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Why do infants remember some things and not others? Human infants frequently cycle through different states such as calm attentiveness, wakeful activity, and crying. Given that cognitive processes do not occur in isolation, such fluctuations in internal state might influence memory processing. In the present experiment, declarative memory in 9-month-old infants (N = 96) was heavily state dependent. Infants exhibited excellent retention of a deferred imitation task after a 15-min delay if their state at encoding was identical to their state at retrieval (e.g., calm). Infants failed to exhibit retention if their state at encoding was different from their state at retrieval (e.g., calm vs. animated). Infant memory processing depends on internal cues.

Das \(\textit {Gesetz zur Reform der Psychotherapeutenausbildung}\) bringt es mit sich, dass Studierende in Deutschland in stärkerem Maße auf die klinisch-praktische Patient*innen­behandlung vorbereitet werden müssen. Ein wichtiger Teil dieser berufsvorbereitenden Ausbildung besteht aus der sogenannten berufsqualifizierenden Tätigkeit (BQT): Im Rahmen dieser Seminare soll die Behandlung psychischer Störungen sowohl theoretisch als auch praktisch-übend vermittelt werden. Im Beitrag wird ein – auf 90 Studierende ausgerichtetes – Lehrkonzept vorgestellt, welches derzeit an der Ruhr-Universität Bochum geplant und favorisiert wird und das wir hier mit Fokus auf die Umsetzung der universitären (BQT II) und ambulanten Teile der BQT (BQT III) beschreiben. Zunächst werden die einzelnen Bestandteile der BQT und ihre Gliederung im Studienverlauf skizziert. Dann wird dargelegt, wie die in der BQT geforderte Wissensvermittlung in theoretischen Fallseminaren realisiert werden soll und wie die Studierenden dann im Rahmen der BQT III mittels \(\textit {praktischer Fallseminare}\) und \(\it Therapieassistenzen\) in die Patient*innenbehandlung eingebunden werden sollen. Am Ende des Artikels wird die Personalbedarfsplanung für unser Konzept vorgestellt. The law to reform the training of psychotherapists entails that students in Germany must be prepared to a greater extent for clinical-practical patient treatment. An important part of this preparatory training should take place within the framework of the so-called "berufsqualifizie­rende Tätigkeit" (BQT, practice-oriented training), in which the treatment of mental disorders should be taught both theoretically and practically. In the paper a teaching concept for 90 students is presented, which is currently planned and favoured at the Ruhr University Bochum and which we describe here with a focus on how the university (BQT II) and outpatient parts (BQT III) of the BQT are implemented. At first, we outline the individual components of the BQT and their structure in the course of the study. Then we explain how we want to implement the knowledge transfer required in the BQT II in theoretical case seminars and how the students should then be integrated into patient treatment in the context of BQT III by means of practical case seminars and as therapy assistants. At the end of the article, we describe the personnel requirement planning for our concept.

Objective Impairments in facial emotion recognition are an underlying factor of deficits in emotion regulation and interpersonal difficulties in mental disorders and are evident in eating disorders (EDs). Methods We used a computerized psychophysical paradigm to manipulate parametrically the quantity of signal in facial expressions of emotion (QUEST threshold seeking algorithm). This was used to measure emotion recognition in 308 adult women (anorexia nervosa [n = 61], bulimia nervosa [n = 58], healthy controls [n = 130], and mixed mental disorders [mixed, n = 59]). The M (SD) age was 22.84 (3.90) years. The aims were to establish recognition thresholds defining how much information a person needs to recognize a facial emotion expression and to identify deficits in EDs compared with healthy and clinical controls. The stimuli included six basic emotion expressions (fear, anger, disgust, happiness, sadness, surprise), plus a neutral expression. Results Happiness was discriminated at the lowest, fear at the highest threshold by all groups. There were no differences regarding thresholds between groups, except for the mixed and the bulimia nervosa group with respect to the expression of disgust (F(3,302) = 5.97, p = .001, η = .056). Emotional clarity, ED pathology, and depressive symptoms did not predict performance (RChange ≤ .010, F(1,305) ≤ 5.74, p ≥ .079). The confusion matrix did not reveal specific biases in either group. Conclusions Overall, within-subject effects were as expected, whereas between-subject effects were marginal and psychopathology did not influence emotion recognition. Facial emotion recognition abilities in women experiencing EDs compared with women experiencing mixed mental disorders and healthy controls were similar. Although basic facial emotion recognition processes seems to be intact, dysfunctional aspects such as misinterpretation might be important in emotion regulation problems. Clinical trial registration number DRKS-ID: DRKS00005709.

This study investigates the temporal patterning of infant self-regulatory behaviors (crying/fussing, sleeping) in relation to both infant (age, sex, regulatory problems) and maternal variables (soothing behaviors, mood). Self-regulatory and soothing behaviors were assessed in 121 mother-infant dyads (4-44 weeks) by the Baby's Day Diary at 5 min intervals over 3 days. Further infant characteristics and maternal mood were assessed by questionnaires (DASS, CES-D, STAI) and the Diagnostic Interview for the Assessment of Regulatory Problems in Infancy and Toddlerhood. Data were analyzed using generalized additive mixed models. Negative maternal mood was associated with a deviant course of crying/fussing during the day. Body contact was associated with reduced variability in the 24 h course of sleep. Mother-infant transactional processes-above and beyond known relationships with overall levels of crying/fussing and sleeping-might play out on the temporal dimension of infant regulatory behaviors.

