Average Mood Research Articles

The Impact of Surgery-Related Emotional Distress on Long-Term Outcome After Colorectal Surgery: An Observational Follow-Up.

Background: Preoperative emotional distress has been linked to adverse health outcomes, diminished quality of life, increased symptom burden after surgery, and poorer postoperative outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of perioperative emotional distress on the long-term outcomes of patients undergoing colorectal surgery. Methods: We conducted a follow-up study of a previously conducted observational study of colorectal surgery patients who underwent surgery at the University Medical Centre Freiburg, Germany, between April 2018 and February 2020. Initially, all the patients completed a multidimensional mood questionnaire (MDMQ) preoperatively and on postoperative days 3, 6, and 9. From June to November 2021, these patients were contacted again to capture the results of MDMQ at least one year after surgery and to assess the rate of late complications, quality of life, dietary changes, and overall health. Results: Of the original 80 patients, 51 took part in the follow-up study (55% female, on average 59 years old), on average 30 months after the operation. The average mood results of the surgical patients returned to those of the normal population. Most patients (80%) did not feel that their quality of life was affected by the surgery. Satisfaction with the surgical outcome averaged 8.5 out of 10, while current health was rated at 6.8 out of 10. Emotional distress levels varied over time, with mood and arousal improving significantly postoperatively. Late complications were reported by 28% of the patients, but there were no significant differences in the MDMQ scores, health status, or satisfaction between those with and without complications. Conclusions: The results indicate that there is no association between the emotional strain measured by the MDMQ and the occurrence of late postoperative complications.

Within-person biological mechanisms of mood variability in childhood and adolescence.

Mood variability, the day-to-day fluctuation in mood, differs between individuals and develops during adolescence. Because adolescents show higher mood variability and average mood than children and adults, puberty might be a potential biological mechanism underlying this increase. The goal of this preregistered developmental study was to examine the neural and hormonal underpinnings of adolescent-specific within-person changes in mood variability, with a specific focus on testosterone, cortisol, pubertal status, and resting-state functional brain connectivity. Data from two longitudinal cohorts were used: the L-CID twin study (aged 7-13, N at the first timepoint = 258) and the accelerated Leiden Self-Concept study (SC; aged 11-21, N at the first timepoint = 138). In both studies resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data was collected, as well as daily mood. Additionally, in the SC study self-reported puberty testosterone and cortisol were collected. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) were used to study the within-person relations between these biological measures and mood variability and average mood. Mood variability and average mood peaked in adolescence and testosterone levels and self-reported puberty also showed an increase. Connectivity between prefrontal cortex (dlPFC and vmPFC) and subcortical regions (caudate, amygdala) decreased across development. Moreover, higher testosterone predicted average negative mood at the next time point, but not vice versa. Further, stronger vmPFC-amygdala functional connectivity predicted decreases in mood variability. Here, we show that brain connectivity during development is an important within-person biological mechanism of the development of mood in adolescents. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Mood variability peaks in adolescence. Within-person changes in testosterone predict within-person changes in mood. Within-person changes in vmPFC-amygdala connectivity predict within-person changes in mood variability.

Three-Year Follow-up of PositiveLinks: Higher Use of mHealth Platform Associated with Sustained HIV Suppression

PositiveLinks (PL) is a mHealth platform to support care engagement by people with HIV (PWH). Daily reminders prompt the user to report medication adherence, mood, and daily stress. Higher response rate to PL check-ins has been associated with better suppression of viral load over 6–18 months. We conducted a retrospective chart review for a three-year period collecting demographic information, average mood and stress scores, and all viral loads obtained in usual patient care. We performed multivariable logistic regression modeling to identify factors associated with loss of viral load suppression and a time-to-event survival analysis until first unsuppressed viral load stratified by PL usage. Of the 513 PWH included, 103 had at least one episode of viral non-suppression. Low users of PL were more likely to have an unsuppressed viral load with an adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) of 5.8 (95% CI 3.0-11.5, p < 0.001). Protective factors included older age (aOR 0.96; 95% CI 0.93–0.98, p = 0.003) and income above the federal poverty level (FPL) (aOR 0.996; 95% CI 0.995–0.998, p < 0.001). High PL use was also associated with better viral load suppression (VLS) over time (p < 0.0001 ((aHR) of 0.437 (95% CI 0.290–0.658, p < 0.001)) after adjusting for age and FPL. High stress scores were related to subsequent loss of viral suppression in an exploratory analysis. High check-in response rate on the PL app, older age, and higher income are associated with sustained VLS over time. Conversely, lack of response to check-ins or increased reported stress may signal a need for additional support.

