Similarity of fMRI activity patterns in left perirhinal cortex reflects semantic similarity between words

How verbal and nonverbal visuoperceptual input connects to semantic knowledge is a core question in visual and cognitive neuroscience, with significant clinical ramifications. In an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment we determined how cosine similarity between fMRI response patterns to concrete words and pictures reflects semantic clustering and semantic distances between the represented entities within a single category. Semantic clustering and semantic distances between 24 animate entities were derived from a concept-feature matrix based on feature generation by >1000 subjects. In the main fMRI study, 19 human subjects performed a property verification task with written words and pictures and a low-level control task. The univariate contrast between the semantic and the control task yielded extensive bilateral occipitotemporal activation from posterior cingulate to anteromedial temporal cortex. Entities belonging to a same semantic cluster elicited more similar fMRI activity patterns in left occipitotemporal cortex. When words and pictures were analyzed separately, the effect reached significance only for words. The semantic similarity effect for words was localized to left perirhinal cortex. According to a representational similarity analysis of left perirhinal responses, semantic distances between entities correlated inversely with cosine similarities between fMRI response patterns to written words. An independent replication study in 16 novel subjects confirmed these novel findings. Semantic similarity is reflected by similarity of functional topography at a fine-grained level in left perirhinal cortex. The word specificity excludes perceptually driven confounds as an explanation and is likely to be task dependent.Rose Bruffaerts, Patrick Dupont, Ronald Peeters, Simon De Deyne, Gerrit Storms and Rik Vandenbergh

Anxiety Detection Leveraging Mobile Passive Sensing

Anxiety disorders are the most common class of psychiatric problems affecting both children and adults. However, tools to effectively monitor and manage anxiety are lacking, and comparatively limited research has been applied to addressing the unique challenges around anxiety. Leveraging passive and unobtrusive data collection from smartphones could be a viable alternative to classical methods, allowing for real-time mental health surveillance and disease management. This paper presents eWellness, an experimental mobile application designed to track a full-suite of sensor and user-log data off an individual's device in a continuous and passive manner. We report on an initial pilot study tracking ten people over the course of a month that showed a nearly 76% success rate at predicting daily anxiety and depression levels based solely on the passively monitored features

Days out-of-role due to common physical and mental health problems: Results from the Sao Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey, Brazil

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relative importance of common physical and mental disorders with regard to the number of days out-of-role (DOR; number of days for which a person is completely unable to work or carry out normal activities because of health problems) in a population-based sample of adults in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil. METHODS: The São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey was administered during face-to-face interviews with 2,942 adult household residents. The presence of 8 chronic physical disorders and 3 classes of mental disorders (mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders) was assessed for the previous year along with the number of days in the previous month for which each respondent was completely unable to work or carry out normal daily activities due to health problems. Using multiple regression analysis, we examined the associations of the disorders and their comorbidities with the number of days out-of-role while controlling for socio-demographic variables. Both individual-level and population-level associations were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 13.1% of the respondents reported 1 or more days out-of-role in the previous month, with an annual median of 41.4 days out-of-role. The disorders considered in this study accounted for 71.7% of all DOR; the disorders that caused the greatest number of DOR at the individual-level were digestive (22.6), mood (19.9), substance use (15.0), chronic pain (16.5), and anxiety (14.0) disorders. The disorders associated with the highest population-attributable DOR were chronic pain (35.2%), mood (16.5%), and anxiety (15.0%) disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Because pain, anxiety, and mood disorders have high effects at both the individual and societal levels, targeted interventions to reduce the impairments associated with these disorders have the highest potential to reduce the societal burdens of chronic illness in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area

The epidemiology of traumatic event exposure worldwide: results from the World Mental Health Survey Consortium

Background: Considerable research has documented that exposure to traumatic events has negative effects on physical and mental health. Much less research has examined the predictors of traumatic event exposure. Increased understanding of risk factors for exposure to traumatic events could be of considerable value in targeting preventive interventions and anticipating service needs. Method: General population surveys in 24 countries with a combined sample of 68 894 adult respondents across six continents assessed exposure to 29 traumatic event types. Differences in prevalence were examined with cross-tabulations. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine whether traumatic event types clustered into interpretable factors. Survival analysis was carried out to examine associations of sociodemographic characteristics and prior traumatic events with subsequent exposure. Results: Over 70% of respondents reported a traumatic event; 30.5% were exposed to four or more. Five types – witnessing death or serious injury, the unexpected death of a loved one, being mugged, being in a life-threatening automobile accident, and experiencing a life-threatening illness or injury – accounted for over half of all exposures. Exposure varied by country, sociodemographics and history of prior traumatic events. Being married was the most consistent protective factor. Exposure to interpersonal violence had the strongest associations with subsequent traumatic events. Conclusions: Given the near ubiquity of exposure, limited resources may best be dedicated to those that are more likely to be further exposed such as victims of interpersonal violence. Identifying mechanisms that account for the associations of prior interpersonal violence with subsequent trauma is critical to develop interventions to prevent revictimization

