Physiological responses to affiliation during conversation: Comparing neurotypical males and males with Asperger syndrome.

We examined the emotional and psychophysiological underpinnings of social interaction in the context of autism spectrum disorder, more specifically, involving participants diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS). We recorded participants' autonomic nervous system (ANS) activation (electrodermal activity, heart rate, and heart rate variability) and facial muscle activation during conversations in two different types of male dyads: (1) ten dyads where one participant has been diagnosed with AS (AS/NT dyads) and (2) nine dyads where both participants are neurotypical (NT/NT dyads). Afterwards, three independent raters assessed continuously each participant's affiliative and dominant behaviors during the first and last 10 minutes of the conversations.

Serotonin transporter in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder--preliminary results from a positron emission tomography study.

The serotonin transporter (SERT) in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients has not been explored by earlier positron emission tomography (PET) studies. We measured SERT availability in female ADHD patients (n=8) and healthy controls (n=14) with PET and [11C]MADAM as a tracer. No significant group differences in [11C]MADAM binding potential were noted.

Body mass index and subjective well-being in young adults: a twin population study.

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is associated with subjective well-being. Higher BMI is believed to be related with lower well-being. However, the association may not be linear.

Depression and drive for thinness are associated with persistent bulimia nervosa in the community.

Objective: To examine psychiatric comorbidity and factors that influence the outcome of bulimia nervosa (BN) in the general population.

Method: Women from the nationwide birth cohorts of Finnish twins were screened for lifetime BN (N = 59) by using questionnaires and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. We assessed psychiatric comorbidity and other prognostic factors.

Depressive symptoms and alcohol use are genetically and environmentally correlated across adolescence.

Depressive symptoms and alcohol use are frequently positively associated during adolescence. This study aimed to assess the heritability of each phenotype across adolescence; to assess potential shared liabilities; to examine changes in the nature of shared liabilities across adolescence; and to investigate potential causal relationships between depressive symptoms and alcohol use. We studied a longitudinally assessed sample of adolescent Finnish twins (N = 1,282) to test hypotheses about genetic and environmental influences on these phenotypes within and across ages, using data from assessments at ages 12, 14, and 17.

Prospective associations of early-onset Axis I disorders with developing eating disorders.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze the developmental relationships of adolescent-onset Axis I mental disorders and eating disorders (EDs).

Method: One thousand three hundred eighteen adolescent twins born from 1983 to 1987 completed a professionally administered semistructured psychiatric interview at the age of 14 years and a questionnaire follow-up at the age of 17.5 years.

Anorexia and bulimia nervosa in same-sex and opposite-sex twins: lack of association with twin type in a nationwide study of Finnish twins.

Objective: The authors tested the hypothesis that either prenatal feminization or masculinization hormone influences in utero or later socialization affects the risk for anorexia and bulimia nervosa and disordered eating in members of opposite-sex twin pairs.

Method: Finnish twins (N=2,426 women, N=1,962 men with known zygosity) from birth cohorts born 1974-1979 were assessed at age 22 to 28 years with a questionnaire for eating disorder symptoms. Based on the questionnaire screen, women (N=292), men (N=53), and their cotwins were interviewed to assess diagnoses of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (per DSM-IV and broad criteria).

Early-onset depressive disorders predict the use of addictive substances in adolescence: a prospective study of adolescent Finnish twins.

Aims: To explore the developmental relationships between early-onset depressive disorders and later use of addictive substances.

Design, Setting And Participants: A sample of 1545 adolescent twins was drawn from a prospective, longitudinal study of Finnish adolescent twins with baseline assessments at age 14 years and follow-up at age 17.5 years.

Brain serotonin transporter binding of [123I]ADAM: within-subject variation between summer and winter data.

The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) controls several physiological functions, and a disturbance of the 5-HT system is implicated in many psychiatric conditions. Seasonal variation has been suggested in the 5-HT system. We investigated within-subject seasonal variation in brain serotonin transporter (SERT) binding with the SERT-ligand [(123)I]ADAM and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 12 healthy individuals.

Lifetime anorexia nervosa in young men in the community: five cases and their co-twins.

Objective: To describe patterns, comorbidity, and outcomes from a case series of anorexia nervosa (AN) among young men from the general population and their co-twins.

Method: Men (N = 2,122) born between 1975 and 1979 from Finnish twin cohorts were screened for lifetime eating disorders by questionnaire. The administration of the short version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV for screen positives led to a lifetime AN diagnosis in five participants, described here with their co-twins.

Epidemiology and course of anorexia nervosa in the community.

Objective: Most previous studies of the prevalence, incidence, and outcome of anorexia nervosa have been limited to cases detected through the health care system, which may bias our understanding of the disorder's incidence and natural course. The authors sought to describe the onset and outcomes of anorexia nervosa in the general population.

Method: Lifetime prevalences, incidence rates, and 5-year recovery rates of anorexia nervosa were calculated on the basis of data from 2,881 women from the 1975-1979 birth cohorts of Finnish twins.

Serotonin transporter binding of [123I]ADAM in bulimic women, their healthy twin sisters, and healthy women: a SPET study.

Background: Bulimia Nervosa (BN) is believed to be caused by an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Previous studies support the existence of a bulimia-related endophenotype as well as disturbances in serotonin (5-HT) transmission. We studied serotonin transporter (SERT) binding in BN, and to investigate the possibility of a SERT-related endophenotype for BN, did this in a sample of female twins.

Reliability of self-reported eating disorders: Optimizing population screening.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess whether short self-report eating disorder screening questions are useful population screening methods.

Method: We screened the female participants (N = 2881) from the 1975-1079 birth cohorts of Finnish twins for eating disorders, using several short screening questions and three Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) subscales. Comparing these measures with clinician-conducted semi-structured diagnostic interviews (N = 549) of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) anorexia and bulimia, we calculated their sensitivities and specificities and drew receiver operating characteristic curves to further compare these items.

Minor depression in adolescence: phenomenology and clinical correlates.

Background: Depressions that fail to meet the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) may be underdiagnosed and undertreated in adolescent population. Traditionally, they are not considered as serious conditions and the phenomenological nature and clinical correlates of these disorders are largely unknown. In the present study, we used a large, representative and age-standardized sample of adolescents to examine the phenomenology and clinical correlates of minor depression, a poorly understood condition included in the category of Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition-Text Revised (DSM-IV-TR).