Measuring and preventing alcohol use and related harm among young people in Asian countries: a thematic review.

Background: The paper reviews alcohol consumption patterns and alcohol-related social and health issues among 15-29-year old young people in Asian countries, and discusses strategies for preventing and controlling alcohol use and related harms.

Methods: We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science for reports, reviews and journal articles published in English between 1st Jan 1990 and 31st August 2016.

Results: Forty-one reports, reviews and journal papers were identified and included in the final review.

Aberrant intrinsic functional connectivity in thalamo-cortical networks in major depressive disorder.

Objective: Growing evidence has implicated dysfunction of the thalamus and its projection cortical targets in depression. However, the anatomical specificity of thalamo-cortical connectivity in major depressive disorder (MDD) remains unknown due to the regional heterogeneity of the thalamus and limited methods to examine this.

Methods: Resting-state fMRI was collected on 70 MDD patients and 70 healthy controls.

Frequency-Specific Functional Connectivity Density as an Effective Biomarker for Adolescent Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Several neuropsychiatric diseases have been found to influence the frequency-specific spontaneous functional brain organization (SFBO) in resting state, demonstrating that the abnormal brain activities of different frequency bands are associated with various physiological and psychological dysfunctions. However, little is known about the frequency specificities of SFBO in adolescent generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Here, a novel complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise method was applied to decompose the time series of each voxel across all participants (31 adolescent patients with GAD and 28 matched healthy controls; HCs) into four frequency-specific bands with distinct intrinsic oscillation.

Decreased Left Putamen and Thalamus Volume Correlates with Delusions in First-Episode Schizophrenia Patients.

Background: Delusional thinking is one of the hallmark symptoms of schizophrenia. However, the underlying neural substrate for delusions in schizophrenia remains unknown. In an attempt to further our understanding of the neural basis of delusions, we explored gray matter deficits and their clinical associations in first-episode schizophrenia patients with and without delusions.

Altered Brain Functional Connectivity in Betel Quid-Dependent Chewers.

Background: Betel quid (BQ) is a common psychoactive substance worldwide with particularly high usage in many Asian countries. This study aimed to explore the effect of BQ use on functional connectivity by comparing global functional brain networks and their subset between BQ chewers and healthy controls (HCs).

Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was obtained from 24 betel quid-dependent (BQD) male chewers and 27 healthy male individuals on a 3.

The synergistic effect of dual use of amphetamine-type stimulants and ketamine on drug-induced psychotic symptoms in Chinese synthetic drug users.

The use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and ketamine is of particular clinical concern because of its associated psychotic symptoms. In Chinese clinical practice, ATS and ketamine are commonly used simultaneously, but very few studies have reported the symptom profile of users who use both drugs. This study determined whether the combined use of ATS and ketamine is associated with more psychotic symptoms than either ATS or ketamine alone.

Altered intrinsic functional brain architecture in female patients with bulimia nervosa.

Background: Bulimia nervosa is a severe psychiatric syndrome with uncertain pathogenesis. Neural systems involved in sensorimotor and visual processing, reward and impulsive control may contribute to the binge eating and purging behaviours characterizing bulimia nervosa. However, little is known about the alterations of functional organization of whole brain networks in individuals with this disorder.

Evaluation of a community-based integrated heroin addiction treatment model in Chinese patients.

In this study, we analyzed the efficacy and feasibility of a community-based integrated heroin addiction treatment model in Chinese patients. The 210 heroin addicts belonging to six Chinese communities received an integrated biopsychosocial intervention that included pharmacological treatment, counseling and social assistance. High proportions of study participants were retained at the 12-month (91.

Mental health literacy survey of non-mental health professionals in six general hospitals in Hunan Province of China.

Background: Mental illness has brought great economic burden related to misdiagnosis by non-mental health professionals in general hospitals. The aim of this study was to explore non-mental health professionals' conceptions related to the identification of mental illness and perceived treatments, first aid and prognosis.

Methods: In 2014-2015, we presented 1123 non-mental health professionals from six general hospitals in Hunan Province with one of three vignettes describing a person with schizophrenia, depression, or generalized anxiety disorder.

Perceived parental rejection mediates the effects of previous maltreatment on emotional and behavioural outcomes in Chinese adolescents whereas mental illness has no moderating effect.

Objective: This study assessed the mediating role of perceived parental rejection in the relationship between childhood maltreatment experience and behavioural problems in Chinese adolescents.

Methods: A total of 2484 adolescents (1305 males and 1179 females; aged 12-16 years) from Hunan Province, China, participated in the study. Behavioural problems, parental rejection scores and child abuse experiences were evaluated by the Child Behavior Checklist (parental version), the Memories of Parental Rearing Behavior Scale and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, separately.

