Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as the Basis for Preventive Intervention in a Sleep Health Program: A Quasi-Experimental Study of E-Mail Newsletters to College Students

Several reports suggest that college students often have atypical sleep patterns and experience poor sleep quality. We examined the effect of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) based intervention program to improve sleep quality and overall mental health among college students. The intervention was delivered in the form of e-mail newsletters. Fifty-three students participated in the intervention group, and another 50 students participated in the control group. The intervention group received a lecture on sleep hygiene;once-weekly e-mail newsletters on sleep health topics (sleep hygiene, stimulus control, sleep restriction, sleep titration, and relapse prevention) and were asked to maintain a four-week sleep diary. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a measure of sleep quality, and the Kessler 6, a measure of psychological distress, were administered before the lecture (as the baseline measurement) and again 16 weeks later (follow-up measurement). PSQI and K6 scores were reduced in the intervention group compared with the control group. A CBT-based sleep health program utilizing e-mail newsletters may work to improve sleep quality and mental health. This program may represent a cost effective way for Japanese students to receive treatment for poor sleep and may also serve to prevent psychiatric problems.

Electroencephalogram Signal Correlations between Default Mode Network and Attentional Functioning

Attentional issues may affect acquiring new information, task performance, and learning. Cortical network activities change during different functional brain states, including the default mode network (DMN) and attention network. We investigated the neural mechanisms underlying attentional functions and correlations between DMN connectivity and attentional function using the Trail-Making Test (TMT)-A and -B. Electroencephalography recordings were performed by placing 19 scalp electrodes per the 10 - 20 system. The mean power level was calculated for each rest and task condition. Non-parametric Spearman’s rank correlation was used to examine the correlation in power levels between the rest and TMT conditions. The most significant correlations during TMT-A were observed in the high gamma wave, followed by theta and beta waves, indicating that most correlations were in the parietal lobe, followed by the frontal, central, and temporal lobes. The most significant correlations during TMT-B were observed in the beta wave, followed by the high and low gamma waves, indicating that most correlations were in the temporal lobe, followed by the parietal, frontal, and central lobes. Frontoparietal beta and gamma waves in the DMN may represent attentional functions.

Positive Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Visual Verbal Working Memory in Patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Background: Working memory is an executive function that plays an important role in many aspects of daily life, and its impairment in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects quality of life. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been a good target site for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) due to its intense involvement in working memory. In our 2018 study, tDCS improved visual-verbal working memory in healthy subjects. Objective: This study examines the effects of tDCS on ADHD patients, particularly on verbal working memory. Methods: We conducted an experiment involving verbal working memory of two modalities, visual and auditory, and a sustained attention task that could affect working memory in 9 ADHD patients. Active or sham tDCS was applied to the left DLPFC in a single-blind crossover design. Results: tDCS significantly improved the accuracy of visual-verbal working memory. In contrast, tDCS did not affect auditory-verbal working memory and sustained attention. Conclusion: tDCS to the left DLPFC improved visual-verbal working memory in ADHD patients, with important implications for potential ADHD treatments.

A Transient Fear Reduction by Pair-Exposure with a Non-Fearful Partner during Fear Extinction Independent from Corticosterone Level in Mice

Social interaction is known to alter behavior and emotional responses to various events. It has been reported that when fear-conditioned animals are put in a fear extinction paradigm with non-fearful conspecifics (pair-exposure), freezing behavior decreases compared to a solitary situation. However, it remains unclear whether pair-exposure during fear extinction is persistently effective in reducing the freezing response. In this study, we examined whether the effect of pair-exposure could be persistently effective on cued and contextual fear extinction. The reduction of the fear compared to the solitary condition was transiently observed only in the cued fear extinction with no difference in the subsequent recall session. We also found that the correlation between corticosterone levels and freezing behavior during extinction was disrupted in the pair-exposure situation. These results suggest that pair-exposure reduces freezing behavior in cued fear extinction, although this fear response reduction is not persistent. The pair-exposure changed an association between corticosterone levels and freezing behavior during extinction.

