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The etiology of schizophrenia includes phospholipid abnormalities. Phospholipids are bioactive substances essential for brain function. To analyze differences in the quantity and types of phospholipids present in the brain tissue of patients with schizophrenia, we performed a global analysis of phospholipids in multiple brain samples using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass/mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS/MS) and imaging mass spectrometry (IMS). We found significantly decreased 16:0/20:4-phosphatidylinositol (PI) levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the brains from patients with schizophrenia in the LC-ESI/MS/MS, and that the 16:0/20:4-PI in grey matter was most prominently diminished according to the IMS experiments. Previous reports investigating PI pathology of schizophrenia did not identify differences in the sn-1 and sn-2 fatty acyl chains. This study is the first to clear the fatty acid composition of PI in brains from patients with schizophrenia. Alteration in the characteristic fatty acid composition of PI may also affect neuronal function, and could play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia. Although further studies are necessary to understand the role of reduced 16:0/20:4-PI levels within the prefrontal cortex in the etiology of schizophrenia, our results provide insight into the development of a novel therapy for the clinical treatment of schizophrenia.

Objectives Fukushima Medical University has been conducting the Fukushima Health Management Survey "Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey" annually as part of the health care of evacuees following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. This study aimed to clarify the effects of telephone support performed by nurses or public health nurses. In particular, we investigated the response rates for questionnaire of the following year and the recommended effect of medical support for evacuees with risks of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in the fiscal year 2011 (FY2011).Methods The study population included evacuees (1,620 people) with risks of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in FY2011. We compared the participants' responses to the FY2012 survey and medical results based on those who received telephone support and those who did not.Results Evacuees who have received telephone support (telephone supporters) comprised 1,078 people. Evacuees who did not receive telephone support (non-telephone supporters) comprised 542 people. Telephone supporters consisted of more people from outside Fukushima prefecture (P=0.001), with above high school education (P0.001), and who were unemployed (P0.001) compared to non-telephone supporters. For the FY2012 survey, 616 telephone supporters responded (57.1%), while 248 non-telephone supporters responded (45.8%). The response rate of telephone supporters was significantly higher compared to non-telephone supporters for the FY2012 questionnaire (P0.001). In addition, 184 (29.9%) telephone supporters and 68 (27.4%) non-telephone supporters underwent the medical examination. In the multivariate analysis, responses to the FY2012 questionnaire were significantly associated with receiving telephone support (P=0.016).Conclusion Telephone supporters had higher response rates for the questionnaire the following year compared to non-telephone supporters. Therefore, telephone support was effective in increasing the questionnaire response rate during the following year.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive back school program that included elements of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), implement this through multidisciplinary collaboration, and ascertain its effectiveness as a pilot study. Design: This school was implemented in the form of five 90-minute group sessions held every other week. Methods: Participants comprised 7 chronic low back pain patients with poor improvement in the usual treatment. Practitioners were orthopaedic surgeon, physical therapist, and a clinical psychologist. This school contents were patient education, self-monitoring, back exercise, relaxation, stress management, cognitive restructuring, activity pacing, and exposure. Results: From the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, each score of four scales or items (sense of control, PCS (pain catastrophizing), PASS-20 (escape/avoidance), FFD (finger-floor distance)) after this program significantly improved. Results of calculating the effect size, sense of control (d=0.55) is 'moderate', the PCS (d=1.12) and the PASS-20 (d=1.64) were 'large'. Conclusions: This back school may be useful for physical function and psychological variables which much related to pain management and daily disabilities in patients with poor respond to standard orthopaedic treatment.

Background Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a serious long-term consequence of antipsychotic treatment. Since brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has potent neurotrophic activity, genetic alterations in the BDNF gene may affect antipsychotic-induced TD. Methods Searching PubMed and Web of Science until 05/31/13, we conducted a systematic review and a meta-analysis of the effects of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on antipsychotic-induced TD. Pooled odds ratio was calculated to assess the effects of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on TD occurrence. Additionally, pooled standardized mean differences (Hedges' g) were calculated to assess the effects on Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) total score. Results Out of 699 potentially eligible hits, 6 studies (N = 1740, mean age = 46.0 ± 10.4 years; males = 73.1%; Asians = 80.5%, Caucasians = 19.5%; schizophrenia = 96.2%) were included in this meta-analysis. Pooling data from all studies, no significant associations were found between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and TD (p = 0.82) or AIMS total scores (p = 0.11). However, in studies including only Caucasians (n = 339), Met allele carriers had significantly higher AIMS total scores (Hedges' g = 0.253, 95% confidence interval = 0.030 to 0.476, p = 0.026) and non-significantly higher TD occurrence (p = 0.127). Conversely, there was no association between BDNF and AIMS scores (p = 0.57) or TD (p = 0.65) in Asians. Conclusion Although there was no significant association between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and TD or AIMS scores across all patients, our results suggest that BDNF Val66Met polymorphism affects severity and, possibly, TD development in Caucasians. Since the number of studies and patients was still small, additional data are needed to confirm genotype-racial interactions. Furthermore, BDNF enhancing treatments for TD may require further study, especially in Caucasians.

Objective Blonanserin is a novel atypical antipsychotic drug that has efficacy equal to risperidone. We investigated the effects of aripiprazole and blonanserin on clinical symptoms and plasma levels of homovanillic acid (pHVA) and 3-methoxy-4hydroxyphenylglycol in the switching strategy of schizophrenia. Methods Twenty two Japanese patients with schizophrenia were enrolled into this open study. The antipsychotics of all patients were switched to aripiprazole or blonanserin for the improvement of clinical symptoms or side effects. Plasma monoamine metabolites levels were analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography. Results There were no significant effects for time (p = 0.346) or time × group interaction (p = 0.27) on the changes of positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) total score, although blonanserin decreased PANSS scores. We observed negative correlation between pHVA at baseline and the change in PANSS total score (rs = −0.450, p = 0.046). We also found positive correlation between the changes in pHVA and the changes in PANSS total (rs = 0.536, p = 0.015) and positive (rs = 0.572, p = 0.008) scores. Conclusions There were no differences between blonanserin and aripiprazole in the improvement of clinical symptoms. Our results suggest that pHVA may be useful indicator for the switching strategy to aripiprazole or blonanserin in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Prefrontal dysfunction in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) has been repeatedly detected on a behavioral level, and various brain-imaging studies have elucidated the pathophysiology of AD/HD. Recent advances in near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) have enabled noninvasive investigations of brain function in various mental disorders, especially major depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. The objective of this preliminary study was to use NIRS to evaluate changes in frontal lobe blood flow in post childhood or adult patients with AD/HD symptoms. The subjects included five patients with a range of mental disorders and AD/HD symptoms, and a matched (age, sex, and dominant hand) control group of five healthy subjects. We compared the changes in cerebral blood flow during verbal fluency tasks between the two groups. The duration of the elevated oxygenated hemoglobin was notably shorter in the AD/HD group than that in the healthy control group. We suggest that the shorter elevation durations of oxygenated hemoglobin concentrations might be a biological indicator for post childhood or adult AD/HD or of impaired executive functioning.

