Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Aug 2013
Meta AnalysisWhite matter deficits in first episode schizophrenia: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis.
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been widely used in psychiatric research and has provided evidence of white matter abnormalities in first episode schizophrenia (FES). The goal of the present meta-analysis was to identify white matter deficits by DTI in FES. ⋯ The current findings provide evidence confirming the lack of connection in the fronto-limbic circuitry at the early stages of the schizophrenia. Because the coordinates reported in the primary literature were highly variable, future investigations with large samples would be required to support the identified white matter changes in FES.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Aug 2013
Neural correlate of impulsivity in subjects at ultra-high risk for psychosis.
Impulsivity is one of the most commonly reported behavioral characteristics of patients with schizophrenia. Although there is accumulating evidence regarding behavioral problems in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis, as yet, no study has reported on impulsivity in this population. The aim of the present study was to assess impulsivity in UHR subjects and to investigate the associated gray matter correlates. ⋯ These results suggest that impulsivity in UHR subjects may reflect altered integrated conflict processing, which likely stems from abnormalities in the ACC, rather than altered reward/punishment processing or executive control.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Aug 2013
Meta AnalysisMeta-analysis: aerobic exercise for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
This meta-analysis investigates the efficacy of exercise as a treatment for DSM-IV diagnosed anxiety disorders. ⋯ Current evidence does not support the use of aerobic exercise as an effective treatment for anxiety disorders as compared to the control conditions. This remains true when controlling for length of exercise sessions and type of anxiety disorder. Future studies evaluating the efficacy of aerobic exercise should employ larger sample sizes and utilize comparison interventions that control for exercise time.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Aug 2013
ReviewMonoamine neurocircuitry in depression and strategies for new treatments.
Extensive studies showed that monoaminergic neurotransmission that involves serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) exerts major influence on brain circuits concerned by the regulation of mood, reactivity to psychological stress, self-control, motivation, drive, and cognitive performance. Antidepressants targeting monoamines directly affect the functional tone of these circuits, notably in limbic and frontocortical areas, and evidence has been provided that this action plays a key role in their therapeutic efficacy. Indeed, at least some of functional changes detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging in emotion- and cognitive-related circuits such as the one involving limbic-cortical-striatal-pallidal-thalamic connections in depressed patients can be reversed by monoamine-targeted antidepressants. ⋯ In particular, 5-HT systems were shown to exert negative influence on NE and DA systems through 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor- mediated mechanisms, respectively. On the other hand, complex positive and negative influences of NE system on 5-HT neurotransmission are mediated through α1- and α2-adrenergic receptors, respectively. These data provided a rationale for the design of new, multimodal, therapeutic strategies involving drugs acting not only at the "historical" targets such as the 5-HT and/or the NE transporter, but also at other molecular targets to improve their efficacy and their tolerability.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Aug 2013
Comparative StudyA retrospective comparison of the effects of propofol and etomidate on stimulus variables and efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy in depressed inpatients.
To compare the effects of propofol and etomidate on the stimulus variables and efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in depressed inpatients. ⋯ Anesthesia with propofol has a significant reducing effect on seizure duration during the course of ECT which results in more inadequate seizures, despite the use of a higher mean stimulus charge. Regarding the possible effect of the anesthetics on ECT, randomized clinical trials with sufficient power to detect differences are warranted.