Advances in Emotion Recognition: Link to Depressive Disorder

Emotion recognition enables real-time analysis, tagging, and inference of cognitive affective states from human facial expression, speech and tone, body posture and physiological signal, as well as social text on social network platform. Recognition of emotion pattern based on explicit and implicit features extracted through wearable and other devices could be decoded through computational modeling. Meanwhile, emotion recognition and computation are critical to detection and diagnosis of potential patients of mood disorder. The chapter aims to summarize the main findings in the area of affective recognition and its applications in major depressive disorder (MDD), which have made rapid progress in the last decade

Functional cerebral asymmetries of emotional processes in the healthy and bipolar brain

The perception and processing of emotions are of primary importance for social interaction, which confers faculties such as inferring what another person’s feels. Brain organisation of emotion perception has shown to primarily involve right hemisphere functioning. However, the brain may be functionally organised according to fundamental aspects of emotion such as valence, rather than involving processing of emotions in general. It should be noted, however, that emotion perception is not merely a perceptual process consisting in the input of emotional information, but also involves one’s emotional response. Therefore, the functional brain organisation of emotional processing may also be influenced by emotional experience. An experimental model for testing functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs) of valenced emotional experience is uniquely found in bipolar disorder (BD) involving impaired ability to regulate emotions and eventually leading to depressive or manic episodes. Previous models have only explained hemispheric asymmetries for manic and depressive mood episodes, but not for BD euthymia. The present thesis sought to investigate FCAs in emotional processing in two major ways. First, FCAs underlying facial emotion perception under normal functioning was examined in healthy controls. Secondly, functional brain organisation in emotional processing was further investigated by assessing FCAs in the bipolarity continuum, used as an experimental model for studying the processing of emotions. In contrast with previous asymmetry models, results suggested a right hemisphere involvement in emotional experience regardless of valence. Atypical FCAs were found in euthymic BD patients reflecting inherent aspects of BD functional brain organisation that are free of symptomatic influence. Also, BD patients exhibited atypical connectivity in a default amygdala network particularly affecting the right hemisphere, suggesting intrinsic mechanisms associated with internal emotional states. Last, BD patients were associated with a reduced right hemisphere specialisation in visuospatial attention, therefore suggesting that right hemisphere dysfunction can also affect non-emotional processes. Taken together, the findings emphasize a BD continuum model relying on euthymia as a bridging state between usual mood and acute mood phases

Effects of dance therapy on balance, gait and neuro-psychological performances in patients with Parkinson's disease and postural instability

Postural Instability (PI) is a core feature of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and a major cause of falls and disabilities. Impairment of executive functions has been called as an aggravating factor on motor performances. Dance therapy has been shown effective for improving gait and has been suggested as an alternative rehabilitative method. To evaluate gait performance, spatial-temporal (S-T) gait parameters and cognitive performances in a cohort of patients with PD and PI modifications in balance after a cycle of dance therapy

Neurological and Mental Disorders

Mental disorders can result from disruption of neuronal circuitry, damage to the neuronal and non-neuronal cells, altered circuitry in the different regions of the brain and any changes in the permeability of the blood brain barrier. Early identification of these impairments through investigative means could help to improve the outcome for many brain and behaviour disease states.The chapters in this book describe how these abnormalities can lead to neurological and mental diseases such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), anxiety disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and personality and eating disorders. Psycho-social traumas, especially during childhood, increase the incidence of amnesia and transient global amnesia, leading to the temporary inability to create new memories.Early detection of these disorders could benefit many complex diseases such as schizophrenia and depression

