Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Training in Neuroscience: Insights from the Human Brain Project Education Programme.

Neuroscience education is challenged by rapidly evolving technology and the development of interdisciplinary approaches for brain research. The Human Brain Project (HBP) Education Programme aimed to address the need for interdisciplinary expertise in brain research by equipping a new generation of researchers with skills across neuroscience, medicine, and information technology. Over its ten year duration, the programme engaged over 1,300 experts and attracted more than 5,500 participants from various scientific disciplines in its blended learning curriculum, specialised schools and workshops, and events fostering dialogue among early-career researchers.

Genes in context: path to more precise risk prediction in psychiatry?

This guest editorial describes the importance of converging genetics and psychosocial epidemiology research methods to understand the biopsychosocial etiology of psychiatric phenotypes.

Examining the impact of brief couples-based posttraumatic stress disorder treatments on anger and psychological aggression in veterans and their partners.

Anger can adversely impact functioning in veterans. Psychological aggression, which is related to but distinct from anger, is particularly detrimental to veterans' mental health. Research examining anger and psychological aggression following individual therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has demonstrated small effect sizes.

Maladaptive health factors as potential mediators for the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and cardiovascular disease: A sex-stratified analysis in the U.S. adult population.

Objectives: This study examined sex differences for health risk factors as potential mediators in the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: Secondary data from the 2012-2013 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Wave 3 was used. This cross-sectional survey contains a nationally representative sample of 36,309 U.

MDMA-assisted brief cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy for PTSD: Study protocol for a pilot study.

Background: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) impacts both individual and relational functioning. Veteran couples are at increased risk of relationship distress due to military stressors such as deployment, family reintegration, and traumatic stress. Although both Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (CBCT) and its brief version (bCBCT) consistently have large effects on reducing PTSD symptoms, these treatments have more variable effects on relational outcomes.

Neuroimaging of posttraumatic stress disorder in adults and youth: progress over the last decade on three leading questions of the field.

Almost three decades have passed since the first posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) neuroimaging study was published. Since then, the field of clinical neuroscience has made advancements in understanding the neural correlates of PTSD to create more efficacious treatment strategies. While gold-standard psychotherapy options are available, many patients do not respond to them, prematurely drop out, or never initiate treatment.

Design of a randomized clinical trial of brief couple therapy for PTSD augmented with intranasal oxytocin.

Background: Leveraging military veterans' intimate relationships during treatment has the potential to concurrently improve posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and relationship quality. Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (CBCT) and an 8-session Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (bCBCT) are manualized treatments designed to simultaneously improve PTSD and relationship functioning for couples in which one partner has PTSD. Although efficacious in improving PTSD, the effects of CBCT on relationship satisfaction are small, especially among veterans.

Sex, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Substance Use Disorders in US Military Veterans: Results From the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

Objectives: US veterans report more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) than nonveterans, and a greater number of ACEs has been linked to substance use disorders (SUDs). To date, however, no study has examined whether specific ACEs may be linked to SUDs in this population in a sex-related fashion.

Methods: We analyzed data from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, a nationally representative survey of 4069 US veterans.

Differences in the phenotypic expression of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in US military veterans with and without clinical insomnia.

Study Objectives: The goal of this study was to examine the phenotypic expression of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in veterans with probable PTSD and clinical insomnia relative to those with probable PTSD alone.

Methods: Data were analyzed from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 4,069 US military veterans.

Results: A total of 3.

Structural Neuroimaging of Hippocampus and Amygdala Subregions in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Scoping Review.

Numerous studies have explored the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the hippocampus and the amygdala because both regions are implicated in the disorder's pathogenesis and pathophysiology. Nevertheless, those key limbic regions consist of functionally and cytoarchitecturally distinct substructures that may play different roles in the etiology of PTSD. Spurred by the availability of automatic segmentation software, structural neuroimaging studies of human hippocampal and amygdala subregions have proliferated in recent years.

Functional decline during the COVID-19 pandemic among U.S. military veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

Objectives: The coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic has contributed to widespread social and economic stressors, along with substantial health problems, including loss of life. To date, however, relatively few studies have examined the prevalence and correlates of declines in mental and physical functioning in U.S.

An examination of relationship satisfaction as a predictor of outcomes of brief couple therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.

The pretreatment quality of intimate relationships can promote or interfere with couple therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment response. We tested whether baseline relationship satisfaction predicted clinical and process outcomes in two dyadic treatments for PTSD. Using data from a randomized trial comparing brief cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy (bCBCT) for PTSD to PTSD family education (PFE) among 137 military veterans and their partners (N = 274, M = 42.

Not all traumas are created equal: Phenotypic heterogeneity of PTSD symptoms in relation to index traumas in U.S. military veterans.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent in military veterans. Although exposure to trauma is subsumed under the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, there is great variability in index traumatic events, and the clinical presentation of PTSD may vary in individuals depending on the type of event experienced. We examined the relationship between different index traumas and PTSD symptoms in 3507 trauma-exposed U.

Greater Early Posttrauma Activation in the Right Inferior Frontal Gyrus Predicts Recovery From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with altered emotion processing and modulation in specific brain regions, i.e., the amygdala, insula, and medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices.

Limbic self-neuromodulation as a novel treatment option for emotional dysregulation in premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD); a proof-of-concept study.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of a novel neurofeedback (NF) method, targeting limbic activity, to treat emotional dysregulation related to premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

Methods: We applied a NF probe targeting limbic activity using a functional magnetic resonance imaging-inspired electroencephalogram model (termed Amyg-EFP-NF) in a double-blind randomized controlled trial. A frontal alpha asymmetry probe (AAS-NF), served as active control.

Neuroscientific account of Guilt- and Shame-Driven PTSD phenotypes.

Guilt and Shame, two core self-related emotions, often emerge following trauma and play an important role in the development and maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Importantly, Guilt and Shame exhibit specific focal and non-specific global impacts of trauma on self-perception, respectively. Integrating psychological theories with neuroscientific knowledge, we suggest a scheme of two diverging clinical phenotypes of PTSD, associated with distinct self-related processes and differential functionality of relevant neural networks.

Prevalence and characteristics associated with firearm ownership among low-income U.S. veterans.

This study examined the prevalence of firearm ownership among low-income U.S. military veterans and associated sociodemographic, trauma, and clinical characteristics.

Pilot test of intranasal oxytocin as an enhancer of brief couples therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) negatively impacts military veterans and their intimate partners. Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (CBCT) was developed to address both PTSD and relationship satisfaction among couples. Although efficacious in improving PTSD, the effects of CBCT and the 8-session brief CBCT (bCBCT) on relationship satisfaction among veteran patients with PTSD are modest.

In-person and telehealth treatment of veterans with insomnia disorder using cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Objectives: Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the recommended first-line treatment for insomnia disorder. The goal of this study was to evaluate clinical benefits of CBT-I to veterans with insomnia disorder during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic using an uncontrolled observational design.

Methods: A cohort of 63 Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health providers delivered CBT-I to 180 veterans as part of an evidence-based psychotherapy training program and captured de-identified treatment outcome data through a data portal.