The importance of physical and mental health in explaining health-related academic role impairment among college students

Research consistently documents high rates of mental health problems among college students and strong associations of these problems with academic role impairment. Less is known, though, about prevalence and effects of physical health problems in relation to mental health problems. The current report investigates this by examining associations of summary physical and mental health scores from the widely-used Short-Form 12 (SF-12) Health Survey with self-reported academic role functioning in a self-report survey of 3,855 first-year students from five universities in the northeastern United States (US; mean age 18.5; 53.0% female). The mean SF-12 physical component summary (PCS) score (55.1) was half a standard deviation above the benchmark US adult population mean. The mean SF-12 mental component summary (MCS) score (38.2) was more than a full standard deviation below the US adult population mean. Two-thirds of students (67.1%) reported at least mild and 10.5% severe health-related academic role impairment on a modified version of the Sheehan Disability Scale. Both PCS and MCS scores were significantly and inversely related to these impairment scores, but with nonlinearities and interactions and much stronger associations involving MCS than PCS. Simulation suggests that an intervention that improved the mental health of all students with scores below the MCS median to be at the median would result in a 61.3% reduction in the proportion of students who experienced severe health-related academic role impairment. Although low-cost scalable interventions exist to address student mental health problems, pragmatic trials are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions in reducing academic role impairment

The impact of lifetime suicidality on academic performance in college freshmen

Background While suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among college students are common, the associations between STB and academic performance are not well understood. Methods As part of the World Mental Health Surveys International College Student project, web-based self-reported STB of KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) incoming freshmen (N=4921; response rate=65.4%) was collected, as well as academic year percentage (AYP), and the departments to which students belong. Single- and multilevel multivariate analyses were conducted, adjusted for gender, age, parental educational level, and comorbid lifetime emotional problems. Results Lifetime suicide plan and attempt upon college entrance were associated with significant decreases in AYP (3.6% and 7.9%, respectively). A significant interaction was found with average departmental AYP, with STB more strongly associated with reduced AYP in departments with lower than higher average AYP. Limitations Limited sample size precluded further investigation of interactions between department-level and student-level variables. No information was available on freshman secondary school academic performance. Conclusions Lifetime STB has a strong negative association with academic performance in college. Our study suggests a potential role for the college environment as target for treatment and prevention interventions.Psycholog

Guided internet-based transdiagnostic individually tailored Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for symptoms of depression and/or anxiety in college students: A randomized controlled trial

Pathways through Adolescenc

Thirty-day suicidal thoughts and behaviours in the Spanish adult general population during the first wave of the Spain COVID-19 pandemic

