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Bondage/discipline, Dominance/submission, and Sadism/Masochism (BDSM) have gained increased attention and discussion in recent years. This prevalence is accompanied by a shift in perceptions of BDSM, including the declassification of sadomasochism as a paraphilic disorder. Evolutionary psychology offers a unique perspective of why some individuals are interested in BDSM and why some prefer certain elements of BDSM over others (e.g., dominance versus submission). In this paper, we examine BDSM from an evolutionary standpoint, examining biopsychosocial factors that underlie the BDSM interests and practice. We articulate this perspective via an exploration of: proximate processes, such as the role of childhood experiences, sexual conditioning, and physiological factors; as well as ultimate explanations for power play and pain play dimensions of BDSM, highlighting the potential adaptive advantages of each. While BDSM may not be adaptive in itself, we examine the literature of sex differences in BDSM role preferences and argue that these preferences may stem from the extreme forms of behaviors which enhance reproductive success. In the realm of pain play, we explore the intersection of pain and pleasure from both physiological and psychological perspectives, highlighting the crucial role of psychological and play partner factors in modulating the experience of pain. Finally, we encourage future research in social sciences to utilize evolutionary frameworks to further explore the subject and help alleviate the mystification surrounding BDSM. This multifaceted exploration of BDSM provides valuable insights for clinicians, kink-identified individuals, and scholars seeking to understand the evolutionary perspectives of human sexual behavior and preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, we carry out a replication of a seminal paper by Kahneman, D. & Beatty, J. (1967). Perception & Psychophysics, 2(3),101–105 for using pupillometry as an implicit measure of auditory processing load, specifically, non-verbal auditory processing. While numerous papers since have supported the notion that pupillometry is a fairly reliable index of processing load in general (Zekveld, A. A., Koelewijn, T., and Kramer, S. E. (2018). Trends in Hearing, 22,1–25; Winn, M. B., Wendt, D., Koelewijn, T., and Kuchinsky, S. E. (2018). Trends in Hearing, 22,1–32), they typically have relied on memory recall, and/or more sophisticated cognitive tasks such as language comprehension or split attention. Kahneman and Beatty's paper, despite that it was published more than 50 years ago, continues to be the primary citation to support the claim that pupillometry is a reliable index of task difficulty for a simple non-verbal pitch discrimination task therefore giving us an implicit measure for listening effort (e.g.,Kramer, S. E., Lorens, A., Coninx, F., Zekveld, A. A., Piotrowska, A., & Skarzynski, H. (2013). Language and Cognitive Processes, 28(4),426–442; Schlemmer, K. B., Kulke, F., Kuchinke, L., & Van Der Meer, E. (2005). Psychophysiology, 42(4),465–472; Lisi, M., Bonato, M., and Zorzi, M. (2015). Biological Psychology, 112,39–45). This type of task takes very little explicit memory, is non-verbal, and relies heavily on more low-level, automatic perceptual processing. Using two different replication studies, one exact, and one modified, we only replicated the main result in the modified replication. The true replication failed to replicate on all nine statistical tests. Overall, our findings suggest that pupil dilation can be used as an implicit measure of task difficulty for a simple, non-semantic, auditory task, however, the robustness of the effect appears relatively weak in comparison with the original study, and the amount of variation across participants much greater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overweight and obesity can worsen disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS). Although psychobiological stress processing is increasingly recognized as important obesity factor that is tightly connected to proinflammatory metabolic hormones and cytokines, its role for MS obesity remains unexplored. Consequently, we investigated the interplay between body mass index (BMI), neural stress processing (functional connectivity, FC), and immuno-hormonal stress parameters (salivary cortisol and T cell glucocorticoid [GC] sensitivity) in 57 people with MS (six obese, 19 over-, 28 normal-, and four underweight; 37 females, 46.4 ± 10.6 years) using an Arterial-Spin-Labeling MRI task comprising a rest and stress stage, along with quantitative PCR. Our findings revealed significant positive connections between BMI and MS disease activity (i.e., higher BMI was accompanied by higher relapse rate). BMI was positively linked to right supramarginal gyrus and anterior insula FC during rest and negatively to right superior parietal lobule and cerebellum FC during stress. BMI showed associations with GC functioning, with higher BMI associated with lower CD8+ FKBP4 expression and higher CD8+ FKBP5 expression on T cells. Finally, the expression of CD8+ FKBP4 positively correlated with the FC of right supramarginal gyrus and left superior parietal lobule during rest. Overall, our study provides evidence that body mass is tied to neuro-hormonal stress processing in people with MS. The observed pattern of associations between BMI, neural networks, and GC functioning suggests partial overlap between neuro-hormonal and neural-body mass networks. Ultimately, the study underscores the clinical importance of understanding multi-system crosstalk in MS obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the novel Negative Affect Induction Task (NAIT). The NAIT used guided rumination to induce negative affect and was designed to fill the need for a field or remote-based assessment that requires minimal personnel, equipment, and time to administer. Methods: Participants (N = 158, 61.4% Female, Age = 32 ± 12 years,) who self-reported at least mild to moderate generalized anxiety symptoms completed the NAIT and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS). During the NAIT, participants self-reported affect (SRA, worst to best feeling scored − 50 to + 50 using a visual analog scale) and underwent heart rate (HR) measurements at each of the three phases of the NAIT: Baseline, Post-Rumination, and Post-Breathing. Results: Phase-dependent changes in SRA score and HR were observed throughout the NAIT. Negative affect, reported via SRA score, peaked at Post-Rumination and returned to Baseline levels Post-Breathing. Participant HR increased from Baseline to Post-Rumination and remained elevated through the Post-Breathing phase of the NAIT. It was also observed that DASS scores were strongly correlated with SRA scores at Baseline. Conclusions: With phase-dependent changes in SRA and HR and a high degree of correlation with an established clinical measure of negative affect, these findings support the use and validity of the NAIT as a means to induce negative affect in field or remote settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I will here pick up on a suggestion made by Greve (2023) in this journal, namely that a proper understanding of lifespan development means defending a non-reductionist psychology taking biological processes seriously, but without reducing psychology to physiology. I will here suggest and argue for the use of niche construction theory as a way of providing a psychological theoretical perspective on lifespan development broad enough to contain both naturalistic and normative elements in a non-reductionist manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to early life adversity (ELA) is associated with increased externalizing symptoms (e.g., aggression and oppositionality), internalizing symptoms (e.g., withdrawal and anxiety), and biological indicators of accelerated aging (e.g., telomere length) in childhood. However, little is known about how distinct dimensions of ELA, such as threat and deprivation, impact youth psychobiological outcomes. The present study includes data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a large population-based, birth cohort study of majority (approximately 75%) racial and ethnic minority youth born between 1998 and 2000 across 20 large cities in the United States. The present study includes a subset of the original sample (N = 2,483, 51.6% male) who provided genetic data at age 9. First, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, which revealed four distinct dimensions of ELA (home threat, community threat, neglect, and lack of stimulation) when children were age 3. Second, latent profile analyses identified an eight-profile solution based on unique patterns of the four ELA dimensions. Lastly, latent profiles were used to predict associations with child psychological and biological outcomes at age 9. Results suggest that exposure to specific combinations of ELA is differentially associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors in childhood, but not with telomere length. Findings have implications for personalized early intervention and prevention efforts aimed at reducing ELA exposure to protect against downstream negative mental health outcomes for diverse youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A "diagnosis" of FA was assigned to participants who endorse three or more symptoms plus satisfying the clinical impairment criteria, in line with the DSM-IV diagnosis of traditional substance dependence (Gearhardt et al., [18]). Keywords: Food addiction; Symptoms; YFAS; Academic performance; Adolescents EN Food addiction Symptoms YFAS Academic performance Adolescents 2325 2333 9 08/17/23 20230801 NES 230801 Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00724-7. 2, students meeting the FA diagnosis showed a statistically significant lower mark that those students that did not meet the FA diagnosis ( I p i = 0.002, I d i = 0.812) (Fig. [Extracted from the article]

The ability to perform two tasks simultaneously is essential for daily activities. In older adults, this ability is markedly reduced, as evidenced by the dual-task cost on gait. Preliminary evidences indicate that the dual-task cost can be influenced by different types of manipulations. Here, we explored the effectiveness of a new approach to reduce the dual-task cost, based on the placebo effect, a psychobiological phenomenon whereby a positive outcome follows the administration of an inert device thought to be effective. Thirty-five healthy older adults were asked to walk on a sensorized carpet (single-task condition) and to walk while counting backward (dual-task condition) in two sessions (pre-test and post-test). A placebo group, randomly selected, underwent sham transcranial direct current stimulation over the supraorbital areas between sessions, along with information about its positive effects on concentration and attention. A control group did not receive any intervention between sessions. The dual-task cost was significantly reduced in the placebo group at the post-test session compared to the pre-test for several gait parameters (Cohen's d > 1.43). At the post-test session, the dual-task cost was also lower in the placebo group than in the control group (d > 0.73). Cognitive (number of subtractions and number of errors) and subjective (perceived mental fatigability) variables remained stable across sessions. The reduced dual-task cost in the placebo group could indicate the ability to re-establish the allocation of attentional resources between tasks. These findings could contribute to the development of cognitive strategies that leverage positive expectations to boost motor control in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impairments in both stress regulation and emotion recognition have been associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Although it has been proposed that emotion recognition deficits particularly emerge during stress, this hypothesis has not been fully investigated. Adolescents with and without NSSI performed emotion recognition tasks before and after the employment of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). The psychobiological stress response was captured with psychological self-reports (affect, stress and dissociation), physiological recordings (heart rate, HR, and heart rate variability, HRV) and endocrinological sampling of saliva (cortisol and alpha-amylase). Mixed-linear models were applied to analyze stress-induced changes in emotion recognition performance and respective stress response measures. The TSST elicited altered psychobiological stress responses in adolescents with NSSI: A more pronounced decrease in positive affect, a more pronounced increase in negative affect, a less pronounced increase in HR, a less pronounced decrease in HRV and a more pronounced increase in alpha-amylase throughout the stress induction than adolescents without NSSI. Stress responses (dissociation, negative affect, cortisol and HR) differed as a function of BPD severity on a continuum, illustrating greater reactivity on self-reports but decreased biological responsiveness in those with greater BPD severity. Stress induction had similar effects on emotion recognition in adolescents with and without NSSI. Recognition sensitivity and recognition speed equally increased, in the absence of any differences in recognition accuracy. In contrast to prominent propositions, psychosocial stress does not appear to account for impaired emotion recognition across the BPD spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is an important issue that was included as a tentative disorder in the DSM-5. The aim of the present study was to contribute to the increasing understanding of IGD by examining the indirect relationships between psychobiological components of personality, positive and negative affect, and IGD among a sample of Iranian university students. In a cross-sectional study, 481 Iranian university students (50.3% female; Mage = 22.41 years [SD = 4.62]) were recruited from four universities and completed self-report psychometric scales, including the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGDS), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Structural equation modeling was used to empirically explore the relationships. The model of positive affect and negative affect being a mediator between psychobiological components of personality and IGD fit the data. Individuals with higher levels of negative affect had higher levels of IGD (r = 0.60, p < 0.001). Furthermore, bootstrapping results showed that psychobiological components of personality affected IGD via negative affect. Findings demonstrated that negative affect mediated the relationships between temperament dimensions of harm avoidance (β =.126), reward dependence (β =.054), persistence (β = −.127), as well as character dimensions of cooperativeness (β = −.047), and self-directedness (β = −.042) with IGD (all p-values <0.001). Findings contribute to the knowledge in the field, and support the proposed models showing that negative affect appears to have an important role in IGD. Clinical implications and study limitations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myers worked in Cambridge as a demonstrator, lecturer, and reader in experimental psychology from 1902 until his resignation in 1922. This year marks the sesquicentennial of the birth of Charles Myers (Fig. José Ingenieros in Argentina, Henri Piéron in France, and Myers in England taught psychology as a biological science, freed from the bane of dogmatic theorizing [[2]]. [Extracted from the article]

