Development and preliminary validation of the Group Cognitive Therapy Scale.

Aim: The aim of this research was to create a scale to assess the competency of therapists who conduct group cognitive behavioral therapy (G-CBT). The scale is intended to serve as a tool to aid the training of therapists.

Methods: Three stepped studies were conducted.

Aberrant thalamocortical connectivity and shifts between the resting state and task state in patients with schizophrenia.

Prominent pathological hypotheses for schizophrenia include auditory processing deficits and dysconnectivity within cerebral networks. However, most neuroimaging studies have focused on impairments in either resting-state or task-related functional connectivity in patients with schizophrenia. The aims of our study were to examine (1) blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals during auditory steady-state response (ASSR) tasks, (2) functional connectivity during the resting-state and ASSR tasks and (3) state shifts between the resting-state and ASSR tasks in patients with schizophrenia.

Factors influencing postpartum depression among Japanese parents: A prospective longitudinal study.

Aim: Postpartum depression (PPD) may have negative effects on the parents and lead to impaired cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral development in their children. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with PPD in parents during the first year after delivery.

Methods: This study used a self-administered questionnaire.

A randomized controlled trial of the web-based drinking diary program for problem drinking in multi workplace settings.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a web-based brief intervention (BI) program to record daily drinking among people with problem drinking in workplace settings.

Methods: A two-armed, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial were conducted at six workplaces in Japan. After obtaining written consent to participate in the study, workers with an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score of 8 or higher were randomly assigned into two groups.

Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Behavior Problem Inventory-Short Form.

Background: The Behavior Problems Inventory-Short Form (BPI-S), which assesses behavior problems in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), is a shorter version of the BPI-01. This study investigated the reliability and validity of the BPI-S Japanese version (BPI-S-J) for adolescents/adults with ID and behavior problems.

Methods: The test-retest reliability included participants with ID and behavioral problems who were enrolled in welfare services.

Open-Label Placebo Trial among Japanese Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain.

Background: The aim of this study was to confirm the effectiveness of open-label placebo (OLP) in Japanese patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP), similar to previous reports, and to investigate its short- and medium-term effects in this study population.

Methods: Fifty-two patients with CLBP were randomized into a treatment as usual (TAU) group ( = 26) or an OLP + TAU group ( = 26) for 12 weeks. The TAU included advice to remain active and exercise in conjunction with recent psychological education based on a self-management strategy.

Lower brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels are associated with age-related memory impairment in community-dwelling older adults: the Sefuri study.

The beneficial effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-a member of the neurotrophin family-on cognitive function or dementia are well established in both rodents and human beings. In contrast, little is known about the association of proBDNF-a precursor protein with opposing neuronal effects of BDNF-with cognitive function in non-demented older adults. We analyzed brain magnetic resonance imaging findings of 256 community-dwelling older adults (mean age of 68.

Oxytocin and elderly MRI-based hippocampus and amygdala volume: a 7-year follow-up study.

Oxytocin is deeply involved in human relations. In recent years, it is becoming clear that oxytocin is also involved in social cognition and social behaviour. Oxytocin receptors are also thought to be present in the hippocampus and amygdala, and the relationship between oxytocin and the structure and function of the hippocampus and amygdala has been reported.

Prevalence patterns of alcohol consumption and factors associated with problematic drinking on remote islands of Okinawa, Japan: a cross-sectional study.

This study aims to investigate the drinking behavior on the remote islands of Okinawa Prefecture. This was a cross-sectional study conducted with residents of Okinawa Prefecture's small, isolated islands. Between October 1 and December 3, 2014, island residents over 20 years of age who visited island clinics for an annual health checkup or influenza vaccination were recruited.

The efficacy of extended metacognitive training for psychosis: A randomized controlled trial.

This study investigated the efficacy of 10-module metacognitive training (MCT) among Japanese patients with schizophrenia by conducting a multicenter randomized controlled trial to test the influence of the most recent and extended version of MCT on positive symptoms. A six-center, randomized, assessor-blind, controlled trial between "treatment as usual" (TAU) and TAU + MCT was conducted. Fifty inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia, schizotypal, and delusional disorders (ICD 10) were enrolled, then randomly assigned to TAU (n = 26) or TAU + MCT (n = 24).

Progressive reduction of auditory evoked gamma in first episode schizophrenia but not clinical high risk individuals.

The early auditory-evoked gamma band response (EAGBR) may serve as an index of the integrity of fast recurrent inhibition or synaptic connectivity in the auditory cortex, where abnormalities in individuals with schizophrenia have been consistently found. The EAGBR has been rarely investigated in first episode schizophrenia patients (FESZ) and individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for schizophrenia, and never been compared directly between these populations nor evaluated longitudinally. Here we examined the EAGBR in FESZ, CHR, and matched healthy controls (HC) at baseline and 1-year follow-up assessments to determine whether the EAGBR was affected in these clinical groups, and whether any EAGBR abnormalities changed over time.