Modern Views of Machine Learning for Precision Psychiatry

In light of the NIMH's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), the advent of functional neuroimaging, novel technologies and methods provide new opportunities to develop precise and personalized prognosis and diagnosis of mental disorders. Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are playing an increasingly critical role in the new era of precision psychiatry. Combining ML/AI with neuromodulation technologies can potentially provide explainable solutions in clinical practice and effective therapeutic treatment. Advanced wearable and mobile technologies also call for the new role of ML/AI for digital phenotyping in mobile mental health. In this review, we provide a comprehensive review of the ML methodologies and applications by combining neuroimaging, neuromodulation, and advanced mobile technologies in psychiatry practice. Additionally, we review the role of ML in molecular phenotyping and cross-species biomarker identification in precision psychiatry. We further discuss explainable AI (XAI) and causality testing in a closed-human-in-the-loop manner, and highlight the ML potential in multimedia information extraction and multimodal data fusion. Finally, we discuss conceptual and practical challenges in precision psychiatry and highlight ML opportunities in future research

Do informal caregivers of people with dementia mirror the cognitive deficits of their demented patients?:A pilot study

Recent research suggests that informal caregivers of people with dementia (ICs) experience more cognitive deficits than noncaregivers. The reason for this is not yet clear. Objective: to test the hypothesis that ICs ‘mirror' the cognitive deficits of the demented people they care for. Participants and methods: 105 adult ICs were asked to complete three neuropsychological tests: letter fluency, category fluency, and the logical memory test from the WMS-III. The ICs were grouped according to the diagnosis of their demented patients. One-sample ttests were conducted to investigate if the standardized mean scores (t-scores) of the ICs were different from normative data. A Bonferroni correction was used to correct for multiple comparisons. Results: 82 ICs cared for people with Alzheimer's dementia and 23 ICs cared for people with vascular dementia. Mean letter fluency score of the ICs of people with Alzheimer's dementia was significantly lower than the normative mean letter fluency score, p = .002. The other tests yielded no significant results. Conclusion: our data shows that ICs of Alzheimer patients have cognitive deficits on the letter fluency test. This test primarily measures executive functioning and it has been found to be sensitive to mild cognitive impairment in recent research. Our data tentatively suggests that ICs who care for Alzheimer patients also show signs of cognitive impairment but that it is too early to tell if this is cause for concern or not

The words of the body: psychophysiological patterns in dissociative narratives

Trauma has severe consequences on both psychological and somatic levels, even affecting the genetic expression and the cell\u2019s DNA repair ability. A key mechanism in the understanding of clinical disorders deriving from trauma is identified in dissociation, as a primitive defense against the fragmentation of the self originated by overwhelming experiences. The dysregulation of the interpersonal patterns due to the traumatic experience and its detrimental effects on the body are supported by influent neuroscientific models such as Damasio\u2019s somatic markers and Porges\u2019 polyvagal theory. On the basis of these premises, and supported by our previous empirical observations on 40 simulated clinical sessions, we will discuss the longitudinal process of a brief psychodynamic psychotherapy (16 sessions, weekly frequency) with a patient who suffered a relational trauma. The research design consists of the collection of self-report and projective tests, pre-post therapy and after each clinical session, in order to assess personality, empathy, clinical alliance and clinical progress, along with the verbatim analysis of the transcripts trough the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set and the Collaborative Interactions Scale. Furthermore, we collected simultaneous psychophysiological measures of the therapeutic dyad: skin conductance and hearth rate. Lastly, we employed a computerized analysis of non-verbal behaviors to assess synchrony in posture and gestures. These automated measures are able to highlight moments of affective concordance and discordance, allowing for a deep understanding of the mutual regulations between the patient and the therapist. Preliminary results showed that psychophysiological changes in dyadic synchrony, observed in body movements, skin conductance and hearth rate, occurred within sessions during the discussion of traumatic experiences, with levels of attunement that changed in both therapist and the patient depending on the quality of the emotional representation of the experience. These results go in the direction of understanding the relational process in trauma therapy, using an integrative language in which both clinical and neurophysiological knowledge may take advantage of each other

Examining psychobiological mechanisms underlying bipolar spectrum disorder symptom presentation