The nematode mutualistic bacterium Photorhabdus asymbiotica produces a large virulence-associated multifunctional protein toxin named PaTox. A glycosyltransferase domain and a deamidase domain of this large toxin function as effectors that specifically target host Rho GTPases and heterotrimeric G proteins, respectively. Modification of these intracellular regulators results in toxicity toward insects and mammalian cells. In this study, we identified a cysteine protease–like domain spanning PaTox residues 1844–2114 (PaToxP), upstream of these two effector domains and characterized by three conserved amino acid residues (Cys-1865, His-1955, and Asp-1975). We determined the crystal structure of the PaToxP C1865A variant by native single-wavelength anomalous diffraction of sulfur atoms (sulfur-SAD). At 2.0 Å resolution, this structure revealed a catalytic site typical for papain-like cysteine proteases, comprising a catalytic triad, oxyanion hole, and typical secondary structural elements. The PaToxP structure had highest similarity to that of the AvrPphB protease from Pseudomonas syringae classified as a C58-protease. Furthermore, we observed that PaToxP shares structural homology also with non–C58-cysteine proteases, deubiquitinases, and deamidases. Upon delivery into insect larvae, PaToxP alone without full-length PaTox had no toxic effects. Yet, PaToxP expression in mammalian cells was toxic and enhanced the apoptotic phenotype induced by PaTox in HeLa cells. We propose that PaToxP is a C58-like cysteine protease module that is essential for full PaTox activity.

Zusammenfassung. Essstörungen und Adipositas (krankhaftes Übergewicht) stellen bedeutsame Gesundheitsstörungen dar und können schwere und langfristige Gesundheitsschäden für die Betroffenen und hohe Behandlungskosten für das Gesundheitssystem nach sich ziehen. Aufgrund der Tendenz zur Chronifizierung, der langwierigen Therapie sowie der Schwere der Begleit- und Folgeerkrankungen klinisch manifester Essstörungen und Adipositas können wirksame Maßnahmen zur Verhinderung der Entstehung und Manifestation eine wichtige Rolle in der Verbesserung der Gesundheit auf der Populationsebene spielen. Die vorliegende Arbeit gibt einen Überblick über verschiedene Essstörungen und die Adipositas sowie Informationen über deren Entstehung und Verbreitung. Zudem bietet die Arbeit einen narrativen Überblick über bestehende Maßnahmen zur Verhinderung der Entstehung und Manifestation von Essstörungen und Adipositas im Kindes- und Jugendalter im deutschsprachigen Raum und deren Wirksamkeit. Die Studienlage zeigt, dass universelle Präventionsprogramme zur Prävention von Essstörungen und Adipositas fast ausschließlich im Schulbereich stattfinden und routinegemäß kleine Effekte zeigen. Die Effektstärken selektiver und indizierte Präventionsmaßnahmen in Risikogruppen sind tendenziell etwas höher, jedoch ist die Reichweite in die Gesellschaft bei diesen Programmen geringer. Langzeiteffekte bestehender Präventionsprogramme sind nicht hinreichend belegt. Es bedarf weiterer Arbeit um erfolgversprechende Programme langfristig in gesellschaftliche Strukturen zu implementieren und Effekte zu evaluieren. Zudem bedarf es einer Verbesserung bisheriger Ansätze zur Förderung der Reichweite von Präventionsmaßnahmen (z.B. Verbesserung der Inanspruchnahme durch sozial benachteiligte Gruppen oder Risikogruppen). Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt ist unklar, ob präventive Maßnahmen zur Förderung eines gesunden Gewichtsmanagements bei Kindern und Jugendlichen auch zu einer Reduktion von Esstörungspathologie führen können.

Background: Three out of ten children in Germany have an immigrant background and this proportion will increase further. While immigrant youth has been found more vulnerable to developing symptoms of depression and anxiety, the underlying mechanisms of how such disparities develop across youth development are still understudied. Some previous research has found that immigrant youth are at risk of experiencing a less positive self-concept compared to non-immigrant youth. We investigated whether the self-concept is a mediator for such mental health disparities. Moreover, we explored variability in such associations from middle childhood to late adolescence.Methods: Overall 1907 children and adolescents aged 5-18 years (M=14 years, SD=3.03, 49.8% female, n=782 with immigrant status) participated in a cross-sectional self-report survey in school settings using scales from the Beck’s Youth Inventories II [1] to assess self-concept and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Links between the immigrant status, age, self-concept and symptom levels of depression as well as anxiety were examined in univariate regression models and moderated mediation models.Results: Immigrant youth reported higher symptom levels of depression and anxiety than their non-immigrant counterparts but did not differ in their self-concepts. Across age groups, self-concept was a significant predictor for symptom levels of depression as well as anxiety, with stronger associations in adolescents. However, the overall hypothesized moderated mediation models were not supported as self-concept neither mediated the link between immigrant status and depression nor anxiety.Conclusions: Our study substantiates previous findings that immigrant youth have increased levels of mental health problems compared to non-immigrant youth. However, our findings also show that immigrant youth do not have a more negative self-concept. The self-concept moreover does not seem to represent a mediator for internalizing mental health disparities. Findings from our study hence suggest that psychosocial interventions for immigrant youth do not require a specific emphasis on self-concept-related components. As our evidence suggests age-moderation of the self-concept on depression and anxiety, psychosocial interventions should consider developing a positive attitude towards the self especially for adolescents. Further research is needed to deepen the understanding of the mediating processes between migration status and mental health variables.

Here, we tested the feasibility of a new paradigm developed to investigate the mechanisms of exposure-therapy. The protocol was previously developed for the use with adults and optimized to closely model the mechanisms underlying exposure, i.e. extinction learning. We adapted this paradigm for the use with children, and tested its feasibility in children and adult participants. We used an aversive acoustic unconditioned stimulus (US), picture-based rating scales and a child-oriented instruction/practice procedure. Results indicate robust fear acquisition, extinction and reinstatement on a self-report (US-expectancy) and on a physiological (startle reflex) level. We found evidence for the paradigms sensitivity to age and anxiety-dependent individual differences in fear-learning and extinction. We conclude that the present paradigm is capable of modeling the key mechanisms of exposure-therapy, that is extinction-learning, and can be accomplished with children, adolescents and adults, rendering it promising to bridge the gap between experimental protocols and treatment across the lifespan.

Emotion regulation strategies have been linked to the development of mental disorders. In this experiment, we investigated if imitation is an effective way of learning to increase the usage of the emotion regulation strategy 'distraction' for 22-month-old toddlers. Toddlers in two experimental conditions participated in two waiting situations intended to elicit frustration, with a modeling situation between the first and the second waiting situation. In the modeling situation, toddlers observed how either a familiar model (parent) or an unfamiliar model (experimenter) demonstrated the use of distraction as a strategy to cope with a frustrating situation. Toddlers in an additional age-matched control condition did not witness any modeling between the two waiting situations. Analyses revealed that toddlers in both experimental conditions combined distracted themselves more in the second waiting situation than did toddlers in the control condition. There were no differences with regard to the familiarity of the model. These results suggest that providing structured observational learning situations may be a useful way to teach toddlers about the use of specific emotion regulation strategies.

Legionella pneumophila glucosyltransferase SetA, which is introduced into target cells by a type IV secretion system, affects the intracellular traffic of host cells. Here, we characterized the enzyme activity of the Legionella effector. We report that Asp118 and Arg121 of SetA are essential for glucohydrolase and glucotransferase activities. Exchange of Trp36 to alanine reduced the enzyme activity of SetA. All three amino acids were crucial for the cytotoxic effects of SetA in yeast. We observed that phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate (PI3P) increased the glucosyltransferase activity of SetA severalfold, while the glucohydrolase activity was not affected. In the presence of PI3P, we observed the glucosylation of actin, vimentin and the chaperonin CCT5 in the cytosolic fraction of target cells. Studies on the functional consequences of glucosylation of skeletal muscle α-actin in vitro revealed inhibition of actin polymerization by glucosylation.

ZusammenfassungPsychotherapie bei Kinder- und Jugendlichen wirkt, jedoch können auch unerwünschte Effekte auftreten. Im Kinder- und Jugendbereich ist dieses wichtige Thema bisher vernachlässigt worden, obwohl gerade Kinder und Jugendliche eines besonderen Schutzes bedürfen. Durch Therapie verursachte unerwünschte Effekte der Psychotherapie sind im Kinder- und Jugendbereich bisher nicht systematisch untersucht worden und eine entsprechende Konzeptualisierung fehlt. Ziel des vorliegenden Artikels ist es, aktuelle Klassifikationen zu unerwünschten Effekten von Psychotherapie bei Erwachsenen hinsichtlich der Übertragbarkeit auf das Kindes- und Jugendalter zu prüfen und die Besonderheiten in diesem Bereich herauszuarbeiten. Des Weiteren wird die Adaptation des Inventars zur Erfassung negativer Effekte für das Kindes- und Jugendalter vorgestellt (Kinder-INEP) 1. Abschließend werden Maßnahmen zur Aufklärung und Vermeidung von unerwünschten, negativen Effekten in der Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychotherapie aufgezeigt.

Maternal sensitivity is one of the most frequently considered influences on early infant development. Nevertheless, the cognitive foundations of maternal sensitivity have received little attention. Here, we present a social information-processing model of maternal insensitivity. The model posits that maternal processing of infant distress is determined by two components: Firstly, it is determined by stable implicit cognitive structures and secondly, by more transient event-dependent cognitive processes. The model integrates different cognitive pathways in response to infant distress. We critically evaluate evidence for our model and outline a research agenda to gain a refined understanding of the cognitive mechanisms behind maternal insensitivity.

Neuregulins (Nrg) are a gene family that binds to tyrosine kinase receptors of the ErbB family. The protein of Nrg1 is to be involved in heart formation, migration of neurons, axonal pathfinding and synaptic function. A relation between Nrg1 and schizophrenia is assumed. Chronic impairment in schizophrenia is characterized by different positive and negative symptoms. Detectable markers of this disease in human and in animal models are activity, social behavior and sensory processing. In this study we compared heterozygous Nrg1 mutant mice in behavior and quantification of dopaminergic and serotoninergic neurons with wild type-like littermates. In the Nrg1 mutant mice the epidermal growth factor-like domain is replaced by the neomycin resistance gene. We found significant differences in locomotor and pain perception behavior. No differences were found in specific schizophrenia social interaction and prepulse inhibition behavior. The number of dopaminergic and serotoninergic neurons did not differ in the investigated regions ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra, periaqueductal grey and raphe nuclei. In conclusion, this analyzed Nrg1 mutant mice model did not serve as a complete schizophrenia model. Particular aspects of schizophrenia disease in locomotor and sensory behavior deficits could represent in this Nrg1 mutant mice. Beside several different models could Nrg1 deficiency represent an endophenotype of schizophrenia disease.

Major depressive disorder and the anxiety disorders are highly prevalent, disabling and moderately heritable. Depression and anxiety are also highly comorbid and have a strong genetic correlation (rg ≈ 1). Cognitive behavioural therapy is a leading evidence-based treatment but has variable outcomes. Currently, there are no strong predictors of outcome. Therapygenetics research aims to identify genetic predictors of prognosis following therapy. We performed genome-wide association meta-analyses of symptoms following cognitive behavioural therapy in adults with anxiety disorders (n = 972), adults with major depressive disorder (n = 832) and children with anxiety disorders (n = 920; meta-analysis n = 2724). We estimated the variance in therapy outcomes that could be explained by common genetic variants (h2SNP) and polygenic scoring was used to examine genetic associations between therapy outcomes and psychopathology, personality and learning. No single nucleotide polymorphisms were strongly associated with treatment outcomes. No significant estimate of h2SNP could be obtained, suggesting the heritability of therapy outcome is smaller than our analysis was powered to detect. Polygenic scoring failed to detect genetic overlap between therapy outcome and psychopathology, personality or learning. This study is the largest therapygenetics study to date. Results are consistent with previous, similarly powered genome-wide association studies of complex traits.

Background: Alcohol and nicotine consumption are two of the most important preventable causes of morbidity and premature death worldwide. In western populations, alcohol and nicotine consumption are highly correlated which further increases medical costs as co-use is associated with even worse health outcomes than either of the substances used alone. In order to improve the efficacy of prevention and treatment strategies, we need a better understanding of risk factors contributing to harmful alcohol and nicotine consumption. Phenotypic correlations between alcohol and nicotine consumption are at least partly explained by overlap in genetic risk factors. Therefore, we aim to investigate the genetic architecture of multiple phenotypes associated with alcohol and nicotine consumption, including the number of alcoholic beverages, heavy vs. non heavy drinking, number of cigarettes smoked per day (CPD), age of smoking initiation, ever vs. never smoker, and heavy vs. non-heavy smoker. Methods: Phenotypes have been assessed in a general population sample including 16,000 subjects from the Netherlands. All subjects have been genotyped on the Illumina Human Exome BeadChip v1.1 that interrogates 250,000 nonsense, missense, and splice site variants with an allele frequency >=1% allowing us to evaluate the role of functional, rare variants. Genotyping and calling was conducted at a single laboratory according to uniform procedures which facilitates comparison of genotype frequencies between groups. Results: Preliminary analysis of a single phenotype (i.e., number of alcoholic drinks per week) in a subset of the total sample (N=1,491) revealed several promising findings (see Figure 1). Interestingly, the genetic variant most strongly associated with alcohol consumption (beta=0.11; p=4*10-6) was located at chromosome 11 in the tumor P53-Regulated Apoptosis-Inducing Protein 1 (TP53AIP1). Mutations in a gene from the same P53 gene family were previously found to be associated with alcohol consumption. In this relatively small pilot study, no findings were statistically significant, but power analysis of the top finding (minor allele frequency=0.20, p=0.11) shows that increasing the sample size to ~16,000 will provide enough statistical power (0.83) to detect this particular variant. Discussion: This work will be extended to the full sample and will focus on the detection of rare genetic variants involved in different alcohol and nicotine phenotypes. Since all phenotypes have been assessed in the same subjects, we will also be able to determine genetic variants that explain the phenotypic concordance across multiple traits using multivariate genetic analyses. Methodological challenges specific to population-based association analysis of rare variants and quantitative behavioral traits will be discussed.

Recent theoretical models suggest that repetitive negative thinking might be a key mechanism explaining the negative effects of maternal psychopathology on mother–infant relations. While an emerging body of research largely supports this idea, the relative importance of differences in the trajectory of repetitive negative thinking during and after pregnancy for mother–infant bonding as well as maternal depressive symptoms is currently unknown. Therefore, we investigated associations between the course of maternal repetitive negative thinking during pregnancy and after birth and mother–infant-bonding and maternal depressive symptoms in a longitudinal study. The overall level of repetitive negative thinking was a significant predictor of mother–infant bonding, maternal anxiety and rejection in dealing with her infant four months after birth. Furthermore, differences in the trajectory of repetitive negative thinking predicted bonding, but not anxiety or rejection. The overall levels of repetitive negative thinking as well as the differences in the trajectory of repetitive negative thinking were significant predictors of maternal depressive symptoms. These findings indicate that changes of repetitive negative thinking during and after pregnancy can increase the risk of postpartum depressive symptoms.

Gist extraction is the process of excerpting shared features from a pool of new items. The present study examined sleep and the consolidation of gist in 12-month-old infants using a deferred imitation paradigm. Sixty infants were randomly assigned to a nap, a no-nap or a baseline control condition. In the nap and no-nap conditions, infants watched demonstrations of the same target actions on three different hand puppets that shared some features. During a 4-h delay, infants in the nap condition took a naturally scheduled nap while infants in the no-nap condition naturally stayed awake. Afterwards, infants were exposed to a novel forth hand puppet that combined some of the features from the previously encountered puppets. Only those infants who took a nap after learning produced a significantly higher number of target actions than infants in the baseline control condition who had not seen any demonstrations of target actions. Infants in the nap condition also produced significantly more target actions than infants in the no-nap condition. Sleep appears to support the storage of gist, which aids infants in applying recently acquired knowledge to novel circumstances.

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Die Störung mit Trennungsangst ist eine der häufigsten psychischen Erkrankung im Kindesalter, bei der das Familiensystem in besonderem Ausmaß mit betroffen ist. Untersuchungen mit Kindern mit Schulverweigerung und komorbider Trennungsangst weisen darauf hin, dass in Familien dieser Kinder häufiger dysfunktionale Familienkonstellationen vorliegen. Fragestellung: Die vorliegende Studie hat das Ziel zu überprüfen, ob Familien mit Trennungsangst häufiger dysfunktionale Familienstrukturen aufweisen als Familien von Kindern mit anderen Angststörungen oder ohne psychische Störung. Methode: 71 Familien von Kindern mit Trennungsangst, 25 Familien mit Kindern mit anderen Angststörungen und 21 Familien mit Kindern ohne psychische Störungen wurden mit dem Familiensystemtest (FAST) untersucht. Ergebnisse: Die Gruppen unterscheiden sich nicht signifikant in der Häufigkeit dysfunktionaler Familienstrukturen. Diskussion: Dysfunktionale (verstrickte) Familienstruktur und Trennungsangst zeigen keinen Zusammenhang. Weitere vertiefende Untersuchungen sind notwendig, um den möglichen Zusammenhang von dysfunktionalen Familienstrukturen und Angststörungen zu prüfen.

Flexibility in applying existing knowledge to similar cues is a corner stone of memory development in infants. Here, we examine the effect of sleep on the flexibility of memory retrieval using a deferred imitation paradigm. Forty-eight 12-month-old infants were randomly assigned to either a nap or a no-nap demonstration condition (scheduled around their natural daytime sleep schedule) or to a baseline control condition. In the demonstration conditions, infants watched an experimenter perform three target actions on a hand puppet. Immediately afterwards, infants were allowed to practice the target actions three times. In a test session 4-hr later, infants were given the opportunity to reproduce the actions with a novel hand puppet differing in color from the puppet used during the demonstration session. Only infants in the nap-condition performed significantly more target actions than infants in the baseline control condition. Furthermore, they were faster to carry out the first target action than infants in the no-nap condition. We conclude that sleep had a facilitative effect on infants' flexibility of memory retrieval.

In adults, sleep selectively consolidates those memories that are relevant for future events. The present study tested whether napping after encoding plays a role in selective memory consolidation in infants. Infants aged 15 and 24 months (n = 48 per age) were randomly assigned to a nap or a no-nap demonstration condition, or a baseline control condition. In the demonstration conditions, infants observed an experimenter perform an irrelevant action followed by a relevant action to achieve a desirable outcome on four different toys. Infant imitation of irrelevant and relevant actions was coded at a test session that occurred after a 24-hr delay. The demonstration and test sessions were scheduled around infants' naturally occurring sleeping patterns. When order of actions was not taken into account, infants in both demonstration conditions exhibited retention of the relevant and irrelevant target actions. Contrary to expectations, infants in the nap condition did not perform the relevant action only more often than infants in the no-nap condition. As expected, only infants in the no-nap condition faithfully reproduced the two actions in the demonstrated order: irrelevant action first, followed by the relevant action. Thus, sleep might help infants to selectively "discard" aspects of a learning experience that they identify as being not useful or relevant in the future.

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Die Anzahl universitärer psychotherapeutischer Ambulanzen für Kinder und Jugendliche an psychologischen Instituten ist in nur wenigen Jahren deutlich angestiegen. Diese erfreuliche Entwicklung ist potentiell für die Versorgung von Kindern und Jugendlichen mit psychischen Störungen, die praxisnahe Lehre im Psychologiestudium, die qualifizierte Psychotherapieausbildung und die klinisch-psychologische Forschung äußerst relevant. Der Wissensstand bezüglich Diagnostik, Ätiologie und psychotherapeutischer Behandlung von psychischen Störungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter steht für viele Störungsbilder deutlich hinter dem umfangreichen Forschungs- und Wissensstand psychischer Störungen des Erwachsenenalters. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist die Initiative, Daten der universitären Psychotherapieambulanzen für Kinder und Jugendliche zusammenzuführen, ein wesentlicher Schritt, um der Altersgruppe der Kinder und Jugendlichen gleich gut begründete und evaluierte Behandlungsansätze zukommen zu lassen. KODAP – die Koordination der Datenerhebung und -auswertung an Forschungs-‍, Lehr- und Ausbildungsambulanzen für psychologische Psychotherapie – übernimmt dabei die Koordination dieses komplexen Vorhabens sowohl für den Kinder- und Jugend- als auch den Erwachsenenbereich. Fragestellung / Methode: Es werden die soziodemographischen und klinischen Daten der im Jahr 2016 behandelten Patient_innen, deren Eltern und jeweiligen Therapeut_innen von sieben Ambulanzen beschrieben. Hierzu werden die deskriptiven Angaben zu Diagnosehäufigkeiten, Altersstruktur, Anzahl komorbider Störungen der Patient_innen und eine soziodemographische Beschreibung der Therapeut_innen und Eltern vorgestellt und diskutiert. Ergebnisse: Für das Jahr 2016 stehen Daten von 568 Kindern und Jugendlichen zwischen 3 und 20 Jahren (Malter = 11.89, SD = 3.68; 46.6 % weiblich) zur Verfügung. Die häufigsten Diagnosen stellten die Angststörungen (F40, F41, F93) mit 317 Diagnosen (35.30 %), gefolgt von den hyperkinetischen Störungen und den Störungen des Sozialverhaltens (F90, F91, F92) mit 195 Diagnosen (21.71 %) dar. Bei 45.6 % der Patient_innen wurde mehr als eine Störungsdiagnose festgestellt. Des Weiteren lagen die Daten von 257 Müttern bzw. 228 Vätern und 126 Therapeut_innen, davon 83.1 % weiblich, vor. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Studie zeigt die Machbarkeit der Zusammenführung und Aufbereitung der Daten aus universitären Psychotherapieambulanzen für Kinder und Jugendliche. Zudem geben die Pilotdaten einen ersten Einblick in diese Inanspruchnahmepopulation. Schlüsselwörter:Hochschulambulanzen für Kinder und Jugendliche, Versorgungsforschung, Psychotherapieforschung, Background: In recent years, the number of university outpatient psychotherapy clinics for children and adolescents in Germany has substantially increased. This is of potential importance not only for the health care of young people affected by mental disorders but also for teaching and mental health research. Knowledge about certain disorders in children and adolescents, predictors of treatment success, and treatment trajectories is still in its early stages. Objective: Therefore, in 2013 an initiative was launched to aggregate data from university outpatient psychotherapy clinics for children and adolescents in order to create a German-wide research data platform. KODAP short for the coordination of data collection and evaluation at research and training outpatient clinics for psychotherapy - is responsible for the coordination of this complex project for children/adolescents and adults. Method: The patient population treated in seven university outpatient psychotherapy clinics for children and adolescents in 2016 is described. Descriptive data on the diagnoses as well as on the age, frequency of comorbid disorders of the patient population, their parents, and their therapists are presented. Results: For the year 2016, data of 568 children and adolescents between 3 and 20 years of age (M = 11.89, SD = 3.68; 46.6% female) were available. The most frequent diagnoses were anxiety disorders (F40, F41, F93; n = 317, 35.30%) followed by attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders and conduct disorders (F90, F91, F92; n = 195, 21.71 %). In 45.6% of the patients, there was at least one additional comorbid diagnosis. The data of 257 mothers, 228 fathers, and 126 therapists, of these 83.1 % female, are described. Conclusion: The present study indicates the feasibility of consolidating and evaluating research data across university outpatient psychotherapy clinics for children and adolescents. This KODAP pilot study provides the first description of this patient population.

Kinder haben das gleiche Recht auf eine hochwertige Gesundheitsversorgung wie Erwachsene, gleichzeitig sind sie eine besonders schutzbedurftige Gruppe. Im Bereich der psychischen Gesundheit ist Psychotherapieforschung unabdingbar, um die bestmogliche und v. a. sichere Behandlung zu gewahrleisten. Forschung muss begrundet und gegen die Konsequenzen von „Nicht-Forschung“ abgewogen werden. Ziel ist es, die Wirksamkeit psychotherapeutischer Methoden und Verfahren zu uberprufen sowie den therapeutischen Prozess zu optimieren. Hierzu werden klinische, psychosoziale und gesundheitsokonomische Mase sowie Kriterien wissenschaftlicher Evidenz vorgestellt. Die Meilensteine der Planung und Durchfuhrung einer Psychotherapiestudie mit einem Fokus auf die Forschungsmethodik werden beschrieben. Anschliesend werden exemplarisch die Methoden der MTA-Studie sowie von Multicenter-Studien beschrieben und reflektiert. Aktuelle Ergebnisse aus der Sekundaranalyse werden anhand globaler und storungsspezifischer Metaanalysen dargestellt sowie diskutiert und aktuelle Entwicklungen des Forschungsfeldes (Nebenwirkungen, Wirkfaktoren) beleuchtet.

Potential long-term associations between repetitive negative thinking and mother-infant interactions have received little attention. The current longitudinal study includingN= 62 mother-infant dyads investigated both maternal and infant behavior in face-to-face interactions as a function of pre- and postnatal maternal repetitive negative thinking when infants were aged around 4 months. We hypothesised that mothers with a strong tendency to engage in repetitive negative thinking would react less contingently to their infants’ behavior compared to mothers with a weak tendency to engage in repetitive negative thinking. Furthermore, we hypothesised that infants of mothers high in repetitive negative thinking would differ from infants of mothers low in repetitive negative thinking in their reactions in the still-face task. Contrary to expectations, there was no difference in maternal contingency between mothers high versus low in repetitive negative thinking. However, infant behavior in the still-face task differed as a function of maternal repetitive negative thinking status. Specifically, infants of mothers high in repetitive negative thinking spent more time with object/environment engagement than infants of mothers who were low in repetitive negative thinking, and they also protested less frequently. These findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for the intergenerational transmission of mental disorders.

Background Vegetarianism is linked with better physical health, but also to increased anxiety and depression. The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between vegetarianism and both positive and negative mental health, across cultures and over time. Method Self-report questionnaire data were obtained from a large-scale multi-national cross-sectional sample including 2007 representative adult members of the German population, 3020 representative adults from Russia, and 3038 representative adults from the USA. Participants for the longitudinal analyses include university students from Germany (1608) and China (12,744). Statistical models included multiple linear regression, longitudinal linear models and longitudinal logistic models. Results Vegetarianism diet is not reliably related to positive or negative mental health in US and Russian representative samples or in German representative or student samples. Vegetarianism is related to slight increases over time in anxiety and depression in Chinese students. Conclusions: Vegetarianism is not associated with mental health in the US, Russia, or Germany, but is associated with anxiety and depression in China in this study. Future studies should examine the nuances of vegetarianism in more detail and their links with mental health, including dietary composition and cultural beliefs and economic circumstances. Future researchers in this area may also want to consider the effects of experimental manipulation of diet on mental health outcomes over time.

The nematode mutualistic bacterium Photorhabdus asymbiotica produces a large virulence-associated multifunctional protein toxin named PaTox. A glycosyltransferase domain and a deamidase domain of this large toxin function as effectors that specifically target host Rho GTPases and heterotrimeric G proteins, respectively. Modification of these intracellular regulators results in toxicity toward insects and mammalian cells. In this study, we identified a cysteine protease–like domain spanning PaTox residues 1844–2114 (PaTox(P)), upstream of these two effector domains and characterized by three conserved amino acid residues (Cys-1865, His-1955, and Asp-1975). We determined the crystal structure of the PaTox(P) C1865A variant by native single-wavelength anomalous diffraction of sulfur atoms (sulfur-SAD). At 2.0 Å resolution, this structure revealed a catalytic site typical for papain-like cysteine proteases, comprising a catalytic triad, oxyanion hole, and typical secondary structural elements. The PaTox(P) structure had highest similarity to that of the AvrPphB protease from Pseudomonas syringae classified as a C58-protease. Furthermore, we observed that PaTox(P) shares structural homology also with non–C58-cysteine proteases, deubiquitinases, and deamidases. Upon delivery into insect larvae, PaTox(P) alone without full-length PaTox had no toxic effects. Yet, PaTox(P) expression in mammalian cells was toxic and enhanced the apoptotic phenotype induced by PaTox in HeLa cells. We propose that PaTox(P) is a C58-like cysteine protease module that is essential for full PaTox activity.

BACKGROUND:The present study conducted secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial to examine the transgenerational relationship between cognitive-behavioral therapy for child Separation Anxiety Disorder (SepAD) and the mental health of parents. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were compared before and after child treatment between parents of children treated for SepAD and parents of healthy children, who did not receive any treatment. METHODS:One hundred and seven children aged 4-14 years with SepAD received one of two cognitive behavioral treatment programs for SepAD (TAFF; TrennungsAngstprogramm Für Familien; English: Separation Anxiety Family Therapy or CC; Coping Cat). Their parents (N = 189; 101 mothers and 88 fathers) were assessed at baseline and post-treatment for symptoms of separation anxiety, general anxiety, and depression. A comparison group of parents (N = 74; 42 mothers and 32 fathers) of 45 children without SepAD, who did not receive any treatment, were also assessed. RESULTS:Results indicated a significant interaction effect between group and time on mothers' depression and separation anxiety, indicating that maternal symptoms of depression and separation anxiety improved in the child treatment condition in comparison to mothers of healthy children. There was no significant improvement in parental pathology levels among fathers of children treated for SepAD. CONCLUSIONS:Treatment for child SepAD may have subsequent positive effects on mothers' own levels of separation anxiety and depression, though the mechanisms are yet unknown. Future studies are needed that test the transgenerational effect of child SepAD treatment on parental mental health as the primary research question.

Zusammenfassung: Sowohl unter Experten als auch in der Öffentlichkeit wird oft vermutet, dass das Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit- und Hyperaktivitätssyndrom (ADHS) überdiagnostiziert wird. Dennoch gibt es hierzu kaum empirische Befunde. Aktuelle Ergebnisse der hier dargestellten repräsentativen Befragung von Kinder- und Jugendpsychotherapeuten und -psychiatern liefern jedoch erstmals empirische Belege dafür, dass ADHS zu häufig diagnostiziert wird. Die Befunde zeigen, dass Jungen bei identischem Symptombild häufiger eine ADHS-Diagnose gestellt bekommen als Mädchen. Eine fälschliche ADHS-Diagnose zieht zudem die Empfehlung einer medikamentösen und psychotherapeutischen Behandlung nach sich. Als Erklärung für diese diagnostischen Fehlurteile wird diskutiert, dass Therapeuten - wie bei anderen Alltagsentscheidungen auch - in der Diagnosesituation Heuristiken einsetzen. Verbreitet sind dabei die Repräsentativitäts- und die Verfügbarkeitsheuristik. Eine klare Orientierung an Diagnosekriterien und die Anwendung standardisierter Befragungsinstrumente helfen, solche Fehler zu vermeiden

To determine whether mothers with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia interacted differently with their children than normal control mothers, 86 mothers and their adolescents (aged between 13 and 23 years) were observed during a structured play situation. Maternal as well as adolescent anxiety status was assessed according to a structured diagnostic interview. Results showed that mothers with panic disorder/agoraphobia showed more verbal control, were more criticizing and less sensitive during mother-child interaction than mothers without current mental disorders. Moreover, more conflicts were observed between mother and child dyadic interactions when the mother suffered from panic disorder. The comparison of parenting behaviors among anxious and non-anxious children did not reveal any significant differences. These findings support an association between parental over-control and rejection and maternal but not child anxiety and suggest that particularly mother anxiety status is an important determinant of parenting behavior. Finally, an association was found between children's perceived self-efficacy, parental control and child anxiety symptoms.

