Field Notes from the Border: Lessons Learned in Conducting Mental Health Research Involving Newly Arrived Latinx Immigrants as Study Participants.

In this paper, we describe a research protocol for surveying and interviewing Latinx immigrants recently arrived at the US southern border, and we raise important and unique issues that need to be considered with this population. The main objective is to share experiences, challenges, opportunities, and essential considerations (which we call lessons learned) that researchers should take into account when working with this vulnerable study population. The six lessons learned focus on: (1) fostering relationships with community partners; (2) participant consent and compensation; (3) linguistic and cultural fluency of researchers; (4) adapting data collection procedures to the environment and conditions; (5) establishing trust with participants and being trustworthy; and (6) addressing the ethical considerations of research with immigrant populations and the positionality of researchers.

Stress increases sperm respiration and motility in mice and men.

Semen quality and fertility has declined over the last 50 years, corresponding to ever-increasing environmental stressors. However, the cellular mechanisms involved and their impact on sperm functions remain unknown. In a repeated sampling human cohort study, we identify a significant effect of prior perceived stress to increase sperm motility 2-3 months following stress, timing that expands upon our previous studies revealing significant stress-associated changes in sperm RNA important for fertility.

Extortion experiences of recent adult immigrants from Latin America: self-reported prevalence, associated costs, and current mental health.

Violence across Latin America is an increasingly important factor influencing migration to the US. A particular form of violence that is experienced by many Latinx migrants is extortion. This research analyzes the extortion experiences of Latinx immigrant adults arriving at the US southern border and the impact these experiences have on mental health.

Trends in Individual Career Development Awards from National Institutes of Health to Physicians in Departments of Psychiatry (2013-2022).

Objective: The authors examined trends of individual career development awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to psychiatry faculty, especially physicians, in comparison to other departments.

Methods: Data were obtained on 33,392 career development awards from 2013 to 2022. We examined the number of awards each year averaged for 46 non-psychiatry departments, and for departments of psychiatry, the number of awards to all faculty, physicians, and physicians without a PhD.

Luteal phase sertraline treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD): Effects on markers of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activation and inflammation.

Rationale: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is characterized by severe affective symptoms during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. There is some evidence of altered interactions between the hypothalamic pituitary gonadal (HPG) and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axes in PMDD. There is also evidence that similar affective disorders such as major depression and perinatal depression are associated with dysregulation in immune factors, but this has not been characterized in PMDD.

Neuron loss in the brain starts in childhood, increases exponentially with age and is halted by GM-CSF treatment in Alzheimer's disease.

Aging increases the risk of neurodegeneration, cognitive decline, and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Currently no means exist to measure neuronal cell death during life or to prevent it. Here we show that cross-sectional measures of human plasma proteins released from dying/damaged neurons (ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1/UCH-L1 and neurofilament light/NfL) become exponentially higher from age 2-85; UCH-L1 rises faster in females.

Traumatic experiences and place of occurrence: An analysis of sex differences among a sample of recently arrived immigrant adults from Latin America.

With increasing violence, political, and economic instability in Latin America, there is a record number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border.

Sex Differences in Stress-Induced Cortisol Response Among Infants of Mothers Exposed to Childhood Adversity.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase risk for mental illness in women and their children, and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis may play a role. The impact of ACEs on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis may be strongest when ACEs occur prepubertally and in people who are exposed to abuse ACEs.

Methods: To test this, we measured salivary cortisol in 96 mother-infant dyads while mothers were separated from their infants, who were experiencing a laboratory stressor.

Beyond the serotonin deficit hypothesis: communicating a neuroplasticity framework of major depressive disorder.

The serotonin deficit hypothesis explanation for major depressive disorder (MDD) has persisted among clinicians and the general public alike despite insufficient supporting evidence. To combat rising mental health crises and eroding public trust in science and medicine, researchers and clinicians must be able to communicate to patients and the public an updated framework of MDD: one that is (1) accessible to a general audience, (2) accurately integrates current evidence about the efficacy of conventional serotonergic antidepressants with broader and deeper understandings of pathophysiology and treatment, and (3) capable of accommodating new evidence. In this article, we summarize a framework for the pathophysiology and treatment of MDD that is informed by clinical and preclinical research in psychiatry and neuroscience.

Natural vs. Surgical Postmenopause and Psychological Symptoms Confound the Effect of Menopause on Executive Functioning Domains of Cognitive Experience.

Objective: The menopause transition is associated with difficulties in executive function. However, it is unclear whether these difficulties persist past perimenopause. This study investigated whether potential confounders, including natural vs.