The Banality as a Mood of Contemporary Society in Contrast to the Artist's Mood

Contemporary times witness significant transformations in economic organisation, deeply influencing social dynamics and emotional frameworks. This study aimed to elucidate banality as the prevailing mood of contemporary society, delineating two perspectives through art: one defined by a banal emotional framework and the other advocating innocence. Inspired by Heidegger and Nietzsche, an inquiry unfolded to reveal the emotional and affective aspects of the examined phenomenon, enriched by perspectives from acclaimed artists. Consequently, the findings established banality affective disposition characteristics as a hallmark of contemporary comprehensiveness, encompassing instrumental engagement with the world, acceptance, and incapacity to perceive its banal condition. In contrast, the banality of the broader world was juxtaposed with that of the artist, who focused on innocence as a manifestation of their being in the world. The outlined approach derived, in methodological terms, from a phenomenological-hermeneutic procedure anchored in the Heideggerian framework, which analysed the "mood" (Stimmung) as a determinant in the interpretation and unfolding of the world. The findings proposed alternative understandings of contemporary life as the result of the conquest of the banality of average mood and contrast it with the character of the artist who resists falling into the overarching banality of our time. The results reflected the difficulty of the current era, from which hopeful aspects of transformation are not evident. Conversely, resistance is concentrated in isolated occurrences that reclaim life and its evolution. This work sought to establish new avenues of research that enable the exploration of multiple contemporary phenomena, in addition to indicating paths of inquiry that link the thoughts of artists and their expressions.

Functional claim increases the acceptance of oat muesli by consumers

Background: Oats-based mueslis contain beta-glucans, a type of soluble fiber known for its hypocholesterolemic and hypoglycemic properties. The claim of these health benefits, oat muesli products may attract potential consumers. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the impact of a functional claim on consumers' acceptance and attitudes toward oat muesli. Additionally, the study evaluated the effects of muesli containing oats on satiety and mood perceptions. Methods: Two muesli products were formulated: one with oats and another with rice flakes (control) for sensory analysis. The oat muesli was presented with two codings (n=160): one with a functional food claim and another without the claim. Consumers were asked about their liking, interest in usage, and perceived benefits before and after tasting the mueslis using hedonic scales. Furthermore, a clinical trial was conducted with 9 healthy adult women subjects (average age 22 years) in a crossover design with a one-week washout period between interventions. The subjects completed a self-perceived mood and satiety questionnaire using visual analog scales (VAS) at Results: The oat muesli with the functional claim was perceived as the most beneficial product among the samples (p&lt;0.05), receiving high scores for liking and interest in use. However, oat muesli consumption did not significantly influence participants' average mood and satiety during the trial (p&gt;0.05), as no significant differences between interventions were found. Conclusion: The inclusion of a functional claim positively affected the acceptance of the health benefits associated with oat muesli.