The placebo effect is a powerful psychobiological phenomenon whereby a positive outcome follows the administration of an inert treatment thought to be effective. Growing evidence shows that the placebo effect extends beyond the healing context, affecting also motor performance. Here we explored the placebo effect on the control of goal-directed movement, a fundamental function in many daily activities. Twenty-four healthy volunteers performed upper-limb movements toward a target at different indexes of difficulty in two conditions: in the placebo condition, an electrical device (inert) was applied to the right forearm together with verbal information about its positive effects in improving movement precision; in the control condition, the same device was applied along with verbal information about its neutral effects on performance. Interestingly, we found shorter movement time in the placebo compared to the control condition. Moreover, subjective perception of fatigability was reduced in the placebo compared to the control condition. These findings indicate that the placebo effect can improve the execution of goal-directed movements, thus adding new evidence to the placebo effect in the motor domain. This study could inspire future applications to improve upper-limb movements or in clinical settings for patients with motor deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of studying behavioral disorders in children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities is determined by the fact that this problem is at the intersection of different disciplines (psychiatry, psychology, pedagogy, sociology, criminology), the fact that it is widespread, and the difficulties of analyzing the relationship between biological and social factors in the etiology of these disorders. This review discusses various aspects of behavioral disorders in children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities – prevalence, background, etiopathogenesis, and clinical features. The authors identify the need for a new approach to the classification of behavioral disorders in intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cortisol, a steroid hormone, has been confirmed as a kind of biomarker that reflects the stress response of psychobiology and related adverse health outcomes. Therefore, a sensitive and selective non-invasive assay to detect cortisol is needed. In this work, we developed a new photoelectrochemical immunosensor for determining cortisol levels in human saliva, based on evident photocurrent of the low-toxic CuInS2 quantum dots (CIS QDs) immobilized on the surface of TiO2 and significant signal amplification of the CdS/melamine network as a label. The photocurrent depended on the amount of label competing with cortisol antigen to bind the antibody on the electrode. The photocurrent decreased with the increment of cortisol concentration. Under the optimal conditions, this cortisol biosensor exhibited a broad linear range (0.01–100 ng/mL) with a low detection limit (7.8 pg/mL). Moreover, the methodology was implemented with good stability and high repeatability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although research on psychosocial interventions in palliative care provided evidence for their effectiveness regarding patient-reported outcomes, few studies have examined their psychobiological effects yet. Therefore, the purpose of the present work as part of an overarching study was to investigate differential effects of music therapy versus mindfulness on subjective distress and both neuroendocrine and autonomic stress biomarkers. Methods: A total of 104 patients from two palliative care units were randomly assigned to three sessions of either music therapy or mindfulness. Before and after the second session (completed by 89 patients), participants rated their momentary distress and provided three saliva samples for cortisol and α-amylase analysis. Furthermore, photoplethysmography recordings were continuously assessed to calculate mean heart rate and heart rate variability. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling of all available data and sensitivity analysis with multiply imputed data. Results: Between 67 and 75% of the maximally available data points were included in the primary analyses of psychobiological outcomes. Results showed a significant time*treatment effect on distress (b = − 0.83, p =.02) indicating a greater reduction in the music therapy group. No interaction effects were found in psychobiological outcomes (all p >.05), but multilevel models revealed a significant reduction in cortisol (b = − 0.06, p =.01) and mean heart rate (b = − 7.89, p =.05) over time following either intervention. Conclusion: Findings suggest a beneficial effect music therapy on distress while no differential psychobiological treatment effects were found. Future studies should continue to investigate optimal stress biomarkers for psychosocial palliative care research. Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS)—DRKS00015308 (date of registration: September 7, 2018) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

12001882 7 Vaschillo E, Vaschillo B, Lehrer P. Characteristics of resonance in heart rate variability stimulated by biofeedback. 32100310 6 Vaschillo E, Lehrer P, Rishe N, Konstantinov M. Heart rate variability biofeedback as a method for assessing baroreflex function: A preliminary study of resonance in the cardiovascular system. 10.1007/s10484-006-9009-3 8 Vaschillo EG, Vaschillo B, Buckman JF, Nguyen-Louie T, Heiss S, Pandina RJ, Bates ME. Upon hearing of Evgeny Vaschillo's passing, tributes poured in from throughout the world, including the following: "...what a loss. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: Stress is a complex life occurrence essential for survival and goal achievement but can be damaging in excess. Because of the high prevalence of stress in North America, a safe supplement that effectively reduces stress is in demand. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of AlphaWave®l-Theanine on whole-scalp and frontal alpha power, midline theta power, and salivary cortisol in healthy, moderately stressed adults. Methods: This was a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study that consisted of two study periods with a 7-day washout. A single dose of AlphaWave®l-Theanine (200 mg) or placebo was administered. To induce stress, a mental arithmetic test (MAT) was administered before and after the dose. Electroencephalogram, salivary cortisol, blood pressure, heart rate, self-reported stress, adverse events, clinical chemistry, and hematology were assessed to evaluate efficacy and safety. Results: Increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and self-reported stress and state anxiety indicated that participants experienced stress during the MAT. AlphaWave®l-Theanine led to a greater increase in frontal region and whole-scalp alpha power 3 h post-dose compared to placebo (p ≤ 0.050). Within groups, there were increases in alpha power, at 3 h with AlphaWave®l-Theanine, over the whole recording and during the eyes-open portions (p ≤ 0.048) of the alpha task. The changes in alpha wave activity are supported by greater decreases in salivary cortisol 1 h post-dose (p < 0.001) with AlphaWave®l-Theanine compared to placebo. Conclusion: This study was conducted during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which has had a rapid and significant effect on both physical and mental health around the world. A single dose of AlphaWave®l-Theanine significantly increased frontal region alpha power compared to placebo in response to an acute stress challenge. These changes are indicative of relaxation in the brain and suggest a calming response. AlphaWave®l-Theanine was found to be safe and well tolerated by participants. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04706494. Plain Language Summary: Stress is a complex part of life that is essential for survival and achieving goals. Too much stress, however, can be damaging. There is a high prevalence of stress in North America, creating a demand for a safe and effective supplement to reduce it. This study investigated the effectiveness and safety of AlphaWave®l-Theanine on brainwaves and salivary cortisol in healthy, moderately stressed adults facing an acute stressor. This was a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study that consisted of two study periods with a 7-day washout. A single dose of 200 mg of AlphaWave®l-Theanine or placebo was administered before and after a mental arithmetic test to elicit acute stress. Electroencephalogram, salivary cortisol, blood pressure, heart rate, self-reported stress, and safety were assessed to evaluate efficacy and safety. This study was conducted during the coronavirus pandemic, which has had a rapid and significant effect on both physical and mental health around the world. A single dose of AlphaWave®l-Theanine had significant positive effects on brainwaves, salivary cortisol, and self-reported state anxiety compared to the placebo in response to an acute stress challenge. These changes are indicative of relaxation in the brain and suggest a calming response in a moderately stressed but otherwise healthy population. AlphaWave®l-Theanine was found to be safe and well tolerated by participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gay men show altered psychobiological stress responses and exhibit a higher prevalence of mental disorders than their heterosexual counterparts. Both of these findings are likely due to gay-specific discrimination. Since it has not yet been determined whether gay-specific stress is more noxious than general stress, we tested whether gay men react more strongly to gay-specific socially stressful stimuli than to general socially stressful stimuli. N = 33 self-identified gay men (mean = 26.12 years of age, SD = 5.89), 63.6% of whom were in a relationship with a man, participated in an experimental within-group study, in which they were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) as well as a gay-specific TSST in a randomized order. Salivary cortisol and testosterone were assessed at five time points during the laboratory tests and perceived stress was assessed at four time points. According to psychobiological and perceived stress indices, the participants reacted similarly to a gay-specific and general social stressor. There were no significant differences in the outcomes, either when looking at pre–post-test differences or when comparing the overall stress responses. Given that the response to a gay-specific social stressor was equally pronounced as the one to a general social stressor, programs aiming to decrease minority stress but overlooking general stress are likely to yield only partial improvements in gay men's mental health. Instead, we suggest helping gay men cope with both forms of stress through building social support, assertiveness, and mindfulness skills, as well as decreasing emotional dysregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physiological synchrony (PS) is defined as the co-occurrence and interdependence of physiological activity between interaction partners. Previous research has uncovered numerous influences on the extent of PS, such as relationship type or individual characteristics. Here, we investigate the influence of acute stress on PS. We do so in a setting in which PS was not promoted, but contact between group members was explicitly minimized. We reanalyzed cortisol, alpha-amylase, and subjective stress data from 138 participants (mean age = 23.48 ± 3.99 , 47.1% female) who previously underwent the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G) or a non-stressful control task together, collected as part of a larger project by Popovic et al. (Sci Rep 10: 7845, 2020). Using a stability and influence model, an established method to test for synchrony, we tested whether individuals' cortisol and alpha-amylase concentrations could be predicted by group members' levels. We found cortisol PS in participants who were in the same group, the extent of which was stronger in the non-stressful control condition. For alpha-amylase, participants were synchronized as well; furthermore, there was an interaction between previous stress levels and PS. This suggests that while synchrony of both stress markers can occur in group settings even with spurious interaction, stressor exposure might attenuate its extent. We argue that if PS occurs in a sample where interaction was minimal, the phenomenon might be more widespread than previously thought. Furthermore, stressor exposure might influence whether a situation allows for PS. We conclude that PS should be investigated within group settings with various degrees of social interaction to further expose mechanisms of and influence on PS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the overall effects of social relationships on stress and health have extensively been described, it remains unclear how the experience of social interactions covaries with the activity of psychobiological stress in everyday life. We hypothesized that the valence as well as quantitative characteristics of social interactions in everyday life would attenuate psychobiological stress. Sixty healthy participants provided data for the analyses. Using an ecological momentary assessment design, participants received 6 prompts on their smartphone for 4 days. At each prompt, they reported on social interactions since the last prompt (any occurrence, frequency, duration, quality, and perceived social support), current subjective stress, and provided one saliva sample for the analyses of cortisol (sCort) and alpha-amylase (sAA). Experiencing any contact within days as well as higher daily levels of contact quality and perceived social support were associated with reduced levels of sCort. Furthermore, on a daily level, experiencing at least one contact in-between prompts more often as well as having more contacts on average attenuated the sAA output. Perceived social support and contact quality as well as higher daily contact durations were associated with lower subjective stress. For sCort, daily levels of stress moderated the effects of experiencing any contact within days while daily perceived social support moderated the effects of subjective stress. For sAA, experiencing at least one contact in-between prompts more often on a daily level moderated the effects of subjective stress. There were no between-person effects throughout all analyses. The results show ecologically valid evidence for direct attenuating effects of social interactions on psychobiological stress as well as for the stress-buffering hypothesis in everyday life. Increasing the quantity and improving the valence of social interactions on an intrapersonal level can possibly reduce psychobiological stress and prevent its consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a reliable tool for psychobiological stress induction. Because of its socio-evaluative nature, it has been useful for investigating gaze behavior. It has been shown that healthy people avoid looking toward faces when under stress, a finding that corroborates studies demonstrating avoidance of eye contact in social anxiety disorder. Yet, little is known about the relationship between gaze behavior and the biological stress response. Methods: In a final sample of 74 healthy males, a virtual reality