Harnessing technology to improve sleep in frontline healthcare workers: A pilot study of electronic noise-masking earbuds on subjective and objective sleep measures.

This pilot study assessed the effects of electronic noise-masking earbuds on subjective sleep perception and objective sleep parameters among healthcare workers (HCWs) reporting sleep difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a pre-post design, 77 HCWs underwent 3 nights of baseline assessment followed by a 7-night intervention period. Participants wore an at-home sleep monitoring headband to assess objective sleep measures and completed subjective self-report assessments.

Association Between Maternal Depression and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Their Primary School-Age Daughters: A Birth Cohort Study.

Purpose: Although maternal depression is associated with adverse outcomes in women and children, its relationship with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in offspring is less well-characterized. We examined the association between prenatal and postpartum maternal depression and LUTS in primary school-age daughters.

Design: Observational cohort study.

GABAergic neuroactive steroid response to sertraline in premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Rationale: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) affects approximately 5% of menstruating individuals, with significant negative mood symptoms in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. PMDD's pathophysiology and treatment mechanisms are poorly characterized, but may involve altered neuroactive steroid function in the brain. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a first-line PMDD treatment, reportedly alter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neuroactive steroid levels in PMDD.

Estradiol effects on an emotional interference task in adolescents with current and remitted depression.

Attentional biases to emotional stimuli are thought to reflect vulnerability for mood disorder onset and maintenance. This study examined the association between the endogenous sex hormone estradiol and emotional attentional biases in adolescent females with either current or remitted depression. Three groups of participants (mean age ± SD) completed the Emotional Interrupt Task: 1) 20 adolescent females (15.

Occupational groups and lower urinary tract symptoms: A cross-sectional analysis of women in the Boston Area Community Health Study.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to inform our hypothesis that the workplace toileting environment may impact lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS); we examined the prevalence of LUTS across occupational groups in the Boston Area Community Health Survey.

Methods: At baseline, women (n = 3205) reported their occupation and frequency of 15 LUTS. Using the US Department of Labor's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system, we categorized women into 11 standard occupational groups.

Depressed, stressed, and inflamed: C-reactive protein linked with depression symptoms in midlife women with both childhood and current life stress.

To determine whether the relationship between inflammatory factors and clinically significant depression symptoms is moderated by high exposure to adverse childhood experiences and current life stressors in a longitudinal community cohort of midlife women. Methods: Participants from the Penn Ovarian Ageing Study community cohort (age at baseline: M = 45.3 [SD = 3.

Maternal Childhood Maltreatment, Internal Working Models, and Perinatal Substance Use: Is There a Role for Hyperkatifeia? A Systematic Review.

The parent-infant relationship is critical for socioemotional development and is adversely impacted by perinatal substance use. This systematic review posits that the mechanisms underlying these risks to mother-infant relationships center on 3 primary processes: (1) mothers' childhood maltreatment experiences; (2) attachment styles and consequent internal working models of interpersonal relationships; and (3) perinatal substance use. Further, the review considers the role of hyperkatifeia, or hypersensitivity to negative affect which occurs when people with substance use disorders are not using substances, and which drives the negative reinforcement in addiction.

Intersectionality and Adverse Childhood Experiences: Comparing Subgroups of Sex, Race/Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation.

Introduction: This study investigated the intersectionality of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among subgroups of sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

Methods: Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey across 34 states (N=116,712) from 2009 to 2018, authors stratified subgroups of sex (male/female), race/ethnicity (White/Hispanic/Black/multiracial/other), and sexual orientation (heterosexual/bisexual/gay) to investigate the number of ACEs across groups. Analyses were conducted in 2022.

Natural vs. surgical postmenopause and psychological symptoms confound the effect of menopause on executive functioning domains of cognitive experience.

Objective: The menopause transition is associated with difficulties in executive function. However, it is unclear whether these difficulties persist past perimenopause. This study investigated whether potential confounders, including natural vs.

Maternal adverse childhood experiences impact fetal adrenal volume in a sex-specific manner.

Background: The mechanisms by which parental early life stress can be transmitted to the next generation, in some cases in a sex-specific manner, are unclear. Maternal preconception stress may increase susceptibility to suboptimal health outcomes via in utero programming of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

Methods: We recruited healthy pregnant women (N = 147), dichotomized into low (0 or 1) and high (2+) adverse childhood experience (ACE) groups based on the ACE Questionnaire, to test the hypothesis that maternal ACE history influences fetal adrenal development in a sex-specific manner.