Neural correlates of heart rate variability in PTSD during sub- and supraliminal processing of trauma-related cues.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by dysregulated arousal and altered cardiac autonomic response as evidenced by decreased high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), an indirect measure of parasympathetic modulation of the heart. Indeed, subtle threatening cues can cause autonomic dysregulation, even without explicit awareness of the triggering stimulus. Accordingly, examining the neural underpinnings associated with HF-HRV during both sub- and supraliminal exposure to trauma-related cues is critical to an enhanced understanding of autonomic nervous system dysfunction in PTSD.

Neurometabolic abnormalities in schizophrenia and depression observed with magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 7 T.

Background: Examining neurometabolic abnormalities in critical brain areas in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD) may help guide future pharmacological interventions including glutamate-modulating treatments.

Aims: To measure metabolite concentrations within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and thalamus of people with schizophrenia and people with MDD.

Methods: Spectra were acquired from 16 volunteers with schizophrenia, 17 with MDD and 18 healthy controls using magnetic resonance spectroscopy on a 7 Tesla scanner.

ACC Neuro-over-Connectivity Is Associated with Mathematically Modeled Additional Encoding Operations of Schizophrenia Stroop-Task Performance.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging at 7.0 Tesla was undertaken among Schizophrenia participants (Sz), and clinical (major mood disorder; MDD) and healthy controls (HC), during performance of the Stoop task. Stroop conditions included congruent and incongruent word color items, color-only items, and word-only items.

The neurobiology of emotion regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder: Amygdala downregulation via real-time fMRI neurofeedback.

Amygdala dysregulation has been shown to be central to the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) representing a critical treatment target. Here, amygdala downregulation was targeted using real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-nf) in patients with PTSD, allowing us to examine further the regulation of emotional states during symptom provocation. Patients (n = 10) completed three sessions of rt-fMRI-nf with the instruction to downregulate activation in the amygdala, while viewing personalized trauma words.

Medial Prefrontal and Anterior Insular Connectivity in Early Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder: A Resting Functional MRI Evaluation of Large-Scale Brain Network Models.

Anomalies in the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior insulae, and large-scale brain networks associated with them have been proposed to underlie the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD). In this study, we examined the connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortices and anterior insulae in 24 healthy controls, 24 patients with schizophrenia, and 24 patients with MDD early in illness with seed-based resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis using Statistical Probability Mapping. As hypothesized, reduced connectivity was found between the medial prefrontal cortex and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and other nodes associated with directed effort in patients with schizophrenia compared to controls while patients with MDD had reduced connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral prefrontal emotional encoding regions compared to controls.

Unique insula subregion resting-state functional connectivity with amygdala complexes in posttraumatic stress disorder and its dissociative subtype.

The insula and amygdala are implicated in the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where both have been shown to be hyper/hypoactive in non-dissociative (PTSD-DS) and dissociative subtype (PTSD+DS) PTSD patients, respectively, during symptom provocation. However, the functional connectivity between individual insula subregions and the amygdala has not been investigated in persons with PTSD, with or without the dissociative subtype. We examined insula subregion (anterior, mid, and posterior) functional connectivity with the bilateral amygdala using a region-of-interest seed-based approach via PickAtlas and SPM8.

Trauma-Related Altered States of Consciousness (TRASC) and Functional Impairment I: Prospective Study in Acutely Traumatized Persons.

A theoretical framework referred to as a 4-D model has been described for classifying posttraumatic stress symptoms into those potentially occurring within normal waking consciousness (NWC) versus those thought to intrinsically exemplify dissociative experiences, specifically, trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC). As a further test of this theoretical distinction, this prospective study evaluated whether TRASC and NWC forms of distress incrementally and prospectively predicted functional impairment at 6 and 12 weeks following presentation at hospital emergency departments in the acute aftermath of traumatic events in 180 persons. Establishing the clinical significance of both TRASC and NWC-distress symptoms, we found that 6-week markers of TRASC and NWC-distress independently predicted 12-week self-reported levels of social and occupational impairment.

The Dissociative Subtype of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Unique Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Basolateral and Centromedial Amygdala Complexes.

