Augmenting trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder with memory specificity training: a randomized controlled trial.

Although trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT) is the recommended treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), up to one-half of patients do not respond to this intervention. There is an urgent need to develop new strategies to improve treatment response. Training people to recall specific positive memories may augment treatment gains in TF-CBT.

Performance assessment of computational tools to detect microsatellite instability.

Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a phenomenon seen in several cancer types, which can be used as a biomarker to help guide immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. To facilitate this, researchers have developed computational tools to categorize samples as having high microsatellite instability, or as being microsatellite stable using next-generation sequencing data. Most of these tools were published with unclear scope and usage, and they have yet to be independently benchmarked.

Exploring the internal forward model: action-effect prediction and attention in sensorimotor processing.

Action-effect predictions are believed to facilitate movement based on its association with sensory objectives and suppress the neurophysiological response to self- versus externally generated stimuli (i.e. sensory attenuation).

A cognitive model of delusion propensity through dysregulated correlation detection.

Background: We present a novel account of delusion propensity that integrates the roles of working memory (WM), decision criteria, and information gathering biases. This framework emphasises the role of aberrant correlation detection, which leads to the spurious perception of relationships between one's experiences. The frequency of such outcomes is moderated by the scaling of one's decision criteria which, for reasons discussed, must also account for WM capacity.

Sensory attenuation is modulated by the contrasting effects of predictability and control.

Self-generated stimuli have been found to elicit a reduced sensory response compared with externally-generated stimuli. However, much of the literature has not adequately controlled for differences in the temporal predictability and temporal control of stimuli. In two experiments, we compared the N1 (and P2) components of the auditory-evoked potential to self- and externally-generated tones that differed with respect to these two factors.

Which exercise and behavioural interventions show most promise for treating fatigue in multiple sclerosis? A network meta-analysis.

Background: Fatigue is a common, debilitating symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) without a current standardised treatment.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review with network meta-analyses was to estimate the relative effectiveness of both fatigue-targeted and non-targeted exercise, behavioural and combined (behavioural and exercise) interventions.

Methods: Nine electronic databases up to August 2018 were searched, and 113 trials ( = 6909) were included: 34 were fatigue-targeted and 79 non-fatigue-targeted trials.

Investigating the potentially important role of psychological flexibility in adherence to antiretroviral therapy in people living with HIV.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly improved immune health and survival rates in HIV, but these outcomes rely on near perfect adherence. While many psychosocial factors are related to sub-optimal adherence, effectiveness of associated interventions are modest or inconsistent. The Psychological Flexibility (PF) model underlying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) identifies a core set of broadly applicable transdiagnostic processes that may be useful to explain and improve non-adherence.

Which behavioural and exercise interventions targeting fatigue show the most promise in multiple sclerosis? A systematic review with narrative synthesis and meta-analysis.

Fatigue is a common and highly debilitating symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). This meta-analytic systematic review with detailed narrative synthesis examined randomised-controlled (RCTs) and controlled trials of behavioural and exercise interventions targeting fatigue in adults with MS to assess which treatments offer the most promise in reducing fatigue severity/impact. Medline, EMBASE and PsycInfo electronic databases, amongst others, were searched through to August 2018.

Are We Speaking the Same Language? Finding Theoretical Coherence and Precision in "Mindfulness-Based Mechanisms" in Chronic Pain.

Objective: Over the past 50 years, the field of chronic pain has witnessed an evolution of psychological approaches with some notable success. Some of this evolution has included "mindfulness-based interventions" (MBIs), now regarded as having encouraging partial support for their effectiveness. However, several theoretical challenges remain that may inhibit the progress of MBIs.

An Account of Interference in Associative Memory: Learning the Fan Effect.

Associative learning is an essential feature of human cognition, accounting for the influence of priming and interference effects on memory recall. Here, we extend our account of associative learning that learns asymmetric item-to-item associations over time via experience (Thomson, Pyke, Trafton, & Hiatt, 2015) by including link maturation to balance associations between longer-term stability while still accounting for short-term variability. This account, combined with an existing account of activation strengthening and decay, predicts both human response times and error rates for the fan effect (Anderson, 1974; Anderson & Reder, 1999) for both target and foil stimuli.

Operationalising cognitive fatigability in multiple sclerosis: A Gordian knot that can be cut?

Background: Researchers have attempted to operationalise objective measures of cognitive fatigability in multiple sclerosis (MS) to overcome the perceived subjectivity of patient-reported outcomes of fatigue (PROs). Measures of cognitive fatigability examine decrements in performance during sustained neurocognitive tasks.

Objective: This personal viewpoint briefly summarises available evidence for measures of cognitive fatigability in MS and considers their overall utility.

Using mixed methods case-series evaluation in the development of a guided self-management hybrid CBT and ACT intervention for multiple sclerosis pain.

