Altered resting-state functional connectome in major depressive disorder: a mega-analysis from the PsyMRI consortium.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with abnormal neural circuitry. It can be measured by assessing functional connectivity (FC) at resting-state functional MRI, that may help identifying neural markers of MDD and provide further efficient diagnosis and monitor treatment outcomes. The main aim of the present study is to investigate, in an unbiased way, functional alterations in patients with MDD using a large multi-center dataset from the PsyMRI consortium including 1546 participants from 19 centers ( www.

A longitudinal assessment of the bivalent fear of evaluation model with social interaction anxiety in social anxiety disorder.

Background: The Bivalent Fear of Evaluation Model proposes that the fears of positive and negative evaluation each uniquely contribute to social anxiety severity. However, the debate continues as to whether these are distinct constructs, and, if so, the degree of influence each has on social anxiety severity. This study used a longitudinal evaluation of these relationships in a clinical sample to identify whether the two fears differentially change over time and differentially relate to social anxiety severity.

Imagery-enhanced verbally-based group cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is effective for most patients with a social anxiety disorder (SAD) but a substantial proportion fails to remit. Experimental and clinical research suggests that enhancing CBT using imagery-based techniques could improve outcomes. It was hypothesized that imagery-enhanced CBT (IE-CBT) would be superior to verbally-based CBT (VB-CBT) on pre-registered outcomes.

Imagery Rescripting for Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Recent Advances and Future Directions.

Purpose Of Review: This review describes imagery rescripting (ImRs) and its clinical application to anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Variations in ImRs delivery, clinical evidence, and theories of potential mechanisms of change are also reviewed. Finally, we propose a future research agenda.

The impact of methodological and measurement factors on transdiagnostic associations with intolerance of uncertainty: A meta-analysis.

Intolerance of uncertainty is a dispositional trait associated with a range of psychological disorders, but the influence of methodological factors on theses associations remains unknown. The first aim of this meta-analysis was to quantify the strengths of the association between IU and symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, and eating disorders. The second aim was to assess the influence of methodological factors on these relationships, including clinical (vs.

Attenuated Psychophysiological Reactivity following Single-Session Group Imagery Rescripting versus Verbal Restructuring in Social Anxiety Disorder: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The effectiveness of psychotherapies for social anxiety disorder (SAD) is typically evaluated using self- and clinician-reported symptom change, while biomarkers of treatment response are rarely measured. The current study aimed to compare biomarkers of response following two brief group interventions for SAD.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of single-session group interventions for SAD (n = 58) - imagery rescripting (IR) and verbal restructuring (VR) versus waitlist control (WC).

White matter alterations in the internal capsule and psychomotor impairment in melancholic depression.

Emerging evidence suggests that structural brain abnormalities may play a role in the pathophysiology of melancholic depression. We set out to test whether diffusion-derived estimates of white matter structure were disrupted in melancholia in regions underpinning psychomotor function. We hypothesized that those with melancholia (and evidencing impaired psychomotor function) would show disrupted white matter organization in internal capsule subdivisions.

Transdiagnostic assessment of repetitive negative thinking and responses to positive affect: Structure and predictive utility for depression, anxiety, and mania symptoms.

Background: Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a cognitive process that is repetitive, passive, relatively uncontrollable, and focused on negative content, and is elevated in emotional disorders including depression and anxiety disorders. Repetitive positive thinking is associated with bipolar disorder symptoms. The unique contributions of positive versus negative repetitive thinking to emotional symptoms are unknown.

Social anxiety disorder: looking back and moving forward.

Fifty years have passed since social anxiety disorder (SAD) was first differentiated from other phobias. In the years since research has largely aligned with the zeitgeist of categorical classificatory frameworks, and has spanned identifying causes, maintenance factors and innovative interventions. Despite significant advances in the field, the capacity to conceptualise SAD as an independent entity is limited given the heterogeneity and dimensionality of diagnostic criteria, high rates of comorbidity, and non-specificity of aetiological mechanisms, maintaining factors and approaches to treatment.

Repetitive Negative Thinking as a Transdiagnostic Predictor of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Adolescents.

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic process associated with numerous emotional disorders. Most measures of RNT are disorder-specific, limiting utility in comorbid populations. Transdiagnostic measures of RNT have been developed in adults and are associated with anxiety and depression.