0644 Poor Sleep Quality Predicts Worse Mood Symptoms in Adolescents with Bipolar Disorder: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Introduction Adolescents with bipolar disorder are at ultra-high risk of suicide and poor psychosocial functioning. Sleep is impaired during periods of depression, mania, and euthymia in adults with bipolar disorder and may be a transdiagnostic risk factor for new onset of mood symptoms. Sleep worsens during adolescence, but less is known about the interrelationships between poor sleep and mood symptoms in adolescents with bipolar disorder. Methods Participants included adolescents with bipolar disorder (n=75, 12-18 years, 65 females) who consented to a randomized controlled trial of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) vs. Standard of Care (SOC; other evidence-based psychotherapy approaches) at a specialty psychiatric clinic. Participants completed seven assessment visits, five during the year-long treatment period (baseline, 3-months, 6-months, 9-months, 12-months) and two during the post-treatment follow-up (18-months, 24-months). During each visit, participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and a semi-structured interview to obtain weekly clinician-rated mood symptom ratings for depression, hypomania, and suicidal ideation. Results Most participants (75.9%) had a PSQI score &amp;gt;5 at baseline, reflecting poor sleep quality (M=8.86, SD=4.30). Sleep quality improved between baseline and 3-months (Mdiff=-2.01, p=.006) and remained stable thereafter but did not differ between treatment groups. Lag analyses examined whether sleep quality predicted the next month’s average mood symptom ratings. Across treatment group, sleep quality at 6-months predicted next month depression, hypomania, and suicidal ideation severity (ps&amp;lt;.032). For DBT, sleep quality at baseline predicted next month suicidal ideation severity (p=.047), and sleep quality at 9-months predicted next month hypomania severity (p=.003). For SOC, sleep quality at 6-months predicted next month depression severity (p=.027), and sleep quality at 9-months predicted next month suicidal ideation severity (p=.005). Worse sleep quality predicted worse future mood symptoms for all significant lagged effects. Conclusion Sleep quality is poor among adolescents with bipolar disorder. Sleep quality predicted future mood symptoms, suggesting that poor sleep may causally contribute to worse mood symptoms, particularly mid to late treatment. Thus, poor sleep could be a critical therapeutic target in future treatments to further improve mood symptoms in this population. Support (if any) R01 MH100056.

Exploring the Relationship Between Privacy and Utility in Mobile Health: Algorithm Development and Validation via Simulations of Federated Learning, Differential Privacy, and External Attacks.

Although evidence supporting the feasibility of large-scale mobile health (mHealth) systems continues to grow, privacy protection remains an important implementation challenge. The potential scale of publicly available mHealth applications and the sensitive nature of the data involved will inevitably attract unwanted attention from adversarial actors seeking to compromise user privacy. Although privacy-preserving technologies such as federated learning (FL) and differential privacy (DP) offer strong theoretical guarantees, it is not clear how such technologies actually perform under real-world conditions. Using data from the University of Michigan Intern Health Study (IHS), we assessed the privacy protection capabilities of FL and DP against the trade-offs in the associated model's accuracy and training time. Using a simulated external attack on a target mHealth system, we aimed to measure the effectiveness of such an attack under various levels of privacy protection on the target system and measure the costs to the target system's performance associated with the chosen levels of privacy protection. A neural network classifier that attempts to predict IHS participant daily mood ecological momentary assessment score from sensor data served as our target system. An external attacker attempted to identify participants whose average mood ecological momentary assessment score is lower than the global average. The attack followed techniques in the literature, given the relevant assumptions about the abilities of the attacker. For measuring attack effectiveness, we collected attack success metrics (area under the curve [AUC], positive predictive value, and sensitivity), and for measuring privacy costs, we calculated the target model training time and measured the model utility metrics. Both sets of metrics are reported under varying degrees of privacy protection on the target. We found that FL alone does not provide adequate protection against the privacy attack proposed above, where the attacker's AUC in determining which participants exhibit lower than average mood is over 0.90 in the worst-case scenario. However, under the highest level of DP tested in this study, the attacker's AUC fell to approximately 0.59 with only a 10% point decrease in the target's R2 and a 43% increase in model training time. Attack positive predictive value and sensitivity followed similar trends. Finally, we showed that participants in the IHS most likely to require strong privacy protection are also most at risk from this particular privacy attack and subsequently stand to benefit the most from these privacy-preserving technologies. Our results demonstrated both the necessity of proactive privacy protection research and the feasibility of the current FL and DP methods implemented in a real mHealth scenario. Our simulation methods characterized the privacy-utility trade-off in our mHealth setup using highly interpretable metrics, providing a framework for future research into privacy-preserving technologies in data-driven health and medical applications.

