed retrospectively.