[Background] On 11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake followed by a gigantic tsunami hit the Pacific coast of Northeast Japan (Tohoku) and damaged Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, causing a radiation hazard in the entire Fukushima Prefecture. The radiation dose exposed either externally and internally in Fukushima residents have been evaluated to be low so far and it is hardly believed that they may have any direct radiation risk on physical condition. The purpose of this report is, therefore, to describe results of a mental health and lifestyle survey intended to facilitate adequate care for residents who are at a higher risk of developing mental health problems after the complicated accident. [Participants and Methods] The target population of this survey is the residents of evacuation zones including Hirono Town, Naraha Town, Tomioka Town, Kawauchi Village, Okuma Town, Futaba Town, Namie Town, Katsurao Village, Minamisoma City, Tamura City, Yamakiya district of Kawamata Town, and Iitate Village. The targeted population was 210,189 in fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) and 211,615 in fiscal year 2012 (FY2012). Questionnaires have been mailed since January 2012, and subsequently, January 2013, 10 and 22 months after the disaster. Among of them, children 63.4%, adults 40.7% for FY2011, and children 41.0%, adults 29.7% for FY2012 responded to the questionnaires mailed. [Results] Sociodemographic data showed that many evacuee households were separated after the disaster and had to move several times. K6 was used in this survey to estimate general mental health. The proportion (14.6% in FY2011 and 11.9% inFY2012) of adults who scored above the K6 cut-off (≥13) for general mental health was higher than usual, indicating severe mental health problems among evacuees. The proportion (21.6% in FY2011 and 18.3% inFY2012) of adults who scored above the cut-off (≥44) of PTSD checklist (PCL), reflecting traumatic symptoms, was almost equal to that of the workers after the 9.11 World Trade Center attacks. These results also indicate the presence of severe traumatic problems among evacuees. The proportions of children (4-6 years old) and children of primary school age (6-12 years old) who scored above the cut-off (≥16) of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) reflecting the mental health status in children, 24.4% and 22.0% in the survey of FY2011, were double the usual state respectively, whereas 16.6% in children of 4-6 years old and 15.8% in children of 6-12 years old in FY2012 were 1.5 times. These findings also disclosed the presence of severe mental difficulties in children, with relative improvement year by year. [Conclusion] As revealed by the present mental health survey, the earthquake and tsunami followed by the nuclear accident caused psychological distress among residents in Fukushima prefecture. Continuous survey and mental care programs are required.

The purpose of this study was to carry out a program of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) based on the pain sustainment/exacerbation model for tension-type headache (TTH) patients and to examine the effectiveness as a pilot study. The participants were 4 TTH patients who consulted the outpatient clinic of a university hospital. It consisted of 4 individualized sessions as CBT program (including psychological education, self-monitoring, relaxation technique, cognitive restricting and exposure), and a follow-up examination was carried out 1 month after its completion. The sessions, each of which was 60 minutes long, were executed at weekly intervals. As a result, the score of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) decreased after program compared with before program in all patients. The score of escape/avoidance was also reduced at the post-program and follow-up (1 month later) compared with the score of pre-program in patients except Case 2, in whom the score was 0 throughout the study. The degree of the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) improved by program and changed to "mild" or "none" in all participants. These findings show that in patients with TTH this short CBT program has effect on pain catastrophizing, escape/avoidance and daily disability.

The efficacy of milnacipran for the treatment of ADHD symptoms in adult Asperger’s disorder patients was examined. Fifteen consecutive adult Asperger’s disorder patients with ADHD symptoms were treated with milnacipran for 8 weeks. Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scales Objective Screening Version (CAARS-O-SV) were used for the assessment. The mean GAF scores in the 15 patients improved significantly. Inattention, inattention + hyperactivity/impulsivity and ADHD index in CAARS-O-SV were also significantly improved. Milnacipran might be useful for ADHD symptoms, exerting its effects by increasing serotonin and noradrenaline activities in Asperger’s disorder.

BACKGROUND: Mothers living with small children in Fukushima prefecture may experience radiation anxiety and related symptoms after the Fukushima Dai'ich Nuclear Power Plant Accident. A behavioral activation (BA) program was developed to improve their psychosomatic symptoms. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the effectiveness of a BA program for improving psychological distress and physical symptoms among mothers with preschool children in Fukushima-prefecture 3 years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.METHODS: Participants were recruited from mothers living with a preschool child(ren) in Fukushima city and surrounding areas though a newspaper advertisement, posters, and flyers. Participants allocated to the intervention group received a newly developed group-based BA program, which consisted of two 90- min lessons with a 1-week interval. Psychological distress and physical symptoms as a primary outcome, and radiation anxiety and positive well-being (liveliness and life satisfaction) as a secondary outcome, were measured at baseline, 1- and 3-month follow-ups.RESULTS: Participants were randomly allocated to either an intervention or a control group (18 and 19, respectively). The BA program showed a marginally significant intervention effect on psychological distress (p = 0.051) and physical symptoms (p = 0.07) at 1-month follow-up, while the effect became smaller at 3-month follow-up. The effect sizes at 1-month were medium to large (-0.72 and -0.56, respectively). There was a significant intervention effect on increasing liveliness at 3-month follow-up (p = 0.02); and there were marginally significant effects on life satisfaction at 1- and 3-month follow-ups (both p = 0.09).CONCLUSIONS: This BA program may be effective for improving psychological distress, physical symptoms, and well-being, at least for a short duration, among mothers with preschool children after the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, while a further large-scale study is needed.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR; ID = UMIN000014081 ). Registered 27 May 2014.