version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR) with an integrated eye tracker was implemented to investigate gaze behavior during acute stress induction. Stress response measures were collected via saliva samples and subjective stress ratings. Additional questionnaires were administered for examining the influence of social anxiety traits. Results: The TSST-VR elicited a significant psychobiological stress response. Overall, higher gaze times on judges compared to surroundings were found in the speech task while this pattern was reversed in the arithmetic task. Critically, there was a significant negative association between gaze time on judges and cortisol output in cortisol responders. Conclusions: In a non-clinical sample, avoidance of gaze is associated with a stronger cortisol response to acute stress. This study demonstrates the potential of eye tracking to disentangle the effects of acute stress on social interaction, warranting further investigation in clinical populations characterized by high levels of anxiety in social situations, such as social anxiety and autism spectrum disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a scientific perspective, hunger can be regarded as an identifiable conscious sensation which can be distinguished from other conscious states (e.g., pain, fear). The hunger state can be measured and is a marker of the existence of underlying biological processes. Measured hunger is functional and is normally associated with the act of eating. However, the conscious state of hunger, although driven physiologically, is not exclusively determined by biology; there is an environmental influence that can modulate its intensity and periodicity, and cultural factors that shape the appropriateness of the expression of hunger. Within a psychobiological framework, hunger can be considered as the expression of a 'need state' which mediates between biological requirements and environmental (nutritional) satisfaction. Our empirical studies show that hunger is clearly associated with biological signals (e.g., resting metabolic rate and some gastrointestinal peptides) and is central to the relationship between energy expenditure and energy intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic musculoskeletal pain affects all aspects of human life. However, mechanisms of its genetic control remain poorly understood. Genetic studies of pain are complicated by the high complexity and heterogeneity of pain phenotypes. Here, we apply principal component analysis to reduce phenotype heterogeneity of chronic musculoskeletal pain at four locations: the back, neck/shoulder, hip, and knee. Using matrices of genetic covariances, we constructed four genetically independent phenotypes (GIPs) with the leading GIP (GIP1) explaining 78.4% of the genetic variance of the analyzed conditions, and GIP2–4 explain progressively less. We identified and replicated five GIP1-associated loci and one GIP2-associated locus and prioritized the most likely causal genes. For GIP1, we showed enrichment with multiple nervous system-related terms and genetic correlations with anthropometric, sociodemographic, psychiatric/personality traits and osteoarthritis. We suggest that GIP1 represents a biopsychological component of chronic musculoskeletal pain, related to physiological and psychological aspects and reflecting pain perception and processing. Yakov Tsepilov, Maxim Freidin et al. find that chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions at four distinct anatomical sites share a common genetic background. The authors constructed genetically independent phenotypes (GIP) from principal components analysis of the different pain phenotypes and used the GIPs to perform genome-wide association studies to identify underlying genetic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the clinical importance of psychological factors in migraine, the relationship between personality traits, depression, and migraine has been poorly investigated.Objective: To delineate the personality profile distinctive for migraineurs and to explore the relationship between personality traits and depression in migraineurs compared to non-migraineurs.Methods: A systematic literature search was performed up to March 2019 using PsycInfo (PROQUEST), PubMed and Scopus. Sixteen primary studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis.Results: The meta-analysis on the personality defined according to Psychobiological model revealed high Harm Avoidance (Hedges'g = 0.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.01-0.60), Persistence (Hedges'g = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.01to - 0.72) and low self-directedness (Hedges'g = - 0.33; 95% CI = -0.57 to - 0.09) in migraineurs. The meta-analysis on the personality defined according to Three Factor Model revealed high neuroticism (Hedges'g = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.32-0.63) and low extraversion (Hedges'g = - 0.08; 95% CI = - 0.14 to - 0.03) in migraineurs. Meta-regression analysis revealed that neuroticism moderated the relationship between depression and migraine.Conclusion: The findings evidenced that migraine is characterized by specific personality traits. Among them, neuroticism influenced the severity of depression in migraineurs, and, therefore, an early evaluation of the personality traits could allow identifying patients susceptible to develop migraine-associated psychopathological symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their seminal paper 'Is our self nothing but reward', Northoff and Hayes (Biol Psychiatry 69(11):1019–1025, Northoff, Hayes, Biological Psychiatry 69(11):1019–1025, 2011) proposed three models of the relationship between self and reward and opened a continuing debate about how these different fields can be linked. To date, none of the proposed models received strong empirical support. The present study tested common and distinct effects of personal relevance and reward values by de-componenting different stages of perceptual decision making using a drift-diffusion approach. We employed a recently developed associative matching paradigm where participants (N = 40) formed mental associations between five geometric shapes and five labels referring personal relevance in the personal task, or five shape-label pairings with different reward values in the reward task and then performed a matching task by indicating whether a displayed shape-label pairing was correct or incorrect. We found that common effects of personal relevance and monetary reward were manifested in the facilitation of behavioural performance for high personal relevance and high reward value as socially important signals. The differential effects between personal and monetary relevance reflected non-decisional time in a perceptual decision process, and task-specific prioritization of stimuli. Our findings support the parallel processing model (Northoff & Hayes, Biol Psychiatry 69(11):1019–1025, Northoff, Hayes, Biological Psychiatry 69(11):1019–1025, 2011) and suggest that self-specific processing occurs in parallel with high reward processing. Limitations and further directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tension-type headache is the most common headache to be seen in clinical practice. Depression is highly prevalent in chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) patients attending the clinical settings. Cognitive impairment and neuroendocrine dysregulation had been reported in patients with depression and patients with CTTH. Objective: To assess the cognitive performance and investigate its possible relations to neuroendocrine levels in patients with CTTH. Subjects and methods: Patients with CTTH, depression, and control subjects were recruited. CTTH was diagnosed