Amygdala lesions are associated with improved mood after epilepsy surgery.

Neuroimaging studies in healthy and clinical populations strongly associate the amygdala with emotion, especially negative emotions. The consequences of surgical resection of the amygdala on mood are not well characterized. We tested the hypothesis that amygdala resection would result in mood improvement. In this study, we evaluated a cohort of 52 individuals with medial temporal lobectomy for intractable epilepsy who had resections variably involving the amygdala. All individuals achieved good post-surgical seizure control and had pre- and post-surgery mood assessment with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) ratings. We manually segmented the surgical resection cavities and performed multivariate lesion-symptom mapping of change in BDI. Our results showed a significant improvement in average mood ratings from pre- to post-surgery across all patients. In partial support of our hypothesis, resection of the right amygdala was significantly associated with mood improvement (r = 0.5, p = 0.008). The lesion-symptom map also showed that resection of the right hippocampus and para-hippocampal gyrus was associated with worsened post-surgical mood. Future studies could evaluate this finding prospectively in larger samples while including other neuropsychological outcome measures.

Measurement of Postoperative Quality of Pain in Abdominoplasty Patients—An Outcome Oriented Prospective Study

(1) Background: Postoperative pain is a frequently underestimated complication significantly influencing surgical outcome and patient satisfaction. While abdominoplasty is one of the most commonly performed plastic surgery procedures, studies investigating postoperative pain are limited in current literature. (2) Methods: In this prospective study, 55 subjects who underwent horizontal abdominoplasty were included. Pain assessment was performed by using the standardized questionnaire of the Benchmark Quality Assurance in Postoperative Pain Management (QUIPS). Surgical, process and outcome parameters were then used for subgroup analysis. (3) Results: We found a significantly decreased minimal pain level in patients with high resection weight compared to the low resection weight group (p = 0.01 *). Additionally, Spearman correlation shows significant negative correlation between resection weight and the parameter "Minimal pain since surgery" (rs = -0.332; p = 0.013). Furthermore, average mood is impaired in the low weight resection group, indicating a statistical tendency (p = 0.06 and a Χ2 = 3.56). We found statistically significant higher maximum reported pain scores (rs = 0.271; p = 0.045) in elderly patients. Patients with shorter surgery showed a statistically significant (Χ2 = 4.61, p = 0.03) increased claim for painkillers. Moreover, "mood impairment after surgery" shows a dramatic trend to be enhanced in the group with shorter OP duration (Χ2 = 3.56, p = 0.06). (4) Conclusions: While QUIPS has proven to be a useful tool for the evaluation of postoperative pain therapy after abdominoplasty, only continuous re-evaluation of pain therapy is a prerequisite for constant improvement of postoperative pain management and may be the first approach to develop a procedure-specific pain guideline for abdominoplasty. Despite a high satisfaction score, we detected a subpopulation with inadequate pain management in elderly patients, patients with low resection weight and a short duration of surgery.

The temporal dynamics of mood and their association with depressive symptoms in Huntington's disease

BackgroundHuntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterised by progressive motor abnormalities, cognitive decline, and neuropsychiatric disturbances. Depression is among the most common neuropsychiatric syndromes in HD. Research in neurologically healthy samples has shown that depression is associated with distinct patterns of short-term fluctuations in mood, which may exacerbate negative effects on psychological wellbeing. The short-term dynamics of mood and their relationship with depression have not yet been investigated in HD. MethodsFifty-five adults with the HD CAG expansion (33 pre-manifest, 22 manifest) completed single timepoint measures of depression, demographic factors, and clinical disease outcomes on day 1, then rated their mood daily for 28 consecutive days. Average mood, mood variability, and mood inertia (auto-correlation) were calculated across the 28 days. ResultsDepression severity on day 1 was significantly associated with average mood across the 28 days, but not with day-to-day mood variability or inertia. Additionally, female HD CAG expansion carriers experienced more day-to-day variability in mood compared to males. LimitationsOur sample did not include HD CAG expansion carriers with severe depressive symptoms or advanced HD, which limits the generalisability of the findings. Additionally, findings may have been affected by antidepressant and antipsychotic medication use among many participants. ConclusionsIn HD, short-term patterns of change in mood appear to be relatively independent of depression severity. Moreover, in female CAG-expansion carriers particularly, mood variability may warrant further clinical attention. These findings should be replicated in larger and more diverse samples, with different timescales and measures for assessing mood.

