Depressive illness is generally associated with cognitive impairment. Serotonergic selective antidepressant drugs, fluoxetine (FLX), sertraline (SER) and tianeptine (TIA), are claimed to have less or no effect on cholinergic system, the key system involved in memory. In the present study, these drugs were evaluated for their influence on cognitive behavior in both depressive and non-depressive ...

The present study examines whether self-criticism and depressive symptoms mediate the relationship between recollections of parental rejection and suicidality. A community sample of 200 Portuguese adults completed, in counterbalanced order, a socio-demographic questionnaire, the short form of the Inventory for Assessing Memories of Parental Rearing Behaviour (EMBU), the Depressive Experiences Q...

The relationship of coping behavior to outcome in depressed patients was examined. Subjects (n=105) with major depressive disorder (n=85), depressive disorder not otherwise specified (n=7) or major depressive disorder with axis I comorbidity (n=13) were followed for 6 months. Their coping behavior (i.e. rumination, active distraction, cognitive distraction and dangerous activities) was defined ...

People with symptoms of depression show impairments in decision-making. One explanation is that they have difficulty maintaining rich representations of the task environment. We test this hypothesis in the context of exploratory choice. We analyze depressive and non-depressive participants' exploration strategies by comparing their choices to two computational models: (1) an "Ideal Actor" model...

People with symptoms of depression show impairments in decision-making. One explanation is that they have difficulty maintaining rich representations of the task environment. We test this hypothesis in the context of exploratory choice. We analyze depressive and non-depressive participants’ exploration strategies by comparing their choices to two computational models: 1) an “Ideal Actor” model ...

Inflammatory cytokines and microbe-borne immunostimulators have emerged as triggers of depressive behavior. Behavioral alterations affect patients chronically infected by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. We have previously shown that C3H/He mice present acute phase-restricted meningoencephalitis with persistent central nervous system (CNS) parasitism, whereas C57BL/6 mice are resistant to T. cru...

The present longitudinal study examined the relations between plasma oxytocin, theory of mind, and maternal interactive behavior during the perinatal period. A community sample of women was assessed at 12-14 weeks gestation, 32-34 weeks gestation, and 7-9 weeks postpartum. Oxytocin during late pregnancy was significantly positively correlated with a measure of theory of mind, and predicted theo...

BACKGROUND Patients with non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) suffer from recurrent chest pain and make substantial use of healthcare resources. OBJECTIVE To explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms, cardiac anxiety, and fear of body sensations in patients discharged with a NCCP diagnosis; and to describe how depressive symptoms, cardiac anxiety, and fear of body sensations are related to each ...

Dynorphins, endogenous opioid peptides that arise from the precursor protein prodynorphin (Pdyn), are hypothesized to be involved in the regulation of mood states and the neuroplasticity associated with addiction. The current study tested the hypothesis that dynorphin in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) mediates such effects. More specifically, we examined whether knockdown of Pdyn within the NAcc ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Perceived injustice has been defined as an appraisal regarding the severity and irreparability of loss associated with pain, blame and a sense of unfairness. Recent findings have identified perceived injustice as an important risk factor for pain-related outcomes. Studies suggest that perceived injustice is associated with opioid prescription in patients with pain conditi...