This thesis examines the psychobiological mechanisms underlying bipolar spectrum disorder mood symptom presentation in two parts: dysregulation in short-term affective processes (Part one), and dysregulation in reward processing (Part two). Part one presents a systematic review, which sought to identify convergence of findings from studies using ecological momentary assessment/experience sampling (EMA/ESM) methodology to examine affect dynamics in bipolar spectrum disorder, unipolar depression and borderline personality disorder populations. 38 studies using EMA/ESM methodology to examine affect dynamics across clinical groups and healthy controls were included. Findings showed that altered affect dynamics were identified across all disorders in comparison to healthy controls. Findings suggest that the degree of affect dysregulation may differentiate clinical groups. Part two presents an empirical study, which sought to examine the relationship between reward processing and subthreshold BSD symptoms longitudinally in a large community-based sample, using a monetary incentive delay functional magnetic resonance paradigm. Region-of-interest analyses in the ventral striatum were conducted to examine how neural activation during anticipation of rewards at 14 was related to mood symptoms at 14 and 22 years. Although no association was observed between neural activation and mood symptoms at baseline, enhanced sensitivity to anticipation of rewards, reflected in higher levels of neural activation, at age 14 predicted lower levels of (hypo)manic symptoms at age 22. Part three comprises a critical appraisal of the research process. This includes reflections on the author’s positionality and influences on the research, the challenges of neuroimaging research, and the value of understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying psychopathology

Role of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex astrocytes in mouse dominance and depressive behavior

