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Topic Review
The Tryptophan-Kynurenine Metabolic Pathway
Tryptophan (TRP) is one of the essential amino acids, which participates in protein synthesis. The tryptophan’s main metabolic route is the kynurenine pathway (KP) through which approximately 90-95% of TRP degrades into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and other bioactive metabolites. The appropriate amount of NAD+ is essential to maintain the operation and the viability of cells. The other molecules are neurotoxic, neuroprotective, oxidant, antioxidant, and/or immune modifiers. They play an important role in the function of the brain and the peripheral tissues. The change in the levels of the bioactive molecules is considered to contribute to the development of a wide range of illnesses from cancer to immunologic, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric diseases.
  • 11.5K
  • 10 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Death Anxiety
Death anxiety is an unavoidable common phenomenon in our lives across cultures and religions. It is multidimensional and explained by different theoretical frameworks. Death anxiety can have negative impacts on wellbeing. Death is an inevitable experience that generates a reduced sense of safety and stronger fear (Alkozei et al. 2019). 
  • 7.6K
  • 06 Feb 2021
Topic Review
CBT-E for Eating Disorders
Enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy, also known as CBT-E, is a “transdiagnostic” psychological treatment for all forms of eating disorder including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other similar states. CBT-E is the only treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for all the forms of eating disorders both for adults and adolescents
  • 2.3K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Voyeurism
Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions usually considered to be of a private nature. The term comes from the French voir which means "to see". A male voyeur is commonly labelled as "Peeping Tom" or a "Jags", a term which originates from the Lady Godiva legend. However, that term is usually applied to a male who observes somebody secretly and, generally, not in a public space. The American Psychiatric Association has classified certain voyeuristic fantasies, urges and behaviour patterns as a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) if the person has acted on these urges, or the sexual urges or fantasies cause marked distress or interpersonal difficulty. It is described as a disorder of sexual preference in the ICD-10. The DSM-IV defines voyeurism as the act of looking at "unsuspecting individuals, usually strangers, who are naked, in the process of disrobing, or engaging in sexual activity". The diagnosis would not be given to people who experience typical sexual arousal simply by seeing nudity or sexual activity. In order to be diagnosed with voyeuristic disorder the symptoms must persist for over six months and the person in question must be over the age of 18.
  • 2.2K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Effects of Stress Exposure
Stress could be defined as an organism's entire response to environmental demands or strains. Exposure to highly stressful or traumatic events, depending on the stage of life in which stress exposure occurs, could severely affect limbic structures, including the amygdala, and lead to alterations in social and affective behaviors.
  • 2.0K
  • 30 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Internet Addiction Disorder
Internet addiction disorder (IAD), sometimes also called pathologic/problematic internet use (PIU), is widely defined in terms of an impulse control disorder characterized by uncontrolled Internet use. The disorder is associated with significant functional impairment and/or clinically measurable distress, anxiety, depression, and other psychopathological symptom.
  • 2.0K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Homeopathy and Psychological Therapies
Homeopathy is a popular, although highly debated, medicinal practice based on the administration of remedies in which active substances are so diluted that no detectable trace of them remains in the final product. This hypothesis paper aims to outline a possible reinterpretation of homeopathy in the light of psychological therapies in order to improve its clinical safety and sustainability. 
  • 1.9K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
European Policy Preventing Internet Addiction
Internet use-related addiction problems are increasingly being recognized on a European scale due to international health organizations considering gaming addiction. In April 2013, the American Psychiatric Association recognized Internet Gaming Disorder in the fifth Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and in April 2018, the World Health Organization included Gaming Disorder in the eleventh International Classification of Diseases. However, findings on these problems within this period are lacking in Europe, and a preventive approach is missing globally. A detailed critical literature review was conducted using PsycINFO and Web of Science in this five-year period. A total of 19 studies were reviewed and problems identified were: generalized Internet addiction and online gaming and gambling addictions across seven European countries (i.e., Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, The Netherlands, and Denmark). The individuals with problematic use were found to be educated adolescents, usually young males with comorbid disorders, and gaming and gambling disorders were implicated in the most severe cases. Cognitive behavioral therapy was the main treatment, sometimes combined with a systemic approach for adolescents. Prevalence, high-risk populations, and factors contributing to these addiction problems are discussed, and a set of policy options are developed for this region. The implications for early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention in Europe are considered.
