A bit of madness is good for leadership potential

Successful leaders possess a personality disorder, and a modicum of psychopathology is a prerequisite for exceptional performance. Influenced by recent advances in neuroscience and genetics, I argue in a book that leadership and followership are evolutionary adaptations that developed in order to enhance group cohesion, to maximise chances for survival and reproduction, two basic functions of living organisms. A prodigious leader should enhance, or appear to enhance, these two imperatives. Therefore, leader emergence must be biologically determined and, consequently, heritable, as we observe in the animal kingdom, where pecking orders and hierarchies are genetically determined

Statistics and society: a study on the burden experienced by caregivers of patients with Alzheimer

The cost of caring for people with Alzheimer-type diseases is enormous. Caregivers experience emotional, physical and financial stress, and their demands are central to decisions on patient institutionalization. We hereby investigate the burden experienced by caregivers of Alzheimer patients in Cyprus. We explore whether burden is related to variables such as patient psychopathology, caregiver gender, income and level of education. Moreover, we examine if there is a significant difference in the level of burden, depression, or reaction to memory and behavior problems when patients live in the community or in institutions and if the level of burden is associated with the use of different coping strategies by caregivers. Various statistical techniques are implemented for the analysis and all the conclusions are discussed. This work was partially funded by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation

In Search for Novel and More Effective Psychological Treatments for Chronic Pain: The “Algea” Research Project

The aim of this paper isto present the objectivesand current state of anongoing multilevelcollaborative researchproject for the study ofpain. “Algea”, the painand suffering deity inancient Greek mythology,was the name given tothis project, which aimsto investigate criticalfactors involved in theexperience of pain, andsuffering. Moreover, theproject will examine theeffects of a novelapproach to treatmentbased on Acceptance andCommitment Therapy.This is a collaborativeproject between theUniversity of Cyprus, theUniversity of Crete, andthe Cyprus Institute ofNeurology and Genetics.Algea is the first systematic effort to examine painrelated parameters and evaluate a noveltherapeutic approach aimed at alleviating thesuffering and interference in living experienced byindividuals with one or more chronic painconditions (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis). The specificobjectives of the “Algea” project include:a) understanding the contributing factors involvedin the experience of pain in individuals withchronic pain (CP) conditions, their dyadicinteractions with their partners, and differenceswith individuals suffering from other chronicillnesses not involving pain; b) designing aculturally sensitive intervention based on newempirical findings stemming from third-wave CBTsfor use in clinical settings (i.e., CP organizations,CP rehabilitation and outpatients units, etc.); c)evaluating via randomized clinical trials theacceptability and effectiveness of this interventionespecially in reducing suffering, interference ofpain and medical utilization in various chronic painconditions; d) training interested healthprofessionals in this new approach and widelydisseminating it into clinical settings; and e)translating the intervention into a digitally-basedintervention so as to be more accessible and reacha wider audience of CP sufferers

Graph Theoretical Characteristics of EEG-Based Functional Brain Networks in Patients With Epilepsy: The Effect of Reference Choice and Volume Conduction

It is well-established that both volume conduction and the choice of recording reference (montage) affect the correlation measures obtained from scalp EEG, both in the time and frequency domains. As a result, a number of correlation measures have been proposed aiming to reduce these effects. In our previous work, we have showed that scalp-EEG based functional brain networks in patients with epilepsy exhibit clear periodic patterns at different time scales and that these patterns are strongly correlated to seizure onset, particularly at shorter time scales (around 3 and 5 h), which has important clinical implications. In the present work, we use the same long-duration clinical scalp EEG data (multiple days) to investigate the extent to which the aforementioned results are affected by the choice of reference choice and correlation measure, by considering several widely used montages as well as correlation metrics that are differentially sensitive to the effects of volume conduction. Specifically, we compare two standard and commonly used linear correlation measures, cross-correlation in the time domain, and coherence in the frequency domain, with measures that account for zero-lag correlations: corrected cross-correlation, imaginary coherence, phase lag index, and weighted phase lag index. We show that the graphs constructed with corrected cross-correlation and WPLI are more stable across different choices of reference. Also, we demonstrate that all the examined correlation measures revealed similar periodic patterns in the obtained graph measures when the bipolar and common reference (Cz) montage were used. This includes circadian-related periodicities (e.g., a clear increase in connectivity during sleep periods as compared to awake periods), as well as periodicities at shorter time scales (around 3 and 5 h). On the other hand, these results were affected to a large degree when the average reference montage was used in combination with standard cross-correlation, coherence, imaginary coherence, and PLI, which is likely due to the low number of electrodes and inadequate electrode coverage of the scalp. Finally, we demonstrate that the correlation between seizure onset and the brain network periodicities is preserved when corrected cross-correlation and WPLI were used for all the examined montages. This suggests that, even in the standard clinical setting of EEG recording in epilepsy where only a limited number of scalp EEG measurements are available, graph-theoretic quantification of periodic patterns using appropriate montage, and correlation measures corrected for volume conduction provides useful insights into seizure onset

Illness Perceptions of COVID-19 in Europe: Predictors, Impacts and Temporal Evolution

Objective: Illness perceptions (IP) are important predictors of emotional and behavioral responses in many diseases. The current study aims to investigate the COVID-19-related IP throughout Europe. The specific goals are to understand the temporal development, identify predictors (within demographics and contact with COVID-19) and examine the impacts of IP on perceived stress and preventive behaviors. Methods: This was a time-series-cross-section study of 7,032 participants from 16 European countries using multilevel modeling from April to June 2020. IP were measured with the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Temporal patterns were observed considering the date of participation and the date recoded to account the epidemiological evolution of each country. The outcomes considered were perceived stress and COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Results: There were significant trends, over time, for several IP, suggesting a small decrease in negativity in the perception of COVID-19 in the community. Age, gender, and education level related to some, but not all, IP. Considering the self-regulation model, perceptions consistently predicted general stress and were less consistently related to preventive behaviors. Country showed no effect in the predictive model, suggesting that national differences may have little relevance for IP, in this context. Conclusion: The present study provides a comprehensive picture of COVID-19 IP in Europe in an early stage of the pandemic. The results shed light on the process of IP formation with implications for health-related outcomes and their evolution

Pathogenic and low-frequency variants in children with central precocious puberty

Background: Central precocious puberty (CPP) due to premature activation of GnRH secretion results in early epiphyseal fusion and to a significant compromise in the achieved final adult height. Currently, few genetic determinants of children with CPP have been described. In this translational study, rare sequence variants in MKRN3, DLK1, KISS1, and KISS1R genes were investigated in patients with CPP. Methods: Fifty-four index girls and two index boys with CPP were first tested by Sanger sequencing for the MKRN3 gene. All children found negative (n = 44) for the MKRN3 gene were further investigated by whole exome sequencing (WES). In the latter analysis, the status of variants in genes known to be related with pubertal timing was compared with an in-house Cypriot control cohort (n = 43). The identified rare variants were initially examined by in silico computational algorithms and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Additionally, a genetic network for the MKRN3 gene, mimicking a holistic regulatory depiction of the crosstalk between MKRN3 and other genes was designed. Results: Three previously described pathogenic MKRN3 variants located in the coding region of the gene were identified in 12 index girls with CPP. The most prevalent pathogenic MKRN3 variant p.Gly312Asp was exclusively found among the Cypriot CPP cohort, indicating a founder effect phenomenon. Seven other CPP girls harbored rare likely pathogenic upstream variants in the MKRN3. Among the 44 CPP patients submitted to WES, nine rare DLK1 variants were identified in 11 girls, two rare KISS1 variants in six girls, and two rare MAGEL2 variants in five girls. Interestingly, the frequent variant rs10407968 (p.Gly8Ter) of the KISS1R gene appeared to be less frequent in the cohort of patients with CPP. Conclusion: The results of the present study confirm the importance of the MKRN3-imprinted gene in genetics of CPP and its key role in pubertal timing. Overall, the results of the present study have emphasized the importance of an approach that aligns genetics and clinical aspects, which is necessary for the management and treatment of CPP

To Help or Not to Help? Prosocial Behavior, Its Association With Well-Being, and Predictors of Prosocial Behavior During the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic

Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation awarded to ATG (PP00P1_ 163716/1 and PP00P1_190082). The funder provided support in the form of salaries for authors (EH and ATG) but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Haller, Lubenko, Presti, Squatrito, Constantinou, Nicolaou, Papacostas, Aydın, Chong, Chien, Cheng, Ruiz, García-Martín, Obando-Posada, Segura-Vargas, Vasiliou, McHugh, Höfer, Baban, Dias Neto, da Silva, Monestès, Alvarez-Galvez, Paez-Blarrina, Montesinos, Valdivia-Salas, Ori, Kleszcz, Lappalainen, Ivanović, Gosar, Dionne, Merwin, Karekla, Kassianos and Gloster.The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally disrupted humans’ social life and behavior. Public health measures may have inadvertently impacted how people care for each other. This study investigated prosocial behavior, its association well-being, and predictors of prosocial behavior during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and sought to understand whether region-specific differences exist. Participants (N = 9,496) from eight regions clustering multiple countries around the world responded to a cross-sectional online-survey investigating the psychological consequences of the first upsurge of lockdowns in spring 2020. Prosocial behavior was reported to occur frequently. Multiple regression analyses showed that prosocial behavior was associated with better well-being consistently across regions. With regard to predictors of prosocial behavior, high levels of perceived social support were most strongly associated with prosocial behavior, followed by high levels of perceived stress, positive affect and psychological flexibility. Sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors of prosocial behavior were similar across regions.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health: An international study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic triggered vast governmental lockdowns. The impact of these lockdowns on mental health is inadequately understood. On the one hand such drastic changes in daily routines could be detrimental to mental health. On the other hand, it might not be experienced negatively, especially because the entire population was affected. Methods The aim of this study was to determine mental health outcomes during pandemic induced lockdowns and to examine known predictors of mental health outcomes. We therefore surveyed n = 9,565 people from 78 countries and 18 languages. Outcomes assessed were stress, depression, affect, and wellbeing. Predictors included country, sociodemographic factors, lockdown characteristics, social factors, and psychological factors. Results Results indicated that on average about 10% of the sample was languishing from low levels of mental health and about 50% had only moderate mental health. Importantly, three consistent predictors of mental health emerged: social support, education level, and psychologically flexible (vs. rigid) responding. Poorer outcomes were most strongly predicted by a worsening of finances and not having access to basic supplies. Conclusions These results suggest that on whole, respondents were moderately mentally healthy at the time of a population-wide lockdown. The highest level of mental health difficulties were found in approximately 10% of the population. Findings suggest that public health initiatives should target people without social support and those whose finances worsen as a result of the lockdown. Interventions that promote psychological flexibility may mitigate the impact of the pandemic