학위논문 (박사) -- 서울대학교 대학원 : 치의학대학원 치의과학과, 2020. 8. 이성중.사회 서열에 직접적으로 관여하는 서열행동은 대부분의 동물들이 기본적으로 가지고 있는 본능행동이다. 보다 높은 사회적 위치를 달성하고 이를 유지하고자 하는 행동은 생존을 위해서 필수적이다. 최근 연구들은 뇌의 전전두엽 영역의 피라미드 신경세포가 높은 사회적 지위에 도달하고 이를 유지하는 데에 직접적인 역할을 한다는 것으로 보고하고 있다. 한편 사회적 서열과 정신 건강 사이에는 깊은 상관 관계가 있는 것으로 알려져 있는데, 낮은 사회 경제적 위치가 우울증 발병의 많은 원인 중 하나라는 연구 결과가 그 대표적이다. 뇌 전전두엽 영역의 성상교세포가 항우울제에 대한 반응에 관여하는 핵심세포로 기능하고 있는 점으로 볼 때, 성상교세포가 서열행동과 더불어 낮은 서열로 인한 우울증에 동시에 관여할 가능성이 있다. 본 연구에서는 생쥐의 서열행동과 우울증에 대한 뇌 전전두엽 성상교세포의 역할을 밝히고자 한다. 이 논문의 첫 장에서는 사회적 서열이 낮은 생쥐의 뇌 전전두엽 성상교세포를 화학 및 광유전학적으로 자극함으로써 성상교세포의 활성이 서열행동에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 전전두엽 성상교세포의 화학 및 광유전학적 자극은 생쥐의 저항 행동을 유발하였고, 이는 하위 서열에 있는 생쥐의 서열 상승을 크게 유도하였다. 나아가 전전두엽 성상교세포의 광유전학적 활성은 세포 밖 글루타메이트 농도를 증가 시켰으며, 이는 피라미드 신경세포로 흥분성 시냅스 입력을 증가시키는 데에 기여하였다. 더불어 서열행동을 유발하는 성상교세포와 신경세포의 차이를 확인하기 위해 성상교세포와 피라미드 신경세포를 광유전학적으로 각각 자극한 생쥐를 서로 경쟁시켰다. 그 결과 두 생쥐간의 승률은 차이가 없었지만 승리하기 위한 행동 방식이 서로 다른 것으로 나타났다. 제 2 장에서는 성상교세포 활성에 의해 유발된 서열행동이 항우울 효과를 보임을 밝혀냈다. 3 주간의 구속 스트레스를 받은 생쥐는 우울 행동을 보였을 뿐 만 아니라 급격히 저하된 서열행동을 보였다. 그러나 스트레스를 받은 생쥐의 전전두엽 성상교세포를 화학유전학적 방법으로 자극하면, 자극을 받은 생쥐는 스트레스를 받지 않은 정상 생쥐에 대하여 강한 저항 행동을 보이고, 이를 통한 반복적인 승리 이후에는 밀어내기 행동을 보였다. 이러한 행동 변화는 만성 스트레스에 의해 유발된 우울 행동을 빠르게 개선시켰는데, 피라미드 신경세포를 자극하였을 경우에는 항우울 효과가 나타나지 않았다. 본 연구에서는 생쥐의 지속적인 저항 행동으로 인한 경쟁에서의 승리가 전전두엽의 성상교세포 활성과 직접 관련이 있으며, 빠른 항우울 효과를 보인다는 것을 밝혀냈다. 이는 낮은 사회적 지위로 인해 발병하게 되는 만성 스트레스성 우울증에 대해 전전두엽의 성상교세포가 새로운 치료 타겟이 될 수 있음을 시사한다.Dominance behavior is a fundamental organizing mechanism for most animal societies. Achieving and remaining at a high social status are essential for survival. Recent studies have identified that pyramidal neurons in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) region have a key role for remaining and maintaining at high social status. There is also a correlation between social status and mental health such as depression. In human, individuals with low socio-economic status (SES) are vulnerable to depression. Furthermore, astrocytes in dmPFC region are also involved in mouse depression and the response to anti-depressant drugs. Here, in this study, I suggest that dmPFC astrocytes in mice are directly involved in both dominance and depressive-like behaviors. In the first part of this thesis, I applied both chemogenetic and optogenetic manipulation of dmPFC astrocytes into low social ranked mice. Both chemogenetic and optogenetic stimulation of dmPFC astrocyte successfully induced hierarchical rank graduation of subordinate mice by showing resistance behavior rather than pushing behavior during social competition. Optogenetic stimulation of dmPFC astrocytes increased extracellular glutamate level leading to the increase of excitatory synaptic inputs into layer V pyramidal neurons. I next compared astrocyte stimulation-induced dominance behavior with the results of neuron stimulation, and both mouse groups showed comparable winning rates in the tube test with different behavioral mode to achieve dominancy. In the second part, I investigated the relationship between dominance behavior and depression. After 3 weeks of restraint stress (RS), the RS-received mice (RS mice) showed depressive-like behavior, and they also showed reduced dominance behavior compared with that of control mice. However, after chemogenetic stimulation of dmPFC astrocyte into RS mice, they showed increased resistance behavior against control mice during the tube test, and RS mice started to push, which was not observed during the basal behavior. This behavioral shift may be due to the prior winning experience obtained by resistance action, which might confer a winning effect. Furthermore, repetitive winning experience abrogated depressive-like behavior of RS mice. However, neuron-stimulated RS mice did not show anti-depressive behavior although they obtained winning experience by pushing action. This result suggests that rapid anti-depressive effect can be obtained by astrocyte-derived winning experience in mice. In conclusion, dmPFC astrocyte activation enhances mouse dominance behavior by persistent resistance behavior. Moreover, depressive-like phenotype shown in chronic RS mice can be rapidly reversed by repetitive winning experience. This result suggests that the association between dominancy and depression through dmPFC astrocyte activity provides a clinical implication in treating depression due to low social status.Chapter I. The role of dmPFC astrocytes in mouse dominance behavior 13 Abstract 14 Introduction 15 Materials and Methods 18 Results 30 Discussion 55 Chapter II. The effects of dmPFC astrocyte activation-induced dominancy on depression 59 Abstract 60 Introduction 62 Materials and Methods 65 Results 71 Discussion 87 Conclusion 90 References 91 Abstract in Korean 102Docto