according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders. Cognitive performance, depression severity, and pain intensity were assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Arabic version, Beck's Depression Inventory, and McGill Pain Questionnaire respectively. Blood samples were collected in the morning within 60 min after waking up from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. to measure serum levels of basal plasma CRH, ACTH, Cortisol, TSH, FT3, and FT4. Results: Both patients with CTTH and depression had impaired cognitive performance. Patients with CTTH and patients with depression had altered the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, and pituitary-thyroid axis. The hormonal levels significantly correlated with cognitive function in patient groups, especially patients with CTTH. Conclusion: Patients with CTTH had cognitive dysfunction which could be related to neuroendocrine hormonal dysregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Viewpoint column offers readers of the Mathematical Intelligencer the opportunity to write about any issue of interest to the international mathematical community. The mathematics community sells its services to the public with propagandistic slogans of the likes of "math gives you absolute truths." Similarly, I know that math play will go on as long as humans do mathematics. [Extracted from the article]

The role of psychological mechanisms in the treatment process cannot be underestimated, the well-known placebo effect unquestionably being a factor in treatment. However, there is also a dark side to the impact of mental processes on health/illness as exemplified by the nocebo effect. This phenomenon includes the emergence or exacerbation of negative symptoms associated with the therapy, but arising as a result of the patient's expectations, rather than being an actual complication of treatment. The exact biological mechanisms of this process are not known, but cholecystokinergic and dopaminergic systems, changes in the HPA axis, and the endogenous secretion of opioids are thought to be involved. The nocebo effect can affect a significant proportion of people undergoing treatment, including cancer patients, leading in some cases to the cessation of potentially effective therapy, because of adverse effects that are not actually part of the biological effect of treatment. In extreme cases, as a result of suggestions and expectations, a paradoxical effect, biologically opposite to the mechanism of the action of the drug, may occur. In addition, the nocebo effect may significantly interfere with the results of clinical trials, being the cause of a significant proportion of complications reported. Knowledge of the phenomenon is thus necessary in order to facilitate its minimalization and thus improve the quality of life of patients and the effectiveness of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A consensus has emerged that the cerebellum makes important contributions to a spectrum of linguistic processes, but that the psychobiology of these contributions remains enigmatic (Mariën et al., Cerebellum 13(3):386-410, 2014). One aspect of this enigma arises from the fact that, although the language-dominant left cerebral hemisphere is connected to the right cerebellum, distinctive contributions of the left cerebellar hemisphere have been documented (Murdoch and Whelan, Folia Phoniatr Logop 59:184-9, 2007), but remain poorly understood. Here, we report that neurodisruption of the left and right cerebellar hemispheres have opposite effects on associative word priming in a lexical decision task. Reaction time was measured for decisions on whether a target letter string constituted a word (e.g. bread) or, with equal probability, a pronounceable non-word (e.g. dreab). A prime word was presented for 150 ms before the target and could either, and with equal probability, be related (e.g. BUTTER) or unrelated (TRACTOR). Associative word priming was computed as the reduction in lexical decision RT on trials with related primes. Left cerebellar hemisphere continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) decreased, and right hemisphere stimulation increased, priming. The results suggest that the cerebellum contributes to predictive sequential processing, in this case language, through an opponent process mechanism coordinated by both cerebellar hemispheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latency of a simple psychophysiological (visual motor) response (SPPR) was studied as dependent on the waiting time, which was the period between the previous response to a subsequent stimulus and was varied from 1 to 3000 ms. An ordinal approximation was used for the resulting monotonic dependence. The latency of the simple psychophysiological response at shorter intervals between the previous response and a subsequent stimulus was observed to be far greater than at longer intervals. The latency decreased with the increasing waiting time until 3-4 s after the previous response. The decrease included at least two components. The components were found to be interdependent. The decrease in latency was assumed to result from autoinhibition due to the previous response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inconsistencies in the research findings on F-test robustness to variance heterogeneity could be related to the lack of a standard criterion to assess robustness or to the different measures used to quantify heterogeneity. In the present paper we use Monte Carlo simulation to systematically examine the Type I error rate of F-test under heterogeneity. One-way, balanced, and unbalanced designs with monotonic patterns of variance were considered. Variance ratio (VR) was used as a measure of heterogeneity (1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 2, 3, 5, and 9), the coefficient of sample size variation as a measure of inequality between group sizes (0.16, 0.33, and 0.50), and the correlation between variance and group size as an indicator of the pairing between them (1,.50, 0, −.50, and −1). Overall, the results suggest that in terms of Type I error a VR above 1.5 may be established as a rule of thumb for considering a potential threat to F-test robustness under heterogeneity with unequal sample sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to current findings, deficits of self-awareness and conscious experience play an important role in psychobiology of schizophrenia, and therefore, schizophrenia is recently understood as a disorder characterized by distortions of the acts of awareness, self-consciousness, or self-monitoring. These findings are consistent with other studies suggesting that thought disorder and disorganization in schizophrenia are caused by deficits in brain integrative functions reflected by disturbed gamma synchrony reported in patients with schizophrenia, which remind original Bleuler’s concept of splitting. Main implications of these findings suggest that mental disorganization in schizophrenia may reflect brain disintegration which might provide new perspectives for understanding relationships between clinical symptoms and pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent attachment research suggests that children with avoidant attachment often underreport their psychological distress compared to their physiologic indicators of distress (neuroendocrine reactivity, startle response, event-related potentials). This pattern of behavior (referred to as psychobiological divergence) may confer risk for suboptimal coping behaviors, including substance use, sexual risk-taking, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), because individuals who are not aware of or cannot express their emotional needs may engage in maladaptive strategies to regulate their emotions. In the