Differences in Non-suicidal Self-injury Behaviors between Unipolar Depression and Bipolar Depression in Adolescent Outpatients

Objective Non-suicidal self-injury(NSSI)has a higher prevalence in adolescents with depressive disorders than in community adolescents.This study examined the differences in NSSI behaviors between adolescents with unipolar depression(UD)and those with bipolar depression(BD).Methods Adolescents with UD or BD were recruited from 20 general or psychiatric hospitals across China.The methods,frequency,and function of NSSI were assessed by Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation.The Beck Suicide Ideation Scale was used to evaluate adolescents’suicidal ideation,and the 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale to estimate the anxiety and depression symptoms.Results The UD group had higher levels of depression(19.16 vs.17.37,F=15.23,P<0.001)and anxiety symptoms(17.73 vs.16.70,F=5.00,P=0.026)than the BD group.Adolescents with BD had a longer course of NSSI than those with UD(2.00 vs.1.00 year,Z=−3.39,P=0.001).There were no statistical differences in the frequency and the number of methods of NSSI between the UD and BD groups.Depression(r=0.408,P<0.01)and anxiety(r=0.391,P<0.01)were significantly and positively related to NSSI frequency.Conclusion Adolescents with BD had a longer course of NSSI than those with UD.More importantly,NSSI frequency were positively and strongly correlated with depression and anxiety symptoms,indicating the importance of adequate treatment of depression and anxiety in preventing and intervening adolescents’NSSI behaviors.

Non-suicidal self-injury in Shanghai inner bound middle school students

Background Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviour is very common among adolescents. Its prevalence and behavioural characteristics may vary according to regional and cultural differences. Investigation of NSSI locations and diagnosis of adolescents with NSSI are relatively lacking in China. Aims The study objective was to determine the prevalence and features of NSSI among middle school students in Shanghai. Methods The participants were from grade 6 to 8 selected from three junior schools in Jing’an District. Consenting students completed the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory to determine the prevalence and characteristics of NSSI. Those who indicated NSSI within the past month were administered the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents to assess for emotional disorders. Result The result shows 510 participants (21.7%;mean age 13.51 (0.97) years old;56.7% female) reported at least one instance of NSSI during the previous 12 months. NSSI was significantly more common in girls than boys (24.9% vs 18.5%;χ^2=14.03, p=0.00). Commonly reported reasons for NSSI were for internal and external emotion regulation (87.9%, 82.3%) and social influence (57.8%). Anxiety disorders were the most common (28.9%) disorder associated with NSSI. Conclusion The rate of NSSI of middle school students in Shanghai inner bound is similar to those reported in North American and European youth. It is essential that school mental health professionals are aware of how to manage NSSI within the school setting.

Research progress on brain-derived neurotrophic factor and non-suicidal self-injury addictive behavior associated with depressive disorders in adolescents

In recent years,non-suicidal self-injury(NSSI)behavior has emerged in a large number of adoles-cent depression.NSSI associated with adolescent depres-sion may be an addictive behavior,which has many sim-ilar neurobiological mechanisms to substance addiction.Brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)and precursor of BDNF(proBDNF)play an important role in addiction behavior,and they may be related to endogenous opioid receptors.The location and distribution of opioidμre-ceptors in the brain are related to reward,motivation and emotion regulated by behavioral addiction.The purpose of this paper is to review the general situation,mechanism and relationship between the characteristics of NSSI be-havior addiction and brain-derived nutritional factors in adolescents with depression.

Reviewing Self-Injuries Behavior in Macaques: The Role of Early Experience and Genetics in an Integrated Non-Human Model

Genetic differences in non-human primates and the context where they were reared are important in the determination of their behaviors. Some studies suggest that Self-Injurious Behavior results from stress or anxiety, but some macaques appear to be more vulnerable to acquiring Self-Injurious Behavior. Vulnerability and risk for socially reared macaques of developing Self-Injurious Behavior increased when they experienced early adverse events and suffered from consequent stress. Stressful events can cause alterations in the neuroendocrine and neuropeptide systems associated with the regulation of stress and anxiety. Dysregulation in these systems contributes to the occurrence of anxious episodes that lead to self-harm. This could be used by those animals to counteract the effects of anxiety, causing euphoria by releasing endogenous opioids. In developing an integrative approach of Self-Injurious Behavior, we propose the diathesis-stress model to illustrate how the environment and genetics are influenced as well, taking rhesus monkeys as an example. Rhesus macaques and humans have essentially the same gene 5-HTT as well as functional polymorphism. The allelic variation in the region promoting the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) was associated with significant differences in the number of depressive symptoms and contributions to social reward and punishment. Growing up without the mother and the rearing environment are important risk factors for developing abnormal behaviors. The main idea is that monkeys who carry short 5-HTT allele and are reared with their peers (without their mother) suffer from

Review on Psychology Research Based on Artificial Intelligence Methodologies

The field of psychology and health care are often viewed as very different. One of the main differences between these two fields is the application of prediction. When it comes to physical health, the health care and the medical field can predict outcomes of an individual’s health based on things like diet, exercise, and genetic makeup. Psychology is a little bit different;psychologists are great at predicting behavioral changes in patients, but the prediction of an individual’s mental health is not up to par with the prediction of physical health in the medical field for several factors. The scope of this study is to highlight how artificial intelligence has been applied to the field of psychology. In particular, how machine learning and deep learning technologies have been used to predict developmental risks of mental health disorders and risk of suicidal/self-injurious behaviors, as well as how artificial intelligence can be used to detect levels of depression.