Previous studies point towards differential connectivity patterns among basolateral (BLA) and centromedial (CMA) amygdala regions in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as compared with controls. Here we describe the first study to compare directly connectivity patterns of the BLA and CMA complexes between PTSD patients with and without the dissociative subtype (PTSD+DS and PTSD-DS, respectively). Amygdala connectivity to regulatory prefrontal regions and parietal regions involved in consciousness and proprioception were expected to differ between these two groups based on differential limbic regulation and behavioral symptoms.

Functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy of glutamate in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder: anterior cingulate activity during a color-word Stroop task.

Background: Glutamate abnormalities have been suggested to be associated with symptoms of schizophrenia. Using functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-fMRS), it is possible to monitor glutamate dynamically in the activated brain areas, which has yet to be reported in schizophrenia. It was hypothesized that subjects with schizophrenia would have weaker glutamatergic responses in the anterior cingulate to a color-word Stroop Task.

Increased glutamate levels observed upon functional activation in the anterior cingulate cortex using the Stroop Task and functional spectroscopy.

It has been shown in recent studies that it is possible to detect changes in the main excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, upon functional activation with visual and motor paradigms using a 7 T MRI and functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A cognitive task would be desirable for this technique because it could then be used to examine psychiatric disorders that have cognitive deficiencies. The aim of the work presented here was to use functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy with a 7 T MRI to show that increases in glutamate can be observed within the anterior cingulate cortex using the Stroop Task as the activation paradigm in healthy controls.

Defining Episodes of Care in Children's Mental Health Using Administrative Data.

Criteria to define an episode of care in children's mental health services are needed. Various criteria were applied to 5 years of visit data from children 4-11 years (N = 5,206) at their first visit to 1 of 3 children's mental health agencies. A minimum of 3 visits with 180 days between episodes optimized agreement with other dates (e.

Unique functional abnormalities in youth with combined marijuana use and depression: an FMRI study.

Prior research has shown a relationship between early onset marijuana (MJ) use and depression; however, this relationship is complex and poorly understood. Here, we utilized passive music listening and fMRI to examine functional brain activation to a rewarding stimulus in 75 participants [healthy controls (HC), patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), frequent MJ users, and the combination of MDD and MJ (MDD + MJ)]. For each participant, a preferred and neutral piece of instrumental music was determined (utilizing ratings on a standardized scale), and each completed two 6-min fMRI scans of a passive music listening task.

Nonlinear bifurcations of psychological stress negotiation: new properties of a formal dynamical model.

Dynamical systems analysis is applied to a nonlinear model of stress and coping (Neufeld, 1999). The model is composed of 6 order parameters and 11 control parameters, and integrates core constructs of the topic domain, including variants of cognitive appraisal, differential stress susceptibility, stress activation, and coping propensity. In part owing to recent advances in Competitive Modes Theory (Yao, Yu & Essex, 2002), previously intractable but substantively significant dynamical properties of the 6-dimensional model are identified.

Neural and behavioral correlates of peritraumatic dissociation in an acutely traumatized sample.

Objective: Peritraumatic dissociative responses have been identified as strong predictors of subsequent posttraumatic stress disorder development. We aimed to clarify the mechanism by which peritraumatic dissociation is related to PTSD development by exploring the neural correlates of peritraumatic dissociation during posttraumatic adjustment.

Method: We combined a prospective questionnaire study with a neuroimaging paradigm in an acutely traumatized sample recruited from the emergency department from 2004 until 2009.

Progressive membrane phospholipid changes in first episode schizophrenia with high field magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Patients with a first episode of schizophrenia generally have increased phospholipid membrane breakdown products within the brain, while findings in chronic patients have been inconsistent. In this study we examine progressive changes in phosphorus membrane metabolites in the same patient group through the early years of schizophrenia in brain regions associated with the disease. Sixteen never-treated and medicated first episode schizophrenic patients were assessed at 10 months and 52 months after diagnosis.

Emotional numbing in posttraumatic stress disorder: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Objective: To explore the functional neural correlates of emotional numbing symptoms in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Method: The study was conducted between September 2006 and June 2008 at the University of Western Ontario. Women with (n = 14) and without (n = 16) PTSD (based on DSM-IV criteria) completed a standardized emotional imagery task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging, in addition to an assessment for emotional numbing symptoms.

