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Objective This study aimed to explore the relationship between childhood physical abuse and suicidal ideation considering the effects of genetic and environmental factors in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by focusing on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) polymorphism and social support, respectively.Methods One-hundred fourteen patients with PTSD and 94 healthy controls (HCs) were genotyped with respect to BDNF Val66Met polymorphism. All participants underwent psychological assessments. The hierarchical regression analysis and the simple slope analysis were conducted.Results As for patients with PTSD, the moderation effect of BDNF polymorphism was significant but not for social support. Specifically, the BDNF Val/Val genotype worked as a risk factor and strengthens the relationship between childhood physical abuse and suicidal ideation. As for the HCs, the significant moderation effect was found only in social support, but not for BDNF polymorphism. The relationship between childhood physical abuse and suicidal ideation was weakened for the HCs with high social support.Conclusion This study demonstrated a significant BDNF genetic vulnerability for suicide in patients with PTSD who experienced childhood physical abuse. Our results suggested that social support provided a mitigating effect on the relationship between childhood physical abuse and suicidal ideation only in the HCs.

Gene-Environment (G × E) interaction is of increasing importance in understanding the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study investigated the interaction effect of childhood traumatic experience and epigenetic methylation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and a possible moderating effect of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene rs53576.Ninety-nine patients with PTSD and 81 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Clinical assessments, including the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ) and posttraumatic stress disorder Checklist (PCL) were performed. BDNF methylation and OXTR genotyping (A vs. G allele) were conducted through blood sampling. A two-way multivariate analysis and a moderated regression analysis were conducted to investigate the moderating effect of the OXTR gene on the relationship between CTQ and BDNF methylation.As for the HC group, the interaction effect of the CTQ and OXTR genotype was significant on BDNF methylation, and the moderation model showed that CTQ and OXTR group are significant predictors of BDNF methylation. In the G-OXTR type, the high CTQ group showed a greater BDNF methylation level. As for the PTSD group, no interaction or moderation effects were found.The present study did not control the dosage, duration of medications, and different trauma types and the assessment of childhood trauma was based on self-report.These results suggested that childhood traumatic experience showed a significant impact on BDNF methylation, and OXTR genes have a moderating effect on this epigenetic mechanism in people who have experienced the childhood traumatic episodes.

Objective The aim of this study is to examine social functioning in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and explore the psychological and neurophysiological predictors of social functioning. Methods Twenty-seven patients with schizophrenia and thirty patients with bipolar disorder, as well as twenty-five healthy controls, completed measures of social functioning (questionnaire of social functioning), neurocognition (Verbal fluency, Korean-Auditory Verbal Learning Test), and social cognition (basic empathy scale and Social Attribution Task-Multiple Choice), and the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ). For neurophysiological measurements, mismatch negativity and heart rate variability (HRV) were recorded from all participants. Multiple hierarchical regression was performed to explore the impact of factors on social functioning. Results The results showed that CTQ-emotional neglect significantly predicted social functioning in schizophrenia group, while HRV-high frequency significantly predicted social functioning in bipolar disorder patients. Furthermore, emotional neglect and HRV-HF still predicted social functioning in all of the subjects after controlling for the diagnostic criteria. Conclusion Our results implicated that even though each group has different predictors of social functioning, early traumatic events and HRV could be important indicators of functional outcome irrespective of what group they are.

The present study aimed to investigate the possible influence of childhood trauma and its interaction effect with 10 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP5) gene on brain volume in non-clinical individuals. One hundred forty-four non-clinical volunteers (44 men and 100 women) were genotyped with respect to 10 variants (rs9296158, rs3800373, rs1360780, rs9470080, rs4713916, rs4713919, rs6902321, rs56311918, rs3798345, and rs9380528) of FKBP5. Participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and psychological assessments such as the childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, rumination response scale, and quality of life assessment instrument. Individuals with the high CTQ score showed enlarged volume of the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) if they have childhood trauma-susceptible genotype of FKBP5 rs3800373, rs1360780, rs4713916, rs4713919, rs6902321, and rs3798345 and enlarged volume of the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) if they have childhood trauma-susceptible genotype of FKBP5 rs3800373, rs1360780, rs4713916, and rs3798345. Among those with the childhood trauma-susceptible genotype, the left OFC and left MTG showed significant negative correlations with positive feelings about life, and the left OFC showed significant positive correlations with negative cognition. This is one of the few studies to identify the volume alteration of the left OFC and the left MTG for the FKBP5 gene–childhood trauma interaction in non-clinical individuals.

Background: Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) showed inconsistencies in their cortisol level, an index of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. This study examined the relationship between dissociation, childhood trauma, and morning cortisol levels in PTSD patients. Methods: This study included 69 patients and 82 healthy controls (HCs). Clinical assessments, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Peri-traumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire scores (PDEQ), and morning cortisol levels were evaluated. The morning cortisol levels were compared between PTSD with high dissociation (PTSD-HD) and low dissociation (PTSD-LD) groups. The effect of CTQ subtype on morning cortisol levels was analyzed. Outcomes: The PTSD-HD group showed significantly lower cortisol levels than that of the PTSD-LD and HC groups. A significant inverse correlation was found between morning cortisol levels and dissociation. A significant positive correlation was found between dissociation and physical abuse and sexual abuse scores. Morning cortisol levels showed significant positive correlation with emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect. There was no moderating or mediating effect of childhood traumatic experience on the relationship between cortisol levels and dissociation. Interpretation: These findings suggest that dissociation is a significant factor related to hypocortisolism in PTSD patients. Additionally, basal morning cortisol levels and dissociation scores were closely associated with the childhood trauma. Funding Statement: This study was supported by a grant from the Brain Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning (NRF-2015M3C7A1028252), and a grant from the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) funded by the Korean government (NRF2018R1A2A2A05018505). Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: All participants signed an informed consent form approved by the Institutional Review Board before participating (IRB no. 2015-07-025).

Introduction Suicidal behavior of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. The catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) gene has been known to be associated with suicidal ideation. The present study aimed to explore the relationship of COMT polymorphism, childhood trauma, and suicidal ideation in patients with PTSD. Methods Fifty patients with PTSD and 62 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited, and COMT variants rs4680 and rs4633 were genotyped through peripheral blood. Psychological assessments such as the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ), the scale for suicidal ideation, the clinician‐administered PTSD scale for DSM‐5, and a PTSD checklist were administered. A regression analysis, the Johnson–Neyman technique, and a two‐way analysis of covariance were conducted. Results Interaction of COMT polymorphism (rs4680, rs4633) and childhood emotional abuse (subscale of CTQ) predicted suicidal ideation in patients with PTSD. Patients with the rs4680 Val/Val genotype, compared to Met carriers genotype, showed higher suicidal ideation when childhood emotional abuse was high. Patients with the rs4633 CC genotype, compared to T carriers genotype, showed higher suicidal ideation when childhood emotional abuse was high. Conclusion Our results suggest that vulnerability to suicide could be increased in the Val/Val genotype of COMT rs4680 and the CC genotype of rs4633 in patients with PTSD. Moreover, PTSD group with high childhood emotional abuse demonstrated a significantly higher suicidal ideation than did those with low childhood emotional abuse., Our study demonstrated that the interaction of COMT polymorphism and childhood emotional abuse predicted suicidal ideation in patients with PTSD. Our results suggest that vulnerability to suicide could be increased in the Val/Val genotype of rs4680 and the CC genotype of rs4633 in patients with PTSD.

Inhibitory dysfunction is closely associated to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study investigated the neurophysiological evidence for and the brain regions related to inhibitory dysfunction in PTSD. Fifty patients with PTSD and 63 healthy controls (HCs) participated in a Go/Nogo task combined with electroencephalographic recordings. The N2-P3 complexes of event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited during the Nogo condition were compared between groups. Participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging to examine cortical volumes and completed questionnaires. Correlations between altered ERPs and cortical volumes of regions of interest as well as psychological symptoms were analysed. Nogo-N2 latencies at five electrode sites (Fz, FCz, Cz, CPz, and Pz) were significantly delayed in patients with PTSD compared to HCs. Nogo-N2 latency had a significant negative correlation with the volume of gyrus in the inferior frontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex. Nogo-N2 latency was significantly and positively correlated with catastrophizing, anxiety, and perceived threat. These findings show inhibitory dysfunction in patients with PTSD, reflected by the delay in Nogo-N2 latencies. They also indicate that Nogo-N2 latencies are associated with smaller cortical volumes responsible for inhibition as well as with major symptoms of PTSD.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of new Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) - NeuroFeedBack-aided meditation therapy (NFB meditation therapy) and modified Positive Psychotherapy (mPPT). For NFB meditation therapy, it includes using NFB apparatus that can effectively lead to and monitor meditation state depending on brain waves. For mPPT, we modified original PPT because a number of new single positive psychology exercises can make original PPT more robust than before. The dependent variables used in this study were psychosocial flourishing (The Flourishing Scale, FS) and affect (The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience, SPANE). They were measured at baseline, post-test, and follow-up test. Finally, total twenty-four participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: no treatment (n = 8), NFB meditation therapy (n = 8), and mPPT group (n = 8). At post-test, both treatment groups showed significant positive effects on psychosocial flourishing (for NFB meditation therapy, F(1, 14) = 4.33, p