Cutting and other forms of derma-abuse in adolescents

Cutting or self inflicted epidermal damage (derma-abuse) describes a number of blood- letting behaviours among adolescents. Unlike suicidal behaviour, it is associated with low lethality and the absence of suicidal attempts. The purpose of this study is two-fold: Firstly, to present and discuss vignettes of four young adolescents and secondly, to study the dynamics and characteristics of six derma-abusers who have attended Dual Group Therapy (DGT) concurrently with their parents for a six month period. Our findings suggest that patients involved in derma-abuse are generally non-suicidal but engage in comfort cutting for the psychological release of pain, tension reduction and anger management. There is a preponderance of females (80%) with an over-representation of mixed origin and borderline cultural states. In this small group, males amounted to 20% and were more bizarre, gruesome and brutal in their self-abuse. Of the total sample, 10% were of African origin, 60% were of Indian descent and 30% were of mixed ancestry. Psy- chodynamic factors explored in Dual Group Therapy (DGT) are the emphasis on non-suicidal intent, association with tension reduction, reclaiming power and mastery over self and others, life and death instincts, the significance of bloodletting in a socio-cultural context, trans- generational conflicts, dysfunctional family dynamics frequently with parental separation and sexual abuse and early sexual induction.

Potential for treatment of severe autism in tuberous sclerosis complex

The Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has approved two mechanismbased treatments for tuberous sclero-sis complex(TSC)-everolimus and vigabatrin. However, these treatments have not been systematically studied in individuals with TSC and severe autism. The aim of this review is to identify the clinical features of severe autism in TSC, applicable preclinical models, and potential barriers that may warrant strategic planning in the design phase of clinical trial development. A comprehensive search strategy was formed and searched across Pub Med, Embase and SCOPUS from their inception to 2/21/12, 3/16/12, and 3/12/12 respectively. After the final search date, relevant, updated articles were selected from Pub Med abstracts generated electronically and emailed daily from Pub Med. The references of selected articles were searched, and relevant articles were selected. A search of clinicaltrials.gov was completed using the search term "TSC" and "tuberous sclerosis complex". Autism has been reported in as many as 60% of individuals with TSC; however, review of the literature revealed few data to support clear classification of the severity of autism in TSC. Variability was identified in the diagnostic approach, assessment of cognition, and functional outcome among the reviewed studies and case reports. Objective outcome measures were not used in many early studies; however, diffusion tensor imaging of white matter, neurophysiologic variability in infantile spasms, and cortical tuber subcategories were examined in recent studies and may be useful for objective classification of TSC in future studies. Mechanism-based treatments for TSC are currently available. However, this literature review revealed two potential barriers to successful design and implementation of clinical trials in individuals with severe autism-an unclear definition of the population and lack of validated outcome measures. Recent studies of objective outcome measures in TSC and further study of applicable preclinical models present an opportunity to overcome these barriers.

Abnormal brain activity in nonsuicidal self-injury:a coordinate-based activation likelihood meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies

Background:The high prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury(NSSI)in youths demonstrates a substantial population-level burden on society.NSSI is often associated with emotional and social skill deficits.To date,several studies have aimed to identify the underlying neural mechanism of those deficits in NSSI by using functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI).However,their conclusions display poor consistency.Objective:We aimed to conduct ameta-analysis using activation likelihood estimation(ALE)for fMRI data based on emotional and cognitive tasks to clarify the underlying neural processing deficits of NSSI.Methods:We searched for MRI studies of NSSI in the PubMed,Cochrane,and Embase databases.We identified significant foci for the included studies and conducted two ALE meta-analyses as follows:(i)activation for the NSSI contrast healthy control group and(ii)deactivation for the NSSI contrast healthy controls.Considering the diverse sex composition of study participants and possible bias from one large sample study,we conducted sensitivity analyses for the meta-analysis.Results:Nine studies comprising 359 participants were included,and the results demonstrated substantial activation in NSSI patients compared with healthy controls in two clusters located in the right medial frontal gyrus extending to the rostral anterior cingulate and the left inferior frontal gyrus extending to the insula.Conclusions:The results suggest that individuals with NSSI show brain activity alterations that underpin their core symptoms,including poor emotional regulation and reward processing deficits.Our findings provide new insights into the neuralmechanism of NSSI,whichmay serve as functional biomarkers for developing effective diagnosis and therapeutic interventions for these patients.