The gray matter volume of the amygdala is correlated with the perception of melodic intervals: a voxel-based morphometry study

Music is not simply a series of organized pitches, rhythms, and timbres, it is capable of evoking emotions. In the present study, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was employed to explore the neural basis that may link music to emotion. To do this, we identified the neuroanatomical correlates of the ability to extract pitch interval size in a music segment (i.e., interval perception) in a large population of healthy young adults (N = 264). Behaviorally, we found that interval perception was correlated with daily emotional experiences, indicating the intrinsic link between music and emotion. Neurally, and as expected, we found that interval perception was positively correlated with the gray matter volume (GMV) of the bilateral temporal cortex. More important, a larger GMV of the bilateral amygdala was associated with better interval perception, suggesting that the amygdala, which is the neural substrate of emotional processing, is also involved in music processing. In sum, our study provides one of first neuroanatomical evidence on the association between the amygdala and music, which contributes to our understanding of exactly how music evokes emotional responses

Mindfulness based cognitive therapy improves frontal control in bipolar disorder: a pilot EEG study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cognitive processing in Bipolar Disorder is characterized by a number of attentional abnormalities. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy combines mindfulness meditation, a form of attentional training, along with aspects of cognitive therapy, and may improve attentional dysfunction in bipolar disorder patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>12 euthymic BD patients and 9 control participants underwent record of electroencephalography (EEG, band frequency analysis) during resting states (eyes open, eyes closed) and during the completion of a continuous performance task (A-X version, EEG event-related potential (ERP) wave component analysis). The individuals with BD completed an 8-week MBCT intervention and record of EEG was repeated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>(1) Brain activity, individuals with BD showed significantly decreased theta band power, increased beta band power, and decreased theta/beta ratios during the resting state, eyes closed, for frontal and cingulate cortices. Post MBCT intervention improvement over the right frontal cortex was seen in the individuals with BD, as beta band power decreased. (2) Brain activation, individuals with BD showed a significant P300-like wave form over the frontal cortex during the cue. Post MBCT intervention the P300-like waveform was significantly attenuated over the frontal cortex.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Individuals with BD show decreased attentional readiness and activation of non-relevant information processing during attentional processes. These data are the first that show, MBCT in BD improved attentional readiness, and attenuated activation of non-relevant information processing during attentional processes.</p

Using internet enabled mobile devices and social networking technologies to promote exercise as an intervention for young first episode psychosis patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Young people with first episode psychosis are at an increased risk for a range of poor health outcomes. In contrast to the growing body of evidence that suggests that exercise therapy may benefit the physical and mental health of people diagnosed with schizophrenia, there are no studies to date that have sought to extend the use of exercise therapy among patients with first episode psychosis. The aim of the study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of an exercise program that will be delivered via internet enabled mobile devices and social networking technologies among young people with first episode psychosis.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This study is a qualitative pilot study being conducted at Orygen Youth Health Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Participants are young people aged 15-24 who are receiving clinical care at a specialist first episode psychosis treatment centre. Participants will also comprise young people from the general population. The exercise intervention is a 9-week running program, designed to gradually build a person's level of fitness to be able to run 5 kilometres (3 miles) towards the end of the program. The program will be delivered via an internet enabled mobile device. Participants will be asked to post messages about their running experiences on the social networking website, and will also be asked to attend three face-to-face interviews.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This paper describes the development of a qualitative study to pilot a running program coupled with the use of internet enabled mobile devices among young people with first episode psychosis. If the program is found to be feasible and acceptable to patients, it is hoped that further rigorous evaluations will ultimately lead to the introduction of exercise therapy as part of an evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach in routine clinical care.</p

Rumination in bipolar disorder: evidence for an unquiet mind

Depression in bipolar disorder has long been thought to be a state characterized by mental inactivity. However, recent research demonstrates that patients with bipolar disorder engage in rumination, a form of self-focused repetitive cognitive activity, in depressed as well as in manic states. While rumination has long been associated with depressed states in major depressive disorder, the finding that patients with bipolar disorder ruminate in manic states is unique to bipolar disorder and challenges explanations put forward for why people ruminate. We review the research on rumination in bipolar disorder and propose that rumination in bipolar disorder, in both manic and depressed states, reflects executive dysfunction. We also review the neurobiology of bipolar disorder and recent neuroimaging studies of rumination, which is consistent with our hypothesis that the tendency to ruminate reflects executive dysfunction in bipolar disorder. Finally, we relate the neurobiology of rumination to the neurobiology of emotion regulation, which is disrupted in bipolar disorder