Positive mood induction through music: The significance of listener age and musical timbre

This experimental research aimed to verify whether the variables of listener age and musical timbre play significant roles in the process of the impact of music on human mood state in the context of the positive mood induction procedure using music. The stimulus material was in the form of two timbrally different versions of the same musical piece. Two participant groups in their early and late adulthood (ages: 18–30 and 60–89) participated in the research. In each of the older and the younger groups, two further subgroups were presented with timbrally different versions of the same music. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the intergroup scheme was used in the analysis of the research results. The analysis suggested statistically significant main effect of listener age, but no statistically significant main effect of timbre or interaction effect of listener age and timbre on mood state after listening to music. The average mood state after listening to music was more positive in the group of older adults than in the group of young adults (regardless of the timbral variant of music).

A Data-Driven Clustering Method for Discovering Profiles in the Dynamics of Major Depressive Disorder Using a Smartphone-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment of Mood.

BackgroundAlthough major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by a pervasive negative mood, research indicates that the mood of depressed patients is rarely entirely stagnant. It is often dynamic, distinguished by highs and lows, and it is highly responsive to external and internal regulatory processes. Mood dynamics can be defined as a combination of mood variability (the magnitude of the mood changes) and emotional inertia (the speed of mood shifts). The purpose of this study is to explore various distinctive profiles in real-time monitored mood dynamics among MDD patients in routine mental healthcare.MethodsEcological momentary assessment (EMA) data were collected as part of the cross-European E-COMPARED trial, in which approximately half of the patients were randomly assigned to receive the blended Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (bCBT). In this study a subsample of the bCBT group was included (n = 287). As part of bCBT, patients were prompted to rate their current mood (on a 1–10 scale) using a smartphone-based EMA application. During the first week of treatment, the patients were prompted to rate their mood on three separate occasions during the day. Latent profile analyses were subsequently applied to identify distinct profiles based on average mood, mood variability, and emotional inertia across the monitoring period.ResultsOverall, four profiles were identified, which we labeled as: (1) “very negative and least variable mood” (n = 14) (2) “negative and moderate variable mood” (n = 204), (3) “positive and moderate variable mood” (n = 41), and (4) “negative and highest variable mood” (n = 28). The degree of emotional inertia was virtually identical across the profiles.ConclusionsThe real-time monitoring conducted in the present study provides some preliminary indications of different patterns of both average mood and mood variability among MDD patients in treatment in mental health settings. Such varying patterns were not found for emotional inertia.

The Effect of Momentary Affect on Substance Use among Young Adults Who Experience Homelessness

IntroductionLittle is known about the momentary patterns and predictors of substance use among young adults who experience homelessness. To enhance understanding of substance use patterns, smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) was utilized to examine the real-time association between affect and substance use. Methods: 251 young adults (aged 18–27) with history of homelessness were recruited from supportive housing programs and drop-in facilities in Los Angeles. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the latent structure of positive and negative affective states and mixed-effects logistic regression models were completed separately for both the full remaining sample (n = 227) and a subsample of alcohol or cannabis users (n = 145) to evaluate whether positive or negative affect predicted lead, recent, or lagged substance use. Results: Greater positive affect within-person was associated with greater odds of alcohol or cannabis use within the past two hours, and participants who reported feeling more negative than their peers experienced greater odds of reporting use within the past 4 h and the following two hours. Conclusion: Results suggest that individuals experience a heightened positive mood compared to their own average mood, concurrently or immediately after engaging in alcohol or cannabis use. Heightened positive mood might be an anticipatory effect of drinking or cannabis use. Future research should consider a longer study period to capture multiple drinking or drug use events over a longer period and consider more environmental exposures that may influence the frequency or intensity of substance use.

