Depression Research

The fNIRS evaluation of frontal and temporal lobe cortical activation in Chinese first-episode medication-naïve and recurrent depression during a verbal fluency task

… Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) identifies neurophysiological differences between psychiatric disorders by assessing cortical hemodynamic function. Few trials have studied differences in brain functional activity between first-episode medication-naïve depression patients (FMD) and recurrent major depression (RMD). We aimed to determine the differences between FMD and RMD in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration ([oxy-Hb]), and to investigate the […]

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Rick Hanson: Compassion is a kind of superpower. Here’s what research says it can do.

Compassion makes us more resilient and less anxious or depressed, and it increases self-worth and happiness, research tells us.

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Classic Psychedelic Use and Mechanisms of Mental Health: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Spirituality and Emotion Processing on Symptoms of Anxiety, Depressed Mood, and Disordered Eating in a Community Sample

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Ahead of Print. A resurgence of research has begun to systematically examine the relationship between psychedelic use and mental health and well-being. Although preliminary findings examining the therapeutic value of these substances show promise, the mechanisms through which psychedelic use may predict reduced mental distress remain poorly understood. To this end, we surveyed a community sample of individuals (n = 159) who endorsed lifetime psychedelic use to examine relationships among psychedelic use and self-reported spirituality, difficulties in emotion regulation, and symptoms of mental health issues. Results revealed a pathway through which classic psychedelic use predicted greater spirituality, which in turn predicted better emotion regulation, ultimately predicting lower levels of anxiety, depressed mood, and disordered eating. These results contribute to our understanding of potential mechanisms of change with respect to psychedelics and mental health. They also add to the growing body of literature pointing to the healing effects of the cultivation of spirituality and emotion regulation as separate and related constructs.

Classic Psychedelic Use and Mechanisms of Mental Health: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Spirituality and Emotion Processing on Symptoms of Anxiety, Depressed Mood, and Disordered Eating in a Community Sample Read More »

Social media use and adolescents’ well-being: A note on flourishing

BackgroundSeveral large-scale studies and reviews have reported both negative and positive associations of social media use with well-being, suggesting that the findings are more complex and need more nuanced study. Moreover, there is little or no exploration of how social media use in adolescence influences flourishing, a more all-encompassing construct beyond well-being, including six sub-domains (i.e., happiness, meaning and purpose, physical and mental health, character, close social relationships, and financial stability). This paper aims to fill this gap by understanding how adolescents might flourish through social media activities by fulfilling the basic needs pointed out by the Self-Determination Theory, i.e., relatedness, autonomy, and competence.MethodsThe study is drawn on cross-sectional data collected from 1,429 Swiss adolescents (58.8% females, Mage = 15.84, SDage = 0.83) as part of the HappyB project in Spring 2022. Self-reported measures included the Harvard Adolescent Flourishing scale, positive and negative online social experiences, self-disclosure on social media, and social media inspiration. Control variables included, among others, self-esteem, ill-being, and personality.ResultsAfter applying Bonferroni’s correction, results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that positive social media experiences (β = 0.112, p 

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The contribution of transdiagnostic vulnerability factors in patients with chronic insomnia

Two hundred patients with chronic insomnia disorder were recruited from a sleep disorder clinic. … After controlling for the confounding variables (depression/anxiety symptoms and demographic characteristics), hierarchical multiple linear regression suggested the significant association of neuroticism (BFI), cognitive reappraisal (ERQ), personal standards (CPQ), evaluative concerns (CPQ), physical concerns (ASI), cognitive concerns (ASI), and repetitive negative

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Differential relationship of observer-rated and self-rated depression and anxiety scales with heart rate variability features

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a known psychophysiological marker for diverse psychiatric symptoms. In this study, we aimed to explore the potential for clinical use of HRV by investigating the interrelationship between HRV indices and clinical measures mainly used to assess depressive and anxious symptoms. … … Our study showed that HRV is an objective

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Late-Life Depression (CBTlate): Results of a Multicenter, Randomized, Observer-Blinded, Controlled Trial

Introduction: Different psychotherapeutic interventions for late-life depression (LLD) have been proposed, but their evaluation in large, multicenter trials is rare. Objective: The present study evaluated the efficacy of a specific cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for LLD (LLD-CBT) in comparison with a supportive unspecific intervention (SUI), both administered in a specialist psychiatric outpatient setting. … Conclusions:

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The risk factors of progestational anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance in women with recurrent pregnancy loss: A cross-sectional study in China

BackgroundThe risk factors of progestational anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance in women with a history of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) remain controversial, additional study is needed to investigate the incidence and risk factors of progestational anxiety, depression, and sleep quality in RPL women.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 663 non-pregnant RPL women in Northeast China from October 2019 to July 2022. We assessed the state of anxiety, depression, and sleep quality before pregnancy using structured questionnaires, including sociodemographic characteristics, state-trait anxiety scale (STAI), center for epidemiological survey, depression scale (CES-D), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), and symptom self-rating scale (SCL-90). Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between sleep quality and anxiety, depression. Pearson’s correlation was used to evaluate the correlation between anxiety and depression. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to find the risk factors of depression symptoms. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the predictive value of the model.ResultsThe incidence of state anxiety, trait anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance in RPL women were 60.3, 51.7, 33.9, and 31.2%, respectively. The level of anxiety and depression in RPL women varied at different stages of treatment. In a longitudinal study (25 pairs), we found the level of state anxiety and trait anxiety were significantly lower after the cause was identified. Sleep disturbance is positively correlated with anxiety and depression. Logistic regression showed that the number of miscarriages ≥4 (Odds ratio (OR) = 2.268, 95%CI 1.300–3.956), Low household family income (OR = 1.613, 95%CI 1.036–2.513/OR = 2.361, 95%CI 1.095–5.092), interval since last miscarriage

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Self perceived health and stress in the pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had numerous maternal and neonatal consequences, especially at the mental level. Pregnant women experience a rise in anxiety symptoms and prenatal stress. The aim was to describe self-perceived health status, general stress and prenatal stress and to analyze relations and associations with sociodemographic factors. … During the first trimester of gestation,

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