Working memory moderates the relation between the brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and psychotherapy outcome for depression

Background: Insight into patient characteristics that predict response to treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) may help to personalize treatment and improve outcomes. One mechanism that has been linked to the success of treatment for MDD is brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF). BDNF is implicated in learning and memory and may play a role in the effects of psychotherapy that involves changing cognitions and behaviors. In addition, only in individuals with low BDNF, low working memory capacity has been associated with increased symptoms of depression. However, the role of BDNF and working memory capacity in psychotherapy outcome is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of BDNF and its interaction with working memory capacity in psychotherapy outcomes for MDD. Method: Adult patients with MDD were randomized to weekly or twice weekly sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy or interpersonal psychotherapy. BDNF Val66Met polymorphism (rs6265) (n = 138) was defined and serum BDNF was quantified before (n = 138) and after psychotherapy (n = 82). Results: Baseline serum BDNF and the Val66Met polymorphism were not associated with outcome and associations did not differ between treatment conditions. Working memory capacity significantly moderated the relation between baseline serum BDNF and outcome: high serum BDNF at baseline was related to less depressive symptoms following psychotherapy in the presence of high working memory capacity, but not low working memory capacity. Discussion: These findings, if replicated, might indicate that while BDNF may not be related to psychotherapy outcomes in general, they may play a role in the presence of specific learning processes such as working memory capacity

Childhood abuse v. neglect and risk for major psychiatric disorders

Background Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a strong risk factor for psychiatric disorders but serves in its current definitions as an umbrella for various fundamentally different childhood experiences. As first step toward a more refined analysis of the impact of CM, our objective is to revisit the relation of abuse and neglect, major subtypes of CM, with symptoms across disorders. Methods Three longitudinal studies of major depressive disorder (MDD, N = 1240), bipolar disorder (BD, N = 1339), and schizophrenia (SCZ, N = 577), each including controls (N = 881), were analyzed. Multivariate regression models were used to examine the relation between exposure to abuse, neglect, or their combination to the odds for MDD, BD, SCZ, and symptoms across disorders. Bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to probe causality, using genetic instruments of abuse and neglect derived from UK Biobank data (N = 143 473). Results Abuse was the stronger risk factor for SCZ (OR 3.51, 95% CI 2.17-5.67) and neglect for BD (OR 2.69, 95% CI 2.09-3.46). Combined CM was related to increased risk exceeding additive effects of abuse and neglect for MDD (RERI = 1.4) and BD (RERI = 1.1). Across disorders, abuse was associated with hallucinations (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.55-3.01) and suicide attempts (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.55-3.01) whereas neglect was associated with agitation (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.02-1.51) and reduced need for sleep (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.08-2.48). MR analyses were consistent with a bidirectional causal effect of abuse with SCZ (IVWforward = 0.13, 95% CI 0.01-0.24). Conclusions Childhood abuse and neglect are associated with different risks to psychiatric symptoms and disorders. Unraveling the origin of these differences may advance understanding of disease etiology and ultimately facilitate development of improved personalized treatment strategies

Developing a virtual coach for chronic patients: A user study on the impact of similarity, familiarity and realism

Healthcare costs are increasing dramatically due to disproportional consumption of healthcare resources by chronic patients. Automated forms of health coaching can contribute to improved patient self-management while reducing costs due to increased scalability and availability of the use of human health coaches. Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) seem to be good candidates to function as automated coaches, as they introduce a social component to human-computer interactions which makes them particularly suitable to influence a user’s attitude or behavior. To date, there is limited knowledge on the impact of appearance-related characteristics of an ECA as a virtual coach among a chronically ill elderly population. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the impact of three appearance cues on user acceptance: (i) similarity; (ii) familiarity; and (iii) realism. Findings demonstrate that patients (a) preferred the realistic-looking ECA over the more stylized one; (b) showed no preference for the familiar over the unfamiliar ECAs (but did evaluate the unfamiliar ECAs as more positive than the familiar one); and (c) evaluated an ECA as virtual coach for self-management support as useful

