Resting frontal EEG asymmetry as an endophenotype for depression risk: Sex-specific patterns of frontal brain asymmetry.

Resting frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry has been hypothesized as a marker of risk for major depressive disorder (MDD), but the extant literature is based predominately on female samples. Resting frontal asymmetry was assessed on 4 occasions within a 2-week period in 306 individuals aged 18–34 (31% male) with (n = 143) and without (n = 163) lifetime MDD as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Lifetime MDD was linked to relatively less left frontal activity for both sexes using a current source density (CSD) reference, findings that were not accounted for solely by current MDD status or current depression severity, suggesting that CSD-referenced EEG asymmetry is a possible endophenotype for depression. In contrast, results for average and linked mastoid references were less consistent but demonstrated a link between less left frontal activity and current depression severity in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression, anxiety, and resting frontal EEG asymmetry: A meta-analytic review.

Emotion-related disturbances, such as depression and anxiety, have been linked to relative right-sided resting frontal electroencephalograph (EEG) asymmetry among adults and infants of afflicted mothers. However, a somewhat inconsistent pattern of findings has emerged. A meta-analysis was undertaken to (a) evaluate the magnitude of effects across EEG studies of resting frontal asymmetry and depression, anxiety, and comorbid depression and anxiety and (b) determine whether certain moderator variables could help reconcile inconsistent findings. Moderate effects of similar magnitude were obtained for the depression and anxiety studies, whereas a smaller effect emerged for comorbid studies. Three moderating variables predicted effect sizes: (a) Shorter EEG recording periods were associated with larger effects among adults, (b) different operationalizations of depression yielded effects of marginally different magnitudes, and (c) younger infant samples showed larger effects than older ones. The current data support a link between resting frontal EEG asymmetry and depression and anxiety and provide a partial account of inconsistent findings across studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anger and frontal brain activity: EEG asymmetry consistent with approach motivation despite negative affective valence.

The anterior regions of the left and right cerebral hemispheres have been posited to be specialized for expression and experience of approach and withdrawal processes, respectively. Much of the evidence supporting this hypothesis has been obtained by use of the anterior asymmetry in electroencephalographic alpha activity. In most of this research, however, motivational direction has been confounded with affective valence such that, for instance, approach motivation relates positively with positive affect. In the present research, we tested the hypothesis that dispositional anger, an approach-related motivational tendency with negative valence, would be associated with greater left- than right-anterior activity. Results supported the hypothesis, suggesting that the anterior asymmetry varies as a function of motivational direction rather than affective valence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Food, mood, and attitude: Reducing risk for eating disorders in college women.

Food, Mood, and Attitude (FMA) is a CD-ROM prevention program developed to decrease risk for eating disorders in college women. Female 1st-year students (N = 240) were randomly assigned to the intervention (FMA) or control group. Equal numbers of students at risk and of low risk for developing an eating disorder were assigned to each condition. Participants in the FMA condition improved on all measures relative to controls. Significant 3-way interactions (Time × Condition × Risk Status) were found on measures of internalization of sociocultural attitudes about thinness, shape concerns, and weight concerns, indicating that at-risk participants in the intervention group improved to a greater extent than did low-risk participants. At follow-up, significantly fewer women in the FMA group reported overeating and excessive exercise relative to controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Panel III: Behavioral risk factors related to chronic diseases in ethnic minorities.

This article reviews the evidence on 5 risk behaviors: cigarette smoking, dietary intake, being overweight, limited exercise, and alcohol consumption among African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Latinos, and Native Americans. Although there is little basis for believing that these high-risk behaviors are any less significant as contributors to chronic disease risk in any ethnic group, the limited information available, especially for Asian/Pacific Islanders and Native Americans, indicates that there may be significant within- and between-group differences in the prevalence of these behaviors. Therefore. some of the ethnic group differences in morbidity and mortality for chronic diseases are partly attributable to differences in behavioral risk profiles. Limited basic health behavior information on most ethnic minority groups delay the development of effective health promotion interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Naltrexone alteration of the nicotine-induced EEG and mood activation response in tobacco-deprived cigarette smokers.