Whole-genome sequencing of monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia indicates multiple genetic risk factors for schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a common disorder with a high heritability, but its genetic architecture is still elusive. We implemented whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis of 8 families with monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs discordant for schizophrenia to assess potential association of de novo mutations (DNMs) or inherited variants with susceptibility to schizophrenia. Eight non-synonymous DNMs (including one splicing site) were identified and shared by twins, which were either located in previously reported schizophrenia risk genes (p.

Ketamine and international regulations.

Background: Ketamine is an anesthetic commonly used in low-income countries and has recently been shown to be effective for treatment-resistant depression. However, the illicit manufacturing, trafficking, and nonmedical use of ketamine are increasing globally, and its illicit use poses major public health challenges in many countries.

Objectives: To review the nonmedical use of ketamine in selected countries and its regulatory control.

Increased glutamic acid decarboxylase expression in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus in depression.

In depression, disrupted circadian rhythms reflect abnormalities in the central circadian pacemaker, the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Although many SCN neurons are said to be GABAergic, it was not yet known whether and how SCN GABA changes occur in the SCN in depression. We, therefore, studied GABA in the SCN in relation to the changes in arginine vasopressin (AVP), which is one of the major SCN output systems.

Prevalence, correlates and treatment status of alcohol use disorders in psychiatric patients in China.

Objective: To determine the prevalence, associated factors and treatment status of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in psychiatric patients in China.

Methods: We asked 24,379 consecutive patients aged ≥18years who presented at the psychiatric departments in eight hospitals in 2013 whether they had consumed alcoholic beverages in the previous month. Of the 2964 (12.

Mental health literacy about schizophrenia and depression: a survey among Chinese caregivers of patients with mental disorder.

Objective: To investigate the knowledge of schizophrenia and depression among caregivers of patients with mental disorder in China.

Method: A convenience sample of 402 caregivers at the Department of Psychiatry of a general hospital in China was investigated (response rate 95.7%), using vignettes based investigation methodology.

Aggressive behaviors and treatable risk factors of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder.

Aggressive behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are common. We conducted this study to describe the aggressive mode of preschool children with ASD and examine the associations between specific aggressive behaviors and two treatable factors: sleep problems and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. In total, 577 typically developing (TD) children and 490 children with ASD were investigated in this study.

Frequency-selective alteration in the resting-state corticostriatal-thalamo-cortical circuit correlates with symptoms severity in first-episode drug-naive patients with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a prototypical disorder of brain connectivity with altered neural activity in regions extending throughout the brain. Regions, including the subcortex and cortex, present activity mainly within a specific frequency band in resting-state. Whether these altered resting-state functional connections also present frequency specificity is unknown.

Aromatase changes in depression: A postmortem and animal experimental study.

A hyperactive hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a prominent feature in depression. It has been shown that androgens inhibit HPA activity and that estrogens stimulate it. We have therefore investigated, in human postmortem hypothalamus, whether depression features an increase in aromatase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme for the conversion of androgens to estrogens.

Decreased Thalamocortical Connectivity in Chronic Ketamine Users.

Disintegration in thalamocortical integration suggests its role in the mechanistic 'switch' from recreational to dysregulated drug seeking/addiction. In this study, we aimed to address whether thalamic nuclear groups show altered functional connectivity within the cerebral cortex in chronic ketamine users. One hundred and thirty subjects (41 ketamine users and 89 control subjects) underwent rsfMRI (resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging).

Prevalence and correlates of problematic smartphone use in a large random sample of Chinese undergraduates.

Background: Smartphones are becoming a daily necessity for most undergraduates in Mainland China. Because the present scenario of problematic smartphone use (PSU) is largely unexplored, in the current study we aimed to estimate the prevalence of PSU and to screen suitable predictors for PSU among Chinese undergraduates in the framework of the stress-coping theory.

Methods: A sample of 1062 undergraduate smartphone users was recruited by means of the stratified cluster random sampling strategy between April and May 2015.

Psychotic-like experiences, trauma and related risk factors among "left-behind" children in China.

Background: Large scale migration of workers due to wage differences across regions of China has separated millions of children, called "left-behind children" from their parents. Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are thought to be associated with childhood deprivation and may predict later psychotic disorders but have not been studied in this potentially vulnerable population.

Methods: Data were collected from representative samples of students in thirteen middle schools in the Xiangxi region and Changsha city of Hunan province (N=6623), of whom 1360 (21.