Aim The Fukushima disaster was caused by an earthquake that occurred on 11 March 2011. Following the serious damage caused by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, radioactive contamination occurred because of the meltdown accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. We investigated what mental disorders were likely to become exacerbated under these conditions. Methods We surveyed psychiatric outpatients at Fukushima Medical University Hospital for 1 month (31 days) from the day of the earthquake (March–April 2011). Results The survey revealed that bipolar I disorder was most likely to become exacerbated under the conditions and that the exacerbation exhibited was more likely to involve manic switches than depression. Conclusion On the basis of the results of our study, particular care must be taken to follow up bipolar I disorder patients after a natural disaster. Our results also suggested the possible origin of bipolar I disorder.

Dramatic lifestyle changes due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident increased the prevalence of hepatobiliary enzyme abnormalities (HEA). We aimed to evaluate associations of HEA with specific lifestyle- and disaster-related factors in residents who lived near the Fukushima

After the high magnitude earthquake and the subsequent tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011, the residents of Fukushima Prefecture suffered not only from tremendous physical injury caused by the earthquake and tsunami but also from the effects of radiation contamination after a hydrogen explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on March 12, 2011. The com- plex Fukushima disaster is characterized by additional stress due to the fear of continued exposure to invisible radiation. We investigated whether there were any changes in the clinical mental state of patients in the inpatient ward of Fukushima Medical University Hospital, Japan, 7 days after the earthquake. There was no obvious change in the condition of two-thirds of the patients. Whereas one-third of patients had any change in their condition, several cases showed dramatic symptomatic improvement after the earthquake. Anxiety levels in the patients who originally showed coexisting anxiety disorders became exaggerated. The depressive state was improved after the earthquake in one patient with depression. One patient with restrictive-type anorexia nervosa resumed food consumption. These findings suggest that caregivers should be attentive to any symptomatic changes among patients with psychiatric disorders after sudden disasters.

Schizophrenia is a disabling mental illness associated with dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex, which affects cognition and emotion. The purpose of the present study was to identify altered molecular networks in the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenia patients by comparing protein expression levels in autopsied brains of patients and controls, using a combination of targeted and focused quantitative proteomics. We selected 125 molecules possibly related to schizophrenia for quantification by knowledge-based targeted proteomics. Among the quantified molecules, GRIK4 and MAO-B were significantly decreased in plasma membrane and cytosolic fractions, respectively, of prefrontal cortex. Focused quantitative proteomics identified 15 increased and 39 decreased proteins. Network analysis identified “GNA13-ERK1-eIF4G2 signaling” as a downregulated network, and proteins involved in this network were significantly decreased. Furthermore, searching downstream of eIF4G2 revealed that eIF4A1/2 and CYFIP1 were decreased, suggesting that downregulation of the network suppresses expression of CYFIP1, which regulates actin remodeling and is involved in axon outgrowth and spine formation. Downregulation of this signaling seems likely to impair axon formation and synapse plasticity of neuronal cells, and could be associated with development of cognitive impairment in the pathology of schizophrenia. Biological significance The present study compared the proteome of the prefrontal cortex between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls by means of targeted proteomics and global quantitative proteomics. Targeted proteomics revealed that GRIK4 and MAOB were significantly decreased among 125 putatively schizophrenia-related proteins in prefrontal cortex of schizophrenia patients. Global quantitative proteomics identified 54 differentially expressed proteins in schizophrenia brains. The protein profile indicates attenuation of “GNA13-ERK signaling” in schizophrenia brain. In particular, EIF4G2 and CYFIP1, which are located downstream of the GNA13-ERK network, were decreased, suggesting that the attenuation of this signal network may cause impairment of axon formation and synapse plasticity in the brain of schizophrenia patients. Our results provide a novel insight into schizophrenia pathology, and could be helpful for drug development.

Background: To shed light on the mental health of evacuees after the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), we evaluate the results of the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS) of the residents at Kawauchi village in Fukushima, which is located less than 30 km from the FDNPS. Methods: We conducted the cross-sectional study within the framework of the FHMS. Exposure values were "anorexia," "subjective feelings about health," "feelings about sleep satisfaction," and "bereavement caused by the disaster," confounding variables were "age" and "sex," and outcome variables were "K6 points."We collected data from the FHMS, and employed the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist Stressor-Specific Version (PCL-S) to carry out the research. A total of 13 or greater was the cut-off for identifying serious mental illness using the K6 scale. The study subjects included residents (n = 542) of over 30 years of age from Kawauchi village, and data were used from the period of January 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012. Results: A total of 474 residents (87.5%) scored less than 13 points in the K6 and 68 (12.6%) scored 13 points or more. The proportion of elderly residents (over 65 years old) among people with K6 score above the cut-off was higher than that among people with K6 score below the cut-off (44.1 vs 31.0%, p < 0.05). In addition, the proportion of residents with anorexia and mental illness among people with K6 score above the cut-offwas higher than among peoplewith K6 score below the cut-off (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). The amount of residents who scored 44 points or more in the PCL-S among people with K6 score above the cut-off was also considerably higher than among people with K6 score below the cut-off (79.4 vs 12.9%, p < 0.001). Interestingly, the proportion of residents who scored more than among people with K6 score above the cut-off and the among people with PCL-S score above the cut-off in Kawauchi was higher than in previous studies in other locations. Conclusions: These results suggest that there are severe mental health problems, such as depression and PTSD, among adults as a consequence of the accident at the FDNPS. Our study showed that residents who lived in the evacuation zone before the disaster are at high risk psychological distress. To facilitate local residents' recovery from Fukushima, there is a need to continue providing them with physical and mental support, as well as communication regarding the health risks of radiation., PeerJ, 4, e2353; 2016

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in Japan, with a nuclear accident subsequently occurring at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The disaster forced many evacuees to change particular aspects of their lifestyles. This study assessed the hypothesis that evacuation may have increased the risk of hypertension among residents in Fukushima. A longitudinal study examined data collected from 31 252 Japanese participants aged 40 to 74 years sourced from general health checkups conducted in 13 communities between 2008 and 2010. Follow-up examinations were conducted from 2011 through 2013. A total of 21 989 participants (follow-up proportion, 70.4%) received follow-up examinations. Mean blood pressure significantly increased in both evacuees and nonevacuees after the disaster, with greater changes in blood pressure among the former. The changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure among the evacuees and nonevacuees were +5.8/3.4 versus +4.6/2.1 mm Hg ( P P P =0.33/ P P P =0.37) for women, respectively. For men, after adjustment for confounding variables, the hazard ratio slightly decreased to 1.20, but the association was essentially unchanged. Blood pressure increased among residents, especially evacuees, in the evacuation zone of Fukushima prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Evacuation may be associated with an increased risk of hypertension among men in the 2 years after the disaster.

