Mental Disorders Commons^™

Research Brief: "Psychopathology, Iraq And Afghanistan Service, And Suicide Among Veterans Health Administration Patients", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the connections between being a OIF/OEF veteran who receives care from the VHA and suicide mortality. In policy and practice, mental health screenings for OIF/OEF veterans should be implemented in non-VHA healthcare settings and families of OIF/OEF veterans should encourage veterans to seek treatment if they exhibit signs of a mental health condition. The VHA should implement policies that promote its healthcare to veterans in order to decrease suicide risks among veterans and should also offer more mental health screenings for recently returned veterans. Suggestions for future research include looking at risks for suicide after traumatic …

Septohippocampal Gabaergic Neurons Mediate The Altered Behaviors Induced By N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Antagonists., Jingyi Ma, Siew Kian Tai, L Stan Leung

Physiology and Pharmacology Publications

We hypothesize that selective lesion of the septohippocampal GABAergic neurons suppresses the altered behaviors induced by an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, ketamine or MK-801. In addition, we hypothesize that septohippocampal GABAergic neurons generate an atropine-resistant theta rhythm that coexists with an atropine-sensitive theta rhythm in the hippocampus. Infusion of orexin-saporin (ore-SAP) into the medial septal area decreased parvalbumin-immunoreactive (GABAergic) neurons by ~80%, without significantly affecting choline-acetyltransferase-immunoreactive (cholinergic) neurons. The theta rhythm during walking, or the immobility-associated theta induced by pilocarpine, was not different between ore-SAP and sham-lesion rats. Walking theta was, however, more disrupted by atropine sulfate in ore-SAP than …

Research Brief: "Impact Of The Seeking Safety Program On Clinical Outcomes Among Homeless Female Veterans With Psychiatric Disorders", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the effect of the Seeking Safety program's services on improvement in PTSD, psychiatric symptoms, and social support among homeless female veterans. In policy and practice, clinicians should be trained on how to use the program to better serve homeless female veterans, and policymakers should push for clinician training for those who work with homeless veterans. Suggestions for future research include applying this study and the Seeking Safety program to non-VA healthcare systems, assessing substance use within the program, and assessing the long-term effects of the Seeking Safety program.

Research Brief: "Web-Based Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Education For Military Family Members", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

In this study, researchers introduced an educational website to assess and improve knowledge of PTSD, and also help to engage family members in positive actions to assist service members struggling with PTSD. Web-based content can serve as a valuable method of providing care and information to military service members without the risk of being stigmatized; therefore, policy makers should focus on creating and maintaining structural and financial support for programs that provide military service members, and their families, tools to manage post-deployment issues. Future studies should focus on providing an increased range of services for military families using the educational …

Impact Of Sunlight On The Age Of Onset Of Bipolar Disorder, Michael Bauer, Tasha Glenn, Martin Alda, Ole A. Andreassen, Raffaella Ardau, Frank Bellivier, Michael Berk, Thomas D. Bjella, Letizia Bossini, Maria Del Zompo, Seetal Dodd, Andrea Fagiolini, Mark A. Frye, Ana Gonzalez-Pinto, Chantal Henry, Flávio Kapczinkski, Sebastian Kliwicki, Barbara König, Mauricio Kunz, Beny Lafer, Carlos Lopez-Jaramillo, Mirko Manchia, Wendy Marsh, Monica Martinez-Cengotitabengoa, Ingrid Melle, Gunnar Morken, Rodrigo Munoz, Fabiano G. Nery, Claire O'Donovan, Andrea Pfennig, Danilo Quiroz, Natalie Rasgon, Andreas Reif, Janusz Rybakowski, Kemal Sagduyu, Christian Simhandi, Carla Torrent, Eduard Vieta, Mark Zetin, Peter C. Whybrow

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Although bipolar disorder has high heritability, the onset occurs during several decades of life, suggesting that social and environmental factors may have considerable influence on disease onset. This study examined the association between the age of onset and sunlight at the location of onset.

Method: Data were obtained from 2414 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder, according to DSM-IV criteria. Data were collected at 24 sites in 13 countries spanning latitudes 6.3 to 63.4 degrees from the equator, including data from both hemispheres. The age of onset and location of onset were obtained retrospectively, from …

Opinion: Bias Is Unavoidable, Lisa Cosgrove

Counseling, School Psychology & Sport Faculty Publication Series

It is part of the human condition to have implicit biases—and remain blissfully ignorant of them. Academic researchers, scientists, and clinicians are no exception; they are as marvelously flawed as everyone else. But it is not the cognitive bias that’s the problem. Rather, the denial that there is a problem is where the issues arise. Indeed, our capacity for self-deception was beautifully captured in the title of a recent book addressing researchers’ self-justificatory strategies, Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me).