  • 1.7K
  • 06 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the impairment of the cognitive function of a child. Studies suggested that the intestinal microbiota has a critical role in the function and regulation of the central nervous system, neuroimmune system, and neuroendocrine system. Any adverse changes in the gut-brain axis may cause serious diseases. Food preferences and dietary patterns are considered as key influencing factors of ASD development. Several recent reviews narrated the importance of dietary composition on controlling or reducing the ASD symptoms. It has been known that consumption of probiotics confers several health benefits by positive amendment of gut microbiota. Influence of probiotic intervention in children with ASD have also been reported and it has been considered as an alternative and complementary therapeutic supplement for ASD. The present manuscript discussed the role of microbiota in the development of ASD. 
  • 1.7K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Paraphilia
Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. There is no scientific consensus for any precise border between unusual sexual interests and paraphilic ones. There is debate over which, if any, of the paraphilias should be listed in diagnostic manuals, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The number and taxonomy of paraphilia is under debate; one source lists as many as 549 types of paraphilia. The DSM-5 has specific listings for eight paraphilic disorders. Several sub-classifications of the paraphilias have been proposed, and some argue that a fully dimensional, spectrum or complaint-oriented approach would better reflect the evidence.
  • 1.6K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Thalamus
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a common mental disorder, with high lifetime prevalence approximately 6–10% . The prevalence of PTSD in trauma-exposed people has been approximately 20%. PTSD is induced by traumatic stress including life threatening, actual or threatened severe injury, and sexual violence. In DSM-V criteria, PTSD has the following symptoms: intrusion of unwanted memory updates related to traumatic stress, avoidance for reminders, negative alterations in mood, and hyper-arousal. Conservatively, fear-conditioned learning involving the amygdala has been considered one of the causative factors.
  • 1.5K
  • 03 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Alcohol Craving
Craving is a multidimensional phenomenon involving an intense urge to consume substances. It is perceived as an individual experience of “wanting” a drug that may result in motivational and drug-seeking behavioral patterns. Alcohol craving has been extensively studied due to its clinical implications in the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Craving is considered one of the mechanisms that promote relapse after treatment discharge and even after a prolonged period of abstinence. To better understand the magnitude of the relationship between craving and relapse, it is fundamental to explore factors associated with alcohol craving as it may help in the development of more efficient treatment approaches to prevent relapse in AUD patients.
  • 1.4K
  • 28 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Schizophrenia
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) consist of short and structured intervention protocols focused on teaching patients the use of mindfulness for therapeutic purposes. Over the last three decades, there has been a remarkable expansion of this kind of interventions for the treatment of various psychopathological conditions. Despite this, MBIs have only recently begun to be applied in the treatment of people with schizophrenia. Analysis of the available evidence on MBIs for the treatment of people with this disorder suggests that they are effective and safe treatments, although more research is needed to draw more robust conclusions.  
  • 1.3K
  • 13 Jul 2020
Topic Review
Sterol Regulatory Element-binding Proteins
Sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) is a key modulatory molecule involved in lipid homeostasis in the central nervous system. However, little is known about the biological effects of SREBP-1c in the brain. Our previous study uncovered that mice deficient in SREBP-1c exhibit schizophrenia-like behaviors. We analyzed the transcriptomes of the hippocampus of SREBP-1c knockout (KO) mice and wild-type mice in order to investigate whether there are novel molecular mechanisms involved in the neurological aberrations caused by SREBP-1c deficiency. This study found seven differentially expressed genes (three up-regulated and four down-regulated genes) in the hippocampus of SREBP-1c KO mice. For further verification, we selected the three most significantly changed genes: glucagon-like peptide 2 receptors (GLP2R) involved in hippocampal neurogenesis and neuroplasticity as well as in cognitive impairments; necdin (NDN) which is related to neuronal death and neurodevelopmental disorders; and Erb-B2 receptor tyrosine kinase 4 (ERBB4) which is a receptor for schizophrenia-linked protein, neuregulin-1. The protein levels of GLP2R and NDN were considerably decreased, but the level of ERBB4 was significantly increased in the hippocampus of SREBP-1c KO mice. We suggest that these data provide novel molecular evidence for the modulatory role of SREBP-1c in the mouse hippocampus.
