There has been rapid growth in research regarding inflammation in neuropsychiatric disorders as it relates to youth. We therefore set out to systematically review the literature on inflammation and ...neuropsychiatric disorders in children and adolescents.
A systematic review of the literature was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Studies were included if proinflammatory markers (PIMs) in children and/or adolescents with neuropsychiatric disorders were measured.
Sixty-seven studies were included, involving 3,952 youth. Evidence for a proinflammatory state is strongest for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). PIMs are elevated in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette's disorder (TD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and schizophrenia (SZ). However, the data are inconsistent. Evidence for specific PIMs is equivocal at this stage, although the findings in youth with MDD, BD, and PTSD converge with the extant adult literature in these areas. Definitive conclusions are limited by methodologic factors including cross-sectional and retrospective study design, between-study differences in specific markers and methods of analysis, small sample size, and other sources of heterogeneity.
The literature regarding inflammation among children and adolescents with neuropsychiatric disorders represents nearly 4,000 youth. There is preliminary evidence for elevated markers of inflammation in this population. Larger, prospective studies are needed to realize the goal of inflammatory markers informing clinical practice. In the interim, present findings suggest that further examination of this topic is warranted.
Socio-cognitive skills are crucial for successful interpersonal interactions. Two particularly important socio-cognitive processes are emotion perception (EP) and theory of mind (ToM), but agreement ...is lacking on terminology and conceptual links between these constructs. Here we seek to clarify the relationship between the two at multiple levels, from concept to neuroanatomy. EP is often regarded as a low-level perceptual process necessary to decode affective cues, while ToM is usually seen as a higher-level cognitive process involving mental state deduction. In information processing models, EP tends to precede ToM. At the neuroanatomical level, lesion study data suggest that EP and ToM are both right‐hemisphere based, but there is also evidence that ToM requires temporal-cingulate networks, whereas EP requires partially separable regions linked to distinct emotions. Common regions identified in fMRI studies of EP and ToM have included medial prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe areas, but differences emerge depending on the perceptual, cognitive and emotional demands of the EP and ToM tasks. For the future, clarity of definition of EP and ToM will be paramount to produce distinct task manipulations and inform models of socio-cognitive processing.
•Emotion perception (EP) and theory of mind (ToM) are crucial for interpersonal interactions.•This review outlines conceptual and neuroanatomical overlaps between EP and ToM.•Conceptual models differ in emphasis on ‘hot’ vs. ‘cold’ processes and perception vs. high-level cognition.•Lesion studies do not show clear overlap in neural components of EP and ToM.•Neuroimaging studies show overlap in some temporal regions and medial prefrontal regions.
In this review we evaluate the cognitive and neural effects of positive and negative mood on executive function. Mild manipulations of negative mood appear to have little effect on cognitive control ...processes, whereas positive mood impairs aspects of updating, planning and switching. These cognitive effects may be linked to neurochemistry: with positive mood effects mediated by dopamine while negative mood effects may be mediated by serotonin levels. Current evidence on the effects of mood on regional brain activity during executive functions, indicates that the prefrontal cortex is a recurrent site of integration between mood and cognition. We conclude that there is a disparity between the importance of this topic and awareness of how mood affects, executive functions in the brain. Most behavioural and neuroimaging studies of executive function in normal samples do not explore the potential role of variations in mood, yet the evidence we outline indicates that even mild fluctuations in mood can have a significant influence on neural activation and cognition.
The Net Effect of Functional Traits on Fitness Laughlin, Daniel C.; Gremer, Jennifer R.; Adler, Peter B. ...
Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam),
November 2020, 2020-11-00, 20201101, Volume:
35, Issue:
11
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Generalizing the effect of traits on performance across species may be achievable if traits explain variation in population fitness. However, testing relationships between traits and vital rates to ...infer effects on fitness can be misleading. Demographic trade-offs can generate variation in vital rates that yield equal population growth rates, thereby obscuring the net effect of traits on fitness. To address this problem, we describe a diversity of approaches to quantify intrinsic growth rates of plant populations, including experiments beyond range boundaries, density-dependent population models built from long-term demographic data, theoretical models, and methods that leverage widely available monitoring data. Linking plant traits directly to intrinsic growth rates is a fundamental step toward rigorous predictions of population dynamics and community assembly.
Community ecology seeks to generalize the effects of traits on performance across species, which may be possible if traits explain variation in population fitness.Linking traits to a specific demographic rate, such as survival or reproduction, is an important step but can be misleading because trade-offs among demographic rates obscure the net effect on fitness.Integrating demographic rates (survival, growth, and reproduction) and computing low density population growth rates incorporates these trade-offs into measures of fitness.Several approaches can be used to quantify the net effect of traits on fitness, and these approaches span a trade-off of empirical rigor and logistical ease.The adaptive value of traits is evident when intrinsic growth rates are explained by trait–environment interactions across multiple coexisting species spanning an environmental gradient.
