Responding to threat: Associations between neural reactivity to and behavioral avoidance of threat in pediatric anxiety.

Background: Despite broad recognition of the central role of avoidance in anxiety, a lack of specificity in its operationalization has hindered progress in understanding this clinically significant construct. The current study uses a multimodal approach to investigate how specific measures of avoidance relate to neural reactivity to threat in youth with anxiety disorders.

Methods: Children with anxiety disorders (ages 6-12 years; n = 65 for primary analyses) completed laboratory task- and clinician-based measures of avoidance, as well as a functional magnetic resonance imaging task probing neural reactivity to threat.

Affective language spreads between anxious children and their mothers during a challenging puzzle task.

Humans influence each other's emotions. The spread of emotion is well documented across behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuroscientific levels of analysis, but might this influence also be evident in language (e.g.

Whole-exome DNA sequencing in childhood anxiety disorders identifies rare de novo damaging coding variants.

Background: Genetic factors contribute to the development of anxiety disorders, yet few risk genes have been previously identified. One genomic approach that has achieved success in identifying risk genes in related childhood neuropsychiatric conditions is investigations of de novo variants, which has yet to be leveraged in childhood anxiety disorders.

Methods: We performed whole-exome DNA sequencing in 76 parent-child trios (68 trios after quality control) recruited from a childhood anxiety disorder clinic and compared rates of rare and ultra-rare de novo variants with 790 previously sequenced control trios (783 trios after quality control).

Intricate decision making: ambivalences and barriers when fulfilling an advance directive.

Background: Despite a recent statutory ruling stating the binding nature of advance directives (ADs), only a minority of the population has signed one. Yet, a majority deem it of utmost importance to ensure their wishes are followed through in case they are no longer able to decide. The reasons for this discrepancy have not yet been investigated sufficiently.

Public health relevance of Graves' orbitopathy.

Context: Disfiguring proptosis and functional impairment in patients with Graves' orbitopathy (GO) may lead to impaired earning capacity and to considerable indirect/direct costs.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the public health relevance of GO.

Design And Setting: This cross-sectional study was performed between 2005 and 2009 at a multidisciplinary university orbital center.