The amount of studies showing different benefits of practicing meditation is growing. EEG brainwave patterns objectively reflect both the cognitive processes and objects of meditation. This study ...aimed to examine the effects of transcendental meditation (TM) practice on baseline EEG brainwave patterns (outside of meditation) and to examine weather TM reduces state and trait anxiety.
Standard EEG recordings were conducted on volunteer participants (N=12), all students or younger employed people, before and after a three-month meditation training. Artifact-free 100-second epochs were selected and analyzed by Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) analysis. Endlers Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS) were used to assess anxiety levels. Power (μV(2)) and coherence levels were compared in the alpha, beta, theta and delta frequency band.
Changes in EEG patterns after meditation practice were found mostly in the theta band. An interaction effect was found on the left hemisphere (p<0.10). Theta power decreased on the left, but not on the right hemisphere. Increased theta coherence was found overall and in the central, temporal and occipital areas (p<0.10). Decrease in alpha power was found on channels T3 (p<0.10), O1 (p<0.05) and O2 (p<0.10). An interaction effect was found in the delta frequency band (p<0.06), too. A trend for power decreasing was found on the left, and a trend for power increasing on the right hemisphere. Also, power decreased on channel O1 (p<0.10). In the beta frequency band, a decrease was found on channel O2 (p<0.10). Trait anxiety did not differ, but a decrease in state anxiety and cognitive worry was found (p<0.05).
Obtained results confirm the effects of TM on some baseline EEG brainwave patterns and state anxiety, suggesting that the left hemisphere is more sensitive to meditation practice. Most of the changes were found in the occipital and temporal areas, less in the central and frontal areas. State anxiety decreased after TM practice. Findings suggest TM practice could be helpful in treating different kinds of disorders, especially anxiety disorders.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is implicated in the etiology and treatment response in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, peripheral BDNF concentrations have not been compared across ...different MDD stages. Bright light therapy (BLT) offers some potential in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but its effects on BDNF levels are unknown. This study included a cross-sectional analysis of plasma BDNF concentration in females with TRD, unmedicated MDD patients, and healthy controls (HC), and measurements of longitudinal BLT effects on plasma BDNF levels in TRD patients. The present study included 55 drug-naïve, first-episode patients, 25 drug-free recurrent-episode MDD patients, 71 HC participants, and 54 TRD patients. Patients were rated by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD)-17 and the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Patients with TRD received BLT during 4 weeks. The total HAMD-17 and MADRS scores decreased following BLT. All patient groups had lower plasma BDNF than HC, but BDNF levels did not differ between first- and recurrent-episode BDNF patients and TRD patients before or after BLT. However, responders and remitters to BLT had higher post-treatment plasma BDNF concentrations than patients who did not achieve response or remission. The changes in plasma BDNF levels may be candidates for biomarkers of treatment response to BLT in TRD patients.
To determine the relationship between the intensity of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the intensity of predominating symptoms.
The study included 151 veterans from 1992-1995 ...war in Croatia (aged 38.3+/-7.3 years) with PTSD. The veterans were psychologically tested with the Mississippi Scale for Combat-related PTSD (M-PTSD), Questionnaire on Traumatic Combat and War Experiences (USTBI-M), and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-version 201 (MMPI-201).
The discriminative analysis of the data revealed that the group with lower PTSD intensity had the highest scores on MMPI scales D (depression, T-score 98.3+/-5.6), Hs (hypochondriasis, 90.1+/-5.1), and Hy (hysteria, 89.5+/-4.9), whereas the group with higher PTSD intensity, besides these three scales (D=95.7+/-5.3; Hs=87.6+/-4.3; Hy=85.6+/-4.7), also had clinically significantly elevated Pt (psychastenia, 80.6+/-5.6), Sc (schizophrenia, 79.6+/-4.8), and Pa (paranoia, 85.6+/-5.4) scales, with the highest Pa scale.
It was possible to differentiate study participants with different PTSD intensity on the basis of their MMPI profile. More intense PTSD was associated with externalized symptoms, such as aggression, acting-out, hostility, and mistrust, whereas less intensive PTSD was associated with mostly depressive symptoms. Our study showed that different intensity of PTSD has different symptom patterns.
There are numerous benefits of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) on mother and child wellbeing. The objective was to find out whether depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and personality traits at ...the time of delivery are associated with EBF six to nine weeks after delivery.
The targeted population were women who delivered in Croatian largest University maternity hospital. The scores of The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), The Big Five Inventory (BFI) and The Impact of Events Scale (revised) - IES-R three to five days after childbirth were measured to predict self-reported EBF status six to nine weeks after the delivery. Six to nine weeks after the delivery data on breastfeeding were collected for 259 (69.6%) out of initially 372 enrolled women.