current pilot study ( N = 45 youth), we investigate whether psychobiological divergence of neuroendocrine and self-reported reactivity in middle childhood prospectively predicts health risk behaviors (HRBs) in adolescence. The results revealed that divergence was significantly associated with adolescents' substance use and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), but not with their sexual behavior. Among adolescents currently reporting low levels of attachment security, divergence was associated with greater self-reported NSSI. Our results provide initial evidence that psychobiological divergence confers risk for substance use and NSSI in combination with current relational distress. We discuss the implications of our findings for adolescent development and clinical risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Surgical intervention is a treatment option for various spinal pathology but many patients report no improvement or even an exacerbation of symptoms like pain. This study examined the association of preoperative (pre-op) biopsychosocial risk factors with poor quality of life at 2 and 6 months using hierarchical models controlling demographic and medical variables.Method: Participants undergoing thoracolumbar spine surgery (N = 214) were provided with questionnaire packages to complete pre-op, at 2 and at 6-month postoperative clinical follow-ups (i.e., demographics, psychosocial measures, SF-12, medical, and clinical measures). The surgeon recorded surgical measures.Results: Examining the pre-op period only, greater age and medication use (for back symptoms) were associated with poorer physical quality of life [physical component summary score (PCS)], while greater catastrophizing, depression, and lower social support were associated with poorer mental QoL [mental component summary score (MCS)]. Lower preoperative PCS, social support, and greater kinesiophobia were associated with diminished PCS at 2-month. Higher pre-op MCS and higher social support was associated with better MCS at 2-month. Poorer PCS at 6-month was associated with older age and low social support, while diminished MCS was associated with lower pre-op social support, MCS, and longer time in the operation room. Preoperative kinesiophobia partially mediated the relationship between pre-op PCS and 2-month PCS. Age partially mediated the relationship between pre-op PCS and at 6-month. For MCS, social support was the lone partial mediator of baseline MCS and both 2 and 6-month MCS.Conclusion: These results show that preoperative psychosocial variables are significantly associated with poorer postoperative health-related QoL outcomes following spinal surgeries, supporting a biopsychosocial pre-op care map. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sperry and his PhD student Ronald Myers assessed visual deficits following the resection of the corpus callosum in cats [[7]]. Roger Wolcott Sperry made titanic contributions to neurobiology [[1]]. He won an Amos C. Miller Scholarship to join Oberlin College, where a Sperry Neuroscience Wing in the Kettering Hall building was inaugurated in 1990. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Psychotherapeut is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The current understanding of addiction is based on a biopsychosocial model of illness. From a neurobiological perspective, addiction can be seen as the hijacking of the pleasure-reward pathways of the brain with a concomitant weakening of its executive function. The fundamental model has been expanded to include newer concepts such as multiple levels of severity of illness, motivational circuitry, and anti-reward pathways. These neurobiological concepts can explain some of the successes and failures of addiction treatment in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Psychosocial interventions (primarily cognitive behavior therapy, mutual help groups, and motivational interviewing) and pharmacological treatments (such as agonists, antagonists, and partial agonists) form the basis of addiction treatment today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality adaptations of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR) constitute useful tools for studying the physiologic axes involved in the stress response. Here, we aimed to determine the most appropriate experimental approach to the TSST-VR when investigating the modulation of the axes involved in the stress response. We compared the use of goggles versus a screen projection in the TSST-VR paradigm. Forty-five healthy participants were divided into two groups: the first one (goggles condition; 13 females, 11 males) wore goggles while performing the TSST-VR; the second (screen condition; 15 females, six males) was exposed to the TSST-VR projected on a screen. Sympathetic reactivity to stress was measured by continuously recording skin conductance (SC), while the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) was evaluated by sampling salivary cortisol throughout the experiment. At the end of the task, there was an increase in SC and cortisol level for both means of delivering the TSST-VR, although the increase in SC was greater in the goggles condition, while salivary cortisol was comparable in both groups. Immersion levels were reportedly higher in the screen presentation than in the goggles group. In terms of sex differences, females experienced greater involvement and spatial presence, though comparatively less experienced realism, than their male counterparts. These findings help us determine which protocol of the TSST-VR is most suitable for the stress response under study. They also emphasize the need to consider the sex of participants, as males and females show distinct responses in each protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the association of chronic childhood stress exposure with acute stress-related attentional alterations that have been previously linked to vulnerability to mental and physical illness in early adulthood. Participants were randomized in a crossover design to complete both a mild laboratory social stress task and a computerized task assessing attentional bias to socially threatening words. Salivary cortisol was measured throughout the study. Exposure to acute laboratory stress altered attentional processing, and this relationship was moderated by chronic childhood stress exposure. Also, a positive association between cortisol reactivity and attentional bias was observed, with cortisol reactivity negatively related to childhood chronic stress exposure. While previous work has supported a role for early chronic stress exposure in influencing acute stress reactivity, this work provides initial insight into how both prior chronic childhood stress and current acute stress together relate to the attentional gateway and may be associated with stress adaptation and psychological vulnerability into adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Herz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rationale: Stress affects flow-experience, but the mediating psychobiological mechanisms remain unknown. Previous studies showed an association between flow-experience and endogenous cortisol levels, suggesting an inverted, u-shaped relation between flow-experience and cortisol. However, these studies could not exclude effects of other stress factors. Objectives: The aim of this experiment was, therefore, to test the isolated effect of cortisol on flow-experience, independent of concomitant physiological and psychological stress responses, via controlled administration of exogenous cortisol. Methods: Sixty-four young healthy subjects (32 males, 32 females) participated in the experiment. According to a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over design, they