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The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) addresses what the authors say are limitations to the reliability and validity of traditional models like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) authoritative handbook used by clinicians and researchers around the world to diagnose and treat mental disorders. "HiTOP is the first attempt by any group of individuals to put forth a classification and diagnostic system that has the features we've described," says Leonard Simms, an associate professor in UB's Department of Psychology and one of the 40 researchers who worked with team leaders Roman Kotov of Stony Brook University, Robert Krueger of University of Minnesota, and David Watson of University of Notre Dame on the study that appears in the latest issue of the  Journal of Abnormal Psychology . Simms, an expert in the description and classification of mental disorders, says the po...

The study, called PReDICT, randomly assigned pa tients to 12 weeks of treatment with one of two antidepressant medications or with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). At the start of the study, patients underwent a functional MRI brain scan, which was then analyzed to see whether the outcome from CBT or medication depended on the state of the brain prior to starting treatment. The study results are published as two papers in the March 24 online issue of the  American Journal of Psychiatry . The MRI scans identified that the degree of functional connectivity between an important emotion processing center (the subcallosal cingulate cortex) and three other areas of the brain was associated with the treatment outcomes. Specifically, patients with positive connectivity between the brain regions were significantly more likely to achieve remission with CBT, whereas patients with negative or absent connectivity were more likely to remit with antidepressant medication. "All depressi...

"Through the use of carefully designed persuasive message prompts ... mental health video games can be perceived and used as a more viable and less attrition-ridden treatment option," according to the study. The paper, authored by Subuhi Khan and Jorge Pena, professors in the Department of Communication at UC Davis, is forthcoming in  Computers in Human Behavior . The messages, and subsequent games assigned, targeted depression that could be perceived as either internal -- caused by a chemical imbalance or hereditary factor; or depression that could come from outside factors -- such as a job or relationship situation. The messaging had slight differences in approach, but ended on basic inspirational notes to inspire the participant to play the game. Each message ended with: "Just like a regular workout, much of the benefit of these tasks comes from using them without taking breaks and putting in your best effort." Using six, three-minute games, the study fo...

In 2006, varenicline was approved as a safe and effective means to quit smoking and achieved permanent quit rates of approximately 25 percent. In 2009, however, varenicline received a black box warning by the FDA based on their adverse event reports of neuropsychiatric symptoms like depression and thoughts of suicide. There were plausible alternative explanations including that nearly half of the subjects had psychiatric histories, 42 percent were taking psychotropic drugs and about 42 percent were suffering from depression. Nonetheless, since then, there has been a 76 percent decline in the number of prescriptions dispensed from a peak of about 2 million in the last quarter of 2007 to about 531,000 in the first quarter of 2014. In their commentary, the FAU researchers emphasize that, until recently, the totality of randomized evidence on varenicline had been restricted to eight small trials, which did not demonstrate a hazard. The researchers caution that the reliable detectio...

A new University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) study has investigated this question. The findings suggest that psychoeducation and skills building may help sever the emotion-behavior link that contributes to HIV/STI risk among this demographic. The study, "Feelings Matter: Depression Severity and Emotion Regulation in HIV/STI Risk-Related Sexual Behaviors," which has been published in the  Journal of Child and Family Studies , was designed to examine contextual factors related to HIV/STI risk among heterosexually active black adolescents with mental illnesses. It explicitly focused on depression and emotion regulation to uncover how these factors in?uence sexual decision-making. "Blacks, adolescents, and people with mental illnesses are all disproportionately affected by HIV/STIs," explains the study's lead author Bridgette M. Brawner, PhD, APRN , Assistant Professor of Nursing in the Department of Family and Community Health. "We ...

Area of anterior thalamic radiation that exposed considerably decrease axial diffusivity and imply diffusivity values in these with main depressive dysfunction relative to wholesome management members. From the highest left clockwise -- coronal, sagittal, Three-D render and axial projections. Credit score: David M Schnyer, Peter C. Clasen, Christopher Gonzalez and Christopher G. Beevers Melancholy impacts greater than 15 million American adults, or about 6.7 p.c of the U.S. inhabitants, annually. It's the main explanation for incapacity for these between the ages of 15 and 44. Is it attainable to detect who could be susceptible to the sickness earlier than its onset utilizing mind imaging? David Schnyer, a cognitive neuroscientist and professor of psychology at The College of Texas at Austin, believes it could be. However figuring out its tell-tale indicators isn't any easier matter. He's utilizing the Stampede supercomputer on the Texas Superior Comput...

"If these results can be verified and repeated in other studies, they would have significance for future possibilities for treating stress-induced psychological consequences," says Camilla Glad, postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition. The uncommon disease, Cushing's Syndrome, involves a substantial overproduction of Cortisol resulting from a benign tumor of the pituitary or adrenal gland. The condition is characterized by abdominal obesity, fat deposits in the face and neck, high blood pressure and diabetes. To a high extent, the affected individuals also risk suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, anxiety, depression and cognitive impairment Reduced DNA methylation "Even if the physical symptoms improve after an operation on the tumor, our previous studies show that the psychiatric problems largely often persist. Some patients will never return to working life and may not even venture out into society for eve...

Intrusive memories often spring to mind without warning after someone has experienced some form of trauma and they can bring back specific sights, sounds and emotions attached to the original incident. In some cases, intrusive memories go hand in hand with the development of acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as with conditions such as depression and severe grief. Iyadurai and her colleagues used their insights into neuroscience and findings from previous experimental research to test whether one dose of a brief psychological intervention including playing a highly visual-spatial computer game such as Tetris could prevent intrusive symptoms building up. The participants were 71 patients waiting in the emergency department at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford who all experienced a traumatic motor vehicle accident. Participants in the intervention group were asked to bring the memory to mind, given specific instructions of how to play the game, and then...

New research indicates that mothers with a history of mental health disorders feel less ready for discharge from the NICU than with mothers without a mental health history. The research, entitled "Maternal Mental Health and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Discharge Readiness in Mothers of Preterm Infants," has been published in  The Journal of Pediatrics . The research team was led by Elisabeth C. McGowan, MD, a neonatologist at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, and assistant professor of pediatrics at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and also includes Women & Infants/Brown University colleagues Katheleen Hawes, PhD, RN; Richard Tucker, BA; Melissa O'Donnell, MSW; and Betty Vohr, MD; as well as Nan Du, BS, MD, from Yale New Haven Children's Hospital. "Our primary objective was to evaluate the association between maternal mental health disorders and discharge readiness," said Dr. McGowan. ...

The findings in a mouse model could have broad implications for the potential treatment and prevention of mood and anxiety disorders, including major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they reported in the journal  Nature Communications . "The study suggests that deficiencies in natural cannabinoids could result in a predisposition to developing PTSD and depression," said Sachin Patel, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the paper's corresponding author. "Boosting this signaling system could represent a new treatment approach for these stress-linked disorders," he said. Patel, the James G. Blakemore Professor of Psychiatry, received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers last year for his pioneering studies of the endocannabinoid family of signaling molecules that activate the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors in the brain. Tetrahydrocan...