The neural mechanisms contributing to the arousal-eliciting actions of smoking and nicotine involve multiple neurotransmitter systems. The current study examined the role of opioid neurotransmission in modulating the neuroelectric- and mood-activating response to acute nicotine administration in overnight tobacco-deprived smokers. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design involving 18 (10 male, 8 female) overnight tobacco-abstinent smokers, spectrally analyzed electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and subjective reports of mood, euphoria, and smoking withdrawal were assessed in response to nicotine gum (4 mg) after pretreatment with placebo or with 50 mg of the opioid antagonist naltrexone. In addition to reducing withdrawal symptoms and increasing euphoria ratings, as well as subjective alertness in male participants, nicotine induced an EEG arousal response consisting of diffuse slow wave (delta, theta) amplitude reductions, frontal fast alpha wave amplitude increments, and elevations in beta wave amplitude, which were greater in female than in male smokers. Naltrexone attenuated the alerting and euphoric actions of nicotine but did not affect nicotine's ameliorating effects on withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine-induced frontal reductions in delta and global reductions in theta were prevented by naltrexone pretreatment, as were increases in anterior recordings of relative fast alpha. These findings suggest that the opioid system is involved in nicotine-induced subjective and neuroelectric arousal and implicate opioid-cholinergic interactions in the elicitation of these arousal responses to nicotine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative right frontal EEG activation in 3- to 6-month-old infants of "depressed" mothers.

Brain electrical activity (electroencephalogram; EEG) was recorded from left and right frontal (F) and parietal (P) scalp regions (F3, F4, P3, and P4, referenced to the central vertex site, Cz) in a sample of depressed and nondepressed mothers and their 3–6-month-old infants. A greater number of depressed mothers and their infants vs. nondepressed mothers and their infants displayed right frontal EEG asymmetry. These data indicate that the depressed affect exhibited by infants of depressed mothers is associated with a pattern of brain electrical activity similar to that found in inhibited infants and children and in chronically depressed adults. Further research is required to determine whether the EEG pattern is a marker of current or chronic mood state. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social perceptions and borderline personality disorder: The relation to mood disorders.

Used the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior to compare the social perceptions of borderline, unipolar, and bipolar-depressed inpatients. As predicted, borderline Ss differed from bipolar-depressed and unipolar Ss in their social perceptions. Borderline Ss viewed their relationships to their mother, hospital staff, and other patients as more hostile and autonomous than did mood disordered Ss. The results are discussed in terms of an integrative theory of borderline personality that considers the psychobiology of interpersonal relationships and attachment disruptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability of DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders: Implications for the classification of emotional disorders.

The reliability of current and lifetime Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) anxiety and mood disorders was examined in 362 outpatients who underwent 2 independent administrations of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV: Lifetime version (ADIS-IV–L). Good to excellent reliability was obtained for the majority of DSM-IV categories. For many disorders, a common source of unreliability was disagreements on whether constituent symptoms were sufficient in number, severity, or duration to meet DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. These analyses also highlighted potential boundary problems for some disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder). Analyses of ADIS-IV–L clinical ratings (0–8 scales) indicated favorable interrater agreement for the dimensional features of DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders. The findings are discussed in regard to their implications for the classification of emotional disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The latent structure of schizotypy: I. Premorbid indicators of a taxon of individuals at risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

A taxometric analysis (R. R. Golden & P. E. Meehl, 1979) was conducted to test the hypotheses that liability for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders is dichotomously distributed and that this liability can be detected premorbidly with behavioral indicators analogous to many of the criteria for schizotypal personality disorder. Behaviors were assessed in 207 offspring of schizophrenic mothers and 104 matched offspring of normal parents in 1962, when participants' mean age was 15 years. Diagnoses on the basis of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) were made in 1986–1989, when participants were nearly through the risk period for developing schizophrenia. The aggregation of indicators was consistent with a bimodal latent liability distribution. Membership in the schizotypal class was a sensitive and specific predictor of the emergence of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive vulnerability and frontal brain asymmetry: Common predictors of first prospective depressive episode.

The hopelessness theory of depression proposes that individuals with a depressogenic cognitive style are more likely to become hopeless and experience depression following negative life events. Although the neurophysiological underpinnings of cognitive style remain speculative, research indicates that decreased relative left frontal brain electrical activity holds promise as a traitlike marker of depression. This begs the question: Do measures of depressogenic cognitive style and resting frontal brain asymmetry index a common vulnerability? The present study provides preliminary support for this hypothesis. At baseline assessment, increased cognitive vulnerability to depression was associated with decreased relative left frontal brain activity at rest in individuals with no prior history of, or current, depression. Following baseline assessment, participants were followed prospectively an average of 3 years with structured diagnostic interviews at 4-month intervals. Both cognitive vulnerability and asymmetric frontal cortical activity prospectively predicted onset of first depressive episode in separate univariate analyses. Furthermore, multivariate analyses indicated that cognitive vulnerability and frontal asymmetry represented shared, rather than independent, predictors of first depression onset. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Functional gut disorders: from motility to sensitivity disorders. A review of current and investigational drugs for their management