Psychiatric side-effects are the main reason for discontinuation of interferon (IFN)-based therapy. Recent developments in near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) have enabled non-invasive clarification of brain functions in psychiatric disorders. We prospectively evaluated brain activation in 20 chronic hepatitis C patients with or without IFN-based therapy by using NIRS during a verbal fluency task (VFT).The relative concentrations of oxygenated hemoglobin were measured while patients completed a questionnaire survey at the start of treatment and at 4 and 12 weeks during treatment, using NIRS.The VFT performance did not change among the two groups. Patients with IFN-based therapy showed significantly lower activation during VFT in frontal channels at 12 weeks than those at the start of treatment and control (P 0.05). Their Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale scores were significantly higher at 12 weeks than those at the start of treatment, although major depressive symptoms were not found (8.3 ± 7.9 vs. 13.2 ± 6.0, P 0.001).The decrease in oxygenated hemoglobin concentrations of the frontal lobe detected using NIRS in this study reflects hypofunction of the frontal lobe. This functional decline that was caused by IFN-based therapy may be associated with the prodromal phase of depression.

Objectives: Prevalence of life-style disease has increased dramatically in evacuees due to the Great East Japan Earthquake. One reason may be that physical activity level decreased from life environment changes due to evacuation. However, associations between evacuation condition and habitual physical activity have not been studied. We examined this association in Fukushima residents who participated in the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Methods: In this study, 37,843 evacuees from 13 municipal evacuation zones from the nuclear-power accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, born before April 1, 1995, were included in the analysis. Evacuation condition was defined by disaster living place (13 zones), evacuation place (inside or outside the prefecture), and current living status (evacuation shelter or temporary housing, rental housing/ apartment, and relative's home or own home). Habitual physical activity was defined from self-administered questionnaires as participants who responded "almost every day" and "2-4 times/week" of regular exercise. In the analysis, habitual physical activity prevalence was aggregated by gender and variables (living place in the disaster, evacuation place, and current living status). Prevalence was adjusted for age, disaster living place, evacuation place, and current living status by standard analysis of covariance methods. Results: Adjusted prevalences of habitual physical activity were: men, 27.9-46.5%; women, 27.0-43.7% in each disaster living place. The differences were 18.6% point in men and 16.7% point in women. For evacuation place, physical activity outside the prefecture for men (37.7%) and inside the prefecture for women (32.1%) were higher, but those differences were only 2.2% point and 1.8% point in men and women, respectively. For current living status, physical activity of those in rental housing/ apartment was the lowest; evacuation shelter or temporary housing was the highest in both genders (men: 38.9%, women: 36.7%). Compared with residents in evacuation shelter or temporary housing, those in rental housing/apartment were 5.4% point and 7.1% point lower and those in relative's home or own home were 2.0% point and 4.2% point lower in men and women. Conclusion: Habitual physical activity in residents who lived in 13 municipal evacuation zone differed by disaster living place and current living status, while it was similar regardless of placement in the prefecture. In particular, prevalence was the lowest in participants who lived in rental housing/ apartment. We need to plan and perform additional life-style disease prevention strategies for participants who become isolated.

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related potential that is elicited by deviant sounds that are presented along with frequent sounds in the absence of attention. Auditory MMN is generated by the comparison process between sensory memory trace of a frequent auditory event and a deviant event. It is well known that frequent sounds are encoded in memory trace and processed as a single unit within 160-170 ms. This study examined whether deviant sound would be similarly processed as a temporal unit. Twelve healthy men were presented with relatively short standard sounds and relatively long deviant sounds that contained an omitted (i.e. silent) part. Three types of deviant sounds were designed to vary in duration. The MMN amplitude was gradually enhanced from the short to long duration deviant events that contained an omitted part. In contrast, MMN latency showed no significant differences among the deviants. These findings show that deviant sounds are also processed as a unitary event.

Objective Few studies have comprehensively examined changes in smoking status and related factors after a disaster. We examined these factors among residents of an evacuation area in Fukushima after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Methods The study participants included 58 755 men and women aged ≥20 years who participated in the Fukushima Health Management Survey in 2012 after the disaster. Smoking status was classified as either current smokers or current non-smokers before and after the disaster. The participants were divided into the following groups: (1) non-smokers both before and after the disaster, (2) non-smokers before and smokers after the disaster, (3) smokers before and non-smokers after the disaster and (4) smokers both before and after the disaster. The adjusted prevalence ratios and 95% CIs of changes in smoking status for demographic, disaster-related and psychosocial factors were tested using logistic regression analysis that was stratified by smoking status before the disaster. Results Among the 44 729 participants, who were non-smokers before the disaster, 634 (1.4%) began smoking after the disaster. Among the 14 025 smokers before the disaster, 1564 (11.1%) quit smoking after the disaster, and the proportion of smokers in the evacuation area consequently decreased from 21.2% to 19.6%. In the multivariable model, factors significantly associated with beginning smoking included being a male, being younger, having a lower education, staying in a rental house/apartment, house being damaged, having experienced a tsunami, change jobs and the presence of traumatic symptoms and non-specific psychological distress. On the contrary, factors associated with quitting smoking included being a female, being older, having a higher education and having a stable income. Conclusion The proportion of smokers slightly decreased among residents in the evacuation area. The changes in smoking statuses were associated with disaster-associated psychosocial factors, particularly changes in living conditions, having experienced a tsunami, change jobs and developing post-traumatic stress disorder.