Low-Grade Inflammation Is Associated with Apathy Indirectly via Deep White Matter Lesions in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Sefuri Study.

Low-grade inflammation is implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, and apathy as a form of vascular depression. We analyzed the brain magnetic resonance imaging findings in 259 community-dwelling older adults (122 men and 137 women, with a mean age of 68.4 years).

Changes of clinical symptoms in patients with new psychoactive substance (NPS)-related disorders from fiscal year 2012 to 2014: A study in hospitals specializing in the treatment of addiction.

Aims: The use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) has become increasingly widespread over the last decade, in Japan and internationally. NPS are associated with a range of increasingly serious clinical, public, and social issues. Political measures to ameliorate the effects of NPS in Japan have focused on tightening regulation rather than establishing treatment methods.

Neuroanatomical substrate of chronic psychosis in epilepsy: an MRI study.

There may be different neural bases between subjects with epilepsy only (EP) and interictal chronic epilepsy psychosis (EPS). However, there have been few structural MRI studies of EPS. The current study was conducted to investigate the neural substrate of EPS.

Distribution of cerebral microbleeds in the East and West: Individual participant meta-analysis.

Objective: We investigated differences in the anatomical distribution of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) on MRI, hypothesized to indicate the type of underlying cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), between Eastern and Western general populations.

Methods: We analyzed data from 11 studies identified by a PubMed search between 1996 and April 2014 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Individual Participant Data. Study quality measures indicated low or medium risk of bias.

Temple syndrome diagnosed in an adult patient with clinical autism spectrum disorder.

Temple syndrome (TS14) leads to growth failure, precocious puberty, and diabetes mellitus. However, the long-term prognosis, including the development of social behavior in TS14 patients, remains unclarified. We report the clinical course of a male patient with autism spectrum disorder that received a diagnosis of TS14 at 33 years of age.

Oxytocin levels and sex differences in autism spectrum disorder with severe intellectual disabilities.

There were few reports of oxytocin (OXT) concentrations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients with severe intellectual disabilities. We measured serum OXT concentrations in 79 hospitalized patients with severe intellectual disabilities (16-60 years old, 50 males and 29 females, 54 ASD patients) and investigated the associations between serum OXT concentration, symptom scores, sex differences, and autism spectrum disorder. There were no significant effects of diagnosis, severity of intellectual disabilities, and total score of the Japanese version of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC-J), the Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Tokyo Version (CARS-TV), and the Japanese version of the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R).

An Open-Label Uncontrolled Trial of the Efficacy and Safety of a Hug with Singing and Rocking for Promotion of Relaxation in Pediatric Patients with Severe Motor and Intellectual Disabilities: Study Protocol.

Children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID) are continually exposed to stress due to their need to receive daily care. In particular, chronic physical and acute mental stress derived from daily medical care due to unstable health status are issues specific to SMID children. Therefore, it is important to approach these issues for the maintenance of their lives and quality of life.

Parity As a Protective Biomarker Against Silent Brain Infarction in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Sefuri Study.

Background: Although several studies have reported an association between parity and increased risk of stroke, this relationship remains controversial.

Aims: The present study aimed to determine whether parity is associated with silent brain infarction (SBI), independent of other confounders.

Methods: We analyzed the brain magnetic resonance imaging findings in 576 of community-dwelling older adults with a mean age of 72.

Predictive factors for hyperglycaemic progression in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Background: Patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Aims: To identify predictive factors for hyperglycaemic progression in individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and to determine whether hyperglycaemic progression rates differ among antipsychotics in regular clinical practice.

Method: We recruited 1166 patients who initially had normal or prediabetic glucose levels for a nationwide, multisite, l-year prospective cohort study to determine predictive factors for hyperglycaemic progression.

Different socioeconomic backgrounds between hazardous drinking and heavy episodic drinking: Prevalence by sociodemographic factors in a Japanese general sample.

Background: Hazardous drinking (HD) and heavy episodic drinking (HED) constitute different types of alcohol-related harm. The socioeconomic status (SES) background of various alcohol consumption behaviors is not clear. The purpose of this study was to clarify existing SES differences between HD and HED.

Does monetary reward operantly enhance pain sensitivity over time? An experiment in healthy individuals.

Aim: Operant conditioning has long been believed to influence the pain experience through a psychological reward pathway. This study was formulated to test the hypothesis that pain sensitivity may be enhanced >3 months if a monetary reward works as a reinforcement.

Methods: Forty healthy subjects volunteered to participate in this study.

A prospective naturalistic multicenter study on choice of parenteral medication in psychiatric emergency settings in Japan.

Aim: To provide information about psychiatric emergency situations in Japan, we examined psychiatrists' preference among parenteral medication since intramuscular (IM)-olanzapine became available and clinical characteristics in patients given IM-olanzapine compared to those given other parenteral medication.

Methods: We conducted a naturalistic study proceeding over a 1-year period in 9 psychiatric emergency departments.

Results: Among 197 patients, the distribution of IM-injections (n = 89) was as follows: IM-olanzapine, 66 patients (74.