Association of GLIM-defined malnutrition with depressive mood in older adults undergoing rehabilitation
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Emotions and individual differences shape human foraging under threat
A common behavior in natural environments is foraging for rewards. However, this is often in the presence of predators. Therefore, one of the most fundamental decisions for humans, as for other animals, is how to apportion time between reward-motivated pursuit behavior and threat-motivated checking behavior. To understand what affects how people strike this balance, we developed an ecologically inspired task and looked at both within-participant dynamics (moods) and between-participant individual differences (questionnaires about real-life behaviors) in two large internet samples (n = 374 and n = 702) in a cross-sectional design. For the within-participant dynamics, we found that people regulate task-evoked stress homeostatically by changing behavior (increasing foraging and hiding). Individual differences, even in superficially related traits (apathy–anhedonia and anxiety–compulsive checking) reliably mapped onto unique behaviors. Worse task performance, due to maladaptive checking, was linked to gender (women checked excessively) and specific anxiety-related traits: somatic anxiety (reduced self-reported checking due to worry) and compulsivity (self-reported disorganized checking). While anhedonia decreased self-reported task engagement, apathy, strikingly, improved overall task performance by reducing excessive checking. In summary, we provide a multifaceted paradigm for assessment of checking for threat in a naturalistic task that is sensitive to both moods as they change throughout the task and clinical dimensions. Thus, it could serve as an objective measurement tool for future clinical studies interested in threat, vigilance or behavior–emotion interactions in contexts requiring both reward seeking and threat avoidance.
Cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention of CVD: time to think about cardiovascular health rather than rehabilitation
During the past century, there have been major developments in the medical and surgical treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD). These advancements have resulted in more people surviving initial events and having reduced length of stay in hospital; consequently, there is an increasing number of people in need of ongoing and lifelong cardiovascular risk management. The physical and emotional effects of living with CVD are ongoing with broad challenges ranging from the individual to system level. However, post-discharge care of people with coronary disease continues to follow a 50-year-old cardiac rehabilitation model which focuses on the sub-acute phase and is of a finite in duration. The aim of this paper is to consider the concept of supporting survivors to live well with CVD rather than ‘rehabilitating’ them and propose factors for consideration in reframing secondary prevention towards optimizing cardiovascular health. We discuss deeply-held potential considerations and challenges associated with the concept of supporting survivors achieve optimal cardiovascular health and live well with CVD rather than ‘rehabilitating’ them. We propose the concept of 5 x P’s for reframing traditional cardiac rehabilitation towards the concept of cardiovascular health for survivors beyond ‘rehabilitation’. These include the need for personalization, processes, patient-centered care, parlance, and partnership. Taken together, consideration of challenges at the systems and population level will ultimately improve engagement with secondary prevention as well as outcomes for all people who need it.
Beyond vision: effects of light on the circadian clock and mood-related behaviours
Light is a crucial environmental factor that influences various aspects of life, including physiological and psychological processes. While light is well-known for its role in enabling humans and other animals to perceive their surroundings, its influence extends beyond vision. Importantly, light affects our internal time-keeping system, the circadian clock, which regulates daily rhythms of biochemical and physiological processes, ultimately impacting mood and behaviour. The 24-h availability of light can have profound effects on our well-being, both physically and mentally, as seen in cases of jet lag and shift work. This review summarizes the intricate relationships between light, the circadian clock, and mood-related behaviours, exploring the underlying mechanisms and its implications for health.
Brain structural correlates of an impending initial major depressive episode
Neuroimaging research has yet to elucidate whether reported gray matter volume (GMV) alterations in major depressive disorder (MDD) exist already before the onset of the first episode. Recruitment of presently healthy individuals with a subsequent transition to MDD (converters) is extremely challenging but crucial to gain insights into neurobiological vulnerability. Hence, we compared converters to patients with MDD and sustained healthy controls (HC) to distinguish pre-existing neurobiological markers from those emerging later in the course of depression. Combining two clinical cohorts (n = 1709), voxel-based morphometry was utilized to analyze GMV of n = 45 converters, n = 748 patients with MDD, and n = 916 HC in a region-of-interest approach and exploratory whole-brain. By contrasting the subgroups and considering both remission state and reported recurrence at a 2-year clinical follow-up, we stepwise disentangled effects of (1) vulnerability, (2) the acute depressive state, and (3) an initial vs. a recurrent episode. Analyses revealed higher amygdala GMV in converters relative to HC (ptfce-FWE = 0.037, d = 0.447) and patients (ptfce-FWE = 0.005, d = 0.508), remaining significant when compared to remitted patients with imminent recurrence. Lower GMV in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (ptfce-FWE < 0.001, d = 0.188) and insula (ptfce-FWE = 0.010, d = 0.186) emerged in patients relative to HC but not to converters, driven by patients with acute MDD. By examining one of the largest available converter samples in psychiatric neuroimaging, this study allowed a first determination of neural markers for an impending initial depressive episode. Our findings suggest a temporary vulnerability, which in combination with other common risk factors might facilitate prediction and in turn improve prevention of depression.
An analysis on the role of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in cognitive and mental health disorders
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are novel drugs approved for diabetes and obesity. They are acknowledged as a major scientific breakthrough. In addition to their metabolic effects, these medications act on other bodily systems involved in the physiopathology of various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Several stakeholders are calling for more research to investigate the repurposing potential of GLP-1RAs in cognitive and mental disorders, while others advocate for a better assessment of their safety profile from a neuropsychiatric perspective. In this Analysis, we searched for relevant literature on the effects of GLP-1RAs across a range of illnesses, gathering and describing the available pre-clinical and mechanistic (278 studies) and clinical (96 studies) evidence for cognitive disorders, substance-use disorders, psychotic disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and others. By leveraging translational insights from these data, we consider potential implications for clinical practice and propose avenues for further research.
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