In electrophysiological research, automatic auditory deviance detection has traditionally been associated with mismatch negativity (MMN), a component of the auditory evoked potential (AEP), peaking at 100–250 ms from stimulus onset. However, a series of recent studies have revealed that MMN may no longer represent the earliest electrophysiological response of auditory change detection in human, as shown by deviant modulated middle latency responses (MLRs), peaking at latencies 20–50 ms after stimulus onset. Recently, early correlates of deviance detection can be seen in the frequency following response (FFR), a sustained component of the auditory brainstem potential that is phase-locked to the periodic characteristics of the eliciting stimulus. Here, amplitude modulated sounds were presented to healthy subjects in a frequency oddball paradigm, and deviance-related responses were elicited in the FFR and MLR, as well as the long latency response (LLR), reflected by MMN. These findings demonstrate that different levels along the auditory hierarchy show auditory deviations from a regular sound sequence in one single recording protocol.

Sutton (1965) classified Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) into exogenous and endogenous components. Exogenous ERPs would reflect automatic processing and endogenous ones would reflect controlled processing (Picton and Hillyard, 1988). Only mismatch negativity (MMN), an automatic but endogenous ERP found by Naatanen et al. (1978), does not match this classification. MMN is automatically elicited by occasional deviation in a sequence of homogenous sounds. MMN is considered to be generated by the comparison process between deviated sound and neural trace of preceding sounds encoded in sensory memory. Plenty of studies have given evidence for “memory trace theory”. MMN provides a promising tool for clinical populations, because MMN elicitation does not require any tasks and MMN to duration deviation (i.e., duration-MMN) is exceptionally sensitive to clinical populations such as schizophrenia. Michie et al. (2000) reported that only duration-MMN was reliably reduced in patients with schizophrenia. Todd et al. (2007) also reported that a definite reduction in early schizophrenia was evident in duration-MMN but not frequency deviants. Impairment of MMN is one of the most robust findings in schizophrenia. MMN to duration is a candidate of the trait marker. Importantly, MNN reduction predict conversion to psychosis among the subjects clinically at risk-mental state (ARMS).

Discovering the means to prevent and cure schizophrenia is a vision that motivates many scientists. But in order to achieve this goal, we need to understand its neurobiological basis. The emergent metadiscipline of cognitive neuroscience fields an impressive array of tools that can be marshaled towards achieving this goal, including powerful new methods of imaging the brain (both structural and functional) as well as assessments of perceptual and cognitive capacities based on psychophysical procedures, experimental tasks and models developed by cognitive science. We believe that the integration of data from this array of tools offers the greatest possibilities and potential for advancing understanding of the neural basis of not only normal cognition but also the cognitive impairments that are fundamental to schizophrenia. Since sufficient expertise in the application of these tools and methods rarely reside in a single individual, or even a single laboratory, collaboration is a key element in this endeavor. Here, we review some of the products of our integrative efforts in collaboration with our colleagues on the East Coast of Australia and Pacific Rim. This research focuses on the neural basis of executive function deficits and impairments in early auditory processing in patients using various combinations of performance indices (from perceptual and cognitive paradigms), ERPs, fMRI and sMRI. In each case, integration of two or more sources of information provides more information than any one source alone by revealing new insights into structure-function relationships. Furthermore, the addition of other imaging methodologies (such as DTI) and approaches (such as computational models of cognition) offers new horizons in human brain imaging research and in understanding human behavior.

Mismatch negativity (MMN) reflects a comparison process between a deviant stimulus and the memory trace of standard stimuli. Although this memory mechanism has been investigated by many research studies, the development of memory representation still remains unclear. In this study, we focused on the development of sound trace underlying the MMN response. We measured the magnetic counterpart of MMN (MMNm) in detail, when the neural trace of the standard sound was developed in accordance with the number of standard stimuli. When the number of standard stimuli increased, MMNm latency significantly shortened and the MMNm amplitude showed no significant change. Thus, the developmental effects on memory trace may differ between MMNm amplitude and MMNm latency.

The mismatch negativity (MMN) provides a correlate of automatic auditory discrimination in human auditory cortex that is elicited in response to violation of any acoustic regularity. Recently, deviance-related responses were found at much earlier cortical processing stages as reflected by the middle latency response (MLR) of the auditory evoked potential, and even at the level of the auditory brainstem as reflected by the frequency following response (FFR). However, no study has reported deviance-related responses in the FFR, MLR and long latency response (LLR) concurrently in a single recording protocol. Amplitude-modulated (AM) sounds were presented to healthy human participants in a frequency oddball paradigm to investigate deviance-related responses along the auditory hierarchy in the ranges of FFR, MLR and LLR. AM frequency deviants modulated the FFR, the Na and Nb components of the MLR, and the LLR eliciting the MMN. These findings demonstrate that it is possible to elicit deviance-related responses at three different levels (FFR, MLR and LLR) in one single recording protocol, highlight the involvement of the whole auditory hierarchy in deviance detection and have implications for cognitive and clinical auditory neuroscience. Moreover, the present protocol provides a new research tool into clinical neuroscience so that the functional integrity of the auditory novelty system can now be tested as a whole in a range of clinical populations where the MMN was previously shown to be defective.

