Volume Articles

Mini Review:The Mental and Physical Consequences of Chinese Shidu Parents

Qianlan Yin^#, Zhuoer Sun^#, Weizhi Liu*

Faculty of Psychology and Mental Health, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China

“Shidu Parents” (SDP) means parents whose only child has passed away or is disabled to perform the basic social function and daily living activities due to an accident or other events. These parents cannot conceive or adopt another child. Bereavement is a great grief and threat to mental and physical states evidenced by many studies, but SDP are a new and increasing subgroup emerging in this field, especially in China. The goal of this paper is to review the research literature regarding mental and physical health consequences of SDP and the intertwined influence, thus to add to the corresponding assistance from the government.

Commentary: Integration of gene expression and GWAS results supports involvement of calcium signaling in Schizophrenia

L. Hertzberg^1,2*, E. Domany¹

¹Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

²The Emotion-Cognition Research Center, Shalvata Mental Health Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

The number of Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) of schizophrenia, as well as that of subjects studied have increased dramatically over the last years. Nevertheless, biologically meaningful interpretation of GWAS results remains very difficult due to the complexity and heterogeneity of both clinical and genetic aspects of schizophrenia, and the small contribution of each single gene to the disease. Our study presented a methodology that integrated GWAS results with gene expression data, and applied it to schizophrenia. Integration of two types of information, of both DNA-level and of messenger RNA (mRNA) level, increases the validity and reliability of the results and improves our understanding of the biological meaning of the GWAS results. We comment here on the methodology used and the main result of our study.

The Deep Evolutionary Roots of 'Addiction'

Moira J van Staaden^1,2*, F Scott Hall^1,3 and Robert Huber^1,2

¹Juvatech creative behavioral designs, Maumee, OH 43537, USA

²JP Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind & Behavior, Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA

³Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA

Addiction is now recognized as a phenomenon with exceedingly deep evolutionary roots. Addictive plant alkaloids, as secondary metabolites, evolved primarily to counter insect herbivory. Although some views regard addiction as a human/mammal specific, cognitive phenomenon, we suggest that its roots are found in much more fundamental biological mechanisms for learning and motivation, mechanisms which are shared by taxa since the early evolution of bilateral metazoans. According to this view, addiction is fundamentally an invertebrate phenomenon and humans can be viewed as collateral damage in this coevolutionary arms race. Results from a variety of invertebrate preparations demonstrate behavioral and neural consequences of drug exposure, ranging from psychostimulant properties and sensitization, to conditioned cue learning and operant self-administration. This mini review focuses attention on our recent work in crayfish, but there is certainly evidence for the presence of addictionlike phenomena in more ancient invertebrate taxa.

Commentary on the article: 'Adverse physiological and psychological effects of screen time on children and adolescents -- Literature review and case study' - Environmental Research 164 (2018) 149-157

Gadi Lissak*

Meuhedet Health Services, Jerusalem, Israel

The Underrated Circadian System and Its Contribution to Neurodegeneration in Mood Disorders

Rüdiger Hardeland*

University of Goettingen, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Goettingen, Germany

In the traditional view of mood disorders, the circadian system has been insufficiently considered. However, polymorphisms of circadian oscillator genes in bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and subforms of major depressive disorder as well as demonstrable deviations in overt circadian rhythms indicate a role of the circadian system in these pathologies. Circadian malfunction affects sleep, and sleep deprivation can initiate proinflammatory responses. Being parts of the circadian system, melatonin and sirtuin 1 deserve particular attention. Either of them displays neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and circadian amplitude-enhancing properties, which are of relevance to neurodegeneration that is observed in a number of depressive patients. Notably, both circulating melatonin levels as well as sirtuin 1 expression decline by age. In the gerontological context, melatonin upregulates sirtuin 1, which mediates some of melatonin’s actions. Correction of a deviating circadian system seems to be of value regarding causes that contribute to depressive symptoms.

Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Centers: A New Normal

Verletta Saxon^1*, Dhrubodhi Mukherjee², Deborah Thomas³

¹Department of Children and Family Services, State of Illinois, Chicago, IL, United States

²Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, United States

³Crisis Manager, Centerstone of Illinois, Carterville, IL, United States

Shifting resources and funding from institutionalized care for those with mental illness to community-based care has shown promise for behavioral health parity in health crisis circumstances and yet, it has been underfunded. One of the unfortunate trends of deinstitutionalization of behavioral health services in general has been a persistent gap in emergency crisis services. This gap in services leaves those in a behavioral health crisis to receive treatment in the Hospital Emergency Departments culminating in an astounding increase in overall healthcare expenditures. Providing behavioral health crisis assessment and treatment in busy emergency departments that produce long waits for care can be a challenging environment for those in need of immediate treatment for psychological needs. Crisis Stabilization Centers are effective at providing suicide prevention services, addressing behavioral health treatment, diverting individuals from entering a higher level of care and addressing the distress experienced by individuals in a behavioral health crisis. Studies also show that the cost of Crisis Stabilization Centers is significantly less than psychiatric inpatient units and satisfaction among clients is greater. Expanding the options for Behavioral Health Crisis Care from community-based behavioral health out-patient care and inpatient care to various community alternatives, benefits individuals in crisis as well as the community. This article provides an overview of community alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization, financial barriers to care and future research.