Faculty Bibliography
Searched for:
school:SOM
Department/Unit:Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Total Results:
11432
Blood pressure before and after electroconvulsive therapy in hypertensive and nonhypertensive patients
The effect of a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on blood pressure control in hypertensive patients has not been studied. We retrospectively examined pre- and post-ECT blood pressures in hypertensive and nonhypertensive patients. In neither group was there a statistically significant change in blood pressure with a course of ECT. We conclude that a course of ECT does not worsen blood pressure in hypertensive patients beyond the peritreatment period.
PMID: 17435564
ISSN: 1095-0680
CID: 169986
Mapping autism risk loci using genetic linkage and chromosomal rearrangements
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are common, heritable neurodevelopmental conditions. The genetic architecture of ASDs is complex, requiring large samples to overcome heterogeneity. Here we broaden coverage and sample size relative to other studies of ASDs by using Affymetrix 10K SNP arrays and 1,181 [corrected] families with at least two affected individuals, performing the largest linkage scan to date while also analyzing copy number variation in these families. Linkage and copy number variation analyses implicate chromosome 11p12-p13 and neurexins, respectively, among other candidate loci. Neurexins team with previously implicated neuroligins for glutamatergic synaptogenesis, highlighting glutamate-related genes as promising candidates for contributing to ASDs
PMCID:4867008
PMID: 17322880
ISSN: 1061-4036
CID: 104011
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2007:46(3):323-31.DOI: 10.1097/chi.0b013e31802b9522
Social interaction behaviors discriminate young children with autism and Williams syndrome
OBJECTIVE: Autistic disorder (AD) and Williams syndrome (WS) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by contrasting abnormal social behavior (the former, socially avoidant; the latter, outwardly social); nonetheless, there are individuals with WS who display some behaviors that are characteristic of AD. We quantified the extent to which autism spectrum disorder (ASD) behaviors were present in children with WS. METHOD: Twenty children with WS (27-58 months) and 26 age- and IQ-equivalent children with AD were administered the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). ADOS behaviors were compared between groups. RESULTS: Two children with WS met DSM-IV criteria for AD, one of whom was also classified as having AD by the ADOS algorithm. Discriminant analysis of ADOS behaviors indicated that gesture, showing, and quality of social overtures best discriminated the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although some children with WS demonstrated some ASD behaviors, and a minority of children with WS had coexisting AD, the symptom profile in WS was different from AD. Despite some deficits in communication behaviors, showing, and initiating joint attention, children with WS made social overtures and efforts to engage others, whereas children with AD tended not to do so
PMID: 17314718
ISSN: 0890-8567
CID: 143041
fMRI predictors of treatment outcome in pediatric anxiety disorders
INTRODUCTION: A growing number of studies have found evidence that anxiety and depressive disorders are associated with atypical amygdala hyperactivation, which decreases with effective treatment. Interest has emerged in this phenomenon as a possible biological marker for individuals who are likely to benefit from tailored treatment approaches. OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to examine relationships between pretreatment amygdala activity and treatment response in a sample of anxious children and adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants, who were diagnosed predominantly with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning before treatment with fluoxetine or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). RESULTS: Results indicated significant negative associations between degree of left amygdala activation and measures of posttreatment symptom improvement in the group, as a whole. DISCUSSION: Taken together with research on associations between adult amygdala activation and treatment response, these findings suggest that patients whose pretreatment amygdala activity is the strongest may be particularly likely to respond well to such widely used treatments as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications and CBT.
PMID: 16972100
ISSN: 0033-3158
CID: 161950
Psychometric properties of the Alabama parenting questionnaire-preschool revision
The psychometric properties of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-Preschool Revision (APQ-PR) were explored in a sample of hyperactive-inattentive preschool children (N = 47) and nonimpaired controls (N = 113). A subset of parents completed the questionnaire on 2 occasions, approximately 1 year apart. Factor analysis revealed a 3-factor solution, accounting for 32.28% of the variance. The resultant Positive Parenting, Negative/Inconsistent Parenting, and Punitive Parenting factors demonstrated good internal consistency and temporal stability. At baseline, parents of hyperactive-inattentive and control children did not differ on any APQ-PR subscale. However, over time parents of controls increased their use of positive parenting techniques, whereas the use of positive parenting practices decreased over time in the hyperactive-inattentive group.
PMID: 17206878
ISSN: 1537-4416
CID: 164607
Preferential incorporation of adult-generated granule cells into spatial memory networks in the dentate gyrus
Throughout adulthood, new neurons are continuously added to the dentate gyrus, a hippocampal subregion that is important in spatial learning. Whether these adult-generated granule cells become functionally integrated into memory networks is not known. We used immunohistochemical approaches to visualize the recruitment of new neurons into circuits supporting water maze memory in intact mice. We show that as new granule cells mature, they are increasingly likely to be incorporated into circuits supporting spatial memory. By the time the cells are 4 or more weeks of age, they are more likely than existing granule cells to be recruited into circuits supporting spatial memory. This preferential recruitment supports the idea that new neurons make a unique contribution to memory processing in the dentate gyrus.