Do fearful eyes activate empathy-related brain regions in individuals with callous traits?

Psychopathy, a developmental disorder characterized by profound social disturbance, is associated with impaired recognition of distress cues. Since distress processing and moral socialization are closely linked, uncovering techniques to improve distress recognition could have positive treatment implications for developmental disorders that feature empathy impairments. Previous studies demonstrate that fear-recognition deficits can be remedied by redirecting attention to critical cues (the eyes for fearful faces).

Neural correlates and predictive power of trait resilience in an acutely traumatized sample: a pilot investigation.

Objective: Resilience refers to the ability to thrive despite adversity and is defined as a multidimensional phenomenon, spanning internal locus of control, sense of meaning, social problem-solving skills, and self-esteem. We aimed to investigate the predictive value of resilience for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to examine the neural correlates mediating the relationship between resilience and recovery from a traumatic event in acutely traumatized subjects. We hypothesized that resilience would mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and posttraumatic recovery.

Perceived causal relations: novel methodology for assessing client attributions about causal associations between variables including symptoms and functional impairment.

Researchers have argued that the investigation of causal interrelationships between symptoms may help explain the high comorbidity rate between certain psychiatric disorders. Clients' own attributions concerning the causal interrelationships linking the co-occurrence of their symptoms represent data that may inform their clinical case conceptualization, treatment, and psychological theory regarding the etiology of comorbid disorders. The present study developed and evaluated a novel psychological assessment methodology for measuring Perceived Causal Relations (PCR) and examined its psychometric properties as applied to the question of whether posttraumatic stress and anxiety symptoms represent causal risk factors for depressive symptoms in 225 undergraduates.

Grey matter and social functioning correlates of glutamatergic metabolite loss in schizophrenia.

Background: Thalamic glutamine loss and grey matter reduction suggest neurodegeneration in first-episode schizophrenia, but the duration is unknown.

Aims: To observe glutamine and glutamate levels, grey matter volumes and social functioning in patients with schizophrenia followed to 80 months after diagnosis.

Method: Grey matter volumes and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy metabolites in left anterior cingulate and left thalamus were measured in 17 patients with schizophrenia before medication and 10 and 80 months after diagnosis.

Contribution of nonprimate animal models in understanding the etiology of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder that is characterized by positive and negative symptoms and cognitive impairments. The etiology of the disorder is complex, and it is thought to follow a multifactorial threshold model of inheritance with genetic and neurodevelop mental contributions to risk. Human studies are particularly useful in capturing the richness of the phenotype, but they are often limited to the use of correlational approaches.

Help-seeking for children with mental health problems: parents' efforts and experiences.

Parents who contacted 1 of 15 children's mental health agencies in Ontario, Canada reported on where and why they were seeking mental health services for their 4- to 17-year-old children. Parents contacted an average of four agencies (± 1.7; range = 1-14) in the previous year.

Neuroimaging social emotional processing in women: fMRI study of script-driven imagery.

Emotion theory emphasizes the distinction between social vs non-social emotional-processing (E-P) although few functional neuroimaging studies have examined whether the neural systems that mediate social vs non-social E-P are similar or distinct. The present fMRI study of script-driven imagery in 20 women demonstrates that social E-P, independent of valence, more strongly recruits brain regions involved in social- and self-referential processing, specifically the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate/precuneus, bilateral temporal poles, bilateral temporoparietal junction and right amygdala. Functional response within brain regions involved in E-P was also significantly more pronounced during negatively relative to positively valenced E-P.

Coping with stress through decisional control: quantification of negotiating the environment.

Coping with stress through 'decisional control' - positioning oneself in a multifaceted stressing situation so as to minimize the likelihood of an untoward event - is modelled within a tree-structure scenario, whose architecture hierarchically nests elements of varying threat. Analytic and simulation platforms quantify the game-like interplay of cognitive demands and threat reduction. When elements of uncertainty enter the theoretical structure, specifically at more subordinate levels of the hierarchy, the mathematical expectation of threat is particularly exacerbated.

Retrosplenial cortex connectivity in schizophrenia.

In this paper, we build on our previous analysis [Bluhm, R.L., Miller, J.