Publications by authors named "Vardui Grigoryan"

Article Synopsis
  • Genetic copies at the 22q11.2 locus can lead to a higher risk of neuropsychiatric disorders and immune issues, with inflammation profiles potentially linking immune dysfunction to psychiatric symptoms.
  • The study involved analyzing blood samples from 22q11.2 deletion and duplication carriers along with control participants to examine their inflammatory markers and assess relationships with psychosis risk and sleep disturbances.
  • Results showed that 22qDup carriers had significantly higher IL-8 levels compared to typically developing controls, with some differences noted between 22qDup and 22qDel carriers, but no other significant inflammatory marker differences were found.
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Cannabis use is consistently associated with both increased incidence of frank psychotic disorders and acute exacerbations of psychotic symptoms in healthy individuals and people with psychosis spectrum disorders. Although there is uncertainty around causality, cannabis use may be one of a few modifiable risk factors for conversion to psychotic disorders in individuals with Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR-P) syndromes, characterized by functionally impairing and distressing subthreshold psychotic symptoms. To date, few recommendations beyond abstinence to reduce adverse psychiatric events associated with cannabis use have been made.

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We present data from the Heart Rate Variability and Emotion Regulation (HRV-ER) randomized clinical trial testing effects of HRV biofeedback. Younger (N = 121) and older (N = 72) participants completed baseline magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including T-weighted, resting and emotion regulation task functional MRI (fMRI), pulsed continuous arterial spin labeling (PCASL), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H MRS). During fMRI scans, physiological measures (blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and end-tidal CO) were continuously acquired.

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Previous studies indicate that the structure and function of medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) are associated with heart rate variability (HRV). Typically, this association is assumed to reflect the PFC's role in controlling HRV and emotion regulation, with better prefrontal structural integrity supporting greater HRV and better emotion regulation. However, as a control system, the PFC must monitor and respond to heart rate oscillatory activity.

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Probing naturally-occurring, reciprocal genomic copy number variations (CNVs) may help us understand mechanisms that underlie deviations from typical brain development. Cross-sectional studies have identified prominent reductions in cortical surface area (SA) and increased cortical thickness (CT) in 22q11.2 deletion carriers (22qDel), with the opposite pattern in duplication carriers (22qDup), but the longitudinal trajectories of these anomalies-and their relationship to clinical symptomatology-are unknown.

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