PMID: 17277773
ISSN: 1097-6256
CID: 4625222
Performance on a virtual reality spatial memory navigation task in depressed patients
OBJECTIVE: Findings on spatial memory in depression have been inconsistent. A navigation task based on virtual reality may provide a more sensitive and consistent measure of the hippocampal-related spatial memory deficits associated with depression. METHOD: Performance on a novel virtual reality navigation task and a traditional measure of spatial memory was assessed in 30 depressed patients (unipolar and bipolar) and 19 normal comparison subjects. RESULTS: Depressed patients performed significantly worse than comparison subjects on the virtual reality task, as assessed by the number of locations found in the virtual town. Between-group differences were not detected on the traditional measure. The navigation task showed high test-retest reliability. CONCLUSIONS: Depressed patients performed worse than healthy subjects on a novel spatial memory task. Virtual reality navigation may provide a consistent, sensitive measure of cognitive deficits in patients with affective disorders, representing a mechanism to study a putative endophenotype for hippocampal function.
PMID: 17329478
ISSN: 0002-953x
CID: 161937
The development and validation of the Indigenous Risk Impact Screen (IRIS): a 13-item screening instrument for alcohol and drug and mental health risk
The study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Indigenous Risk Impact Screen (IRIS) as a screening instrument for determining (i) the presence of alcohol and drug and mental health risk in Indigenous adult Australians and (ii) the cut-off scores that discriminate most effectively between the presence and absence of risk. A cross-sectional survey was used in clinical and non-clinical Indigenous and non-Indigenous services across Queensland Australia. A total of 175 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from urban, rural, regional and remote locations in Queensland took part in the study. Measures included the Indigenous Risk Impact Screen (IRIS), the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (LDQ). Additional Mental Health measures included the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ). Principle axis factoring analysis of the IRIS revealed two factors corresponding with (i) alcohol and drug and (ii) mental health. The IRIS alcohol and drug and mental health subscales demonstrated good convergent validity with other well-established screening instruments and both subscales showed high internal consistency. A receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to generate cut-offs for the two subscales and t-tests validated the utility of these cut-offs for determining risky levels of drinking. The study validated statistically the utility of the IRIS as a screen for alcohol and drug and mental health risk. The instrument is therefore recommended as a brief screening instrument for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
PMID: 17364845
ISSN: 0959-5236
CID: 377272
Distribution of NMDA and AMPA receptor subunits at thalamo-amygdaloid dendritic spines
Synapses onto dendritic spines in the lateral amygdala formed by afferents from the auditory thalamus represent a site of plasticity in Pavlovian fear conditioning. Previous work has demonstrated that thalamic afferents synapse onto LA spines expressing glutamate receptor (GluR) subunits, but the GluR subunit distribution at the synapse and within the cytoplasm has not been characterized. Therefore, we performed a quantitative analysis for alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) receptor subunits GluR2 and GluR3 and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits NR1 and NR2B by combining anterograde labeling of thalamo-amygdaloid afferents with postembedding immunoelectron microscopy for the GluRs in adult rats. A high percentage of thalamo-amygdaloid spines was immunoreactive for GluR2 (80%), GluR3 (83%), and NR1 (83%), while a smaller proportion of spines expressed NR2B (59%). To compare across the various subunits, the cytoplasmic to synaptic ratios of GluRs were measured within thalamo-amygdaloid spines. Analyses revealed that the cytoplasmic pool of GluR2 receptors was twice as large compared to the GluR3, NR1, and NR2B subunits. Our data also show that in the adult brain, the NR2B subunit is expressed in the majority of in thalamo-amygdaloid spines and that within these spines, the various GluRs are differentially distributed between synaptic and non-synaptic sites. The prevalence of the NR2B subunit in thalamo-amygdaloid spines provides morphological evidence supporting its role in the fear conditioning circuit while the differential distribution of the GluR subtypes may reflect distinct roles for their involvement in this circuitry and synaptic plasticity
PMCID:2359729
PMID: 17207780
ISSN: 0006-8993
CID: 90507
Association between lung function and mental health problems among adults in the United States: findings from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
The objective of this study was to determine the association between lung function and mental health problems among adults in the United States. Data were drawn from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1971-1975), with available information on a representative sample of US adults aged 25-74 years. Lung function was assessed by spirometry, and provisional diagnoses of restrictive and obstructive airway disease were assigned based on percentage of expected forced expiratory volume. Mental health problems were assessed with the General Well-Being scales. Restrictive lung function and obstructive lung function, compared with normal lung function, were each associated with a significantly increased likelihood of mental health problems. After adjustment for differences in demographic characteristics, obstructive lung function was associated with significantly lower overall well-being (p = 0.025), and restrictive lung function was associated with significantly lower overall well-being (p < 0.001), general health (p < 0.0001), vitality (p < 0.0001), and self-control (p = 0.001) and with higher depression (p = 0.002) subscale scores compared with no lung function problems. Consistent with previous findings from clinical and community-based studies, these results extend available data by providing evidence of a link between objectively measured lung function and self-reported mental health problems in a representative sample of community adults. Future studies are needed to determine the mechanisms of these associations.
PMID: 17158187
ISSN: 0002-9262
CID: 161944
