Mental Disorders Commons^™

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Of Brain Tissue Abnormalities: Transverse Relaxation Time In Autism And Tourette Syndrome And Development Of A Novel Whole-Brain Myelin Mapping Technique, Yann Gagnon

University of Western Ontario - Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The transverse relaxation time (T2) is a fundamental parameter of magnetic resonance imaging sensitive to tissue microstructure and water content, thus offering a non-invasive approach to evaluate abnormalities of brain tissue in-vivo. Prevailing hypotheses of two childhood psychiatric disorders were tested using quantitative T2 imaging and automated region of interest (ROI) analyses. In autism, the under-connectivity theory, which proposes aberrant connectivity within white matter (WM) was assessed, finding T2 to be eleveted in the frontal and parietal lobes, while dividing whole brain data into neurodevelopmentally relevant WM ROIs found increased T2 in bridging and radiate WM. In Tourette syndrome, tissue ...

Age-Dependent Decrease And Alternative Splicing Of Methionine Synthase Mrna In Human Cerebral Cortex And An Accelerated Decrease In Autism, Christina R. Muratore, Nathaniel W. Hodgson, Malav S. Trivedi, Hamid M. Abdolmaleky, Antonio M. Persico, Carla Lintas, Suzanne De La Monte, Richard C. Deth

Bouvé Faculty Publications

The folate and vitamin B12-dependent enzyme methionine synthase (MS) is highly sensitive to cellular oxidative status, and lower MS activity increases production of the antioxidant glutathione, while simultaneously decreasing more than 200 methylation reactions, broadly affecting metabolic activity. MS mRNA levels in postmortem human cortex from subjects across the lifespan were measured and a dramatic progressive biphasic decrease of more than 400-fold from 28 weeks of gestation to 84 years was observed. Further analysis revealed alternative splicing of MS mRNA, including deletion of folate-binding domain exons and age-dependent deletion of exons from the cap domain, which protects vitamin B12 (cobalamin ...

Individuals With Single Versus Multiple Suicide Attempts Over 10 Years Of Prospective Follow-Up, Christina L. Boisseaua, Shirley Yen, John C. Markowitz, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, M. Tracie Shea, Mary C. Zanarini, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, Leslie C. Morey, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Division II Faculty Publications

Background: The study attempted to identify characteristics that differentiate multiple suicide attempters from single attempters in individuals with personality disorders (PDs) and/or major depression.

Method: Participants were 431 participants enrolled in the Collaborative Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders from July 1996 to June 2008. Suicide attempts were assessed with the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation at 6 and 12months, then yearly through 10years. Logistic regression was used to compare single attempters to multiple attempters on Axis I and II psychiatric disorders and personality trait variables.

Results: Twenty-one percent of participants attempted suicide during the 10years of observation, with 39 (9 ...

Socioeconomic-Status And Mental Health In A Personality Disorder Sample: The Importance Of Neighborhood Factors, Zach Walsh, M. Tracie Shea, Shirley Yen, Emily B. Ansell, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Robert L. Stout, Donna S. Bender, Andrew E. Skodol, Charles A. Sanislow, Leslie C. Morey, John G. Gunderson

Division II Faculty Publications

This cross-sectional study examined the associations between neighborhood-level socioeconomic-status (NSES), and psychosocial functioning and personality pathology among 335 adults drawn from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. Participants belonged to four personality disorder (PD) diagnostic groups: Avoidant, Borderline, Schizotypal, and Obsessive Compulsive. Global functioning, social adjustment, and PD symptoms were assessed following a minimum two-year period of residential stability. Residence in higher-risk neighborhoods was associated with more PD symptoms and lower levels of functioning and social adjustment. These relationships were consistent after controlling for individual-level socioeconomic-status and ethnicity; however, the positive association between neighborhood-level socio-economic risk and PD symptoms was ...

Suffering In Silence? The Effects Of The Stigmatization Of Mental Illness On Life Satisfaction, Jennifer A. Codlin Miss.

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

The term ‘stigma’ is formally defined as the assignment of negative perceptions to an individual because of perceived difference from the population at large (The Free Online Dictionary by Farlex). Stigma, pervasive on a micro, mezzo and macro level serves to devalue individuals who have been diagnosed with mental illness and the support systems that are designed to assist them. Although efforts have been made in public awareness campaigns to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, stigma continues to limit opportunities and restrain individuals from living full and enriching lives. Many individuals “suffer in silence” often resorting to maladaptive ...

Autistic And At-Risk: The Public And Personal Safety Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Rebecca Pfeffer

Criminal Justice Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the victimization experiences of children with autism spectrum disorders in the U.S. Autism is a neurological, lifelong developmental disorder that affects 1 in 88 children in the United States. The defining characteristics of autism are impaired social interaction and communication skills, features that have been linked to increased vulnerability among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Using the subject recruitment services of the Interactive Autism Network, this study involved the administration of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire to 262 parents of children with autism, as well as follow-up interviews with 40 parents ...

Taking The Perspective That A Depressive State Reflects Inflammation: Implications For The Use Of Antidepressants, Jill Littrell

Social Work Faculty Publications

This paper reviews both the evidence that supports the characterization of depression as an inflammatory disorder and the different biochemical mechanisms that have been postulated for the connection between inflammation and depression. This association offers credible explanation for the short term efficacy of antidepressants, which have short term anti-inflammatory effects. Evidence for those anti-inflammatory effects is discussed. Evidence of the contrary long-term effects of antidepressants, which increase rather than decrease inflammation, is also reviewed. It is argued that this increase in inflammation would predict an increase in chronicity among depressed patients that have been treated with antidepressants drugs, which has ...

