Cotinine : a therapy for memory extinction in post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that may develop after exposure to exceptionally threatening or unescapable horrifying events. Actual therapies fail to alleviate the emotional suffering and cognitive impairment associated with this disorder, mostly because they are ineffective in treating the failure to extinguish trauma memories in a great percentage of those affected. In this review, current behavioral, cellular, and molecular evidence supporting the use of cotinine for treating PTSD are reviewed.

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Turning wounds into wisdom : Posttraumatic growth over the course of two types of trauma-focused psychotherapy in patients with PTSD

Abstract

Background

Treatment studies in PTSD patients have mostly focused on adverse psychopathological outcomes whereas positive outcomes have received less attention. Objectives of this study were to investigate posttraumatic growth in response to two different psychotherapies, to examine the relationship between symptom improvement and growth, and to determine if posttraumatic growth predicted treatment response.

Methods

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Smaller Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder : A Multisite ENIGMA-PGC Study: Subcortical Volumetry Results From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Consortia

Background

Many studies report smaller hippocampal and amygdala volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but findings have not always been consistent. Here, we present the results of a large-scale neuroimaging consortium study on PTSD conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC)–Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) PTSD Working Group.

Methods

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The dissociative post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) subtype : A treatment outcome cohort study in veterans with PTSD

Abstract

Objectives

Dissociation is a prevalent phenomenon among veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that may interfere with the effectiveness of treatment. This study aimed to replicate findings of a dissociative PTSD subtype, to identify corresponding patterns in coping style, symptom type, and symptom severity, and to investigate its impact on post-traumatic symptom improvement.

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Replicability and Generalizability of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Networks : A Cross-Cultural Multisite Study of PTSD Symptoms in Four Trauma Patient Samples

Abstract

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War-Related Traumas and Mental Health Across Generations

This issue of JAMA Psychiatry presents the findings from an epidemiological study from Santavirta et al on the risk of psychiatric hospitalization among the offspring of adults who were evacuated as child refugees to Sweden during World War II under the Finnish Evacuation Policy. The study provides a glimpse into the potential intergenerational associations of being a child refugee during World War II with psychiatric hospitalization, with particular attention to sex.

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Associability-modulated loss learning is increased in posttraumatic stress disorder

Disproportionate reactions to unexpected stimuli in the environment are a cardinal symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Here, we test whether these heightened responses are associated with disruptions in distinct components of reinforcement learning. Specifically, using functional neuroimaging, a loss-learning task, and a computational model-based approach, we assessed the mechanistic hypothesis that overreactions to stimuli in PTSD arise from anomalous gating of attention during learning (i.e., associability).

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Association of the World War II finnish evacuation of children with psychiatric hospitalization in the next generation

IMPORTANCE

Although there is evidence that adverse childhood experiences are associated with worse mental health in adulthood, scarce evidence is available regarding an emerging concern that the next generation might also be affected.

 

OBJECTIVE

To compare the risk of psychiatric hospitalization in cousins whose parents were vs were not exposed to the Finnish evacuation policy that involved a mean 2-year stay with a Swedish foster family.

 

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

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Primary care for refugees and newly arrived migrants in Europe : a qualitative study on health needs, barriers and wishes

Background
 
In order to provide effective primary care for refugees and to develop interventions tailored to them, we must know their needs. Little is known of the health needs and experiences of recently arrived refugees and other migrants throughout their journey through Europe. We aimed to gain insight into their health needs, barriers in access and wishes regarding primary health care.
Methods
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Neural activity during the viewing of emotional pictures in veterans with pathological anger and aggression

Anger and aggression are common mental health problems after military deployment. Anger and aggression have been associated with abnormalities in subcortical and cortical levels of the brain and their connectivity.

Here, we tested brain activation during the processing of emotional stimuli in military veterans with and without anger and aggression problems.

Thirty military veterans with anger and aggression problems and 29 veterans without a psychiatric diagnosis (all males) participated in this study.

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