The relationship between behavioural and mood responses to monetary rewards in a sample of students with and without reported pain

Pain impairs reward processing, and people suffering from physical pain are at high risk of having a persistently low mood. Although individuals with chronic pain have reported reduced reward responsiveness and impaired mood, it is not clear if reward responsiveness and mood are impaired in samples with sub-clinical pain scores otherwise healthy. Investigating a sub-clinical group is essential to disentangle the influence of medication on the behavioural effect of reward on mood and performance. Here, we aimed to examine the effects of reward on mood and performance in a sample of university students divided into a control group without clinically significant pain symptoms (N = 40) and the sub-clinical group with significant pain symptoms (N = 39). We used the Fribourg reward task and the pain sub-scale of the Symptom Checklist (SCL-27-plus) to assess the physical symptoms of pain. A significant positive correlation was found between average mood ratings and average monetary reward in the control group (r38 = 0.42, p = 0.008) and not significant in the sub-clinical group (r37 = 0.12, p = 0.46). The results might yield first insights into the relationship between pain and reward in sub-clinical populations without the confound of medication.

Social Encounters and Mood: The Moderating Role of Narcissism

Social contacts may lead to more positive and less negative emotions in late life, yet we know little about how narcissism influences such associations, and whether contacts with close and not-close social partners impact mood differently. This study examined associations between social contacts, narcissism, and mood on the within- and between- person level. Older adults aged 65 + (N = 303) completed ecological momentary assessments in which they reported social contacts and mood every 3 hours for 5 to 6 days. Older adults had higher positive mood after contacting either close or not-close social partners, but only not-close social partners reduced negative mood. Multilevel models found positive associations between average social contacts number and positive mood among people scored lower on narcissism, and positive associations between social contacts and negative mood for those who scored higher on narcissism. Findings suggest the necessity of considering interpersonal differences in interventions targeting well-being.

Coping under a COVID-19 lockdown: patterns of daily coping and individual differences in coping repertoires

ABSTRACT Background Polyregulation—the concurrent or sequential use of multiple strategies to regulate affect or cope with stressors—is a frequent but understudied phenomenon. Objectives We aimed to identify patterns of daily coping and individuals’ coping repertoires (i.e., range of coping patterns employed across situations) during a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. We investigated day-level covariates (appraisals, worrying, mood) of daily coping patterns and person-level covariates (psychopathology, average mood) of coping repertoires. Design: A non-representative community sample (n = 322, 15–82 years old) participated in a 21-day ambulatory assessment study. Methods We applied multilevel latent class analysis.. Results We identified seven daily coping patterns and ten classes of individuals differing in the size of their coping repertoire and their propensity for polyregulation. Daily coping patterns differed in daily perceived controllability and mood (but not in daily worrying or stress). At the person level, individuals with a higher level of average coronavirus-related worrying more frequently engaged in a high degree of polyregulation. The size of individuals’ coping repertoire was unrelated to psychopathology and average mood. Conclusion The findings provide insights into the composition of daily coping patterns and individuals’ coping repertoires during crisis periods and contribute to a new polyregulation perspective on coping.

Discovering different profiles in the dynamics of depression based on real–time monitoring of mood: a first exploration

BackgroundAlthough depression is typically characterized by a persistent depressed mood, mood dynamics do seem to vary across a depressed population. Heterogeneity of mood variability (magnitude of changes) and emotional inertia (speed at which mood shifts) is seen in clinical practice. However, studies investigating the heterogeneity of these mood dynamics are still scarce. The aim of the present study is to explore different distinctive profiles in real-time monitored mood dynamics among depressed persons. MethodsAfter completing baseline measures, mildly-to-moderately depressed persons (n = 37) were prompted to rate their current mood (1–10 scale) on their smartphones, 3 times a day for 7 consecutive days. Latent profile analyses were applied to identify profiles based on average mood, variability of mood and emotional inertia as reported by the participants. ResultsTwo profiles were identified in this sample. The overwhelming majority of the sample belonged to profile 1 (n = 31). Persons in profile 1 were characterized by a mood just above the cutoff for positive mood (M = 6.27), with smaller mood shifts (lower variability [SD = 1.05]) than those in profile 2 (n = 6), who displayed an overall negative mood (M = 4.72) and larger mood shifts (higher variability [SD = 1.95]) but at similar speed (emotional inertia) (AC = 0.19, AC = 0.26, respectively). ConclusionsThe present study provides preliminary indications for patterns of average mood and mood variability, but not emotional inertia, among mildly-to-moderately depressed persons.