Архівна база дослідження розвитку шкільного краєзнавства у загальноосвітніх навчальних закладах України (20—30-ті роки XX століття)

У статті розкрито архівну базу дослідження розвитку шкільного краєзнавства у загальноосвітніх навчальних закладах України у 20–30-х роках ХХ століття, проаналізовано маловідомі та невідомі документи Центрального державного архіву вищих органів влади та управління України.В статье раскрыта архивная база исследования развития школьного краеведения в общеобразовательных учебных заведениях Украины в 20–30-е года ХХ столетия; проанализированы малоизвестные и неизвестны документы Центрального государственного архива высших органов власти и управления Украины.Archival base of the research of school regional studies development in Ukrainian comprehensive educational establishments in 20-30-s XX century was described; little known and unknown documents of Central state archive of supreme authorities and Ukraine management were analyzed

Efficacy of a self-management intervention for weight control in overweight and obese adults : a randomized controlled trial

Brief self-management interventions to engender successful weight maintenance are seldom tested in obese and overweight populations without diabetes. To test the efficacy of the intervention, aimed at improving proactive coping, in obese and overweight adults at risk for diabetes. Participants (N = 255) were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (N = 185) and a control group (N = 70). Experimental groups received the same intervention in week 1-8 (initial phase) and booster sessions with different content ("standard" vs. "relapse prevention") during week 9-24 (continuance phase). Primary outcomes were proactive coping, diet and Body Mass Index (BMI) at four time points (1 year between first and last measurement). Experimental groups improved in proactive coping during the initial phase and BMI during the continuance phase, whereas the control group did not. No differences emerged in diet. Brief self-management interventions can play a preventive role in chronic illnesses associated with obesity

Better sorry than safe : Making a Plan B reduces effectiveness of implementation intentions in healthy eating goals

Objective: Implementation intentions (if–then plans) are helpful to health behaviour change. As these plans specify only one goal-directed behaviour for one specific situation, however, their effectiveness may be limited when a planned behaviour is impossible to execute in situ. The present research examines whether and how planning more than one goal-directed response for the same situation (‘making a Plan B’) affects successful self-regulation of eating behaviour. Design and main outcome measures: In Study 1, participants formulated either one or two plans, after which a lexical decision task was administered to assess association strength between the if-part and the then-part(s). In Study 2, the effect of making one, two or no plan(s) was assessed on actual eating behaviour, after which a Stroop task measured cognitive load as an additional explanatory mechanism. Results: Study 1 revealed that making a Plan B disrupts the creation of strong if–then associations during plan formation. Study 2 showed that making a Plan B yields increased unhealthy food intake compared to making one or no plan, and induces greater cognitive load during plan enactment. Conclusion: Making a Plan B interferes with essential cognitive processes during different stages of planning, leading to an increased likelihood of self-regulatory failure

Do implementation intentions help to eat a healthy diet? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the empirical evidence

AbstractObjective: This systematic review and meta-analysis examined whether implementation intentions are an effective tool to help people put their intentions to eat a healthy diet into practice. Additionally, it was investigated whether the quality of the outcome measures and the quality of the control conditions that are used in these studies influence implementation intentions’ effectiveness. Methods: Twenty three empirical studies investigating the effect of implementation intentions on eating behavior were included. In assessing the empirical evidence, a distinction was made between studies that aim to increase healthy eating (i.e., eating more fruits) and studies that aim to diminish unhealthy eating (i.e., eating fewer unhealthy snacks). Results: Implementation intentions are an effective tool for promoting the inclusion of healthy food items in one's diet (Cohen's d=.51), but results for diminishing unhealthy eating patterns are less strong (Cohen's d=.29). For studies aiming to increase healthy eating, it was found that higher quality outcome measures and lower quality control conditions tended to yield stronger effects. Conclusion: Implementation intentions are somewhat more effective in promoting healthy eating than in diminishing unhealthy eating, although for some studies promoting healthy eating effect sizes may have been inflated due to less than optimal control conditions