AIM: Prolonged periods of instability in terms of living environment can lead to a serious increase in mental health issues among the disaster-affected individuals. The aim of this study was to assess long-term trends on mental health among adult residents in the nuclear disaster-affected area. METHODS: Mail-based, self-administered questionnaire surveys were conducted three times (T1-T3), targeting all residents registered with the municipalities in the evacuation zone in Fukushima prefecture at the time of the disaster. Age-adjusted prevalences of the following were analyzed by gender: risk of psychological distress by the Kessler 6-item Scale (K6), posttraumatic stress by the PTSD Checklist (PCL), and problem drinking by CAGE. RESULTS: The numbers of respondents and response rates were: 73,568, 40.7% (T1); 55,076, 29.9% (T2); and 46,386, 25.0% (T3). Compared with normal Japanese levels in non-disaster settings (4.7%), the prevalence of general psychological distress by K6 ≥13 was still high 3 years after the event in both males (11.4%) and females (15.8%). Although the age-adjusted prevalence of psychological distress and posttraumatic stress (PCL ≥ 44) had decreased over time (from 19.0% (T1) to 17.8% (T3) for males, 25.3% to 23.3% for females), the age-adjusted prevalence of problem drinking (CAGE ≥ 2) remained steady in both males (20.7% (T2) and 20.4% (T3); P = 0.18) and females (10.5% (T2) and 10.5% (T3); P = 0.91). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that long-term interventions focused on posttraumatic stress as well as other mental health problems are strongly needed for the disaster-affected individuals.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Language: en

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is generated by a comparison between an incoming sound and the memory trace of preceding sounds stored in sensory memory without any attention to the sound. N100 (N1) is associated with the afferent response to sound onset and reflects early analysis of stimulus characteristics. MMN generators are present in the temporal and frontal lobe, and N1 generators are present in the temporal lobe. The parietal lobe is involved in MMN generation elicited by a change in duration. The anatomical network connecting these areas, lateralization, and the effect of the side of ear stimulation on MMN remain unknown. Thus, we studied the effects of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left parietal lobe on MMN and N1 in 10 healthy subjects. Low-frequency rTMS over the left parietal lobe decreased the amplitude of MMN following right ear sound stimulation, but the amplitude was unaffected with left ear sound stimulation. We observed no significant changes in the amplitude of N1 or the latency of MMN or N1. These results suggest that low-frequency rTMS over the left parietal lobe modulates the detection of early auditory changes in duration in healthy subjects. Stimulation that is contralateral to the side of the ear experiencing sound may affect the generation of duration MMN more than ipsilateral stimulation.

The March 2011 "triple disaster" (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident) had a profound effect on northern Japan. Many medical students at Fukushima Medical University volunteered in the relief effort. We aimed to investigate the nature of students' post-disaster involvement and examine the psychological impact of their experiences using a survey containing elements from the Davidson Trauma Scale and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. We collected 494 surveys (70 % response rate), of which 132 students (26.7 %) had volunteered. Volunteers were more likely to be older, have witnessed the disaster in person, had their hometowns affected, and had a family member or close friend injured. In the month after 3/11, volunteers were more likely to want to help, feel capable of helping, and report an increased desire to become a physician. Both in the month after 3/11 and the most recent month before the survey, there were no significant differences in distressing symptoms, such as confusion, anger, or sadness, between volunteers and non-volunteers. Volunteers reported a significantly higher level of posttraumatic growth than non-volunteers. Participating in a greater variety of volunteer activities was associated with a higher level of posttraumatic growth, particularly in the Personal Strength domain. There may be self-selection in some criteria, since students who were likely to be resistant to confusion/anxiety/sadness may have felt more capable of helping and been predisposed to volunteer. However, participation in post-disaster relief efforts did not appear to have a harmful effect on medical students, an important consideration for mobilizing volunteers after future disasters.

Background: Few studies have investigated the relationship between living arrangements and dietary intake among evacuees after disasters. Objectives: To examine the relationship between living arrangements and dietary intake using the data of a large-scale cohort survey of evacuees after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Methods: 73,433 residents in evacuation zones responded to the Fukushima Health Management Survey questionnaire. Subjects were excluded if they did not report their living conditions or were missing more than three pieces of information about dietary intake. The data of 52,314 subjects (23,149 men and 29,165 women ≥15 years old) were used for the analyses. Evacuees' living arrangements were characterized into three categories: evacuation shelters or temporary housing, rental houses or apartments, or a relative's home or their own home. Dietary intake was characterized in terms of grains, fruits and vegetables, meat, soybean products, dairy products, and fish. Daily consumption of the third quartile (Q3) or higher for each food group was defined as ‘high consumption’. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using modified Poisson regression analyses. Results: Modified Poisson regression analyses showed that, compared with respondents living in a relative's home or their own home, the PRs and 95% CIs for the people living in rental apartments of high consumption of fruits and vegetables (non-juice), meat, soybean products, and dairy products were 0.69 (95% CI, 0.61–0.77), 0.82 (95% CI, 0.73–0.91), 0.89 (95% CI, 0.83–0.94), and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.74–0.93) respectively. The corresponding PRs and 95% CIs for people living in evacuation shelters or temporary housing were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.78–0.88), 0.90 (95% CI, 0.86–0.95), 0.94 (95% CI, 0.91–0.97), and 0.91 (95% CI, 0.86–0.96) for high consumption of fruits and vegetables (non-juice), meat, soybean products, and dairy products, respectively. Conclusion: The present study suggests that, after the earthquake, living in non-home conditions was associated with poor dietary intake of fruits and vegetables (non-juice), meat, soybean products, and dairy products, suggesting the need for early improvements in the provision of balanced meals among evacuees living in non-home conditions.

