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Cognitive reactivity (CR) is a psychological vulnerability marker of depression, whereas response to acute tryptophan depletion (ATD; a serotonergic challenge procedure) is a biological vulnerability marker. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between these markers. Thirty-nine remitted depressed patients participated in 2 ATD sessions in a double-blind crossover design. CR, assessed prior to the ATD sessions, predicted depressive response to high-dose ATD. CR also diminished the effects of 2 known predictors of ATD response: gender and residual symptoms. Neuroticism and behavioral inhibition were unrelated to ATD response. CR is associated with an increased sensitivity to reductions of serotonin concentrations. These findings present a small step toward unifying cognitive and neurobiological theories of depression. Keywords: depression vulnerability, remitted depressed patients, cognitive reactivity, acute tryptophan depletion, serotonin

Abstract Depression is associated with reduced brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) function and with cognitive dysfunctions. A diet rich in α-lactalbumin protein has been found to increase the ratio tryptophan /large [...]

The current study tested whether 'suffocation sensations' (respiratory loads) are automatically evaluated in a negative way by people fearing these sensations. It was found that, after having been primed with a slight respiratory load, participants with high suffocation fear (n = 15) reacted more quickly to suffocation words and more slowly to positive words than participants with low suffocation fear (n = 21). However, the effect was present only in participants who had noticed the primes. The findings are relevant to the cognitive model of panic disorder because automatic negative appraisal of sensations may play a role in initiating a panic attack. Keywords: affective priming, panic disorder, catastrophic misinterpretation, suffocation fear, cognitive model

This article describes a reanalysis of seven studies on heart beat perception (HBP) in panic disorder. The pooled sample had 709 participants from eight diagnostic categories. Accurate HBP was uncommon, but more prevalent among panic disorder patients than among healthy controls, depressed patients, patients with palpitations and individuals with infrequent panic attacks. No differences were found between panic disorder patients and patients with other anxiety disorders. Accurate perceivers had higher anxiety sensitivity scores than inaccurate perceivers. The data remain inconclusive as to whether perceived heart rate is correlated with anxiety in inaccurate perceivers. Physical exercise, distraction, variations in instructions and treatment each influenced HBP. However, the influence was different than previously thought. Finally, it is suggested that HBP may be understood in terms of schema-guided information processing.

Abstract It has frequently been demonstrated that acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) induces a transient depressed mood in some patients who are in remission from depression. However, the effects of ATD [...]

Summary: Background: The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a key protein in maintaining neuronal integrity. The BDNF gene is thought to play an important role in the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate, for the first time in a single study, the association between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism, anxiety, alcohol consumption, and cortisol stress response. Method: 98 healthy university students (54 females and 44 males), genotyped for the Val66Met polymorphism, participated in a physical-stress procedure (cold pressure test, CPT) after having been informed that they would undergo a painful experience. Indices of anxiety and of stress were collected from repeated measurement of salivary cortisol, blood pressure, and heart rate. Results: BDNF Met carriers, were more anxious during the CPT (p <0.001), drank more alcohol per week, (p <0.05), and showed significantly higher anticipatory cortisol response (p <0.05), but not in response to the CPT, than Val/Val homozygotes. The association of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism with HPA axis reactivity to stress was not modulated by gender. These results suggest that Met carriers are particularly sensitive in anticipating stressful events, which extends previous findings on the moderating role of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in the face of stressful life events. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

??-Lactalbumin is a tryptophan-rich protein fraction. A diet enriched with ??-lactalbumin increases the ratio of tryptophan to the other large neutral amino acids, which may in turn increase brain serotonin content. In stress-vulnerable individuals, ??-lactalbumin improved mood and attenuated the cortisol response after experimental stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of an ??-lactalbumin-enriched diet on mood and stress response in recovered depressed subjects and healthy controls. Forty-three subjects (twenty-three recovered depressed and twenty healthy subjects) received ??-lactalbumin and casein (placebo) on separate days, in a double-blind randomised crossover design. On both occasions, subjects underwent a stress test (an unsolvable mental arithmetic task with loud noise). The stress test affected mood in both conditions. Although the ??-lactalbumin diet led to the expected rises in tryptophan and tryptophan:large neutral amino acids ratio, only minimal effects were found on mood and cortisol response to experimental stress. The results were the same for recovered depressed patients and controls. A 1 d diet enriched with ??-lactalbumin is not sufficient to prevent a stress-induced mood deterioration or a cortisol response in unmedicated, recovered depressed subjects. Future studies may investigate the effects of longer-term diets or may investigate different samples (e.g. medicated patients). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Investigates voluntary breath-holding (VBH) duration in patients with panic disorder, patients with a mood disorder and normal controls. Influence of motivational and cognitive factors on VBH; Depressive symptoms and fear of bodily sensation on breath holding duration; Suitability of VBH as a test to measure carbon dioxide sensitivity of suffocation alarm.