pubmedvcu

• Genetic and Environmental Influences on Fear Learning and Generalization April 2, 2025
  Understanding how excessive fear responses develop and persist is critical. Research using laboratory models of fear learning offers valuable insights on etiology. In this study, the influence of genetic and environmental etiology of baseline startle response and fear learning was examined, focusing on fear acquisition and generalization processes using the fear conditioning paradigm measuring fear-potentiated […]
  Christina M Sheerin
• What is the role of paternal genetic transmission on risk for PTSD and internalizing and externalizing disorders? March 10, 2025
  CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to show cross-generation genetic transmission for PTSD using the MHSFDF design. The pattern of cross-disorder genetic risk broadly supported an internalizing versus externalizing disorder split.
  Ananda B Amstadter
• Trans-ancestry Genome-Wide Analyses in UK Biobank Yield Novel Risk Loci for Major Depression March 10, 2025
  Most genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of depression focus on broad, heterogeneous outcomes, limiting the discovery of genomic risk loci specific to major depressive disorder (MDD). Previous UK Biobank (UKB) studies had limited ability to pinpoint MDD-associated loci due to a smaller sample with strictly defined MDD outcomes and further exclusion of many participants based on […]
  Madhurbain Singh
• The development of an environmental risk score using Swedish National Registers and its impact on subsequent episodes of major depression March 7, 2025
  CONCLUSIONS: Valid measures of SLEs that predispose to risk for MD can be assessed from high-quality registry data. While not all event categories (e.g. interpersonal or romantic difficulties) can be assessed, this method avoids problems with accurate dating and recall bias and can be performed in very large samples.
  Kenneth S Kendler
• The familial aggregation and co-aggregation of drug use disorder and alcohol use disorder in siblings of affected individuals born 1950-1990: A birth cohort exposed to rising rates of drug use disorder March 5, 2025
  CONCLUSIONS: The factors that drove upward population rates of DUD in Sweden (e.g. increased availability, reduced stigma) produced much stronger effects in high-risk subjects (siblings of DUD and AUD probands) than in normal risk groups (siblings of controls), thereby increasing familial aggregation of DUD. However, parallel declines in AUD rates in high-risk versus normal-risk siblings […]
  Kenneth S Kendler
• Are Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Differentially Associated with Alcohol Use Behaviors: Multivariate Behavioral Genetic Analyses February 27, 2025
  This study examined whether adolescent depressive and anxiety symptoms were differentially associated with alcohol use behaviors, and how these associations were explained by genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental influences. Participants were from the Nonshared Environment and Adolescent Development project of same-sex twin/sibling pairs from 720 families. Twin/sibling depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured by self-report […]
  Tong Chen
• Longitudinal analysis of the ABCD® study February 25, 2025
  The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development® (ABCD) Study provides a unique opportunity to investigate developmental processes in a large, diverse cohort of youths, aged approximately 9-10 at baseline and assessed annually for 10 years. Given the size and complexity of the ABCD Study, researchers analyzing its data will encounter a myriad of methodological and analytical considerations. […]
  Samuel W Hawes
• Associations between worry about mental and physical health and the use of face masks: Exploring discrimination as a moderator among Black Americans February 24, 2025
  Given the disproportionate impact of COVID-19, it is important to understand factors that may underlie Black American emerging adults' adherence to safety guidelines that could potentially reduce spread of illness and hospitalization. The current study examined how COVID-19 worry about mental health (CWMH) and COVID-19 worry about physical health (CWPH) predicted use of face masks, […]
  Chloe J Walker
• Multi-ancestral genome-wide association study of clinically defined nicotine dependence reveals strong genetic correlations with other substance use disorders and health-related traits February 20, 2025
  Genetic research on nicotine dependence has utilized multiple assessments that are in weak agreement. We conducted a genome-wide association study of nicotine dependence defined using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-NicDep) in 61,861 individuals (47,884 of European ancestry, 10,231 of African ancestry, 3,746 of East Asian ancestry) and compared the results to […]
  Emma C Johnson
• Prevalence and disease risks for male and female sex chromosome trisomies: a registry-based phenome-wide association study in 1.5 million participants of MVP, FinnGen, and UK Biobank February 20, 2025