Background Cytogenomic mutations and chromosomal abnormality are implicated in the neuropathology of several brain diseases. Cell heterogeneity of brain tissues makes their detection and validation difficult, however. In the present study, we analyzed gene dosage alterations in brain DNA of schizophrenia patients and compared those with the copy number variations (CNVs) identified in schizophrenia patients as well as with those in Asian lymphocyte DNA and attempted to obtain hints at the pathological contribution of cytogenomic instability to schizophrenia. Results Brain DNA was extracted from postmortem striatum of schizophrenia patients and control subjects (n = 48 each) and subjected to the direct two color microarray analysis that limits technical data variations. Disease-associated biases of relative DNA doses were statistically analyzed with Bonferroni’s compensation on the premise of brain cell mosaicism. We found that the relative gene dosage of 85 regions significantly varied among a million of probe sites. In the candidate CNV regions, 26 regions had no overlaps with the common CNVs found in Asian populations and included the genes (i.e., ANTXRL, CHST9, DNM3, NDST3, SDK1, STRC, SKY) that are associated with schizophrenia and/or other psychiatric diseases. The majority of these candidate CNVs exhibited high statistical probabilities but their signal differences in gene dosage were less than 1.5-fold. For test evaluation, we rather selected the 10 candidate CNV regions that exhibited higher aberration scores or larger global effects and were thus confirmable by PCR. Quantitative PCR verified the loss of gene dosage at two loci (1p36.21 and 1p13.3) and confirmed the global variation of the copy number distributions at two loci (11p15.4 and 13q21.1), both indicating the utility of the present strategy. These test loci, however, exhibited the same somatic CNV patterns in the other brain region. Conclusions The present study lists the candidate regions potentially representing cytogenomic CNVs in the brain of schizophrenia patients, although the significant but modest alterations in their brain genome doses largely remain to be characterized further. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13039-015-0144-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence from alcohol and trauma studies suggests that disasters are associated with increases in the consumption of alcohol. The Great East Japan Earthquake and the associated nuclear disaster have continued to affect the mental health of evacuees from Fukushima. This study aimed to extend these findings by examining the relationship between drinking behaviors and the risk of mental illness after the compound disaster. METHODS: We conducted the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey with 56,543 evacuees. Kessler's K6 was used to assess the risk of mental illness, and logistic regression models were applied to analyze how drinking behavior patterns influence the risk of serious mental illness after adjustment for confounding variables. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis evidenced that beginning heavy and light drinkers had the highest and a higher risk of serious mental illness, respectively. Individuals who were nondrinkers pre- and postdisaster had the lowest proportional risk of mental illness. Abstainers also had some risk to their mental health after the compound disaster. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study highlight that beginning drinkers have a high risk of serious mental illness. Thus, mental health professionals should pay attention to the drinking behaviors of evacuees, which might predict increased risk of serious mental illness and consequently indicate a need for psychological intervention. Language: en

The March, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that affected the Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures led to a nuclear power plant accident at the Fukushima Daiichi facility. 13 municipalities were designated as evacuation areas from radiation exposure, and 210 000 residents were evacuated. As of January, 2015, 120 000 Fukushima residents remain evacuated, with some residents deciding to relocate permanently. The Fukushima Medical University Health Management Group conducted mental health surveys with roughly 185 000 evacuees. Among those surveyed, 14·6% in 2011, 11·7% in 2012, and 10·3% in 2013 screened positive for high distress, and 21·6% in 2011, 17·4% in 2012, and 17·2% in 2013 had probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In community samples throughout Japan, 3·0% of people reported high distress and 1·3% with trauma exposure had PTSD. Because of stigma, distress, and PTSD from the nuclear disaster, providing mental health care for Fukushima evacuees became a priority. Comprehensive measures were implemented, including supportive telephone calls by clinical psychologists, public health nurses, and psychiatric social workers to more than 3000 people per year, whose questionnaires on the Fukushima Medical University survey indicated substantial symptomatology or who requested help. Six mental care centres have been established in Fukushima since 2012 and more than 500 dialogue workshops with radiation health experts have been carried out in aff ected communities over a 3·5 year period. The standardised suicide mortality ratio decreased during the first 2 years after the disaster in each affected prefecture compared with 2010 (table), and then rose in 2014 to the pre-disaster level in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures and exceeded it in the Fukushima prefecture. In Japan as a whole, suicide prevalence is declining slightly. A similar pattern was seen after the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, with suicide prevalence decreasing during the first 2 years and then increasing. It is conceivable that during 2011, when the evacuations and displacements peaked, there was both great attention from national and international authorities and a collective feeling of concern and altruism, similar to experiences during and just after World Wars I and II in the USA, France, west Germany, and Japan. However, once the new reality caused by the triple disaster set in, increased demoralisation and anxiety, combined with restricted employment and movement of young families to urban areas, triggered a rise in suicide in Fukushima that the mental health intervention programmes were unable to offset. Thus, long-term efforts to assist in psychological recovery are needed. We thank the National Health Fund for Children and Adults Aff ected by the Nuclear Incident.

In October 2013, the Radiation Medical Science Center of the Fukushima Medical University and the Section of Environment and Radiation of the International Agency for Research on Cancer held a joint workshop in Fukushima, Japan to discuss opportunities and challenges for long-term studies of the health effects following the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident. This report describes four key areas of discussion -- thyroid screening, dosimetry, mental health, and non-radiation risk factors -- and summarizes recommendations resulting from the workshop. Four recommendations given at the workshop were to: 1) build-up a population-based cancer registry for long-term monitoring of the cancer burden in the prefecture; 2) enable future linkage of data from the various independent activities, particularly those related to dose reconstruction and health status ascertainment; 3) establish long-term observational studies with repeated measurements of lifestyle and behavioural factors to disentangle radiation and non-radiation factors; and 4) implement primary prevention strategies targeted for populations affected by natural disasters, including measures to better understand and address health risk concerns in the affected population. The workshop concluded that coordinated data collection between researchers from different institutes and disciplines can both reduce the burden on the population and facilitate efforts to examine the inter-relationships between the many factors at play.

The flow of time in the real world may differ from the one in the neural representation of auditory scene stored in the sensory memory, because the encoded information is free from the rule of actual time. The sensory memory underlying the automatic discriminative system is reflected by the mismatch negativity (MMN). The time-wise image of preceding sounds is integrated into the sensory memory as a 160-170 ms epoch. We measured the mismatch field (MMNm) and the reaction time responding to the omitted segments incorporated into a complex sound. The main result was that the encoded period from early to late omitted segment was shorter than the actual one, suggesting that time may be compressed in the sound representation.

The human auditory system is adapted to integrate temporally successive sounds into meaningful entities, that is, acoustic information units. Hence, sound sequences falling within the temporal window of integration should be coded holistically as unitary representations in the human auditory cortex. Although it is well established that the auditory system operates in the frequency-temporal domain, many previous studies only focused on the temporal domain of the window of integration. Therefore, in the current study we investigated the relationship between the short-term temporal integration and the frequency integration. Event-related magnetic fields in response to infrequent omission of the second tone in repetitive tone pairs composed of two closely spaced tones of different frequencies were recorded. This omission elicited the magnetic counterpart (MMNm) of the electric mismatch negativity (MMN), a change-specific component mainly generated in the auditory cortex, when the interval between the two successive tones was extremely short or when the frequency difference between the two tones was small. These findings suggest that two stimuli presented in close succession might be represented in the auditory system as a unitary integrated event. In addition, as the distance between the two successive tones decreased in the spectrotemporal dimensions, the magnitude of the MMNm increased. Behavioral data also supported these neurophysiological phenomena. This work shows the first neurophysiological evidence that the two-dimensional (spectrotemporal) window of integration, which provides important constraints for the neural processing of the acoustic environment, exists in the human brain.

