Addicted individuals less responsive to reward-anticipation

Radboud: It may be difficult for addicted individuals to learn when they can expect a reward. This learning problem could perhaps explain why they are more prone to addiction and find it difficult to kick the habit. Researchers at Radboud university medical center and Radboud University reached this conclusion on the basis of an extensive meta-analysis of the brain imaging literature. Their findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry on 1 February. People with an addiction process rewards in their brain differently from people who are not addicted. However, whether this is associated with “too much” or “too little” brain activity is an open question. Indeed, past research has produced conflicting findings.

How do trauma symptoms combine to create chronic PTSD?

Scimex: Little is understood about how posttraumatic stress symptoms develop over time into the syndrome of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A new article published online by JAMA Psychiatry by Richard A. Bryant, Ph.D., of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and coauthors conducted a network analysis to examine how PTSD symptoms are associated in the immediate and chronic phases. For example, one symptom may contribute to another and lead to another, such as how nightmares can contribute to insomnia, which can contribute to fatigue and that can lead to a lack of concentration and irritability.

Smoking harms not just your physical health, but your mental health too

TheConversation: A middle-aged cigarette smoker who has smoked for decades is two to three times more likely to die early than someone similar who has never smoked. Tobacco smoking is well known to be a major risk factor for various cancers, lung and cardiovascular problems, and is also linked to other health problems, such as complications in pregnancy, low sperm count in men, oral problems, and increased likelihood of cataracts.

'Personalized medicine' as ideal in treatment of psychiatric disorders

Leiden: An ever widening gap is appearing between clinical practice and the treatment prescribed in DSM-5, the standard work on schizophrenia, psychiatrist Jan Dirk Blom will assert in his inaugural lecture on 11 November. Psychiatric disorders are all too often diagnosed as schizophrenia. ‘Personalized medicine’ may offer the solution.
Since 1 January Blom had occupied the chair in Clinical Psychopathology at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, instituted by the Parnassia Group. Clinical psychopathology is the science that describes and classifies psychiatric syndromes that are the foundation for treatment.

Psychedelic Drugs Trigger More Intense Mystical Experiences than Meditation or Prayer

Philadelphia: For millennia, human kind has sought transformative spiritual experiences through prayer, meditation, ritual or by taking psychedelic substances considered sacred. But for many, the use of psychedelic substances is viewed as a shortcut, lacking intensity and integrity. Using a first-of-its-kind, online database of self-reported spiritual experiences, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and University of Pennsylvania sought to find out what, if anything, makes psychedelic-induced experiences different. The findings published online in the American Psychology Association’s Journal of Humanistic Psychology.

Deadly combination: the psychiatric disorders that might have made Anders Breivik into a mass shooter

TheConversation: Anders Behring Breivik is serving a long sentence for a terrible crime. On 22 July 2011, the 32-year-old Norwegian bombed government buildings in Oslo and then went on a shooting spree on the island of Utøya, killing 77 people. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison the following year. Why did Breivik kill? It is not as simple as saying that he was a terrorist supporting an idealised religion, or dismissing him as insane. He himself has claimed that his actions were to save Europe from radical Islam – and that he was motivated by “goodness not evil”. But after studying detailed assessments of the far-right terrorist, as well as Breivik’s own self-published manifesto, we have found that a condition known as “narcissistic decompensation” may have been behind his belief that he was waging a personal and political war.

What is a psychopath?

Massachusets: “Society’s response to psychopaths is equal parts fascination and horror.” The reality of psychopathy is less B-horror movie and more about someone who meets very specific clinical diagnostic criteria, says Ron Schouten, JD, MD, director of the MGH Law & Psychiatry Service and co-author of Almost a Psychopath. So what exactly is a psychopath? “Psychopathy is a psychological condition that is essentially an extreme form of antisocial personality disorder, marked by characteristic behaviors and internal emotional experiences,” he says. “Some of the most common symptoms include a lack of empathy for others, manipulative behavior and disregard for the difference between right and wrong.”

New Biomarker Identified in Women with Mental Illness

UCSD: Psychiatric disorders can be difficult to diagnose because clinicians must rely upon interpreted clues, such as a patient’s behaviors and feelings. For the first time, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report identifying a biological marker: the over-production of specific genes that could be a diagnostic indicator of mental illness in female psychiatric patients.

Can nutrients treat mental illness?

Canterbury: Nutrients may be able to treat ADHD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, stress and PTSD according to University of Canterbury (UC) Professor Julia Rucklidge, who will speak at a public lecture in Christchurch this Wednesday. Professor Rucklidge will discuss data that shows an alarming picture of food choices serving as risk factors for all kinds of psychiatric problems. Her talk entitled ‘What if…..nutrients could treat mental illness?’ will challenge current treatment regimes for mental disorders and suggest an alternative course of action.