Purpose: Two-thirds of the people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) experience pain. Medications provide minimal relief, and current non-pharmacological interventions lack a clear conceptualization of MS pain. This study explored the potential efficacy of a telephone-supported hybrid cognitive behavior therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy self-management intervention for pwMS based on an empirically supported model of MS pain using a replicated single-case series design.

Episodes, events, and models.

We describe a novel computational theory of how individuals segment perceptual information into representations of events. The theory is inspired by recent findings in the cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience of event segmentation. In line with recent theories, it holds that online event segmentation is automatic, and that event segmentation yields mental simulations of events.

Non-pharmacological interventions to reduce ICU-related psychological distress: a systematic review.

Introduction: Patients frequently suffer stress in intensive care units (ICUs) and many develop serious psychological morbidity after discharge. Little is known about the nature and efficacy of interventions to reduce ICU-related distress. There is growing evidence that administering sedative drugs can be harmful.

Pharmacology of basimglurant (RO4917523, RG7090), a unique metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 negative allosteric modulator in clinical development for depression.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious public health burden and a leading cause of disability. Its pharmacotherapy is currently limited to modulators of monoamine neurotransmitters and second-generation antipsychotics. Recently, glutamatergic approaches for the treatment of MDD have increasingly received attention, and preclinical research suggests that metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) inhibitors have antidepressant-like properties.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 negative allosteric modulators: discovery of 2-chloro-4-[1-(4-fluorophenyl)-2,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazol-4-ylethynyl]pyridine (basimglurant, RO4917523), a promising novel medicine for psychiatric diseases.

Negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) have potential for the treatment of psychiatric diseases including depression, fragile X syndrome (FXS), anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and levodopa induced dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease. Herein we report the optimization of a weakly active screening hit 1 to the potent and selective compounds chloro-4-[1-(4-fluorophenyl)-2,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazol-4-ylethynyl]pyridine (basimglurant, 2) and 2-chloro-4-((2,5-dimethyl-1-(4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl)-1H-imidazol-4-yl)ethynyl)pyridine (CTEP, 3). Compound 2 is active in a broad range of anxiety tests reaching the same efficacy but at a 10- to 100-fold lower dose compared to diazepam and is characterized by favorable DMPK properties in rat and monkey as well as an excellent preclinical safety profile and is currently in phase II clinical studies for the treatment of depression and fragile X syndrome.

Towards a better understanding of MS pain: a systematic review of potentially modifiable psychosocial factors.

Objective: Pain is a common symptom of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Biomedical treatments achieve only modest reductions in pain severity suggesting that this approach may be too narrow. The aim of this systematic review was to assess evidence for associations between modifiable psychosocial factors and MS pain severity and pain interference and use this evidence to develop a preliminary biopsychosocial model of MS pain.

'It feels like someone is hammering my feet': understanding pain and its management from the perspective of people with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Pain affects around 63% of people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Biomedical treatments demonstrate limited efficacy. More research is needed to understand pain from the individual's perspective in order to better inform a patient-centred approach that improves engagement, self-management and outcome.

Psych-related iPhone apps.

iPhone apps are a widely utilised technology that have recently been identified as a useful medium for health research, clinical interventions and education. While some researchers have discussed advances in app technology, others promote specific apps that are not free to access. To our knowledge, no study has conducted a review of current, free iPhone apps related to psychology, psychiatry and mental health.

Targets and prioritization: the case of cancer in the English NHS.

From 1999 onwards, patients judged by their general practitioners (GPs) to require urgent access to care for suspected cancer have been referred under the so-called two-week wait rule, or fast track, which guaranteed that they would be seen in a hospital clinic within that period. The two-week wait was introduced in the belief that England's relatively poor cancer outcomes were due, at least in part, to delays in accessing care. This paper assesses the impact of the two-week wait against a number of criteria.

Development and evaluation of a simulator-based laparoscopic training program for surgical novices.

Background: The use of simulation to train novice surgeons in laparoscopic skills is becoming increasingly popular. To maximize benefit from simulation, training needs to be delivered and assessed in a structured manner. This study aimed to define performance goals, demonstrate construct validity of the training program, and evaluate whether novice surgeons could reach the preset performance goals.

Developmental toxicity of lersivirine in rabbits when administered throughout organogenesis and when limited to sensitive windows of axial skeletal development.

Background: Lersivirine is a second-generation nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor undergoing clinical development for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus-1. An embryo-fetal development study was performed to evaluate the potential for maternal and developmental toxicity of lersivirine.

Methods: Pregnant New Zealand White rabbits were administered 0, 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg lersivirine by oral gavage once daily on gestation days (GDs) 7 to 19, followed by cesarean section on GD 29 and fetal evaluation.

Assessing the relationship between volume and outcome in hospital services: implications for service centralization.

Proposals for centralizing services are often justified on the basis of studies linking the volume of activity to the outcomes achieved. However, the evidence of such studies is far from demonstrating a causal link between volume and outcome. This article assesses the main reasons why volume and outcome studies do not in themselves demonstrate a causal link, and therefore do not provide adequate support for proposals for centralizing hospital services.