Affect Identification And Interpersonal Skills: An In-Depth Evaluation Of Social Cognition In Schizophrenia, Griffin Pollock Sutton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The presence of deficits in various sub-domains of social cognition has been investigated to a degree in individuals with schizophrenia. Some of the most commonly researched and documented deficits have included impairments in the identification of affect portrayed in faces. Research has indicated that the performance of individuals with schizophrenia on such tasks is generally impaired as compared to normal controls. However, some have questioned the generalizability of such findings to real-world situations, as day-to-day interactions generally necessitate a constant, fluid assessment of the thoughts and feelings of others and are rarely, if ever, limited to still images of others. …

Research Brief: "Civilian Employment Among Recently Returning Afghanistan And Iraq National Guard Veterans", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief shows the impact of OIF and OEF National Guard and Reserve veterans' mental health problems on their likelihood of employment. This study, unusually, found that less than half of the surveyed National Guard and Reserve service members had obtained employment by 45-60 days post-mobilization, despite their possible mental health problems. Suggestions for future research include gathering information from all potential survey participants, as well as service members entering the civilian workforce, beyond the first 45-60 days post-deactivation, rather than within this period.

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 five …

Research Brief: "Psychiatric Status And Work Performance Of Veterans Of Operations Enduring Freedom And Iraqi Freedom", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study examines the relationship between psychiatric status and work impairment among OEF/OIF veterans enrolled in VA healthcare. In practice, mental health services are a high priority for the Veterans Administration, which is now focused on integrating behavioral health services into primary care so OEF/OIF veterans face fewer obstacles in obtaining and sustaining psychiatric care. In policy, policymakers should integrate veterans’ health programs with systematic assessment functioning, and develop treatment geared towards addressing impaired job performance. Suggestions for future study include focusing on whether workers with depression and other psychiatric conditions participate fully in the labor market and function effectively …

The Prevalence And Characteristics Of Suicidality In Hiv/Aids As Seen In An African Population In Entebbe District, Uganda, Eugene Kinyanda, Susan Hoskins, Juliet Nakku, Saira Nawaz, Vikram Patel

Dartmouth Scholarship

Suicidality in HIV/AIDS is not only a predictor of future attempted suicide and completed suicide, it is also associated with poor quality of life and poor adherence with antiretroviral therapy. This paper examines the prevalence and correlates of suicidality in HIV/AIDS in the African nation of Uganda.

Research Brief: "Employment Outcomes And Ptsd Symptom Severity", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study investigates how the severity of PTSD symptoms relates to employment and earnings. It found that veterans with more severe symptoms of PTSD were more likely to work part-time or not at all rather than have full-time work. In practice, treating PTSD, even if some symptoms remain, could result in better employment outcomes for veterans. In policy, policymakers should consider providing previously successful programs focused on veterans with PTSD for individuals with other mental health conditions. Suggestions for future research include a large, controlled, longitudinal survey that would allow researchers to investigate more thoroughly how PTSD symptoms relate to …

Predictors Of Depression For Low-Income African American Single Mothers, Jennifer Hatcher, Mary K. Rayens, Ann R. Peden, Lynne A. Hall

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Purpose: To test a model of predictors of depression in low-income single African American mothers. Design: Secondary analysis of existing data collected as part of a study of women at risk for clinical depression.

Methods: Cross sectional secondary data analysis of a study of low-income African American single mothers with children ages 2-6. Path analysis was used to test a model of the potential mediating role of negative thinking. It was hypothesized that negative thinking mediates the effects of chronic stressors, general health status, and self-esteem on depressive symptoms

Finding: Negative thinking mediated the relationships of chronic stressors and self-esteem …

Housing And Housing Services Program Measure – Veterans Version (Hhspm-V), Colleen Clark, M. Scott Young, Sarah R. Moody, Gregory Teague, Rhonda Ort, James Winarski, Kathleen Moore, Minnie Norton, Blake Barrett

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Using Negative Feedback To Guide Behavior: Impairments On The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Relates To Psychosis, Sally Barney

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There is increasing controversy regarding the distinction between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as separate diagnostic categories because these disorders share many features in common. These and other findings suggest that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may be better conceptualized along a continuum or within more homogeneous subsets of affective, psychotic, and mixed symptomatology.