Six to nine weeks after the delivery 151/259 (58.3%) were still exclusively breastfeeding their child. After adjustment for all other variables, women who gave their second childbirth had significantly higher odds for longer EBF than primiparous women (OR=2.12; 95% CI 1.10-4.10). Higher EPDS result was significantly associated with lower odds for EBF (OR=0.92; 95% CI 0.85-0.99).
Parity and depressed mood immediately after the delivery are associated with EBF six to eight weeks after the delivery. Depression symptoms are a moderator between parity and exclusive breastfeeding, so multiparous women without depressive symptomatology are more prone for EBF.
Only a small number of studies have used quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) in research of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The results are not consistent. The aim of the present ...investigation was to compare qEEG in combat veterans with and without PTSD. The hypothesis is that differences among qEEG characteristics will be found regarding the presence/absence of PTSD. Seventy-nine combat veterans with PTSD comprised the experimental group and 37 veterans without PTSD were included as controls. After the informed consent, they were investigated by the resting EEG recordings. The results demonstrate that PTSD veterans had decreased alpha power and increased beta power. These results suggest an altered neurobiology in PTSD. Various explanations have been offered for alpha activity decrease observed in PTSD veterans. Increased beta rhythm may play a role as a potential marker in differentiating subtypes of PTSD.
Anksiozni poremećaji pripadaji među najčešće mentalne poremećaje u dječjoj i adolescentnoj dobi.
Temeljno obilježje ovih poremećaja je razvojno neprimjerena razina anksioznosti i strahova koji ...ometaju
normalno funkcioniranje djeteta. Važno je dječje strahove promatrati u kontekstu razvojnih procesa.
Prevalencija anksioznih poremećaja kod djece kreće se od 10 % do 20 %. Zastupljeni su u oba spola, iako
se češće javljaju kod djevojčica i to nakon šeste godine života. Pravodobno otkrivanje i liječenje dječje
anksioznosti može smanjiti negativni utjecaj koji ovi poremećaji ostavljaju na daljni razvoj te na školsko,
obiteljsko i socijalno funkcioniranje djece i mladih. Često dolaze u komorbiditetu s ostalim psihijatrijskim
poremećajima, ali i drugim anksioznim poremećajima. Manifestiraju se čitavim spektrom najrazličitijih
promjena emocionalnim, kognitivnim, bihevioralnim i tjelesnim simptomima. Multifaktorskne su etiologije,
nastaju djelovanjem različitih biologijskih, genetskih, psihološkh i socijalnih čimbenika. U liječenju anksioznih
poremećaja najbolje rezultate daje kombinirani tretman koji se temelji na kognitivno-bihevioralnoj terapiji
(KBT) i farmakoterapiji. Kognitivna terapija otkriva i mijenja negativne automatske misli, pogrešna bazična
vjerovanja, pretpostavke i iskrivljena mišljenja. Bihevioralne tehnike imaju za cilj promjenu ponašanja. U
novije vrijeme uvodi se i terapija temeljena na usredotočenoj svjesnosti (engl. mindfulness based therapy).
Od lijekova najčešće se primjenjuju selektivni inhibitori ponovne pohrane serotonina koji su prva linija
terapije i dokazano su najučinkovitiji kod anksioznih poremećaja. Prognoze su najbolje ako se tretmanom
krene što prije te osim samog djeteta u planiranje i provođenje terapijskog tretmana uključe roditelji
odnosno skrbnici djeteta.
qEEG investigations present differences in the comparison of schizophrenic patients and healthy examinees, as well as of depressive patients and healthy controls. The comparison of "positive" and ..."negative" schizophrenia also presents differences in the qEEG parameters. Changes in qEEG are various in these studies, but not always consistent. In this research we wanted to compare "positive" schizophrenia, "negative" schizophrenia and depression.
The sample comprised 55 examinees (all women): 20 patients with "positive" schizophrenia, 15 patients with "negative" schizophrenia and 20 patients with depression. The standard EEG registration was done in all of them. From the recorded material, the 20-second period without artifacts was analyzed by the FFT method. The results were presented as absolute special power values (muV(2)) for individual segments of the spectrum: delta (0.5-4.0), theta (4.0-8.0), alpha (8.0-13.0) and beta (13.0-30.0). The observed regions included Fp1, Fp2, F3, F4, F7, F8, T3, T4, P3, P4, O1 and O2.
The "positive" type schizophrenia differs from the "negative" in the increase in both delta and theta activities, and in the decline of beta activity over frontal regions. The "positive" type of schizophrenia differs from depression in the increase in delta activity over frontal regions, while the "negative" form of schizophrenia differs from it in the decrease in beta activity over frontal regions.
qEEG parameters differ in the comparison of "positive" and "negative" types of schizophrenia. These differences are more numerous and more significant than those obtained in the comparison of each of these types of schizophrenia with depression.