Neurobiology of Child Neglect/Abuse

Dr Yates. BrainPosts: I had the opportunity to attend the Warren Neuroscience Lecture presented by Dr. Charles Nemeroff in Tulsa, OK on June 2, 2015. Dr. Nemeroff has been an international leader in research in mood and anxiety disorders. His recent focus has been on the effects of adverse childhood environments on risk for adult mood and anxiety disorders. Here are my notes that summarize some of the key points from his lecture.

Alcohol Use Disorder is Widespread, Often Untreated in the United States

JAMA: Alcohol use disorder as defined by a new diagnostic classification was widespread and often untreated in the United States, with a lifetime prevalence of 29.1 percent but only 19.8 percent of adults were ever treated, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry. Alcohol use disorders are among the most prevalent mental health disorders worldwide, resulting in disability and contributing to illness and death. Because of the seriousness of alcohol use disorders, updated epidemiologic data are needed given the changes to the alcohol use disorder diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5).

Tobacco-quitting drug doesn't mess with your mind

Scimex: The drug varenicline, marketed as the tobacco-quitting product Champix in Australia and New Zealand, has previously been thought to increase risks of suicidal behaviour, depression, psychoses and violence. Now, a large study by Swedish and UK scientists, which followed the health and livelihood of over 69,000 individuals in Sweden who were prescribed varenicline between 2006 and 2009, has found that the drug does not appear to cause increased risks in any of these behaviours.

Broadening the Reach of Mental Health Care Through Online Interventions

PsychologicalScience: Effective, evidence-based interventions have been developed to treat various mental disorders — but that doesn’t mean the treatments always reach the people who need them. Researcher Ricardo F. Muñoz of the University of California San Francisco and colleagues wanted to see if making treatments available online might be one way to bring mental health care to a much broader range of people. In a new study published in Clinical Psychological Science, Muñoz and colleagues present data from an online smoking cessation intervention that was offered in both English and Spanish. Participants were recruited through a Google campaign that targeted people looking for help quitting smoking.

Mobile mood-tracking website helps patients across Canada

British Columbia: Effective help for depression and anxiety is now just a click away, thanks to a mobile-optimized website developed at UBC’s Mood Disorders Clinic. MoodFx, accessible by mobile device or computer, uses validated questionnaires to track patients’ mood, cognition and work performance. While other mood-tracking websites and apps do exist, MoodFx, the brainchild of UBC Mood Disorders Centre director Dr. Raymond Lam, is unique. Not only was it developed by mental-health researchers and clinicians, but its checklists and questionnaires are backed by scientific research.

Your smartphone could be good for your mental health

TheConversation: When it comes to mental health, technologies such as smartphones and social media networks are almost always discussed in terms of the dangers they pose. Alongside concerns expressed in the media, some experts believe that technology has a role in the rising rates of mental health problems. However, there is also evidence to suggest your smartphone could actually be good for your mental health.

Could better tests have predicted the rare circumstances of the Germanwings crash? Probably not

TheConversation: When people do terrible things, it seems reasonable to believe we should have taken steps to identify them beforehand. If we can do that, then surely we can prevent them from doing harm. The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 in March, which appears to have been an intentional act, is an example. It shocks us (and understandably so) when a trusted professional harms those who have entrusted their lives to him or her. So why not identify pilots at risk and take steps to prevent similar events from ever occurring again? Because it is likely impossible, and maybe even counterproductive.

Hallucinations and delusions more common than thought

Queensland: Hallucinations and delusions in the general population are more common than previously thought.
An international study led by The University of Queensland and Harvard Medical School has found that hearing voices and seeing things that others cannot see impacts about five per cent of the general population at some point in their lives.

Substance Use disorders, not Mental Disorders, Predict Future Violence in Youth

Chicago: Most psychiatric disorders -- including depression -- do not predict future violent behavior, according to new Northwestern Medicine longitudinal study of delinquent youth. The only exception is substance abuse and dependence. “Our findings are relevant to the recent tragic plane crash in the French Alps.  Our findings show that no one could have predicted that the pilot -- who apparently suffered from depression - - would perpetrate this violent act,” said corresponding author Linda Teplin, the Owen L. Coon Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It is not merely a suicide, but an act of mass homicide.”

Is the long term use of psychiatric drugs harmful?

BMJ: The benefits of psychiatric drugs have been exaggerated and the harms underplayed due to poor trial designs, argues one expert in The BMJ. But another expert and a patient contend that the evidence supports the use of these drugs. More than half a million people aged above 65 years die from the use of psychiatric drugs every year in the Western world and the benefits would need to be “colossal” to justify these “immensely harmful” treatments, argues Peter Gøtzsche, professor and director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre, Denmark. But benefits are "minimal", he explains, adding that these treatments should “almost exclusively be used in acute situations".

Penn Medicine Bioethicists Call for Return to Asylums for Long-Term Psychiatric Care

University of Pennsylvania. US: As the United States population has doubled since 1955, the number of inpatient psychiatric beds in the United States has been cut by nearly 95 percent to just 45,000, a wholly inadequate equation when considering that there are currently 10 million U.S. residents with serious mental illness.