Catecholamine depletion in first-degree relatives of individuals with mood disorders: An [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography study

Neural response to catecholamine depletion in remitted bulimia nervosa: Relation to depression and relapse

Bulimia nervosa has been associated with a dysregulated catecholamine system. Nevertheless, the influence of this dysregulation on bulimic symptoms, on neural activity, and on the course of the illness is not clear yet. An instructive paradigm for directly investigating the relationship between catecholaminergic functioning and bulimia nervosa has involved the behavioral and neural responses to experimental catecholamine depletion. The purpose of this study was to examine the neural substrate of catecholaminergic dysfunction in bulimia nervosa and its relationship to relapse. In a randomized, double-blind and crossover study design, catecholamine depletion was achieved by using the oral administration of alpha-methyl-paratyrosine (AMPT) over 24 h in 18 remitted bulimic (rBN) and 22 healthy (HC) female participants. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured using a pseudo continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) sequence. In a follow-up telephone interview, bulimic relapse was assessed. Following AMPT, rBN participants revealed an increased vigor reduction and CBF decreases in the pallidum and posterior midcingulate cortex (pMCC) relative to HC participants showing no CBF changes in these regions. These results indicated that the pallidum and the pMCC are the functional neural correlates of the dysregulated catecholamine system in bulimia nervosa. Bulimic relapse was associated with increased depressive symptoms and CBF reduction in the hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus following catecholamine depletion. AMPT-induced increased CBF in this region predicted staying in remission. These findings demonstrated the importance of depressive symptoms and the stress system in the course of bulimia nervosa.

Mood changes at very high altitudes in Pakistan

Objective:

To screen out psychiatric ‘cases’ and find the frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms in military volunteers performing duties at very high altitudes in the Karakoram ranges of Pakistan.

Methods:

This was a descriptive study lasting from Jan 2015 to June 2015, on volunteers serving at very high altitude, using General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Urdu versions. Analysis involved descriptive, inferential techniques and Bonferroni test. Demographic variables were compared to the scores.

Results:

A high percentage of the military volunteers screened positive for psychiatric ‘caseness’ and symptoms of anxiety and depression; mostly in the mild to moderate range, while very few of them reported severe symptoms. Demographic variables such as marital status, number of children, positive family psychiatric history, past medical history, duration at high altitude and educational levels were found to be significant risk factors for developing symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Conclusions:

Individuals performing duties at very high altitude, experience symptoms of anxiety and depression, their demographics are important in understanding their emotional problems.

Neuropathological and neuromorphometric abnormalities in bipolar disorder: view from the medial prefrontal cortical network

The question of whether BD is primarily a developmental disorder or a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder remains unresolved. Here, we review the morphometric postmortem and neuroimaging literature relevant to the neuropathology of bipolar disorder (BD). We focus on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) network, a key system in the regulation of emotional, behavioral, endocrine, and innate immunological responses to stress. We draw four main conclusions: the mPFC is characterized by (1) a decrease in volume, (2) reductions in neuronal size, and/or changes in neuronal density, (3) reductions in glial cell density, and (4) changes in gene expression. These data suggest the presence of dendritic atrophy of neurons and the loss of oligodendroglial cells in BD, although some data additionally suggest a reduction in the cell counts of specific subpopulations of GABAergic interneurons. Based on the weight of the postmortem and neuroimaging literature discussed herein, we favor a complex hypothesis that BD primarily constitutes a developmental disorder, but that additional, progressive, histopathological processes also are associated with recurrent or chronic illness. Conceivably BD may be best conceptualized as a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder.