Search

Introduction: Cancer has a high rate of comorbidity with depressive disorders, with an estimated 16.3% of cancer patients suffering from major depression. Given the perceived existential threat associated with the disease and its treatment, the increased risk of depressive disorders is understandable. However, some researchers have recently proposed that the connection between these two diseases might not be unidirectional. Objectives: To explore the biological mechanisms underlying the relationship between cancer and depression. To assess the impact of depression on cancer incidence, progression and mortality. Methods: We undertook a literature review by searching in PubMed articles written in English. The key terms used were "cancer", "major depressive disorder", "survival" and "inflammation". Results: There is mounting evidence that inflammation, particularly through proinflammatory cytokines, is involved in depression. That has been proved in cancer patients, in which the elevation of cytokines correlates with depressive symptoms. On the other hand, low-grade chronic inflammation also plays a role in the pathophysiology of cancer. This interplay has been corroborated by one large population-based epidemiological study that found an association of a lifetime history of major depression with a higher risk for cancer, and a statistically significant increase in risk for breast cancer. It has also been revealed that sustained depression after a cancer diagnosis influences cancer progression and shortens survival. Similarly, it is believed that this effect is mediated by the release of proinflammatory cytokines. Conclusions: Proinflammatory cytokines may mediate a two-way relationship between cancer and depression. Further research is needed to assess the impact of depression treatment on cancer survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sharing a connection that comes from embryology, it is long known that the skin and the central nervous system are tightly linked. Alopecia areata can be defined as an inflammatory condition that causes patches on the scalp and is influenced by psychoneuroimmunological factors. Objectives: Our aim is to demonstrate the importance of treating psychological factors as a way to control the profound repercussions of the disease. Methods: In this poster we describe a case of a 33 year old female with obsessive compulsive disorder and severe alopecia areata. We will also conduct a search in PUBMED database and select case report and literature review about this topic. Results: We report a case in wich initially the dermatological treatment was ineffective, as it can be seen in picture 1(back left view) and 2 (back right view), with the exclusion of other organic conditions. This led to the referral to a psychiatric evaluation were an obsessive compulsive disorder diagnosis was made and treatment began, initially with a SSRI and laterwith the addition of a tricyclic antidepressant. The following conjoint psychiatric, psychological and dermatological approach greatly reduced the loss of hair, and improved hair growth, as soon as the baseline obsessive compulsive disorder started to be controlled. The most recent investigation clearly identifies psychiatric disorders as a source of low grade chronic inflammation. Conclusions: The effective control of psychological factors, often subjective and overshadowed, are determinant in the understanding and management of alopecia areata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have used eye-tracking measures to explore the relationship between face encoding and recognition, including the impact of ethnicity on this relationship. Previous studies offer a variety of conflicting conclusions. This confusion may stem from misestimation of the relationship between encoding and recognition. First, most previous models fail to account for the structure of eye-tracking data, potentially falling prey to Simpson's paradox. Second, previous models assume a linear relationship between attention (e.g., the number of fixations to a to-be-remembered face) and recognition accuracy. Two eye-tracking studies ( N s = 41, 59), one online experiment that manipulates exposure ( N = 150), and a mega-analysis examine the effects of ethnicity using what we believe to be more appropriate analytical models. Across studies and measures, we document a novel, critical pattern: The relationship between attention and recognition is nonlinear and negatively accelerating. At low levels of baseline attention, a small increment in attention improves recognition. However, as attention increases further, increments yield smaller and smaller benefits. This finding parallels work in learning and memory. In models that allow for nonlinearity, we find evidence that central features (eyes, nose, and mouth) generally contribute to recognition accuracy, potentially resolving disagreements in the field. We also find that the effects of attention on recognition are similar for ingroup and outgroup faces, which have important implications for theories of perceptual expertise. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Research on eyewitness identification often involves exposing participants to a simulated crime and later testing memory using a lineup. We conducted a systematic review showing that pre-event instructions, instructions given before event exposure, are rarely reported and those that are reported vary in the extent to which they warn participants about the nature of the event or tasks. At odds with the experience of actual witnesses, some studies use pre-event instructions explicitly warning participants of the upcoming crime and lineup task. Both the basic and applied literature provide reason to believe that pre-event instructions may affect eyewitness identification performance. In the current experiment, we tested the impact of pre-event instructions on lineup identification decisions and confidence. Participants received non-specific pre-event instructions (i.e., "watch this video") or eyewitness pre-event instructions (i.e., "watch this crime video, you'll complete a lineup later") and completed a culprit-absent or -present lineup. We found no support for the hypothesis that participants who receive eyewitness pre-event instructions have higher discriminability than participants who receive non-specific pre-event instructions. Additionally, confidence-accuracy calibration was not significantly different between conditions. However, participants in the eyewitness condition were more likely to see the event as a crime and to make an identification than participants in the non-specific condition. Implications for conducting and interpreting eyewitness identification research and the basic research on instructions and attention are discussed., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The COVID-19 pandemic has already infected more than 182 million people and killed more than 4 million all over the globe. In addition to its direct health effects, lockdowns and other draconian public health measures, along with an expected economic crisis of unprecedent magnitude, unpre- dictable social effects are being generated.

Background: Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are the most impairing psychiatric disorders and are a major cause of social exclusion. Despite that, there are only two studies published assessing the socioeconomic characteristics of SSD patients living in Portugal., Aims: The purpose of this study is to assess the degree of social and family support for SSD patients living in the region of 'Tâmega e Sousa', in northern Portugal., Method: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study using patients under home-based care provided by the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Centro Hospitalar do Tâmega e Sousa. We retrieved sociodemographic data from clinical records. The study was approved by the Hospital Ethics Committee., Results: Our sample consists on 67 patients with SSD, mostly men (74.6%). Although the majority was single (69.2%) and childless (85.7%), only a minority lived alone (21.2%). In relation to their professional status, only 5.0% were employed and 78.3% got a disability pension. Among the patients that lived accompanied, 68% lived with their parents or grandparents, and a quarter lived with family members affected by psychiatric disorders., Conclusions: These findings highlight the dependence of SSD patients on their family's support. Lack of labour market integration, economic dependence and difficulty establishing stable relationships further aggravate their social exclusion. Although our results are consistent with a previous observational study held in Portugal, our patients display a worse functional status. Even considering the possible patient selection bias, there is evidence supporting the need for more investment in psychosocial rehabilitation that should take into account the sociodemographic idiosyncrasies of this Portuguese region.