Collaborative Outcomes Study on Health and Functioning During Infection Times (COH-FIT): Global and Risk-Group Stratified Course of Well-Being and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Adolescents.

Objective: To identify the COVID-19 pandemic impact on well-being/mental health, coping strategies, and risk factors in adolescents worldwide.

Method: This study was based on an anonymous online multi-national/multi-language survey in the general population (representative/weighted non-representative samples, 14-17 years of age), measuring change in well-being (World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index [WHO-5]/range = 0-100) and psychopathology (validated composite P-score/range = 0-100), WHO-5 <50 and <29, pre- vs during COVID-19 pandemic (April 26, 2020-June 26, 2022). Coping strategies and 9 a priori- defined individual/cumulative risk factors were measured.

Introducing a new severity specifier for schizophrenia: conceptual framework and clinical implications.

Patients with schizophrenia represent a group heterogeneous in clinical presentation and severity. Although severity has been operationalized in different ways, mostly on a gradient between symptom severity and functional impairment, such approaches are limited in capturing real-world functioning. We suggest adopting the severity model proposed by DSM-5 for autism spectrum disorders.

Robust and replicable functional brain signatures of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and associated psychosis: a deep neural network-based multi-cohort study.

A major genetic risk factor for psychosis is 22q11.2 deletion (22q11.2DS).

Complexity and 1/f slope jointly reflect brain states.

Characterization of brain states is essential for understanding its functioning in the absence of external stimuli. Brain states differ on their balance between excitation and inhibition, and on the diversity of their activity patterns. These can be respectively indexed by 1/f slope and Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZc).

Difficulties during delivery, brain ventricle enlargement and cognitive impairment in first episode psychosis.

Background: Patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) display clinical, cognitive, and structural brain abnormalities at illness onset. Ventricular enlargement has been identified in schizophrenia since the initial development of neuroimaging techniques. Obstetric abnormalities have been associated with an increased risk of developing psychosis but also with cognitive impairment and brain structure abnormalities.

Prevalence of depressive disorder in the adult population of Latin America: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Depressive disorder is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide; however its prevalence and association with inequality and crime is poorly characterised in Latin America. This study aimed to: . systematically review population-based studies of prevalence of ICD/DSM depressive disorder in Latin America, .

Altered Temporal Dynamics of Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Adolescent-Onset First-Episode Psychosis.

Background: Dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) alterations have been reported in patients with adult-onset and chronic psychosis. We sought to examine whether such abnormalities were also observed in patients with first episode, adolescent-onset psychosis (AOP), in order to rule out potential effects of chronicity and protracted antipsychotic treatment exposure. AOP has been suggested to have less diagnostic specificity compared to psychosis with onset in adulthood and occurs during a period of neurodevelopmental changes in brain functional connections.

Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men.

Gender inequality across the world has been associated with a higher risk to mental health problems and lower academic achievement in women compared to men. We also know that the brain is shaped by nurturing and adverse socio-environmental experiences. Therefore, unequal exposure to harsher conditions for women compared to men in gender-unequal countries might be reflected in differences in their brain structure, and this could be the neural mechanism partly explaining women's worse outcomes in gender-unequal countries.

Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping MRI in Deep-Brain Nuclei in First-Episode Psychosis.

Background: Psychosis is related to neurochemical changes in deep-brain nuclei, particularly suggesting dopamine dysfunctions. We used an magnetic resonance imaging-based technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) to study these regions in psychosis. QSM quantifies magnetic susceptibility in the brain, which is associated with iron concentrations.

Intra and inter-individual variability in functional connectomes of patients with First Episode of Psychosis.

Patients with Schizophrenia may show different clinical presentations, not only regarding inter-individual comparisons but also in one specific subject over time. In fMRI studies, functional connectomes have been shown to carry valuable individual level information, which can be associated with cognitive and behavioral variables. Moreover, functional connectomes have been used to identify subjects within a group, as if they were fingerprints.

Abnormal brain network community structure related to psychological stress in schizophrenia.

Recent functional imaging studies in schizophrenia consistently report a disruption of brain connectivity. However, most of these studies analyze the brain connectivity during resting state. Since psychological stress is a major factor for the emergence of psychotic symptoms, we sought to characterize the brain connectivity reconfiguration induced by stress in schizophrenia.

Validation of the Collaborative Outcomes study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT) questionnaire for adults.

Background: The Collaborative Outcome study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT; www.coh-fit.com) is an anonymous and global online survey measuring health and functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reduced resilience of brain state transitions in anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis.

Patients with anti-N-methyl-aspartate receptor (NMDA) receptor encephalitis suffer from a severe neuropsychiatric syndrome, yet most patients show no abnormalities in routine magnetic resonance imaging. In contrast, advanced neuroimaging studies have consistently identified disrupted functional connectivity in these patients, with recent work suggesting increased volatility of functional state dynamics. Here, we investigate these network dynamics through the spatiotemporal trajectory of meta-state transitions, yielding a time-resolved account of brain state exploration in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

Dysconnectivity in Schizophrenia Revisited: Abnormal Temporal Organization of Dynamic Functional Connectivity in Patients With a First Episode of Psychosis.

Background And Hypothesis: Abnormal functional connectivity between brain regions is a consistent finding in schizophrenia, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Recent studies have highlighted that connectivity changes in time in healthy subjects. We here examined the temporal changes in functional connectivity in patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP).

Differences of affective and non-affective psychoses in early intervention services from Latin America.

Background: Psychosis presentation can be affected by genetic and environmental factors. Differentiating between affective and non-affective psychosis (A-FEP and NA-FEP, respectively) may influence treatment decisions and clinical outcomes. The objective of this paper is to examine differences between patients with A-FEP or NA-FEP in a Latin American sample.

Whole-brain neuronal MCT2 lactate transporter expression links metabolism to human brain structure and function.

Brain activity is constrained by local availability of chemical energy, which is generated through compartmentalized metabolic processes. By analyzing data of whole human brain gene expression, we characterize the spatial distribution of seven glucose and monocarboxylate membrane transporters that mediate astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle transfer of energy. We found that the gene coding for neuronal MCT2 is the only gene enriched in cerebral cortex where its abundance is inversely correlated with cortical thickness.

Childhood adversity increases risk of psychotic experiences in patients with substance use disorder.

Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase the risk of psychotic experiences (PE), but little is known about heterogeneities of this association in different developmental stages, dimensions, or whether they are affected by substance use disorder (SUD). This study examines the association between different types of ACEs at various developmental stages and lifetime PE in patients with SUD in Chile.

Methods: We included 399 consenting adults in outpatient or residential SUD treatment programs.