Widespread white matter microstructural abnormalities in bipolar disorder: evidence from mega- and meta-analyses across 3033 individuals

Fronto-limbic white matter (WM) abnormalities are assumed to lie at the heart of the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD); however, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have reported heterogeneous results and it is not clear how the clinical heterogeneity is related to the observed differences. This study aimed to identify WM abnormalities that differentiate patients with BD from healthy controls (HC) in the largest DTI dataset of patients with BD to date, collected via the ENIGMA network. We gathered individual tensor-derived regional metrics from 26 cohorts leading to a sample size of N = 3033 (1482 BD and 1551 HC). Mean fractional anisotropy (FA) from 43 regions of interest (ROI) and average whole-brain FA were entered into univariate mega- and meta-analyses to differentiate patients with BD from HC. Mega-analysis revealed significantly lower FA in patients with BD compared with HC in 29 regions, with the highest effect sizes observed within the corpus callosum (R2 = 0.041, Pcorr < 0.001) and cingulum (right: R2 = 0.041, left: R2 = 0.040, Pcorr < 0.001). Lithium medication, later onset and short disease duration were related to higher FA along multiple ROIs. Results of the meta-analysis showed similar effects. We demonstrated widespread WM abnormalities in BD and highlighted that altered WM connectivity within the corpus callosum and the cingulum are strongly associated with BD. These brain abnormalities could represent a biomarker for use in the diagnosis of BD. Interactive three-dimensional visualization of the results is available at www.enigma-viewer.org

Scripts to Calculate Stress Resilience Scores as Regression Residuals

These scripts calculate stress resilience scores for cross-sectional data using a) SPSS Syntax OR b) an R function. Stress exposure and mental health data are required. The code is built upon the work of van Harmelen and her colleagues (2017, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000836). Please cite this OSF project and the paper when using the analysis code

Creating sanctioning norms in the lab: The influence of descriptive norms and the bad apple effect in third-party punishment

third-party punishment is a form of peer-to-peer sanctioning that is influenced by descriptive norms. The present study aims to investigate how aggregate peer punishment and the presence of a free rider who never punishes influences the formation of third-party punishment norms. Participants were exposed to social feedback indicating either low, high, or high & free rider peer punishment. Over time, participants conformed to average peer punishment leading to the emergence and persistence of different sanctioning norms in each group. The presence of one free rider significantly reduced the average punishment and increased the frequency of free riding behavior. These findings highlight the critical role of descriptive norms and suggest the presence of a ‘bad apple’ effect in third-party punishment

Look After Yourself: Students Consistently Showing High Resilience Engaged in More Self Care and Proved More Resilient During the COVID 19 Pandemic

Data and code for: Meine, L.E., Strömer, E., Schönfelder, S., Eckhardt, E.I., Bergmann, A.K., Wessa, M. (2021). Look After Yourself: Students Consistently Showing High Resilience Engaged in More Self Care and Proved More Resilient During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.784381 ABSTRACT: The COVID 19 pandemic has prompted severe restrictions on everyday life to curb the spread of infections. For example, teaching at universities has been switched to an online format, reducing students’ opportunities for exchange and social interaction. Consequently, their self reported mental health has significantly decreased and there is a pressing need to elucidate the underlying mechanisms – ideally considering not only data collected during the pandemic, but also before. 117 German university students aged 18 27 were assessed for known resilience factors (optimism, self care, social support, generalized self efficacy) and subsequently completed surveys on stress experiences and mental health every 3 months over a period of 9 months before the outbreak of the pandemic and once during the first lockdown in Germany. For each timepoint before the pandemic, we regressed participants’ mental health against the reported stressor load, such that the resulting residuals denote better or worse than expected outcomes, i.e., the degree of resilient functioning. We then tested whether different expressions in the resilience factors were predictive of distinct resilient functioning trajectories, which were identified through latent class growth analysis. Finally, we investigated whether trajectory class, resilience factors, and perceived stress predicted resilience during the pandemic. Results show rather stable resilient functioning trajectories, with classes differing mainly according to degree rather than change over time. More self care was associated with a higher resilient functioning trajectory, which in turn was linked with the most favorable pandemic response (i.e., lower perceived stress and more self care). Although findings should be interpreted with caution given the rather small sample size, they represent a rare examination of established resilience factors in relation to resilience over an extended period and highlight the relevance of self care in coping with real life stressors such as the pandemic

Honest mistake or perhaps not:The role of descriptive and injunctive norms on the magnitude of dishonesty

