Major depressive disorder presents a substantial global health burden, and at least 30-40% of patients exhibit treatment resistance to antidepressants. Ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, is used as an anesthetic agent. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved esketamine (the S-enantiomer of ketamine) as a therapeutic agent for treatment-resistant depression; however,...
Mindfulness has been spreading rapidly in the study and practice of Western psychology. Large amounts of research have shown that mindfulness training is effective in improving a variety of symptoms associated with physical and psychological disorders such as chronic pain, anxiety and depression. Moreover, mindfulness training is also proven to improve the level of dispositional mindfulness as...
Training in emotional regulation skills is one of the most important resources for the adaptation of athletes to contexts of sports pressure, especially during competitions. This study explored the effects of a mindfulness programme (Flow Meditation) on levels of impulsivity, mood and pre-competition anxiety-state in a sample of athletes (N = 41, 22.83 ± 5.62 years). Participants were randomly...
BMC Pregnancy and ChildbirthMarch 20, 2023Tamora A. Callands, Kandyce Hylick, Alethea Desrosiers et al.7 citations
BACKGROUND: Following 14 years of civil war in Liberia, war exposure, gender-based violence, and extreme poverty have been identified as key challenges affecting the mental and sexual health of young pregnant women and the health of their unborn children. Despite ongoing efforts to rebuild the country's healthcare infrastructure, empirical and culturally tailored interventions to address the...
March 20, 2023Hafiza Khadija Shahid, Ruman Zahra, Afaq Ahmed
Article Reviewed: Title: "Sleep paralysis and trauma, psychiatric symptoms and disorders in an adult African American population attending primary medical care." Authors: Johnson EO, Roth T, Breslau N. Journal: Sleep, 2006 Jun;29(6):671-8. This research paper investigates the prevalence of sleep paralysis and its relationship to trauma, psychiatric symptoms, and disorders in an adult African...
Autoscopic phenomena are considered as a psychic illusory visual experience consisting of the perception of the image of one's own body or face within space, this can be either internal or from an external point of view.Previous descriptions were based on phenomenological criteria to distinguish six types of autoscopic experiences such as autoscopic hallucination, he-autoscopy or heautoscopic...
Background Identifying predictors of treatment outcome can guide treatment selection and optimize use of resources. In patients affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), perfectionism has emerged as one possible predictor, with some data suggesting that cognitive-behavioral therapy outcomes are poorer for more perfectionistic patients. Findings so far are inconsistent, however, and...
Background: Depressive symptoms are common among patients with lung cancer. We aimed to assess the effects of esketamine on postoperative depressive symptoms after thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 156 patients undergoing thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive intravenous...
In the televised fictional drama "Nine Perfect Strangers," based on a novel with the same name,1 nine people gather for a retreat in a wellness resort which promises to heal and transform them. The guests discover that as part of the program the charismatic owner of "Tranquillum" has been feeding them smoothies spiked with psilocybin-containing mush room extract without their knowledge. After...
Inflammation is an organism’s biological defense mechanism. Acute and chronic inflammation of the body triggers the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways that can affect the content of cytokines in the brain and thus cause brain inflammation. Disorders such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often associated with elevated inflammation. Recently, positive and...