Dipole source localization corresponding to interictal spikes were estimated using EEG dipole tracing with a realistic three-shell head model in three patients with cryptogenic gelastic epilepsy. The dipole sources in two patients, whose gelastic seizures were accompanied by a subjective feeling of mirth, were estimated in the right or left medio-basal temporal regions. In the other patient, with gelastic seizures without a sense of mirth, the dipole sources were localized in the right frontal region corresponding to the anterior cingulate. The results suggest that the neural activities in hippocampal regions are involved with the generation of gelastic seizures with a sense of mirth and those in the cingulate might be associated with the motor act of laughter.

The purpose of early brain processing of sound patterns is to develop the neural representation of preceding sounds in the auditory sensory memory. Such memory phenomenon, underlying the automatic deviation-detection system, has been revealed by measuring the mismatch negativity (MMN) component of the event-related brain potential (ERP). Successive acoustic information should be stored in the sensory memory as a unitary representation. Unitary storage is related to the brain mechanism termed as the temporal window of integration (TWI), which integrates the closely presented sounds into single information units. In the previous studies, the duration of TWI was estimated at 160–170 ms. According to the present studies, automatic deviation-detection sensitivity declines nonlinearly toward the end of TWI.

The influence of sensory modulation on the early stage of information processing was investigated with a somatosensory contingent negative variation (CNV) paradigm. Whether or not even a somatosensory input as well as auditory or visual stimulus to one hemisphere elicits the symmetrical “early CNV” was also examined. Eleven normal individuals (3 males, 8 females) performed a conventional CNV paradigm with a click sound as the warning stimulus (WS) and a red light flash as the imperative stimulus (IS). Nine individuals (5 males, 4 females) did the somatosensory CNV paradigm with paired electrical stimuli as WS and IS. The subjects were instructed to press a button in response to IS as fast as possible. The early CNV amplitude was smaller and P300 latency was longer in somatosensory paradigm than conventional paradigm. In addition, the latency of P100 in a somatosensory paradigm was longer than that of N100 in a conventional paradigm. These findings suggest that the initiation of early detection, reflected by P100, the initiation of cognition, reflected by P300, and orienting response, reflected by early CNV, are delayed in a somatosensory CNV paradigm. Furthermore, all event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by somatosensory stimuli showed a bilateral symmetry.

Altered metabolism of valproate has been suggested as the mechanism of teratogenicity and hepatotoxicity of valproate. This study aimed at examining whether pharmacokinetics of a slow-release formulation of valproate affects valproate metabolism. Thirty-one epileptic patients were treated with fixed-doses of conventional valproate for at least 2 months. Thereafter, the drug was replaced with the same doses of slow-release formulation of valproate for 2 months. Blood samplings for determination of valproate and its metabolites by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were performed at three time-points (just before morning dose and at 1 and 5 hr after morning dose) during both treatment phases. There was a significant difference (P

Objective To investigate the association between socioeconomic factors and the exacerbation of cardiovascular symptoms among evacuees after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Methods A sample of 73 433 individuals was included in the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Self-report questionnaires were used to determine the influence of socioeconomic factors including living arrangements, loss of employment and decreased income on the exacerbation of headache, dizziness, palpitations and shortness of breath. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs of the effect of socioeconomic factors were estimated for each symptom using multiple logistic regression analyses. Results Exacerbation of headaches was reported by 1893 individuals, dizziness by 1229, palpitations by 1085 and shortness of breath by 626 individuals. Evacuation accommodation was associated with all of these symptoms. Compared with participants living in their own home (OR=1.00), individuals living in relatives’ homes had increased probability of experiencing exacerbation of headache (1.58; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.09) and dizziness (1.42; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.98); those living in rental housing or apartments experienced exacerbation of headache (1.54; 95% CI 1.32 to 1.80), dizziness (1.45; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.75), palpitations (1.25; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.51) and shortness of breath (1.76; 95% CI 1.35 to 2.28); participants living in evacuation shelters experienced exacerbation of headache (1.80; 95% CI 1.09 to 2.96); and refugees living in temporary housing also experienced exacerbation of headache (1.42; 95% CI 1.15 to 1.72), dizziness (1.40; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.79) and shortness of breath (1.49; 95% CI 1.07 to 2.08). Compared with the evacuees who retained their jobs, unemployed individuals showed increased probability of exacerbation of headache (1.28, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.46), dizziness (1.26, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.48) and palpitations (1.21, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.45). Decreased income was associated with exacerbation of headache (1.39, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.60). Conclusion After the earthquake, living in non-home conditions was more likely to result in exacerbated cardiovascular symptoms among evacuees. Loss of employment was another risk factor related to exacerbated headache and dizziness.

Subcellular resolution imaging of the whole brain and subsequent image analysis are prerequisites for understanding anatomical and functional brain networks. Here, we have developed a very high-speed serial-sectioning imaging system named FAST (block-face serial microscopy tomography), which acquires high-resolution images of a whole mouse brain in a speed range comparable to that of light-sheet fluorescence microscopy. FAST enables complete visualization of the brain at a resolution sufficient to resolve all cells and their subcellular structures. FAST renders unbiased quantitative group comparisons of normal and disease model brain cells for the whole brain at a high spatial resolution. Furthermore, FAST is highly scalable to non-human primate brains and human postmortem brain tissues, and can visualize neuronal projections in a whole adult marmoset brain. Thus, FAST provides new opportunities for global approaches that will allow for a better understanding of brain systems in multiple animal models and in human diseases.

Currently, the mismatch negativity (MMN) deficit is one of the most robust and replicable findings in schizophrenia, reflecting cognitive and functional decline, psychosocial and socio-occupational impairment, and executive dysfunction in these patients. An important break-through has very recently taken place here in the prediction of conversion to psychosis when the MMN in particular to change in tone duration was recorded in clinically at risk-mental state (ARMS) individuals. Attenuations in the MMN in these patients may be very useful in helping clinicians determine who are most likely to develop a psychotic disorder, as we will review in the present article.