Stressful Life Events and Neuroticism among Chinese Women with Recurrent Major Depressive Disorder.

Background: Depression is associated with a high incidence of stressful life events (SLEs) and neuroticism. However, the impact of SLEs and neuroticism on the recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to identify the potential causal relationship between SLEs, neuroticism, and depression recurrence.

Alteration of Whole Brain Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations and Fractional Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations in Patients With Depression After Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the changes in brain functional activity before and after acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) treatment in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and the correlation between brain functional changes and clinical symptoms.

Methods: We recruited 12 patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, criteria for MDD. Patients underwent clinical assessments and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans before and after ACT intervention.

Cortical activation patterns in generalized anxiety and major depressive disorders measured by multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are highly prevalent mental disorders in psychiatry, but their overlapping symptoms often complicate precise diagnoses. This study aims to explore differential brain activation patterns in healthy controls (HC), MDD, and GAD groups through functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during the verbal fluency task (VFT) to enhance the accuracy of clinical diagnoses.

Methods: This study recruited 30 patients with MDD, 45 patients with GAD, and 34 demographically matched HCs.

Transcriptional substrates of cortical thickness alterations in anhedonia of major depressive disorder.

Background: Anhedonia is a core symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD), which has been shown to be associated with abnormalities in cortical morphology. However, the correlation between cortical thickness (CT) changes with anhedonia in MDD and gene expression remains unclear.

Methods: We investigated the link between brain-wide gene expression and CT correlates of anhedonia in individuals with MDD, using 7 Tesla neuroimaging and a publicly available transcriptomic dataset.

Effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for treating generalized anxiety disorder and the moderating influence of abuse during childhood: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has emerged as a promising intervention for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). This study evaluated MBCT's effectiveness for GAD and examined whether childhood maltreatment moderates its impact.

Methods: Individuals with GAD were randomized to receive one of two 8-week interventions, either MBCT in-person or psychoeducation on-line (n = 27 per group).

The impact of the CACNB2 Rs11013860 polymorphism on grey matter volume and brain function in bipolar disorder.

Background: Recent genome-wide association studies have linked voltage-gated calcium channel genes to bipolar disorder (BD), in which CACNB2 gene rs11013860 is respectively reported. Less is known, though, about how precisely its polymorphism affects both the structure and function of the brain.

Methods: 173 BD patients and 207 healthy controls (HCs) were underwent structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging scan and genotyped for CACNB2 rs11013860.

Cross-ancestry genome-wide association study and systems-level integrative analyses implicate new risk genes and therapeutic targets for depression.

Deciphering the genetic architecture of depression is pivotal for characterizing the associated pathophysiological processes and development of new therapeutics. Here we conducted a cross-ancestry genome-wide meta-analysis on depression (416,437 cases and 1,308,758 controls) and identified 287 risk loci, of which 49 are new. Variant-level fine mapping prioritized potential causal variants and functional genomic analysis identified variants that regulate the binding of transcription factors.

Diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder in Phelan-McDermid syndrome: A case report and review of literature.

Background: Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by intellectual disability, delayed language development, autism spectrum disorders, motor tone abnormalities, and a high risk of psychiatric symptoms, including bipolar disorder.

Case Summary: This report presented an 18-year clinical history of a 36-year-old woman with PMS, marked by intellectual disabilities, social withdrawal, and stereotyped behaviors. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 18 years old, she encountered significant treatment challenges, including severe adverse reactions to antipsychotic medications in 2022, which led to speech and functional regression.

Efficient expression of recombinant proteins in Bacillus subtilis using a rewired gene circuit of quorum sensing.

Bacillus subtilis is a favored chassis for high productivity of several high value-added product in synthetic biology. Efficient production of recombinant proteins is critical but challenging using this chassis because these expression systems in use, such as constitutive and inducible expression systems, demand for coordination of cell growth with production and addition of chemical inducers. These systems compete for intracellular resources with the host, eventually resulting in dysfunction of cell survival.

DeepGlioSeg: advanced glioma MRI data segmentation with integrated local-global representation architecture.

Introduction: Glioma segmentation is vital for diagnostic decision-making, monitoring disease progression, and surgical planning. However, this task is hindered by substantial heterogeneity within gliomas and imbalanced region distributions, posing challenges to existing segmentation methods.

Methods: To address these challenges, we propose the DeepGlioSeg network, a U-shaped architecture with skip connections for continuous contextual feature integration.

The effect of self-compassion versus mindfulness interventions on autonomic responses to stress in generalized anxiety disorders.

Objective: Although research on psychological interventions in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has provided evidence of their effectiveness regarding self-reported outcomes, few studies have examined their psychophysiological effects. Heart rate is emerging as a potential biomarker of efficacy in anxiety disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a self-compassion intervention versus a mindfulness intervention on physiological arousal in response to induced stress.

Reduced frontotemporal connectivity during a verbal fluency task in patients with anxiety, sleep, and major depressive disorders.

Background: It has been well established that psychiatric disorders are often accompanied by cognitive dysfunction. Previous studies have investigated the verbal fluency task (VFT) for detecting executive function impairment in different psychiatric disorders, but the sensitivity and specificity of this task in different psychiatric disorders have not been explored. Furthermore, clarifying the mechanisms underlying variations in executive function impairments across multiple psychiatric disorders will enhance our comprehension of brain activity alternations among these disorders.

Machine learning for the diagnosis accuracy of bipolar disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Diagnosing bipolar disorder poses a challenge in clinical practice and demands a substantial time investment. With the growing utilization of artificial intelligence in mental health, researchers are endeavoring to create AI-based diagnostic models. In this context, some researchers have sought to develop machine learning models for bipolar disorder diagnosis.

