Plasma acetylcholine and nicotinic acid are correlated with focused preference for photographed females in depressed males: an economic game study.

Interpersonal difficulties are often observed in major depressive disorder (MDD), while the underlying psychological and biological mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. In the present case-control study, a PC-based trust game was conducted for 38 drug-free MDD patients and 38 healthy controls (HC). In the trust game, participants invested money in a partner (trusting behaviors), and also rated each partner's attractiveness (preference for others).

Personality classification enhances blood metabolome analysis and biotyping for major depressive disorders: two-species investigation.

Background: The relationship between depression and personality has long been suggested, however, biomarker investigations for depression have mostly overlooked this connection.

Methods: We collected personality traits from 100 drug-free patients with major depressive disorders (MDD) and 100 healthy controls based on the Five-Factor Model (FFM) such as Neuroticism (N) and Extraversion (E), and also obtained 63 plasma metabolites profiles by LCMS-based metabolome analysis.

Results: Partitional clustering analysis using the NEO-FFI data classified all subjects into three major clusters.

Autism spectrum conditions in hikikomori: A pilot case-control study.

Aim: Hikikomori, a form of pathological social withdrawal, has been suggested to have comorbidity with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed to clarify how characteristics of hikikomori are associated with ASD, including undiagnosed autism spectrum conditions (ASC), in clinical settings.

Methods: A total of 416 clinical patients were recruited through the Mood Disorder/Hikikomori Clinic at Kyushu University Hospital.

Clarifying Deeper Psychological Characteristics of Hikikomori Using the Rorschach Comprehensive System: A Pilot Case-Control Study.

Hikikomori, a form of severe social withdrawal more than 6 months, has increasingly become a crucial issue especially among adolescents. Loneliness, avoidant personality, Japanese culture-related attachment style ("amae"), and difficulty in expressing emotions are suggested to be related to hikikomori. However, deeper psychological aspects have not been well clarified.

Development and validation of the 22-item Tarumi's Modern-Type Depression Trait Scale: Avoidance of Social Roles, Complaint, and Low Self-Esteem (TACS-22).

Aim: Understanding premorbid personality is important, especially when considering treatment selection. Historically, the premorbid personality of patients with major depression in Japan was described as Shuchaku-kishitsu [similar to Typus melancholicus], as proposed by Shimoda in the 1930s. Since around 2000, there have been increased reports in Japan of young adults with depression who have had premorbid personality differing from the traditional type.

Neuron-related blood inflammatory markers as an objective evaluation tool for major depressive disorder: An exploratory pilot case-control study.

Background: Neuroinflammation is suggested to be a crucial factor in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Analysis of neuron-derived exosomes (NDE) in peripheral blood has recently been highlighted to reveal the pathophysiology of brain diseases without using brain biopsy. Currently, human NDE studies require a considerable amount of peripheral blood to measure multiple substances inside exosomes.

Blood biomarkers of Hikikomori, a severe social withdrawal syndrome.

Hikikomori, a severe form of social withdrawal syndrome, is a growing social issue in Japan and internationally. The pathophysiology of hikikomori has not yet been elucidated and an effective treatment remains to be established. Recently, we revealed that avoidant personality disorder is the most common comorbidity of hikikomori.

Dysregulated gene expressions of MEX3D, FOS and BCL2 in human induced-neuronal (iN) cells from NF1 patients: a pilot study.

Direct conversion technique to produce induced-neuronal (iN) cells from human fibroblasts within 2 weeks is expected to discover unknown neuronal phenotypes of neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we present unique gene expression profiles in iN cells from patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a single-gene multifaceted disorder with comparatively high co-occurrence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Microarray-based transcriptomic analysis on iN cells from male healthy controls and male NF1 patients (NF1-iN cells) revealed that 149 genes expressions were significantly different (110 upregulated and 39 downregulated).