Prosodic aspects of speech such as pitch, duration and amplitude constitute nonverbal cues that supplement or modify the meaning of the spoken word, to provide valuable clues as to a speakers' state ...of mind. It can thus indicate what emotion a person is feeling (emotional prosody), or their attitude towards an event, person or object (attitudinal prosody). Whilst the study of emotional prosody has gathered pace, attitudinal prosody now deserves equal attention. In social cognition, understanding attitudinal prosody is important in its own right, since it can convey powerful constructs such as confidence, persuasion, sarcasm and superiority. In this review, it is examined what prosody is, how it conveys attitudes, and which attitudes prosody can convey. The review finishes by considering the neuroanatomy associated with attitudinal prosody, and put forward the hypothesis that this cognition is mediated by the right cerebral hemisphere, particularly posterior superior lateral temporal cortex, with an additional role for the basal ganglia, and limbic regions such as the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala. It is suggested that further exploration of its functional neuroanatomy is greatly needed, since it could provide valuable clues about the value of current prosody nomenclature and its separability from other types of prosody at the behavioural level.
Interpretation: Rates of acute care visits for self-harm among children and adolescents were higher than expected during the first 2 and a half years of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among ...females. These findings support the need for accessible and intensive prevention efforts and mental health supports in this population.
Objective
Abnormal blood lipid levels are common in bipolar disorder (BD) and correlate with mood symptoms and neurocognition. However, studies have not examined the lipid–brain structure association ...in BD or youth.
Methods
This study examined low‐density lipoprotein (LDL‐C), high‐density lipoprotein (HDL‐C), triglycerides, and total cholesterol (TC) levels in relation to brain structure utilizing T1‐weighted images, among participants ages 13–20 with BD (n = 55) and healthy controls (HC; n = 47). General linear models investigated group differences in the association of lipids with anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), hippocampus, and inferior parietal lobe structure, controlling for age, sex, body mass index, and intracranial volume. For significant associations, post hoc within‐group analyses were undertaken. Exploratory vertex‐wise analyses further investigated group differences in the lipid–brain structure association.
Results
There were significant group differences in the association of LDL‐C (β = −0.29 p = 0.001), and TC (β = −0.21 p = 0.016), with hippocampal volume, and triglycerides with ACC volume (β = −0.25 p = 0.01) and area (β = −0.26 p = 0.004). Elevated lipids were associated with smaller brain structure to a significantly greater extent in BD vs HC. Post hoc analyses revealed that elevated LDL‐C (β = −0.27 p = 0.007) and reduced HDL‐C (β = 0.24 p = 0.01) were associated with smaller hippocampal volume in the BD group. Exclusion of BD second‐generation antipsychotic users did not alter these results. Vertex‐wise analyses further showed that elevated lipids were associated with smaller brain structure to a significantly greater extent in BD vs HC, across the cortex.
Conclusion
Elevated lipids are associated with smaller brain structure in BD. Research evaluating lipid–brain structure associations prospectively and whether lipid optimization has salutary effects on brain structure is necessary.
There is high risk of suicidality in bipolar disorder (BD), particularly in early onset cases. The literature regarding correlates and putative predictors of suicide attempts (SA), non-suicidal ...self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal ideation (SI) among youth with BD remains sparse. Participants included 197 adolescents with BD, divided into 4 groups: SA (with or without NSSI), NSSI (with or without SI), SI only, and comparison group (CG; no SA/NSSI/SI). Diagnoses, treatment, and suicidality measures were determined via semi-structured interviews, conducted between 2009 and 2017. Univariate analyses were followed by multinomial regression. Overall, 73.6% of participants had history of SA, NSSI, and/or SI. In comparison to CG, SA and NSSI were each associated with BD-II/-NOS (odds ratio OR = 15.99,
p
= 0.002; OR = 16.76,
p
= 0.003), female sex (OR = 6.89,
p
= 0.006; OR = 3.76,
p
= 0.02), and emotion dysregulation (OR = 1.10,
p
< 0.001; OR = 1.07,
p
= 0.004). NSSI and SI were each associated with most severe lifetime depression (OR = 1.10,
p
= 0.01; OR = 1.10,
p
= 0.01). SA and SI were associated with psychiatric hospitalization (OR = 19.45,
p
= 0.001; OR = 6.09,
p
= 0.03). SA was associated with poorer global functioning at most severe episode (OR = 0.88,
p
= 0.008). NSSI was associated with not living with both natural parents (OR = 0.22,
p
= 0.009). Study limitations include cross-sectional and retrospective design, stringent cut-offs for SA and NSSI, and recruitment from a tertiary clinical setting. Three quarters of adolescents with BD have had suicidality and/or self-injury. SA and NSSI were most similar to one another, and most different from CG, supporting the broader construct of self-harm. Future research should address the gap in knowledge regarding how sex differences and neurobiology are associated with the observed clinical differences.
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