Evaluating a Measure of Social Health Derived from Two Mental Health Recovery Measures: The California Quality of Life (CA-QOL) and Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program Consumer Survey (MHSIP)

Social health is important to measure when assessing outcomes in community mental health. Our objective was to validate social health scales using items from two broader commonly used measures that assess mental health outcomes. Participants were 609 adults receiving psychological treatment services. Items were identified from the California Quality of Life (CA-QOL) and Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program (MHSIP) outcome measures by their conceptual correspondence with social health and compared to the Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ) using correlational analyses. Pearson correlations for the identified CA-QOL and MSHIP items with the SFQ ranged from .42 to .62, and the identified scale scores produced Pearson correlation coefficients of .56, .70, and, .70 with the SFQ. Concurrent validity with social health was supported for the identified scales. The current inclusion of these assessment tools allows community mental health programs to include social health in their assessments

Neurocognitive and Neuroimaging Predictors of Clinical Outcome in Bipolar Disorder

Historically, bipolar disorder has been conceptualized as a disease involving episodic rather than chronic dysfunction. However, increasing evidence indicates that bipolar disorder is associated with substantial inter-episode psychosocial and vocational impairment. Here we review the contributions of neurocognitive deficits and structural and functional neuroanatomic alterations to the observed functional impairments. In particular, compelling evidence now suggests that neurocognitive impairments, particularly in the areas of attention, processing speed, and memory, are associated with functional outcome. Although investigation of the neural correlates of functional disability in bipolar disorder is only in its nascent stages, preliminary evidence suggests that white matter abnormalities may be predictive of poor outcome. A better understanding of the relationship between neurocognitive and neuroimaging assays and functional outcome has the potential to improve current treatment options and provide targets for new treatment strategies in bipolar disorder

Perceived discrimination is associated with severity of positive and depression/anxiety symptoms in immigrants with psychosis: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Immigration status is a significant risk factor for psychotic disorders, and a number of studies have reported more severe positive and affective symptoms among immigrant and ethnic minority groups. We investigated if perceived discrimination was associated with the severity of these symptoms among immigrants in Norway with psychotic disorders.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional analyses of 90 immigrant patients (66% first-generation, 68% from Asia/Africa) in treatment for psychotic disorders were assessed for DSM-IV diagnoses with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID-I, sections A-E) and for present symptom severity by The Structured Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (SCI-PANSS). Perceived discrimination was assessed by a self-report questionnaire developed for the Immigrant Youth in Cultural Transition Study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Perceived discrimination correlated with positive psychotic (r = 0.264, p < 0.05) and depression/anxiety symptoms (r = 0.282, p < 0.01), but not negative, cognitive, or excitement symptoms. Perceived discrimination also functioned as a partial mediator for symptom severity in African immigrants. Multiple linear regression analyses controlling for possible confounders revealed that perceived discrimination explained approximately 10% of the variance in positive and depression/anxiety symptoms in the statistical model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Among immigrants with psychotic disorders, visible minority status was associated with perceived discrimination and with more severe positive and depression/anxiety symptoms. These results suggest that context-specific stressful environmental factors influence specific symptom patterns and severity. This has important implications for preventive strategies and treatment of this vulnerable patient group.</p

Lack of cortico-limbic coupling in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia during emotion regulation

Bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (Sz) share dysfunction in prefrontal inhibitory brain systems, yet exhibit distinct forms of affective disturbance. We aimed to distinguish these disorders on the basis of differential activation in cortico-limbic pathways during voluntary emotion regulation. Patients with DSM-IV diagnosed Sz (12) or BD-I (13) and 15 healthy control (HC) participants performed a well-established emotion regulation task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. The task required participants to voluntarily upregulate or downregulate their subjective affect while viewing emotionally negative images or maintain their affective response as a comparison condition. In BD, abnormal overactivity (hyperactivation) occurred in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) during up- and downregulation of negative affect, relative to HC. Among Sz, prefrontal hypoactivation of the right VLPFC occurred during downregulation (opposite to BD), whereas upregulation elicited hyperactivity in the right VLPFC similar to BD. Amygdala activity was significantly related to subjective negative affect in HC and BD, but not Sz. Furthermore, amygdala activity was inversely coupled with the activity in the left PFC during downregulation in HC (r=−0.76), while such coupling did not occur in BD or Sz. These preliminary results indicate that differential cortico-limbic activation can distinguish the clinical groups in line with affective disturbance: BD is characterized by ineffective cortical control over limbic regions during emotion regulation, while Sz is characterized by an apparent failure to engage cortical (hypofrontality) and limbic regions during downregulation