Dopamine dysregulation has been found in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, particularly those that experience psychosis during the acute phases of their bipolar illness. Dopamine has been found to play a role in reward and reward learning. Recently, research has found that individuals with schizophrenia experience deficits in reward …

The Delivery System Design Of A Community Mental Health Center And Provision Of Quality: Cardiometabolic Screening For Persons With A Severe Mental Illness Prescribed Atypical Antipsychotic Medication, Dawn Marie Vanderhoef

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Background: Persons with a severe mental illness (SMI) prematurely lose up to 25 years of life when compared to the general population. This patient population has increased morbidity and mortality due to higher than normal rates of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Treatment of SMI often includes the use of atypical antipsychotic (AA) medication which has been associated with the development of cardiometabolic illnesses. In response to the higher rates of co-morbid, chronic physical illness, monitoring guidelines for cardiometabolic illness have been published. Despite these guidelines, screening rates for cardiometabolic illness in this population remain low. Neither community mental …

Teaching Language To Children With Developmental Disabilities Using Combined Direct Reinforcement And Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing, Brighid Helene Fronapfel-Sonderegger

Dissertations

Several researchers have used stimulus-stimulus pairing (the pairing of speech sounds with established reinforcers) to increase the frequency of specific vocalizations in children with disabilities. However, only a few addressed the utility of stimulus-stimulus pairing to increase functional language, and none combined stimulus-stimulus pairing and direct reinforcement. The present study combined stimulus-stimulus pairing and direct reinforcement to successfully teach 2 to 10 functional mands in 21–49 7-minute sessions with four children with developmental disabilities with low verbal repertoires. Following mand training, two children were taught 10 tacts for pictures using the combined direct reinforcement and stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure in a …

The American Psychiatric Association’S Guideline For Major Depressive Disorder: A Commentary, Lisa Cosgrove, Allen F. Shaughnessy, Emily E. Wheeler, Kirsten E. Austad, Irving Kirsch, Harold J. Bursztajn

Counseling, School Psychology & Sport Faculty Publication Series

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) published a new guideline for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) which will undoubtedly be used by many practitioners to guide clinical decision-making. In fact, it is non-psychiatrist clinicians who prescribe the majority of antidepressants (AD). We review the APA’s most recent guideline on MDD and report on our observations.

A Comparison Of Dsm-Iv And Dsm-5 Panel Members’ Financial Associations With Industry: A Pernicious Problem Persists, Lisa Cosgrove, Sheldon Krimsky

Counseling, School Psychology & Sport Faculty Publication Series

All medical subspecialties have been subject to increased scrutiny about the ways by which their financial associations with industry, such as pharmaceutical companies, may influence, or give the appearance of influencing, recommendations in review articles and clinical practice guidelines. Psychiatry has been at the epicenter of these concerns, in part because of high-profile cases involving ghostwriting and failure to report industry-related income, and studies highlighting conflicts of interest in promoting psychotropic drugs. The revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), scheduled for publication in May 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), has created a firestorm of controversy …

A Community-Integrated Home Based Depression Intervention For Older African Americans: Descripton Of The Beat The Blues Randomized Trial And Intervention Costs., Laura N Gitlin, Lynn Fields Harris, Megan Mccoy, Nancy L Chernett, Eric Jutkowitz, Laura T Pizzi

Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health Research Papers

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Primary care is the principle setting for depression treatment; yet many older African Americans in the United States fail to report depressive symptoms or receive the recommended standard of care. Older African Americans are at high risk for depression due to elevated rates of chronic illness, disability and socioeconomic distress. There is an urgent need to develop and test new depression treatments that resonate with minority populations that are hard-to-reach and underserved and to evaluate their cost and cost-effectiveness. METHODS/DESIGN: Beat the Blues (BTB) is a single-blind parallel randomized trial to assess efficacy of a non-pharmacological intervention to …

Psychosis In Indigenous Populations Of Cape York And The Torres Strait, Ernest M. Hunter, Bruce D. Gynther, Carrick J. Anderson, Leigh-Ann L. Onnis, Jeffrey R. Nelson, Wayne Hall, Bernhard T. Baune, Aaron R. Groves

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Objective: To describe and characterise treated psychotic disorders in the Indigenous populations of Cape York and the Torres Strait.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of patients with a psychotic disorder identified by treating psychiatrists.