Trivial acts of dishonesty are very prevalent in everyday life and have severe economic and societal consequences. The present study aims to examine the role of descriptive and injunctive norms in minor and major dishonesty under ambiguity. We devised a novel experimental design in which rule violations can be the result of honest mistakes or various dishonest processes. In this ambiguous context, we observed a high prevalence of minor rule violations at baseline. In two experiments, exposure to increased peer cheating (i.e., negative descriptive norms) promoted major rule violations, whereas the presence of explicit or subtle rule reminders (i.e., injunctive norms) marginally reduced minor rule violations but had no impact on major rule violations. We interpret these findings within the framework of social norm theory, self‐maintenance theory, and bounded ethicality. Implications regarding policies that target ordinary unethical behavior are discussed

Regulating Emotions with Experience: The Effectiveness of Reappraisal Variability Depends on Situational Familiarity

Previous research identified cognitive reappraisal as an adaptive emotion regulation strategy. However, theories on emotion regulation flexibility suggest that effective cognitive reappraisal may depend on an individual’s experience with emotional situations. In this study, we expect individuals with low situational familiarity to profit from high reappraisal variability, i.e., the spontaneous generation of categorically different reappraisals. Individuals with high situational familiarity, however, would be more effective with low reappraisal variability. A total of 148 participants completed the Script-based Reappraisal Task (SRT), in which they were presented with situations in textual form eliciting anger and fear. Depending on trial type, participants were instructed to apply cognitive reappraisal (reappraisal-trial) or to react naturally to the situations (control-trial). After each trial, participants indicated their affective state and typed in their reappraisal and negative thoughts. We analyzed the variability of the reappraisal thoughts and assessed reappraisal effectiveness (RE) scores by calculating the difference between affective ratings in reappraisal- and control-trials for valence and arousal. Finally, participants rated the familiarity with each situation. Multiple regression analyses with reappraisal variability, situational familiarity, and the interaction term as predictors of RE scores revealed a significant model for RE-valence (not RE-arousal) with only the interaction term significantly explaining variance in RE-valence. The moderation was driven by a detrimental effect of reappraisal variability for individuals with high situational familiarity rather than an enhancing effect for individuals with low situational familiarity. Our results underline the importance of considering individual experience with emotional content in the research of cognitive reappraisal

Script-based Reappraisal Test - Introducing a new paradigm to investigate the effect of reappraisal inventiveness on reappraisal effectiveness

The ability to regulate emotions is essential for psychological well-being. Therefore, it is particularly important to investigate the specific dynamics of emotion regulation. In a new approach, we developed a novel paradigm – the Script-based Reappraisal Test (SRT) – to measure the processes involved in reappraisal, especially reappraisal inventiveness, i.e. the ability to create multiple and differing reappraisals. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) experimentally validate the SRT and (2) investigate whether reappraisal inventiveness increases reappraisal effectiveness. Healthy students (N = 143) completed the SRT. In this task, we presented everyday emotional situations in textual form and instructed participants to either decrease negative emotions by generating different reappraisals (reappraisal-trials) or react naturally (control-trials) to the situations. After each trial, participants indicated their affective state (SAM) and typed in their reappraisal thoughts. Within-subjects analyses showed significantly less negative affect and arousal in reappraisal-trials compared to control-trials, indicating a successful emotion regulation through reappraisal. Contrary to our hypothesis, reappraisal inventiveness and reappraisal effectiveness were not related. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed in the light of a person-by-situation approach

A Translational Paradigm to Study the Effects of Uncontrollable Stress in Humans

Data and analysis scripts for Meine, L.E., Schüler, K. , Richter-Levin, G., Scholz, V., Wessa, M. (2020). A translational paradigm to study the effects of uncontrollable stress in humans. Int. J. Mol. Sci, 21(17), 6010. ABSTRACT: Theories on the aetiology of depression in humans are intimately linked to animal research on stressor controllability effects. However, explicit translations of established animal designs are lacking. In two consecutive studies, we developed a translational paradigm to study stressor controllability effects in humans. In the first study, we compared three groups of participants, one exposed to escapable stress, one yoked inescapable stress group, and a control group not exposed to stress. Although group differences indicated successful stress induction, the manipulation failed to differentiate groups according to controllability. In the second study, we employed an improved paradigm and contrasted only an escapable stress group to a yoked inescapable stress group. The final design successfully induced differential effects on self-reported perceived control, exhaustion, helplessness, and behavioural indices of adaptation to stress. The latter were examined in a new escape behaviour test which was modelled after the classic shuttle box animal paradigm. Contrary to the learned helplessness literature, exposure to uncontrollable stress led to more activity and exploration; however, these behaviours were ultimately not adaptive. We discuss the results and possible applications in light of the findings on learning and agency beliefs, inter-individual differences, and interventions aimed at improving resilience to stress-induced mental dysfunction