Functional gut disorders include several clinical entities defined on the basis of symptom patterns (e.g., functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, functional abdominal pain, functional abdominal bloating), for which there is no established pathophysiological mechanism. Because there is no well-defined pathophysiological target, treatment should be aimed at symptom improvement. Prokinetics and antispasmodics have been widely used in the treatment of functional gut disorders on the assumption that disordered motility is the underlying cause of symptoms, and symptom improvement is indeed achievable with these compounds in some, but not all, patients with features of hypo- or hypermotility, respectively. In the first part of this review, we cover the basic pharmacology and discuss the rationale for the clinical use of prokinetics and antispasmodics. On the other hand, in the past few years, the explosive growth in the research focusing on visceral sensitivity and visceral reflexes has suggested that at least some patients with functional gut disorders have altered visceral perception. Thus, the second part of the review covers these developments and focuses on studies addressing the issue of drugs modulating visceral sensitivity.     

Relative effects of prolonged social isolation and confinement: Behavioral and EEG changes.

Studied the relative effects of social isolation and confinement, of 1-wk duration, on measures of EEG activity, intellectual test performance, affect, and a variety of psychological and somatic symptoms derived from Myers postisolation questionnaire. Ss were 66 male undergraduates. No significant differences in performance were observed on any of the 11 tests of the intellectual battery or on measures of subjective stress and mood. However, a significant decrease in occipital alpha frequency was obtained in both the socially isolated and confined groups after the 1-wk period. Since there was no significant difference between these 2 groups in the magnitude of the decrease, this EEG change appears to have resulted from confinement alone. An analysis of the questionnaire data revealed significant F ratios on 16 of the 22 content areas. 10 of the 16 symptom categories were associated with confinement alone and the remainder were associated either with social isolation or a combination of social isolation and confinement. Results of this study were compared with those reported in several earlier, 1-wk experiments on perceptual deprivation. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Host differences in neoplastic risk: Behavioral and social contributors to disease.

Examines the behavioral and social variables that contribute to the development and course of cancer. Lifestyle factors that influence cancer initiation are discussed, including tobacco and alcohol use, occupation, dietary fat consumption, and stress effects on the immune system. Social factors that delay secondary prevention (i.e., seeking diagnosis, self-examination) are identified. The effect of behavioral-emotional factors on hormonally dependent tumors and patient noncompliance are discussed as factors affecting cancer progression. The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and treatment outcome is addressed. It is concluded that an understanding of modifiable differences in host risk for cancer is necessary for more effective treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual variation in hemispheric asymmetry: Multitask study of effects related to handedness and sex.

Functional hemispheric asymmetries were examined for right- or left-handed men and women. Tasks involved (1) auditory processing of verbal material, (2) processing of emotions shown on faces, (3) processing of visual categorical and coordinate spatial relations, and (4) visual processing of verbal material. Similar performance asymmetries were found for the right-handed and left-handed groups, but the average asymmetries tended to be smaller for the left-handed group. For the most part, measures of performance asymmetry obtained from the different tasks did not correlate with each other, suggesting that individual Ss cannot be simply characterized as strongly or weakly lateralized. However, ear differences obtained in Task 1 did correlate significantly with certain visual field differences obtained in Task 4, suggesting that both tasks are sensitive to hemispheric asymmetry in similar phonetic or language-related processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic review of the sensitivity of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test to frontal and lateralized frontal brain damage.

The author conducted 2 meta-analyses on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The 1st compared participants with frontal lobe damage to those with posterior brain damage, whereas the 2nd compared participants with left and right frontal damage. Effect sizes based on the difference between groups were calculated for WCST variables and a composite measure. Effect sizes for these variables, except nonperseverative errors, indicated significantly poorer performance for participants with frontal damage. There were no significant differences for the left versus right comparisons. Moderator analyses using the composite measure for the frontal versus nonfrontal analyses indicated that the largest effect size was for dorsolateral damage. Though this study indicates that the WCST is sensitive to frontal lobe damage, caveats are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Medications prescribed for children with mood disorders: Effects of a family-based psychoeducation program.