Setting and participants: Indigenous patients aged 􏰀 15 years in Cape York and Torres Strait communities receiving treatment for a psychotic disorder over 3 months in 2010.

Main outcome measures: Prevalence of psychosis diagnoses, intellectual disability, and substance use comorbidities.

Results: 171 patients were included. The prevalence rate in this population was 1.68%, higher for males (2.60%) than females (0.89%), and twice as high in the Aboriginal (2.05%) …

Vitamin D: Does It Play A Role In Psychiatry, Mukesh Mohan Bhimani

Department of Psychiatry

No abstract provided.

Anorexia Nervosa: Current Research From A Biological Perspective, Udy Tropp

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Eating disorders are viewed as serious mental illnesses, carrying significant, life-threatening medical and psychiatric implications, including morbidity and mortality. According to the Academy of Eating Disorders, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. The American Psychiatric Association (2004) claims that approximately three percent of the United States female population has a clinically relevant eating disorder. Risk of premature death is 6-12 times higher in women with anorexia as compared to the general population, and it has become the third most common form of chronic illness among adolescent women aged 15 to 19 years. Although the prevalence …

Culture Ontogeny: Lifespan Development Of Religion And The Ethics Of Spiritual Counselling, Glen Milstein, Amy Manierre

Publications and Research

The counsellor has an ethical obligation to treat the whole person. Humans are cultural beings and the foundation of most cultures is religion. Religion and culture are received from our early relation~ ships and modified through later relationships across the lifespan. The paper introduces the term "culture ontogeny" to emphasize that this is a biological process wherein abstract ideas of culture and religion become material in the developing neurophysiology of each brain. A framework and methods are offered to examine the changing roles of religion in clients' emotional self~ structure, inclusive of those who describe themselves as spiritual, not religious. …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Changing Soldiers Lives Forever, Scott Blanck

A with Honors Projects

This is a research paper on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its affects on soldiers.

Dynamic Informed Consent Processes Vital For Treatment With Antidepressants, Abilash A. Gopal, Lisa Cosgrove, Itay Shuv-Ami, Emily E. Wheeler, Melissa J. Yerganian, Harold J. Bursztajn

Counseling, School Psychology & Sport Faculty Publication Series

Advances in technology and transparency have greatly accelerated the ability of clinicians to remain current with regards to being informed and informing patients about the risk/benefit ratio when considering antidepressant medication. In spite of this, the current climate of pharmaceutical industry influence on medical practice does much to hinder informed consent processes. Recent findings of previously unknown and potentially dangerous adverse effects of the second- and third-generation classes of antidepressants underscore the importance of enhancing the practice of informed consent. After considering the concept of informed consent as it has evolved over time, the authors summarize some of the newer …

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Nicole Smith

A with Honors Projects

This research paper examines post-traumatic stress disorder and its effects, symptoms and cures.

Is Asenapine More Effective Than Other Interventions In The Treatment Of Adult Patients With Bipolar I Disorder?, Mary H. Tsakiris

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not Asenapine is more effective than other interventions in the treatment of adult patients with bipolar I disorder.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three English language primary randomized controlled trial studies published from 2009-2010.

DATA SOURCES: Three randomized controlled trials studying the effectiveness of Asenapine in the treatment of mania in adult patients with bipolar I disorder in comparison to other interventions.

OUTCOME MEASURED: Outcomes measured were reduction in severity of manic symptoms and tolerability of the medication. The severity of manic symptoms was measured using the Young …

Is Rivastigmine Effective In The Treatment Of Alzheimer’S Disease?, Beena Patel

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not rivastigmine is effective for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of two trials in the English language published in 2007 and 2010, and an open-label, singlearm, multi-center study from 2008.

DATA SOURCES: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials comparing rivastigmine to a visually-matched capsule (placebo) was found using PubMed and Cochrane databases.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: Overall global performance using the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog), ability to perform activities of daily living, cognitive function using the mini mental status exam (MMSE), and neuropsychiatric symptoms using BEHAVE-AD.

RESULTS: …

Many Forms Of Madness: A Family’S Struggle With Mental Illness And The Mental Health System, Brice Balmer

Consensus

Title: Many forms of madness : a family's struggle with mental illness and the mental health system Author: Rosemary Radford Ruether; David Ruether Publisher: Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780800696511