Neural correlates of emotional processing in trauma-related narratives.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition caused by the dysregulation or overgeneralization of memories related to traumatic events. Investigating the interplay between explicit narrative and implicit emotional memory contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying PTSD.

Methods: This case-control study focused on two groups: unmedicated patients with PTSD and a trauma-exposed control (TEC) group who did not develop PTSD.

Individualized prediction of multi-domain intelligence quotient in bipolar disorder patients using resting-state functional connectivity.

Background: Although accumulating studies have explored the neural underpinnings of intelligence quotient (IQ) in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), these studies utilized a classification/comparison scheme that emphasized differences between BD and healthy controls at a group level. The present study aimed to infer BD patients' IQ scores at the individual level using a prediction model.

Methods: We applied a cross-validated Connectome-based Predictive Modeling (CPM) framework using resting-state fMRI functional connectivity (FCs) to predict BD patients' IQ scores, including verbal IQ (VIQ), performance IQ (PIQ), and full-scale IQ (FSIQ).

TNFSF9 Silence Impedes Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury via Modulating SLC3A2 Expression in Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells.

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI), which stays unresolved in the clinic, occurs after recanalization of blood vessels serving brain tissues in acute ischemic stroke patients and can result in massive brain cell death, and cell ferroptosis contributes greatly to this process. Our research firstly found that TNFSF9 expression harbored diagnostic value on CIRI patients and intended to further investigate its regulatory mechanism in CIRI, which might facilitate its diagnostic and therapeutic application in the clinic. The level of TNSF9 mRNA was augmented in the plasma of CIR patients, and its silence impeded ferroptosis, apoptosis, and release of inflammatory mediators of BMECs with OGD/R treatment.

Hippocampal transcriptome analysis in ClockΔ19 mice identifies pathways associated with glial cell differentiation and myelination.

Background: ClockΔ19 mice demonstrate behavioral characteristics and neurobiological changes that closely resemble those observed in bipolar disorder (BD). Notably, abnormalities in the hippocampus have been observed in patients with BD, yet direct molecular investigation of human hippocampal tissue remains challenging due to its limited accessibility.

Methods: To model BD, ClockΔ19 mice were employed.

Identifying Neuro-Inflammatory Biomarkers of Generalized Anxiety Disorder from Lymphocyte Subsets Based on Machine Learning Approaches.

Introduction: Activation of the inflammatory response system is involved in the pathogenesis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize inflammatory biomarkers in the diagnosis of GAD based on machine learning algorithms.

Methods: The evaluation of peripheral immune parameters and lymphocyte subsets was performed on patients with GAD.

Parvalbumin interneurons in the anterior cingulate cortex exhibit distinct processing patterns for fear and memory in rats.

The anterior cingulate cortex is responsible for multiple cognitive functions like fear, pain management, decision-making, risk and reward assessment, and memory consolidation. However, its cell-type-specific functions are not clearly understood. To reveal the selective functional role of Parvalbumin-expressing GABAergic interneurons in the ACC, we knocked down (KD) the PV gene in-vivo in rats.

The relationship between compassion fatigue, engagement and decent work among nurses: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Nurses face significant professional challenges arising from global pandemics, inadequate welfare protection, and declining social status. In this context, the decent working conditions for nurses are not adequately safeguarded. This study examines decent work status among Chinese nurses and its links work engagement, and compassion fatigue.

Atypical subcortical involvement in emotional face processing in major depressive disorder with and without comorbid social anxiety.

Previous research on major depressive disorder (MDD) has largely focused on cognitive biases and abnormalities in cortico-limbic circuitry during emotional face processing. However, it remains unclear whether these abnormalities start at early perceptual stages via subcortical pathways and how comorbid social anxiety influences this process. Here, we investigated subcortical mechanisms in emotional face processing using a psychophysical method that measures monocular advantage (i.

Sleep structure of short-term insomnia disorder with mild cognitive impairment in older adults and their correlation with cognitive function: a case-control study.

Objectives: This study seeks to delineate the sleep architecture characteristics in older adults with short-term insomnia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and to explore their association with cognitive performance.

Methods: Ninety elderly individuals with short-term insomnia were enrolled and stratified into two cohorts based on their Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores: the Short-Term Insomnia Group (STID) comprising 35 participants and the Short-Term Insomnia with Cognitive Impairment Group (STID-MCI) with 55 participants. Demographic data, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), MoCA, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), and polysomnography (PSG) parameters were compared between groups.

Development and prospect of near-infrared spectroscopy-assisted schizophrenia diagnosis based on bibliometrics.

In this editorial, we comment on the recent article by Fei exploring the field of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) research in schizophrenia from a bibliometrics perspective. In recent years, NIRS has shown unique advantages in the auxiliary diagnosis of schizophrenia, and the introduction of bibliometrics has provided a macro perspective for research in this field. Despite the opportunities brought about by these technological developments, remaining challenges require multidisciplinary approach to devise a reliable and accurate diagnosis system for schizophrenia.

Peripheral tryptophan-kynurenine pathway dysfunction in first-episode schizophrenia.

The tryptophan (TRP)-kynurenine (KYN) pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This study aimed to investigate the levels of TRP-KYN metabolites in serum and urine of patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) and their association with clinical manifestations. This study included 38 drug-naive patients with FES and 43 healthy controls (HCs).

Abnormally slow dynamics in occipital cortex of depression.

Aim: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by altered activity in various higher-order regions like the anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex. While some findings also show changes in lower-order sensory regions like the occipital cortex in MDD, the latter's exact neural and temporal, e.g.