received 20 mg oral cortisol on 1 day and placebo on the other day, respectively, with a time distance of 1 week between the experimental days. One hour after cortisol administration, participants engaged in the computer game Pacman. Pacman was delivered in five blocks of randomly differing difficulty levels. One block lasted 5 min. At the end of each block, participants rated flow-experience by the Flow Short Scale. Data was analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling. Subjects were not able to predict whether the pill they received contained cortisol or placebo. Results: Overall, results revealed a negative effect of oral 20 mg cortisol on flow-experience, with no differences between males and females. Conclusions: This study is the first to show that exogenous cortisol in a dose corresponding to a severe stressor impairs flow-experience. The observed negative effect of high cortisol dosage on experienced flow underlines recent findings of an inverted u-shaped relationship between cortisol and flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium is a necessary dietary macromineral that tended to be sparsely distributed in mankind's environment in the past. Evolutionary selection pressure shaped physiological mechanisms including hormonal systems and neural circuits that serve to promote sodium ingestion. Sodium deficiency triggers the activation of these hormonal systems and neural circuits to engage motivational processes that elicit a craving for salty substances and a state of reward when salty foods are consumed. Sodium deficiency also appears to be associated with aversive psychological states including anhedonia, impaired cognition, and fatigue. Under certain circumstances the psychological processes that promote salt intake can become powerful enough to cause 'salt gluttony,' or salt intake far in excess of physiological need. The present review discusses three aspects of the biopsychology of salt hunger and sodium deficiency: (1) the psychological processes that promote salt intake during sodium deficiency, (2) the effects of sodium deficiency on mood and cognition, and (3) the sensitization of sodium appetite as a possible cause of salt gluttony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National laws and regulations on service delivery systems (SDS) for assistive technology (AT) in Europe aim to support the activity and participation of people with disabilities. The aim of this paper was to study similarities and differences in the SDS for AT of one Eastern and one Western EU member state. The legislation and regulations, and their operationalization were described from the perspective of key actors, with a focus on the ageing population. Semi-structured interviews ( N = 14) were conducted in Sweden and Latvia. The informants had various professional backgrounds and organizational roles, and represented different areas of work. Similarities found were connected to legislation and policy, the aim of AT provision, the growth of a private sector and how financial resources affect the SDS. Differences were related to the availability of AT, and to how, and for and by whom the devices were provided, with Latvia prioritizing certain groups over others and excluding older people. In Latvia, despite it not being stated in the legislation, a medical perspective on AT provision was applied, whereas in Sweden, in congruence with the legislation, the perspective was explicitly biopsychosocial. Despite similarities on the legislation and policy level, interpreted based on the perceptions of professionals there are marked differences between Latvia and Sweden in the operationalization of the SDS of AT. To support activity and participation for the ageing population, the services connected to AT need to be carefully thought out and executed, making efficient use of financial resources and professional competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on researches on psychobiotics. Topics discussed the interaction between gut microbes and the brain's action on gastrointestinal and immune functions, microbiomes for treatment of anxiety and mood disorders and studies on Bifidobacterium. It also discusses the role of microbiome in autism, maternal immune activation model of neuroscientist and developmental biologist Patterson and discoveries about the relationship of probiotics ingested in food and human brain function.

Although the biases and anomalies characterizing psychometric data should serve as conclusive evidence of systematic flaws in scientific methodology, these problems are usually ignored, which reduces empirical psychology to the closed system of its error theory. However, psychometric scores are ambiguous, and response-shifts and fluctuating validities point to fundamental differences in what the measuring-apparatus questionnaire records and how the measuring-apparatus person judges. Therefore, empirical methods fail when psychology requires evidence-based knowledge about cognitive processes and phenomena. Correcting these flaws requires a reassessment of basic scientific premises and careful consideration of Homo sapiens' biosemiotic heuristics. Based on comprehensive biopsychosocial, data, the author reconstructs the evolutionary axioms of self-referenced cognitions and reveals what is usually obscured by the axioms of normal science. He substantiates the need for a paradigm shift toward basic bio-cultural principles and an evolutionary understanding of human thinking and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to test the effects of mental exertion involving response inhibition on pacing and endurance performance during a subsequent 5-km running time trial. Methods: After familiarization, 12 physically active subjects performed the time trial on a treadmill after two different cognitive tasks: (i) an incongruent Stroop task involving response inhibition (inhibition task) and (ii) a congruent Stroop task not involving response inhibition (control task). Both cognitive tasks were performed for 30 min. Results: Neither the inhibition nor the control task induced subjective feelings of mental fatigue. Nevertheless, time trial performance was impaired following the inhibition task (24.4 ± 4.9 min) compared to the control task (23.1 ± 3.8 min) because of a significant reduction in average running speed chosen by the subject. The response inhibition task did not affect pacing strategy, which was negative in both conditions. Heart rate and blood lactate responses to the time trial were not affected by the inhibition task, but subjects rated perceived exertion higher compared to the control condition (13.5 ± 1.3 vs 12.4 ± 1.3). Conclusion: These findings show for the first time that 30 min of mental exertion involving response inhibition reduces subsequent self-paced endurance performance despite no overt mental fatigue. The impairment in endurance performance observed after the incongruent Stroop task seems to be mediated by the higher perception of effort as predicted by the psychobiological model of endurance performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain energy metabolism has been found to be disturbed in migraine. A mitochondrial defect may reduce the threshold for migraine attacks both increasing neuronal excitability and leading migrainous brain to a hyper-responsiveness to triggering stimuli. Riboflavin, a major co-factor in oxidative metabolism, may overcome this impairment. RCT studies in adult confirmed that riboflavin is safe and probably effective in migraine prophylaxis, based on level B evidence. Improving brain energy metabolism may reduce the susceptibility to migraine when brain energy demand increases due to both physiological and biopsychological factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]