Studying Subjective Well-Being during a Quarantine

To investigate the impact of writing a gratitude letter on particular mood states, we asked students in two university classes (a research class and a positive psychology class) to complete a 15-item mood assessment survey (MAS) twice a day (once in the morning and once at night). The research students who signed up for one or two pass/fail field-study credits in a research class also completed the MAS twice a day, but they did not write the weekly gratitude letter that was expected from the students in the positive psychology class. Each mood state was averaged per each day for the participants in each group and compared between the Gratitude Group and the Control Group. No group difference occurred for some mood states like “incompetent,” but for the “unmotivated” mood state, a significant difference was found. To investigate the potential effect of weekday, we compared the average mood rating between groups for each day of the week. For the mood state of “unmotivated”, a remarkable dip occurred on Wednesday for the Gratitude group, but not for the Control group. These results indicated that writing a gratitude letter increased the benefactor’s motivation, especially on the day when it was accomplished.

SELF-REPORTED SEVERITY OF MOOD SYMPTOMS IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH PERSISTENT POST-CONCUSSION SYMPTOMS (PPCS)

Background:There are multiple subtypes identified in patients with Persistent Post Concussion symptoms (PPCS) in young athletes including mood subtype that is traditionally believed to be in higher incidence with PPCS. Although there may be an association of poor mood symptoms with worse PPCS outcomes, empirical analysis of patients’ mood symptoms and the duration of PPCS is scant. By better understanding the incidence of mood symptoms in pediatric PPCS, we may uncover other primary causes of ongoing brain dysfunction.Purpose:To explore the relationship between mood-symptom severity and the duration of PPCS.Methods:A retrospective cohort study of pediatric PPCS patients (age < 18 years) treated at private concussion clinic in Tucson, AZ between 7/2018 to 7/2019. Based on written questionnaires completed by patients at office visits, patients were assigned a mood and anxiety score between 0 and 3, with 0 being the least severe and 1 being the most severe. Patients were also classified into stages 1 through 4 based on PPCS duration (see table).Results:Data from 59 pediatric patients (ages ranged from 7 to 17 with a mean age of 13.9, 33:26 female to male) were included. ANOVA yielded p-value of 0.94. Average (mean) mood and anxiety scores for each PPCS substage were as follows: 0.9 for stage 1 (n=23); 0.8 for stage 2 (n=18); 0.8 for stage 3 (n=13); 0.6 for stage 4 (n=5).Conclusion:Our review data showed no significance between PPCS stages in regard to average self-reported mood symptoms. Contrary to traditional thinking this preliminary data in pediatric athletes illustrates that mood severity does not increase with increasing PPCS stage. This may suggest that other domains such as migraine or vestibulocular dysfunction may be the primary source of ongoing symptoms.

The effect of types of light on people's mood using a church as an example in the virtual reality

ABSTRACT People have different moods that vary in different spaces, and the “light” is one of the most important factors affecting the mood of people in an indoor environment. Conducted with 50 volunteers using a church design in the virtual reality environment, the study aims to test individuals’ mood changes in the designed church according to natural and artificial light conditions. In the study, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule mood scale and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire were used, in addition to the Likert-type Architectural Liking Scale. A significant correlation was found between the architectural liking scores and the difference in the average positive moods scores in the spaces with natural lighting and artificial lighting. It was also noted that the rate of positive mood reported by female participants was higher than male participants in the study.