The effectiveness of a proactive coping intervention targeting self-management in diabetes patients

Objective: The study's aim was to investigate psychological, behavioral and medical long-term outcomes of an existing self-management intervention targeting the development of proactive coping skills (e.g. goal setting and identifying barriers) in type 2 diabetes patients. The study aimed to replicate prior research showing the intervention's effectiveness, and to extend it by (a) adding booster sessions and (b) prolonging the period of follow-up measurement to capture long-term effects.Design/outcome measures: A total of 141 type 2 diabetes patients were included in the intervention. The intervention employed a 5-step approach to target proactive coping skills. Psychological (e.g. proactive coping and self-efficacy) and behavioural variables (e.g. self-care, diet and physical activity) were assessed at baseline (T1), after the initial phase of the intervention (T2), after the booster phase (T3) and at follow-up (T4), comprising a total period of 15 months. Medical variables were assessed at T1 and T4.Results: Employing piecewise Latent Growth Curve Modelling, results showed that participants improved on all psychological and behavioural variables during the initial phase and maintained these improvements over 12 months. The booster phase yielded no further improvements. Mixed findings were obtained on medical outcomes.Conclusion: The original intervention is effective, but the added value of the booster sessions is uncertain

The effectiveness of a proactive coping intervention targeting self-management in diabetes patients

Objective: The study's aim was to investigate psychological, behavioral and medical long-term outcomes of an existing self-management intervention targeting the development of proactive coping skills (e.g. goal setting and identifying barriers) in type 2 diabetes patients. The study aimed to replicate prior research showing the intervention's effectiveness, and to extend it by (a) adding booster sessions and (b) prolonging the period of follow-up measurement to capture long-term effects.Design/outcome measures: A total of 141 type 2 diabetes patients were included in the intervention. The intervention employed a 5-step approach to target proactive coping skills. Psychological (e.g. proactive coping and self-efficacy) and behavioural variables (e.g. self-care, diet and physical activity) were assessed at baseline (T1), after the initial phase of the intervention (T2), after the booster phase (T3) and at follow-up (T4), comprising a total period of 15 months. Medical variables were assessed at T1 and T4.Results: Employing piecewise Latent Growth Curve Modelling, results showed that participants improved on all psychological and behavioural variables during the initial phase and maintained these improvements over 12 months. The booster phase yielded no further improvements. Mixed findings were obtained on medical outcomes.Conclusion: The original intervention is effective, but the added value of the booster sessions is uncertain

The effectiveness of a proactive coping intervention targeting self-management in diabetes patients

Objective: The study's aim was to investigate psychological, behavioral and medical long-term outcomes of an existing self-management intervention targeting the development of proactive coping skills (e.g. goal setting and identifying barriers) in type 2 diabetes patients. The study aimed to replicate prior research showing the intervention's effectiveness, and to extend it by (a) adding booster sessions and (b) prolonging the period of follow-up measurement to capture long-term effects.Design/outcome measures: A total of 141 type 2 diabetes patients were included in the intervention. The intervention employed a 5-step approach to target proactive coping skills. Psychological (e.g. proactive coping and self-efficacy) and behavioural variables (e.g. self-care, diet and physical activity) were assessed at baseline (T1), after the initial phase of the intervention (T2), after the booster phase (T3) and at follow-up (T4), comprising a total period of 15 months. Medical variables were assessed at T1 and T4.Results: Employing piecewise Latent Growth Curve Modelling, results showed that participants improved on all psychological and behavioural variables during the initial phase and maintained these improvements over 12 months. The booster phase yielded no further improvements. Mixed findings were obtained on medical outcomes.Conclusion: The original intervention is effective, but the added value of the booster sessions is uncertain