Aims: To investigate the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviours (STB; i.e. suicidal ideation, plans or attempts) in the Spanish adult general population during the first wave of the Spain coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (March-July, 2020), and to investigate the individual- and population-level impact of relevant distal and proximal STB risk factor domains. Methods: Cross-sectional study design using data from the baseline assessment of an observational cohort study (MIND/COVID project). A nationally representative sample of 3500 non-institutionalised Spanish adults (51.5% female; mean age = 49.6 [s.d. = 17.0]) was taken using dual-frame random digit dialing, stratified for age, sex and geographical area. Professional interviewers carried out computer-assisted telephone interviews (1-30 June 2020). Thirty-day STB was assessed using modified items from the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale. Distal (i.e. pre-pandemic) risk factors included sociodemographic variables, number of physical health conditions and pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorders; proximal (i.e. pandemic) risk factors included current mental disorders and a range of adverse events-experiences related to the pandemic. Logistic regression was used to investigate individual-level associations (odds ratios [OR]) and population-level associations (population attributable risk proportions [PARP]) between risk factors and 30-day STB. All data were weighted using post-stratification survey weights. Results: Estimated prevalence of 30-day STB was 4.5% (1.8% active suicidal ideation; n = 5 [0.1%] suicide attempts). STB was 9.7% among the 34.3% of respondents with pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorders, and 1.8% among the 65.7% without any pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorder. Factors significantly associated with STB were pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorders (total PARP = 49.1%) and current mental disorders (total PARP = 58.4%), i.e. major depressive disorder (OR = 6.0; PARP = 39.2%), generalised anxiety disorder (OR = 5.6; PARP = 36.3%), post-traumatic stress disorder (OR = 4.6; PARP = 26.6%), panic attacks (OR = 6.7; PARP = 36.6%) and alcohol/substance use disorder (OR = 3.3; PARP = 5.9%). Pandemic-related adverse events-experiences associated with STB were lack of social support, interpersonal stress, stress about personal health and about the health of loved ones (PARPs 32.7-42.6%%), and having loved ones infected with COVID-19 (OR = 1.7; PARP = 18.8%). Up to 74.1% of STB is potentially attributable to the joint effects of mental disorders and adverse events-experiences related to the pandemic. Conclusions: STB at the end of the first wave of the Spain COVID-19 pandemic was high, and large proportions of STB are potentially attributable to mental disorders and adverse events-experiences related to the pandemic, including health-related stress, lack of social support and interpersonal stress. There is an urgent need to allocate resources to increase access to adequate mental healthcare, even in times of healthcare system overload.This study was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/FEDER (grant number COV20/00711), (PM, grant number ISCIII, CD18/00049), (grant number ISCIII, FI18/00012), (VPS, grant number PI19/00236); Ayudas para la Formación de Profesorado Universitario, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (grant number FPU15/05728); Generalitat de Catalunya (grant number 2017SGR452). The funding institutions had no role in the design, analysis, interpretation or submission of publication of the data. No payment was made for writing this article by a pharmaceutical company or other agency. Corresponding authors had full access to all the data in the study and the final responsibility for the decision of submitting for publication.S

Thirty-day suicidal thoughts and behaviours in the Spanish adult general population during the first wave of the Spain COVID-19 pandemic

To investigate the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviours (STB; i.e. suicidal ideation, plans or attempts) in the Spanish adult general population during the first wave of the Spain coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (March−July, 2020), and to investigate the individual- and population-level impact of relevant distal and proximal STB risk factor domains. Cross-sectional study design using data from the baseline assessment of an observational cohort study (MIND/COVID project). A nationally representative sample of 3500 non-institutionalised Spanish adults (51.5% female; mean age = 49.6 [ = 17.0]) was taken using dual-frame random digit dialing, stratified for age, sex and geographical area. Professional interviewers carried out computer-assisted telephone interviews (1-30 June 2020). Thirty-day STB was assessed using modified items from the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale. Distal (i.e. pre-pandemic) risk factors included sociodemographic variables, number of physical health conditions and pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorders; proximal (i.e. pandemic) risk factors included current mental disorders and a range of adverse events-experiences related to the pandemic. Logistic regression was used to investigate individual-level associations (odds ratios [OR]) and population-level associations (population attributable risk proportions [PARP]) between risk factors and 30-day STB. All data were weighted using post-stratification survey weights. Estimated prevalence of 30-day STB was 4.5% (1.8% active suicidal ideation; n = 5 [0.1%] suicide attempts). STB was 9.7% among the 34.3% of respondents with pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorders, and 1.8% among the 65.7% without any pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorder. Factors significantly associated with STB were pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorders (total PARP = 49.1%) and current mental disorders (total PARP = 58.4%), i.e. major depressive disorder (OR = 6.0; PARP = 39.2%), generalised anxiety disorder (OR = 5.6; PARP = 36.3%), post-traumatic stress disorder (OR = 4.6; PARP = 26.6%), panic attacks (OR = 6.7; PARP = 36.6%) and alcohol/substance use disorder (OR = 3.3; PARP = 5.9%). Pandemic-related adverse events-experiences associated with STB were lack of social support, interpersonal stress, stress about personal health and about the health of loved ones (PARPs 32.7-42.6%%), and having loved ones infected with COVID-19 (OR = 1.7; PARP = 18.8%). Up to 74.1% of STB is potentially attributable to the joint effects of mental disorders and adverse events−experiences related to the pandemic. STB at the end of the first wave of the Spain COVID-19 pandemic was high, and large proportions of STB are potentially attributable to mental disorders and adverse events−experiences related to the pandemic, including health-related stress, lack of social support and interpersonal stress. There is an urgent need to allocate resources to increase access to adequate mental healthcare, even in times of healthcare system overload. NCT0455656