Clinical Factors Influencing Quality of Life in Anorexia Nervosa Patients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to elucidate clinical factors influencing quality of life (QOL) in anorexia nervosa (AN) patients. Methods: Twenty female patients with AN (median age = 30.0 years, quartile deviation = 6.8) and forty female healthy controls (HC) (median age = 30.0 years, quartile deviation = 8.6) participated in the study. QOL was assessed with the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and social support was evaluated using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Clinical symptoms were evaluated with the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (SIGH-D) and the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2). Results: Scores of the SF-36 Mental Component Summary (MCS) (U = 124.0, P U = 223.0, P = 0.006) and scores of total (U = 108.0, P < 0.0001) and subscales of the MSPSS were lower in AN group than HC group, and the SIGH-D score was higher (U = 46.0, P ρ = &minus;0.565, P < 0.05) and subscales of the EDI-2 Interoceptive Confusion (ρ = &minus;0.556, P ρ = &minus;0.581, P ρ = &minus;0.617, P < 0.05) were negatively correlated to MCS, and score of Interoceptive Confusion subscale showed a negative correlation to RCS (ρ = &minus;0.672, P < 0.05). Moreover, stepwise regression analysis showed that the SIGH-D score was an independent predictor of MCS and Interoceptive Confusion score predicted RCS. Conclusion: These results suggest that among a variety of clinical symptoms and psychopathologies, depressive symptoms, poor emotional awareness and impaired sense of control are the most important influencing factors on AN patients’ QOL.

Serum Levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in a Japanese Population

A role of lower brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) content in the pathogenesis of several mental illnesses has been suggested, especially in major depression. It is not known whether BDNF is involved in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Herein, we assessed the serum BDNF content and its correlation with symptom severity in a Japanese population with OCD. The serum BDNF levels of OCD patients (n = 39) and healthy controls (n = 37) were measured by ELISA. The severity of OCD symptoms was assessed by the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The OCD patients’ BDNF levels were significantly higher than those of the controls (17.5 ± 7.3 vs. 12.7 ± 4.7) (p < 0.01). No correlation was observed between the OCD patients’ BDNF levels and their OCD symptoms as scored by the Y-BOCS. For all 76 subjects, the BDI scores were significantly negatively correlated with the serum BDNF levels. Our findings revealed that contrary to previous reports, the serum BDNF content in OCD patients could be higher than that of healthy subjects.

Cell Proliferation Inhibition by Sericin from the Wild Silkworm, Cricula trifenestrata

Sericin is a major silk protein, and recent studies have shown that sericin has numerous physiological activities against cultured cells. For example, it accelerates mammalian cell proliferation and protects insect cells against cell death. In this study, we examined the activities of sericin prepared from the wild silkworm, Cricula trifenestrata. The results presented here indicated that C. trifenestrata sericin has anti-proliferative activity against feline kidney cells, while sericin from Bombyx mori promoted cell proliferation. The components of the sericin preparation that played a role in inhibition of proliferation were analyzed by fractionation through partition chromatography (Folch method) and reversed-phase chromatography. Our analysis showed that at least two components in the C. trifenestrata sericin preparation promoted the anti-proliferative activity in an additive or even synergistic manner. Therefore, differences in components between insect species may contribute to different activities against cultured cells.

Family-based association study of ZNF533, DOCK4 and IMMP2L gene polymorphisms linked to autism in a northeastern Chinese Han population

Objective： A study in a Caucasian population has identified two single-nucleotide polymorphisms （SNPs） in ZNF533, one in DOCK4, and two in IMMP2L, which were all significantly associated with autism. They are located in AUTS1 and AUTS5, which have been identified as autism susceptibility loci in several genome-wide screens. The present study aimed to investigate whether ZNF533, DOCK4, and IMMP2L genes are also associated with autism in a northeastern Chinese Han population. Methods： We performed a similar association study using families with three individuals （one autistic child and two unaffected parents）. A family-based transmission disequilibrium test （TDT） was used to analyze the results. Results： There were significant associations between autism and the two SNPs of ZNF533 gene （rs11885327： X^2=4.5200, P=0.0335; rs1964081 ：）（2=4.2610, P=0.0390） and the SNP of DOCK4 gene （rs2217262 X^2=5.3430, P=0.0208）. Conclusions： Our data suggest that ZNF533 and DOCK4 genes are linked to a predisposition to autism in the northeastern Chinese Han population.