  • 1.2K
  • 03 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Caregivers
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder typically occurring after the exposure, both direct and indirect, to a traumatic event, and is characterized by the onset and persistence of a series of clinical symptoms that can often be profoundly incapacitating and tendentially chronic. In the past decades, increasing attention has been deserved to PTSD among caregivers of patients affected by severe medical conditions characterized by a risk for life, a severe impairment or a chronic course (e.g. cancer, severe injuries, type 1 diabetes and neurologic disorders) highlighting the potential traumatic role of such experiences.
  • 1.2K
  • 22 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Cognitive Interventions
With older adults, cognitive intervention programs are most often used for preventing or reversing a decline in cognitive functions. Under the heading of cognitive intervention, a multitude of diverse programs are found. In order to classify this field, we will distinguish between: (1) cognitive training programs (programs that train basic cognitive strategies), (2) cognitive rehabilitation (mono or multidimensional programs on specific skills like memory, attention, arithmetic, etc.), and (3) cognitive stimulation (continuous practice programs or use of external resources).
  • 1.2K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Delirium
Delirium is a set of neuropsychiatric symptoms, including qualitative disturbances of consciousness and attention, which may be accompanied by cognitive deficits and psychotic symptoms. The incidence of delirium varies from several percent in patients hospitalized in general wards up to 80% in patients with multi-organ failure treated in intensive care units. Delirium worsens the prognosis, extends hospitalization time, and may increase mortality.
  • 1.2K
  • 27 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Psilocybin
Psilocybin, a psychoactive alkaloid contained in hallucinogenic mushrooms, is nowadays given a lot of attention in the scientific community as a research tool for modeling psychosis as well as due to its potential therapeutic effects. Psilocybin was marketed by Sandoz as Indocybin for basic psychopharmacological and therapeutic clinical research, rising in popularity during the 1960s and classified as a Schedule I drug in 1970. Psilocybin is a naturally occurring tryptamine known for its psychedelic properties. Recent research indicates that psilocybin may constitute a valid approach to treat depression and anxiety associated to life-threatening diseases. 
  • 1.2K
  • 23 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Concurrent Disorder
Concurrent disorder refers to a diverse set of combinations of substance use disorders and mental disorders simultaneously in need of treatment. Concurrent disorders are underdiagnosed, undertreated, and more complex to manage, practicing the best recommendations can support better outcomes. The purpose of this work is to systematically assess the quality of the current concurrent disorders’ clinical recommendation management guidelines. Literature searches were performed by two independent authors in electronic databases, web, and gray literature. The inclusion criteria were English language clinical management guidelines for adult concurrent disorders between 2000 and 2020. The initial search resulted in 8841 hits. A total of 24 guidelines were identified and assessed with the standardized guidelines assessment tool: AGREE II (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation). Most guidelines had acceptable standards, however, only the NICE guidelines had all detailed information on all AGREE II Domains. Guidelines generally supported combinations of treatments for individual disorders with a very small evidence base for concurrent disorders, and they provided little recommendation for further structuring of the field, such as level of complexity or staging, or evaluating dierent models of treatment integration.
  • 1.2K
  • 01 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mental Health in Adults
High total intake of fruits and vegetables, and some of their specific subgroups including berries, citrus, and green leafy vegetables, may promote higher levels of optimism and self-efficacy, as well as reduce the level of psychological distress, ambiguity, and cancer fatalism, and protect against depressive symptoms. The general recommendation to consume at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day may be beneficial also for mental health.
  • 1.2K
  • 30 Oct 2020
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