Few controlled trials have examined psychotropic medications in children with mood disorders. Multiple medications are often prescribed for these children, who frequently suffer from several comorbid conditions. However, this polypharmacy has been infrequently studied and may lead to adverse drug-drug interactions. Multi-Family Psychoeducation Groups (MFPGs) are an 8-session, manual-driven treatment for children with mood disorders, designed as an adjunct to current medications and psychotherapy. In part, MFPG teaches parents and children to be better consumers of mental health care, including medications. This study examined the effect of MFPG on medications taken by 165 children, ages 8-11, with mood disorders. The authors hypothesized that MFPG would not affect the mean number of medications taken but that the variance in number of medications would decrease from pre- to posttreatment (i.e., the number of medications prescribed for any given child should become more closely distributed around the sample mean). Approximately 70% of participants were diagnosed with bipolar spectrum disorders, and 30% were diagnosed with depressive spectrum disorders. Most had both comorbid behavioral (97%) and anxiety (69%) disorders. Information regarding medications was gathered 4 times: at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months. Approximately half (n=78) of the participants were randomized into immediate treatment, and half (n=87) were randomized into a 1-year wait-list condition. All were encouraged to continue treatment as usual throughout the study. As hypothesized, no significant pre- to posttreatment differences were found between groups for the mean number of current medications, but variance declined significantly from pre- to posttreatment. Implications and future research goals are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral conceptions and applications of acceptability: Issues related to service delivery and research methodology.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 16(1) of School Psychology Quarterly (see record 2007-17958-001). In Table 1, the following errors appeared for the Colton and Sheridan (1998) entry: the information should be "3" (case scenarios), "naturalistic" (experimental design), "multiple baseline" (experimental methods), and "postassessment" (assessment interval).] Reviews conceptual, methodological, and paradigmatic issues related to the acceptability of school-based practices from a behavioral orientation. First, the authors provide an overview of the acceptability construct from a behavioral perspective including (a) the historical development of the construct of acceptability, (b) the behavioral conceptualization and definition of the construct of acceptability, and (c) the prevailing conceptual models of acceptability. Second, the authors illustrate the methodology typically used when examining consumers' acceptability of school-based practices from a behavioral perspective using a cross-source, cross-method approach. A review of empirical studies examining the acceptability of consultation, assessment, and intervention practices using a variety of school-based consumers (e.g., school psychologists, parents, teachers, children) is conducted. The importance of examining the acceptability of school-based practices from this perspective is discussed. Third, the authors discuss important methodological issues that need to be considered in conducting acceptability research. Finally, the advantages and limitations of examining acceptability within a behavioral context are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rethinking the mood and anxiety disorders: A quantitative hierarchical model for DSM-V.

The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) groups disorders into diagnostic classes on the basis of the subjective criterion of "shared phenomenological features." There are now sufficient data to eliminate this rational system and replace it with an empirically based structure that reflects the actual similarities among disorders. The existing structural evidence establishes that the mood and anxiety disorders should be collapsed together into an overarching class of emotional disorders, which can be decomposed into 3 subclasses: the bipolar disorders (bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia), the distress disorders (major depression, dysthymic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder), and the fear disorders (panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, specific phobia). The optimal placement of other syndromes (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder) needs to be clarified in future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating models of affect: Relationships among EEG alpha asymmetry, depression, and anxiety.

The approach-withdrawal and valence-arousal models both predict that depressive and anxious profiles will be associated with relatively reduced left frontal and increased right frontal activity respectively, while the valence-arousal model also proposes a dissociation by lower and higher right parietotemporal activity, respectively. Recent work further suggests that subtypes of anxiety disorders may be characterized by distinctive patterns of activity depending on their type of arousal (anxious arousal/apprehension). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among nonclinical depression/anxiety and lateralized frontal/parietotemporal activity by categorizing participants (N = 428) on the basis of both negative mood and alpha EEG. Key findings include: (i) greater right frontal lateralization in anxious participants, symmetrical frontal activity in depressed/comorbid, and left frontal lateralization in healthy controls; (ii) right frontal lateralization in anxious arousal participants, left frontal and right parietotemporal lateralization in anxious apprehension; (iii) bilateral increase in frontal and increased right parietotemporal activity in depressed/comorbid participants. Findings support predictions for frontal but not posterior regions. Grouping on the basis of EEG may not be reciprocally predictive of negative mood groupings, suggesting involvement of additional factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)