Zusammenfassung: Angststörungen des Kindes- und Jugendalters wurden über lange Zeit in der Forschung vernachlässigt. Aktuelle empirische Arbeiten zur Prävalenz und zum Verlauf von Angststörungen des Kindes- und Jugendalters belegen eindrücklich, dass (1) Angststörungen die häufigsten psychischen Störungen des Kindes- und Jugendalters sind, und (2) dass sie bedeutsame Risikofaktoren für die Entwicklung v.a. von Angststörungen, Depressionen und Substanzabhängigkeit/-missbrauch im Erwachsenenalter darstellen. Die jüngsten Entwicklungen in der Verhaltenstherapie der Angststörungen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen werden zunächst vorgestellt und die Ergebnisse einer Metaanalyse verhaltenstherapeutischer Studien zusammengefasst. Die Ergebnisse der Metaanalyse zeigen, dass Angststörungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter erfolgreich mit Verhaltenstherapie behandelt werden können. Die Katamnesedaten dokumentieren darüber hinaus, dass die Therapieerfolge über mehrere Jahre stabil bleiben. Beim Vergleich von individueller und Gruppentherapie sowie von kind- und familienzentrierter Therapie ergaben sich keine bedeutsamen Unterschiede bezüglich des Therapieerfolgs

Psychotherapy in children and adolescents is effective, but unwanted effects can occur. Until now, psychotherapy research has neglected this important topic, although children and youths are in need of special protection. Unwanted effects caused by therapy are not systematically investigated and a corresponding conceptualization is missing. The aim of this article is to investigate whether the current classifications of unwanted effects of psychotherapy in adults are applicable to children and adolescents and to identify distinctive features. Furthermore, the adaptation of the Inventory for the Assessment of Negative Effects of Psychotherapy for children and adolescents (Children-INEP) is presented. Finally, steps for the information and prevention of unwanted, and negative effects of psychotherapy in children and adolescents are pointed out.Psychotherapie bei Kinder- und Jugendlichen wirkt, jedoch können auch unerwünschte Effekte auftreten. Im Kinder- und Jugendbereich ist dieses wichtige Thema bisher vernachlässigt worden, obwohl gerade Kinder und Jugendliche eines besonderen Schutzes bedürfen. Durch Therapie verursachte unerwünschte Effekte der Psychotherapie sind im Kinder- und Jugendbereich bisher nicht systematisch untersucht worden und eine entsprechende Konzeptualisierung fehlt. Ziel des vorliegenden Artikels ist es, aktuelle Klassifikationen zu unerwünschten Effekten von Psychotherapie bei Erwachsenen hinsichtlich der Übertragbarkeit auf das Kindes- und Jugendalter zu prüfen und die Besonderheiten in diesem Bereich herauszuarbeiten. Des Weiteren wird die Adaptation des Inventars zur Erfassung negativer Effekte für das Kindes- und Jugendalter vorgestellt (Kinder-INEP) 1. Abschließend werden Maßnahmen zur Aufklärung und Vermeidung von unerwünschten, negativen Effekten in der Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychotherapie aufgezeigt.

Rumination and worrying are relevant to the onset and maintenance of depression and anxiety. Yet, it is unclear, whether depressive rumination and worrying are predictive for depressive and anxious symptomatology during pregnancy. Likewise, the potential role of depressive rumination and worrying for maternal–foetal attachment has been rarely explored. In the present longitudinal study, N = 215 pregnant women were assessed within the first 4 months of pregnancy and again in the last 4 months of pregnancy. Using regression analysis, associations between worrying and depressive rumination on the one hand and maternal–foetal attachment, depression and anxiety on the other were studied—controlling for age, number of children, social support and baseline antenatal depressive and anxious symptoms. Baseline rumination was a significant predictor of impairments in maternal–foetal attachment in later pregnancy. Baseline worrying was a significant predictor of heightened depressive symptoms and anxiety. These effects were of modest magnitude. Nonetheless, our findings reveal that different types of perseverative thinking (i.e., rumination vs. worry) might have differential effects on maternal well-being and maternal–foetal attachment.

BackgroundWe previously reported an association between 5HTTLPR genotype and outcome following cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) in child anxiety (Cohort 1). Children homozygous for the low-expression short-allele showed more positive outcomes. Other similar studies have produced mixed results, with most reporting no association between genotype and CBT outcome.AimsTo replicate the association between 5HTTLPR and CBT outcome in child anxiety from the Genes for Treatment study (GxT Cohort 2, n = 829).MethodLogistic and linear mixed effects models were used to examine the relationship between 5HTTLPR and CBT outcomes. Mega-analyses using both cohorts were performed.ResultsThere was no significant effect of 5HTTLPR on CBT outcomes in Cohort 2. Mega-analyses identified a significant association between 5HTTLPR and remission from all anxiety disorders at follow-up (odds ratio 0.45, P = 0.014), but not primary anxiety disorder outcomes.ConclusionsThe association between 5HTTLPR genotype and CBT outcome did not replicate. Short-allele homozygotes showed more positive treatment outcomes, but with small, non-significant effects. Future studies would benefit from utilising whole genome approaches and large, homogenous samples.

We examined whether sleep quality during the night and naps during the day preceding a learning event are related to memory encoding in human infants. Twenty-four 6- and twenty-four 12-month-old infants' natural sleeping behavior was monitored for 24 hr using actigraphy. After the recording period, encoding was assessed using an imitation paradigm. In an initial baseline phase, infants were allowed to interact with the stimulus to assess spontaneous production of any target actions. Infants then watched an experimenter demonstrate a sequence of three target actions and were immediately given the opportunity to reproduce the demonstrated target actions to assess memory encoding. Analyses revealed significant correlations between nighttime sleep quality variables (sleep efficiency, sleep fragmentation) and immediate imitation in 6-month-olds, but not in 12-month-olds. High sleep quality in the preceding night was thus positively associated with next day's memory encoding in 6-month-old infants.