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BackgroundSmartphone-based symptom monitoring has gained increased attention in psychiatric research as a cost-efficient tool for prospective and ecologically valid assessments based on participants’ self-reports. However, a meaningful interpretation of smartphone-based assessments requires knowledge about their psychometric properties, especially their validity. ObjectiveThe goal of this study is to systematically investigate the validity of smartphone-administered assessments of self-reported affective symptoms using the Remote Monitoring Application in Psychiatry (ReMAP). MethodsThe ReMAP app was distributed to 173 adult participants of ongoing, longitudinal psychiatric phenotyping studies, including healthy control participants, as well as patients with affective disorders and anxiety disorders; the mean age of the sample was 30.14 years (SD 11.92). The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and single-item mood and sleep information were assessed via the ReMAP app and validated with non–smartphone-based BDI scores and clinician-rated depression severity using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). ResultsWe found overall high comparability between smartphone-based and non–smartphone-based BDI scores (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.921; P

Background: Alexithymia is a risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD) and has been associated with diminished treatment response. Neuroimaging studies have revealed structural aberrations of the anterior cingulate cortex and the fusiform gyrus in healthy controls with high levels of alexithymia. The present study tried to corroborate and extend these results to patients with MDD compared with healthy controls. Methods: We investigated the relationship between alexithymia, depression and grey matter volume in 63 patients with MDD (mean age [+ or -] standard deviation = 42.43 yr [+ or -] 11.91; 33 female) and 46 healthy controls (45.35 yr [+ or -] 8.37; 22 female). We assessed alexithymia using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. We conducted an alexithymia x group analysis of covariance; we used a region-of-interest approach, including the fusiform gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex, and conducted whole brain analysis using voxel-based morphometry. Results: Our analysis revealed a significant alexithymia x group interaction in the fusiform gyrus (left, [p.sub.FWE] = 0.031; right, [p.sub.FWE] = 0.010). Higher alexithymia scores were associated with decreased grey matter volume in patients with MDD ([p.sub.FWE] = 0.009), but with increased grey matter volume of the fusiform gyrus in healthy controls ([p.sub.FWE] = 0.044). We found no significant main effects in the region-of-interest analysis. Limitations: Owing to the naturalistic nature of our study, patients with MDD and healthy controls differed significantly in their alexithymia scores. Conclusion: Our results showed the fusiform gyrus as a correlate of alexithymia. We also found differences related to alexithymia between patients with MDD and healthy controls in the fusiform gyrus. Our study encourages research related to the transition from risk to MDD in people with alexithymia., Introduction Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common and disabling psychiatric diseases worldwide. (1) At least one-third of patients with MDD do not respond to first-line treatment, [...]

Objectives: Inhibitory control deficits are considered a key pathogenic factor in anxiety disorders. To assess inhibitory control, the antisaccade task is a well-established measure that assesses antisaccade performance via latencies and error rates. The present study follows three aims: (1) to investigate inhibitory control via antisaccade latencies and errors in an antisaccade task, and their associations with multiple measures of fear in patients with spider phobia (SP) versus healthy controls (HC), (2) to investigate the modifiability of antisaccade performance via a fear-specific antisaccade training in patients with SP and HC, and (3) to explore associations between putative training-induced changes in antisaccade performance in SPs and changes in diverse measures of fear. Methods: Towards aim 1, we assess antisaccade latencies (primary outcome) and error rates (secondary outcome) in an emotional antisaccade task. Further, the baseline assessment includes assessments of psychophysiological, behavioral, and psychometric indices of fear in patients with SP and HCs. To address aim 2, we compare effects of a fear-specific antisaccade training with effects of a prosaccade training as a control condition. The primary and secondary outcomes are reassessed at a post-1-assessment in both SPs and HCs. Aim 3 employs a cross-over design and is piloted in patients with SP, only. Towards this aim, primary and secondary outcomes, as well as psychophysiological, behavioral, and psychometric measures of fear are reassessed at a post-2-assessment after the second training block. Conclusion: This study aims to better understand inhibitory control processes and their modifiability in spider phobia. If successful, antisaccade training may assist in the treatment of specific phobia by directly targeting the putative underlying inhibitory control deficits. This study has been preregistered with ISRCTN (ID: ISRCTN12918583) on 28th February 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Embedded in the Collaborative Research Center "Fear, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders" (CRC‐TRR58), this bicentric clinical study aims at identifying biobehavioral markers of treatment (non‐)response by applying machine learning methodology with an external cross‐validation protocol. We hypothesize that a priori prediction of treatment (non‐)response is possible in a second, independent sample based on multimodal markers. Methods: One‐session virtual reality exposure treatment (VRET) with patients with spider phobia was conducted on two sites. Clinical, neuroimaging, and genetic data were assessed at baseline, post‐treatment and after 6 months. The primary and secondary outcomes defining treatment response are as follows: 30% reduction regarding the individual score in the Spider Phobia Questionnaire and 50% reduction regarding the individual distance in the behavioral avoidance test. Results: N = 204 patients have been included (n = 100 in Würzburg, n = 104 in Münster). Sample characteristics for both sites are comparable. Discussion This study will offer cross‐validated theranostic markers for predicting the individual success of exposure‐based therapy. Findings will support clinical decision‐making on personalized therapy, bridge the gap between basic and clinical research, and bring stratified therapy into reach. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT03208400). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

History and Clinical Findings: We report on a 24-year-old patient with secondary amenorrhoea, underweight (BMI 15,0 kg/m²), and a fear of weight gain, who used laxatives, diuretics, excessive sport and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) for weight regulation., Examinations: On physical examination, cachexia, bradycardia, lanugo hair on face and back, and cyanosis of hands and feet were observed. In the laboratory findings, leukopenia, recurrent low potassium and an elevated mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were remarkable., Diagnosis, Treatment and Course: We diagnosed anorexia nervosa, binge/purging type (AN-BP). We treated the patient for seven weeks in a multimodal setting specific for patients with eating disorders. She gained 3.9 kg (11% of her initial weight). Special challenges included the complications of her laxative abuse as well as her distinct body image disturbance. With knowledge of her background, we understood this misuse of hCG., Conclusion: Purging behaviour should be questioned in detail in patients with eating disorders, because purging methods are not always reported right away and are accompanied with great shame. However, purging behaviour can be very dangerous to one's health. Using a hCG diet (Hollywood diet) is a rare purging method in patients with anorexia nervosa., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)