  Sex chromosome trisomies (SCT) are the most common whole chromosome aneuploidy in humans. Yet, our understanding of the prevalence and associated health outcomes is largely driven by observational studies of clinically diagnosed cases, resulting in a disproportionate focus on 47,XXY and associated hypogonadism. We analyzed microarray intensity data of sex chromosomes for 1.5 million individuals […]
  Shanlee M Davis
• Using genomic structural equation modeling to examine the genetic architecture of PTSD and life satisfaction phenotypes February 12, 2025
  Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and life satisfaction phenotypes are inversely related on a phenotypic level. Given these established relations, researchers have begun to examine possible shared genetic contributions to these outcomes, though the existing genetic literature is sparse and examines these relations via univariate methods. We sought to examine the genetic architecture of PTSD […]
  Shannon E Cusack
• Clinical heterogeneity in major depressive disorder underlies comorbidity with functional disorders February 9, 2025
  The comorbidities between MDD and functional disorders (FDs), such as fibromyalgia (FM), myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) remain largely unexplored. We analyzed data from 10,563 lifetime MDD cases (mean age = 50.5 (SD = 11.9), 71.8% female) from the Lifelines Cohort Study. Lifetime MDD symptoms from DSM-5 criterion A were […]
  Nathaniel S Thomas
• Alcohol use in Early Midlife: Findings from the Age 37 Follow-Up Assessment of the FinnTwin12 Cohort February 7, 2025
  This paper provides an overview of the most recent assessment, collected in early midlife, of the FinnTwin12 cohort, a population-based study of Finnish twins born in 1983-1987. The twins were invited to complete an online survey assessing a range of variables, including physical and mental health, alcohol use and problems, other substance use, and early […]
  Megan E Cooke
• The impact of genes and environment assessed longitudinally on psychological and somatic distress in twins from ages 15 to 35 years February 6, 2025
  CONCLUSIONS: The longitudinal trajectory of psychological distress from ages 12 to 35 can thus be largely explained by forward transmission of a stable additive genetic influence, alongside smaller age-specific genetic innovations. This study addresses the limitation of previous research by exhaustively exploring alternative theoretical explanations for the observed patterns in distress symptoms over time, providing […]
  Nathan A Gillespie
• The impact of trauma and how to intervene: a narrative review of psychotraumatology over the past 15 years February 6, 2025
  To mark 15 years of the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, editors reviewed the past 15-year years of research on trauma exposure and its consequences, as well as developments in (early) psychological, pharmacological and complementary interventions. In all sections of this paper, we provide perspectives on sex/gender aspects, life course trends, and cross-cultural/global and systemic societal […]
  Miranda Olff
• Triangulated evidence provides no support for bidirectional causal pathways between diet/physical activity and depression/anxiety February 4, 2025
  CONCLUSIONS: Triangulating the evidence across the studies did not provide compelling support for causal effects of diet/physical activity on depression/anxiety or vice versa.
  Kirsten J M van Hooijdonk
• Correction: Assessment and ascertainment in psychiatric molecular genetics: challenges and opportunities for cross-disorder research January 28, 2025
  No abstract
  Na Cai
• Oral Contraceptive Use Is Associated with Significant Differences in MicroRNA Cargo of L1CAM-Associated Extracellular Vesicles January 27, 2025
  Oral contraceptives (OCs) are approved for use after onset of menarche, which is well before brain maturation is complete. OC use may induce biochemical changes in the brain, especially during the neurobiologically dynamic adolescent/young adult years. MicroRNA cargo in L1CAM-associated extracellular vesicles was measured from serum samples collected from young women using the miRCURY LNA […]
  Dana M Lapato
• Comorbidity between internalizing symptoms and disordered eating is primarily driven by genetic influences on emotion regulation in adult female twins January 23, 2025
  Internalizing (e.g., anxiety, depression) and disordered eating (DE; e.g., binge eating, dietary restraint) are highly comorbid, but the mechanisms underlying their comorbidity remain unknown. This was the first twin study to examine whether their co-occurrence may be driven by genetic and/or environmental influences on emotion regulation (ER; ability to modulate duration/intensity of emotions). Analyses included […]
  Megan E Mikhail
• The Splice Index as a prognostic biomarker of strength and function in myotonic dystrophy type 1 January 21, 2025
  BACKGROUNDMyotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multisystemic, CTG repeat expansion disorder characterized by a slow, progressive decline in skeletal muscle function. A biomarker correlating RNA mis-splicing, the core pathogenic disease mechanism, and muscle performance is crucial for assessing response to disease-modifying interventions. We evaluated the Myotonic Dystrophy Splice Index (SI), a composite RNA splicing […]
  Marina Provenzano