Neurobiological correlates of comorbidity in disorders across the affective disorders-psychosis spectrum.

Disorders across the affective disorders-psychosis spectrum such as major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), schizoaffective disorder (SCA), and schizophrenia (SCZ), have overlapping symptomatology and high comorbidity rates with other mental disorders. So far, however, it is largely unclear why some of the patients develop comorbidities. In particular, the specific genetic architecture of comorbidity and its relationship with brain structure remain poorly understood.

Associations between white matter microstructure and cognitive decline in major depressive disorder versus controls in Germany: a prospective case-control cohort study.

Background: Cognitive deficits are a key source of disability in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and worsen with disease progression. Despite their clinical relevance, the underlying mechanisms of cognitive deficits remain poorly elucidated, hampering effective treatment strategies. Emerging evidence suggests that alterations in white matter microstructure might contribute to cognitive dysfunction in MDD.

A guided single session intervention to reduce intrusive memories of work-related trauma: a randomised controlled trial with healthcare workers in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Intrusive memories of psychologically traumatic events bring distress both sub-clinically and clinically. This parallel-group, two-arm randomised controlled trial evaluated the effect of a brief behavioural intervention on reducing intrusive memories in frontline healthcare workers exposed to traumatic events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Participants with at least two intrusive memories of work-related trauma in the week before recruitment were randomised 1:1 to an imagery-competing task intervention (n = 73) or attention-based control task (n = 71).

Impact of NPSR1 gene variation on the neural correlates of phasic and sustained fear in spider phobia-an imaging genetics and independent replication approach.

The functional neuropeptide S receptor 1 (NPSR1) gene A/T variant (rs324981) is associated with fear processing. We investigated the impact of NPSR1 genotype on fear processing and on symptom reduction following treatment in individuals with spider phobia. A replication approach was applied [discovery sample: Münster (MS) nMS = 104; replication sample Würzburg (WZ) nWZ = 81].

Aberrant inhibitory control as a transdiagnostic dimension of mental disorders - A meta-analysis of the antisaccade task in different psychiatric populations.

This meta-analysis examined inhibitory control performance in the antisaccade task across mental disorders. Following PRISMA guidelines, we analyzed data from k = 146 studies (n = 13,807 participants) on antisaccade performance. Effect sizes were estimated using random-effects models and restricted maximum-likelihood estimation, with robustness tests for study heterogeneity and publication bias.

Interaction of perceived social support and childhood maltreatment on limbic responsivity towards negative emotional stimuli in healthy individuals.

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with increased limbic activity, while social support is linked to decreased limbic activity towards negative stimuli. Our study aimed to explore the interaction of perceived social support with CM, and their combined impact on limbic activity in negative emotion processing. A total of 130 healthy individuals (HC) underwent a negative emotional face processing paradigm.

How movies move us - movie preferences are linked to differences in neuronal emotion processing of fear and anger: an fMRI study.

Introduction: As a source of audio-visual stimulation, movies expose people to various emotions. Interestingly, several genres are characterized by negative emotional content. Albeit theoretical approaches exist, little is known about preferences for specific movie genres and the neuronal processing of negative emotions.

Evidence from comprehensive independent validation studies for smooth pursuit dysfunction as a sensorimotor biomarker for psychosis.

Smooth pursuit eye movements are considered a well-established and quantifiable biomarker of sensorimotor function in psychosis research. Identifying psychotic syndromes on an individual level based on neurobiological markers is limited by heterogeneity and requires comprehensive external validation to avoid overestimation of prediction models. Here, we studied quantifiable sensorimotor measures derived from smooth pursuit eye movements in a large sample of psychosis probands (N = 674) and healthy controls (N = 305) using multivariate pattern analysis.

Principal component analysis as an efficient method for capturing multivariate brain signatures of complex disorders-ENIGMA study in people with bipolar disorders and obesity.

Multivariate techniques better fit the anatomy of complex neuropsychiatric disorders which are characterized not by alterations in a single region, but rather by variations across distributed brain networks. Here, we used principal component analysis (PCA) to identify patterns of covariance across brain regions and relate them to clinical and demographic variables in a large generalizable dataset of individuals with bipolar disorders and controls. We then compared performance of PCA and clustering on identical sample to identify which methodology was better in capturing links between brain and clinical measures.

Altered cortical synaptic lipid signaling leads to intermediate phenotypes of mental disorders.

Excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance plays important roles in mental disorders. Bioactive phospholipids like lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) are synthesized by the enzyme autotaxin (ATX) at cortical synapses and modulate glutamatergic transmission, and eventually alter E/I balance of cortical networks. Here, we analyzed functional consequences of altered E/I balance in 25 human subjects induced by genetic disruption of the synaptic lipid signaling modifier PRG-1, which were compared to 25 age and sex matched control subjects.

Neural correlates of stress-reactive rumination in depression - The role of childhood trauma and social anxiety.

Recent work showed an association of prefrontal dysfunctions in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and social stress induced rumination. However, up to date it is unclear which etiological features of MDD might cause prefrontal dysfunctions. In the study at hand, we aimed to replicate recent findings, that showed prefrontal activation alterations during the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and subsequently increased stress-reactive rumination in MDD compared to healthy controls.

Lack of evidence for predictive utility from resting state fMRI data for individual exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy outcomes: A machine learning study in two large multi-site samples in anxiety disorders.

Data-based predictions of individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) treatment response are a fundamental step towards precision medicine. Past studies demonstrated only moderate prediction accuracy (i.e.

The interplay between polygenic score for tumor necrosis factor-α, brain structural connectivity, and processing speed in major depression.

Reduced processing speed is a core deficit in major depressive disorder (MDD) and has been linked to altered structural brain network connectivity. Ample evidence highlights the involvement of genetic-immunological processes in MDD and specific depressive symptoms. Here, we extended these findings by examining associations between polygenic scores for tumor necrosis factor-α blood levels (TNF-α PGS), structural brain connectivity, and processing speed in a large sample of MDD patients.

Mental health improvement after the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with psychological distress.

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated countermeasures had an immensely disruptive impact on people's lives. Due to the lack of systematic pre-pandemic data, however, it is still unclear how individuals' psychological health has been affected across this incisive event. In this study, we analyze longitudinal data from two healthy samples (N = 307) to provide quasi-longitudinal insight into the full trajectory of psychological burden before (baseline), during the first peak, and at a relative downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Association between resting-state connectivity patterns in the defensive system network and treatment response in spider phobia-a replication approach.

Although highly effective on average, exposure-based treatments do not work equally well for all patients with anxiety disorders. The identification of pre-treatment response-predicting patient characteristics may enable patient stratification. Preliminary research highlights the relevance of inhibitory fronto-limbic networks as such.

Persistence of amygdala hyperactivity to subliminal negative emotion processing in the long-term course of depression.

Biased emotion processing has been suggested to underlie the etiology and maintenance of depression. Neuroimaging studies have shown mood-congruent alterations in amygdala activity in patients with acute depression, even during early, automatic stages of emotion processing. However, due to a lack of prospective studies over periods longer than 8 weeks, it is unclear whether these neurofunctional abnormalities represent a persistent correlate of depression even in remission.

A Systematic Evaluation of Machine Learning-Based Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder.

Importance: Biological psychiatry aims to understand mental disorders in terms of altered neurobiological pathways. However, for one of the most prevalent and disabling mental disorders, major depressive disorder (MDD), no informative biomarkers have been identified.

Objective: To evaluate whether machine learning (ML) can identify a multivariate biomarker for MDD.

Inhibitory control and its modification in spider phobia - Study protocol for an antisaccade training trial.

Objectives: Inhibitory control deficits are considered a key pathogenic factor in anxiety disorders. To assess inhibitory control, the antisaccade task is a well-established measure that assesses antisaccade performance via latencies and error rates. The present study follows three aims: (1) to investigate inhibitory control via antisaccade latencies and errors in an antisaccade task, and their associations with multiple measures of fear in patients with spider phobia (SP) versus healthy controls (HC), (2) to investigate the modifiability of antisaccade performance via a fear-specific antisaccade training in patients with SP and HC, and (3) to explore associations between putative training-induced changes in antisaccade performance in SPs and changes in diverse measures of fear.

The neural signature of psychomotor disturbance in depression.

Up to 70% of patients with major depressive disorder present with psychomotor disturbance (PmD), but at the present time understanding of its pathophysiology is limited. In this study, we capitalized on a large sample of patients to examine the neural correlates of PmD in depression. This study included 820 healthy participants and 699 patients with remitted (n = 402) or current (n = 297) depression.

Interrelated effects of age and parenthood on whole-brain controllability: protective effects of parenthood in mothers.

Background: Controllability is a measure of the brain's ability to orchestrate neural activity which can be quantified in terms of properties of the brain's network connectivity. Evidence from the literature suggests that aging can exert a general effect on whole-brain controllability. Mounting evidence, on the other hand, suggests that parenthood and motherhood in particular lead to long-lasting changes in brain architecture that effectively slow down brain aging.