Assessing the efficacy of imagery-enhanced cognitive behavioral group therapy for social anxiety disorder: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Cognitive behavior group therapy (CBGT) is effective for social anxiety disorder (SAD), but a substantial proportion of patients do not typically achieve normative functioning. Cognitive behavioral models of SAD emphasize negative self-imagery as an important maintaining factor, and evidence suggests that imagery is a powerful cognitive mode for facilitating affective change. This study will compare two group CBGT interventions, one that predominantly uses verbally-based strategies (VB-CBGT) and another that predominantly uses imagery-enhanced strategies (IE-CBGT), in terms of (a) efficacy, (b) mechanisms of change, and (c) cost-effectiveness.

Out-of-sync: disrupted neural activity in emotional circuitry during film viewing in melancholic depression.

While a rich body of research in controlled experiments has established changes in the neural circuitry of emotion in major depressive disorders, little is known as to how such alterations might translate into complex, naturalistic settings--namely involving dynamic multimodal stimuli with rich contexts, such as those provided by films. Neuroimaging paradigms employing dynamic natural stimuli alleviate the anxiety often associated with complex tasks and eschew the need for laboratory-style abstractions, hence providing an ecologically valid means of elucidating neural underpinnings of neuropsychiatric disorders. To probe the neurobiological signature of refined depression subtypes, we acquired functional neuroimaging data in patients with the melancholic subtype of major depressive disorder during free viewing of emotionally salient films.

Disrupted effective connectivity of cortical systems supporting attention and interoception in melancholia.

Importance: Patients with melancholia report a distinct and intrusive dysphoric state during internally generated thought. Melancholia has long been considered to have a strong biological component, but evidence for its specific neurobiological origins is limited. The distinct neurocognitive, psychomotor, and mood disturbances observed in melancholia do, however, suggest aberrant coordination of frontal-subcortical circuitry, which may best be captured through analysis of complex brain networks.

Does age impact on rating melancholic and non-melancholic depressive symptoms?

Background: Melancholic depression has long evaded attempts at accurate definition. A range of factors may influence symptom reporting and so compromise definitional attempts. One possible factor is age, and its possible influence led to the current study examining the impact of age on the reporting of melancholic and non-melancholic depressive symptoms.

Measurement of well-being in the workplace: the development of the work well-being questionnaire.

Because there has been a lack of a single comprehensive measure for assessing workplace well-being, we elected to develop such a self-report measure. Provisional items were extracted from the literature on "positive psychology" and were adapted to capture their workplace application. The provisional 50-item set was completed by a nonclinical sample of 150 adults.

The impact of differing anxiety disorders on outcome following an acute coronary syndrome: time to start worrying?

Background: Both depression and anxiety have been implicated as influencing survival following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Studies evaluating the contribution of anxiety have produced varying results, perhaps reflecting the use of dimensional self-report measures of state anxiety and failure to control for co-morbid depression. We sought to assess the impact of anxiety on outcome in ACS patients using DSM-IV diagnoses, in addition to self-report measures, controlling for effects of concurrent depressive diagnosis as well as medical and socio-demographic variables.

Management of depression by general practitioners: impact of physician gender.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine whether anecdotal claims of gender differences in the treatment of depression by general practitioners (GPs) existed in practice.

Method: Referral letters from 100 GPs to a specialized psychiatric depression clinic were analysed by word count and gender of referrer. Second, a Web-based survey of 517 participants examined the impact of GP gender in terms of levels of management nuances.

The Mood Assessment Program: a computerised diagnostic tool for deriving management plans for mood disorders.

The Mood Assessment Program (MAP) is a computerised assessment and diagnostic program developed at the Black Dog Institute, Sydney, to assist with diagnostic subtyping and management of mood disorders. MAP decision rules capture the applied research, informed by clinical expertise, that has been undertaken over the past two decades. Preliminary validation studies suggest the MAP possesses acceptable validity for key diagnostic decisions, including determination of polarity and depressive subtype, and the presence or absence of the principal anxiety disorders.

Examining age effects on prototypic melancholic symptoms as a strategy for refining definition of melancholia.

Background: Melancholic depression appears to have a later age of onset than the non-melancholic disorders, and its phenotypic picture also appears to change with age. The latter phenomenon allows clarification of key symptoms of melancholia by examining for age effects on putative melancholic symptoms, thus enabling identification and refinement of the melancholic sub-type.

Methods: We studied 158 patients receiving a diagnosis of unipolar depression (65 melancholic: 93 non-melancholic), dichotomised by age and with a higher representation of those with melancholia in the older age band.