Sexual Reward And Depression, Andrea R. Di Sebastiano

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sexual behavior in male rats is a complex rewarding behavior and many neurotransmitters and neuropeptides play an important role in mediation of sexual performance, motivation and reward. The hypothalamic neuropeptide orexin has been shown play a key role in reward associated with food and drugs of abuse, but the role of this neuropeptide in control of sexual performance, motivation and reward is currently unclear. First, it was shown that orexin neurons in the hypothalamus are activated during sexual performance and reward. Next, using cell specific lesions of orexin neurons it was demonstrated that orexin is involved in arousal and anxiety ...

The Fractal Nature And Functional Connectivity Of Brain Function As Measured By Bold Mri In Alzheimer’S Disease, Mohammed A. Warsi

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a degenerative disease with progressive deterioration of neural networks in the brain. Fractal dimension analysis (FD) of resting state blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals acquired using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows us to quantify complex signalling in the brain and may offer a window into the network erosion. This novel approach can provide a sensitive tool to examine early stages of AD. As AD progresses, we expect to see a reduction in brain connectivity and signal complexity concurrent with biochemical changes (e.g. altered levels of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), myoinositol (mI) and glutamate ...

Cortical Thickness In Major Depressive Disorder Across The Lifespan, Wanda Truong

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents research investigating structural neural correlates of major depressive disorder (MDD). Although there are clear clinical differences between early- and late-onset MDD, they are still subject to the same diagnostic criteria and treatment strategy. Whether these differences translate into differences in cortical structure was examined in this study. By directly comparing early-onset (EOD) and late-onset (LOD) patients, we test whether age-of-onset results in changes in the extent or spatial pattern of cortical thinning.

Chapter 1 provides a general background on the cerebral cortex, followed with a focus on cortical thickness. Chapter 2 presents a comprehensive review of the ...

Socioeconomic-Status And Mental Health In A Personality Disorder Sample: The Importance Of Neighborhood Factors, Zach Walsh, M. Tracie Shea, Shirley Yen, Emily B. Ansell, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Robert L. Stout, Donna S. Bender, Andrew E. Skodol, Charles A. Sanislow, Leslie C. Morey, John G. Gunderson

Charles A. Sanislow

This cross-sectional study examined the associations between neighborhood-level socioeconomic-status (NSES), and psychosocial functioning and personality pathology among 335 adults drawn from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. Participants belonged to four personality disorder (PD) diagnostic groups: Avoidant, Borderline, Schizotypal, and Obsessive Compulsive. Global functioning, social adjustment, and PD symptoms were assessed following a minimum two-year period of residential stability. Residence in higher-risk neighborhoods was associated with more PD symptoms and lower levels of functioning and social adjustment. These relationships were consistent after controlling for individual-level socioeconomic-status and ethnicity; however, the positive association between neighborhood-level socio-economic risk and PD symptoms was ...

Individuals With Single Versus Multiple Suicide Attempts Over 10 Years Of Prospective Follow-Up, Christina L. Boisseaua, Shirley Yen, John C. Markowitz, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, M. Tracie Shea, Mary C. Zanarini, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, Leslie C. Morey, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow

Background: The study attempted to identify characteristics that differentiate multiple suicide attempters from single attempters in individuals with personality disorders (PDs) and/or major depression.

Method: Participants were 431 participants enrolled in the Collaborative Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders from July 1996 to June 2008. Suicide attempts were assessed with the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation at 6 and 12months, then yearly through 10years. Logistic regression was used to compare single attempters to multiple attempters on Axis I and II psychiatric disorders and personality trait variables.

Results: Twenty-one percent of participants attempted suicide during the 10years of observation, with 39 (9 ...

Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index, Macrosomia, And Mental Health In Children And Adolescents, Ryan J. Van Lieshout Md, Phd, Frcp(C)

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Objectives: To examine associations between macrosomia, maternal body mass index (BMI) during pregnancy, and psychopathology in youth, and to determine if these are due to prenatal environmental exposures or confounding variables.

Methods: Study 1 reviewed studies examining associations between macrosomia and mental health. Data from the Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS) were then used to explore these links in youth (Study 2). A second review summarized studies assessing associations between maternal pregnancy BMI and psychopathology in offspring (Study 3). Data from the Western Australia Pregnancy Cohort were then used to quantify associations between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and child behaviour at ...

Mood Disorders And Trauma: What Are The Associations?, Yael Dvir, Michael Hill, Steven M. Hodge, Jean A. Frazier

Clinical and Translational Science Research Retreat

Objectives: Mood dysregulation in traumatized children may be misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder (BD) and conversely, the diagnosis of BD overlooked. Our aim is to characterize the relationship between trauma and mood dysregulation and pediatric BD.

Methods: We are assessing youths ages 8-18 who present with mood symptoms and past trauma divided into two groups: 1. Trauma+Unmodified DSM-IV-TR BD (T+BD) and 2. Trauma+Mood Disorder NOS (T+MD). Differences in clinical variables between groups are analyzed using t-tests for continuous and chi-square tests for categorical variables (α= 0.05).

Results: Age at onset of trauma for youth with T ...

Primary Care Behavioral Health Consultation Reduces Depression Levels Among Mood-Disordered Patients, Bill Mcfeature, Thomas W. Pierce

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of behavioral health consultative services on levels of depressive symptoms in patients diagnosed with a mood disorder. Two-hundred fifty-one patients with a form of mood disorder completed the PHQ-9 screening tool for depression both before and after a treatment period lasting an average of three months, during which patients received behavioral health consultation services. Results showed that 49.8% of patients participating in this integrated behavioral health care program experienced improvements of at least 50% in PHQ-9 scores from pre- to post-test. Improvements in PHQ-9 scores of at least a ...